Are all the evangelical leaders gay? Their conventional wisdom is

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

really bizarre.

From the pulpit, Stockstill tried to reassure church members that their institution was safe and secure.

"God chose this particular moment to reveal Ted's sin," Stockstill said. "He chose this incredibly important time for this sin to be revealed, and I actually think it's a good thing. I believe America needs a shaking spiritually."

Stockstill said later at a news conference that Haggard indicated he recognized "warning signs" about sexual temptation early in his life.

Stockstill said he is confident that Haggard - like most conservative evangelicals - regards homosexuality as a temptation to be fought, not a predisposition.

This is so revealing. How many men of the cloth, so to speak, are buying into this? It seems that in politics and evangelical churches, there are many gays who are so self loathing that they are out to destroy those who have had the courage to stand up and be themselves openly, without shame.

And, I'm guessing they're probably not too thrilled with heterosexuals who have a healthy sex life, especially one which isn't focused on reproduction.

Yet another reason to GOTV. Let's get these hostile, repressed hypocrites our of bedrooms now. MKJ

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_4609054

[smirkymonkey]

1. This is an interesting take....

It's kind of like the way straight religious whackjobs treat women - as sources of temptation to be feared and destroyed. They wouldn't hate gay people so much if they weren't threatened somehow, so this makes perfect sense. You can't be tempted by something that wouldn't appeal to you in the first place.

If we could get this "meme" out there, maybe it would shut them up, as railing against homosexuals would be seen for what it is - a cover for closet homosexuality.

[Waya]

2. Sounds to me like........

......the 'Satan made me do it' excuse......tempted by Satan, blah, blah. In my experience - and I have spent years and years in Church during this Hell I called marriage to a fundamental Christian - the more pious they act, the more they thump the Bible on Morality issues and the more they thunder about Immorality from the pulpit, the more they themselves have to hide and the greater their 'Sin'.

[Skidmore]

3. Sounds like my experience too.

I grew up in a fundamentalist church. The ministers and the deacons were the frailest of human beings but were not adverse to thundering from the pulpit each week and calling out congregants by name for their human failures. I left the church when I became an adult and never looked back. To this day, I have a deep distrust of anyone who claims to know the will of God and to give me prescriptive edicts regarding my humanity.

[Waya]

4. Know exactly what you mean.......

...I haven't set foot in a Church in years - and am not planning to do so in the near future because of it. It has led me to conclude that there are way more Hypocrites inside the Church than I will ever encounter on the outside.

[teenagebambam]

5. I am an openly gay man who...

...makes part of his living as a Church musician. Just from my own non-scientific observations (i.e. gaydar) I can tell you that the more Fundamentalist the denomination, the more closeted gay men are there. (Sorry, I have collected no data on lesbians). While I really have no experience with mega-churches such as Haggards, the closest approximation would be Southern Baptist, where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a gay man, especially among the musicians.

And before you ask, yes, they know I'm gay when they hire me. they don't care, because

a) I'm an independent contractor and not part of their "flock"
b) The Church leadership cares a lot less about "sinners" than they would lead their "flocks" to believe, and
c) they're all hypocritical wretches anyway

[BleedingHeartPatriot]

6. Thanks for those personal observations. I am really surprised that I'm surprised

by this.

I thought I grasped the hypocrisy of the fundamentalists, of whichever stripe, however, I really didn't understand its depth until I heard the statements coming from this church's parishioners and clergy.

The assumption that all people are "fighting the temptation" of gayness is, in a word, crazy.

Yet, they seem to predicate all their gay bashing on that nutty theory.

I can't believe I didn't get this until now. But, it's never to late to learn about the best and/or worst of human nature. MKJ

[tanyev]

7. There was an interesting thread yesterday in a similar vein:

We know Fundies don't believe in "born Gay," but why can't they even believe in "born Straight"?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2584629