The anti-gay group Focus on the Family is up in
arms over the fact that, in Montana, an evangelical church's
tax-exempt status is being challenged after the church showed
congregants a video simulcast called the "Battle for Marriage" and
then circulated a petition at the event calling for a state
constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriages. Similarly,
an e-mail release from the anti-gay Family Research Council
declared:
pro-homosexual advocates want to silence all churches and pro-family groups like FRC who are critical of the homosexual lifestyle. It has already happened in other countries where same-sex "marriage" has been legalized, and tomorrow it may happen to the Church in this country if it does not stand firm today. The intolerance of these left-wing extremists will roll right over our First Amendment rights unless we
respond vigorously. We will respond!
An even more hysterical account, from an evangelical news service, ran under the headline "LIBERAL HOMOSEXUAL RADICAL AGENDA, MAKING ITSELF KNOWN TO BE ANTI-GOD IN MONTANA."
Of course, to be fair, liberals never object to "peace" or civil
rights political activism in churches, or when Jesse Jackson and
others African-American politicians pass the hat for their
political campaigns at Sunday services in black churches. Whether
on the left or the right, if religious organizations want to behave
like political action committees, they should not retain their
tax-exempt status.
Bush's Beliefs: A Response
Commenting on President Bush's remarks cited in yesterday's
item, "What
Bush Believes," IGF contributing author Rick Rosendall reminded
me of what he wrote in a Salon.com article last March:
After calling for a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage without once mentioning the dreaded words "gay" or "lesbian," President George W. Bush ended on a conciliatory note: "We should also conduct this difficult debate in a manner worthy of our country, without bitterness or anger. In all that lies ahead, let us match strong convictions with kindness and goodwill and decency." This reminds me of Dame Edna Everage, who, after saying something horribly cruel about her bridesmaid Madge Allsop, habitually adds, "I mean that in a nurturing and caring way."