Word came out last week that George Michael, 48, was admitted to a Viennese hospital for severe pneumonia. (Though he has cancelled the remainder of the tour he was on, Mr. Michael is reportedly responding to treatment and slowly recovering.)
Ever heard of a group called Christians for a Moral America? Neither had I. Neither had anyone else -- until this weekend, when the group Tweeted these lovely messages:
And now Christians for a Moral America will be known throughout the Internet.
And what is unlikely to matter during its 15-minutes of mud-spattered fame is that Christians for a Moral America consists entirely of one guy: fury-fueled Keith.
It won't matter that CFAMA's Twitter account has 78 followers.
It won't matter that CFAMA's Facebook page has 117 fans.
It won't matter that in 20 minutes I could get 78 Twitter followers and 117 Facebook fans by starting a Facebook group called Toenail Eaters of America, and posting photos like this:
It won't matter how obvious it is that Keith wouldn't know Christianity from a boil on his ass. None of those sorts of things will matter, because so many people are so ready to believe the worst of Christians and Christianity, because so many have so much emotion invested in the idea that virtually all Christians are narrow-minded, hate-filled, fear-based, hypocritical misogynistic homophobes.
Meanwhile, in preparation of the print edition of "Wings on a Pig," I've been rereading the heartbreaking letters contained with it from gay and lesbian Christians.
And I've been reflecting on the inspiring phone conversation I had yesterday with Roger McClellan, and on the superb work he's doing with his Progressive Christian Alliance.
And I've been thinking of the man who wrote me just this morning: an anguished pastor torn between coming out and knowing that doing so would sever him from the church and congregation he has so faithfully served for 20 years.
For every one person like Keith I've ever known -- for every person who's ever fanatically endeavored to transmogrify the beautiful love of God into the horrible hatred of men -- I've known 200 who are quiety and humbly working, in Christ's name, to make the world a better, more loving place for all.
If you're out there, and you happen to read this, I'm begging you to bear in mind that I'm a Christian, and that a lot of my friends are Christian, and that a lot of people I work with online are Christian -- and that all of us, to a person, utterly shun, and are revulsed by, the perversion of our faith promulgated by people like Keith.
We want you to take issue with Keith. We're with you on that. We support that.
But please don't confuse him with us.
Follow John Shore on Twitter: www.twitter.com/johnshore
George Michael Cancels Tour After Being Hospitalized for ...
George Michael Hospitalized; Singer Suffering From Pneumonia In ...
thanks in no small part to you, Mr. Shore, helping get his name out there, get his message across, giving him publicity.
given his allegedly paltry few followers on Twitter and Fakebook, how many conservative and fundamentalist Christians would've never heard his comments and beliefs, and of him had you not decided to post this article where they troll and monitor. and then again for the article to be seeded on Newsvine, where still more discovered it?
you don't want anyone to confuse you and "real" Christians with him, and despite your books saying so, with making a point to point out his small number of followers and all, it sure does seem like you're spreading his message.
But please don't confuse him with us."
Don't confuse him with "us"? Seriously?!? Which "us" exactly are you talking about?
See, here's the problem. If it were just a few random hate-mongers on Twitter & Facebook then it wouldn't be so much of a problem. But it's NOT just a few random people on social media sites. Go check out this website:
http://adultthought.ucsd.edu/Culture_War/The_American_Taliban.html
There you'll see quotes from prominent, famous people who are using their fame to spread hate & intolerance and are doing so "in Jesus' name". Those people are saying some of the most vile, hateful things they can think of & pretending that they're doing so because "God" says they should.
So, far from being just a few misguided people on social media sites, it's actually the people who have the public's ear that are doing the most damage. Because their message goes out to far more than just the few followers people like "Keith" have on Twitter.
You want us to take you "quiet, humble" Christians seriously? Then do something about the people who are acting as mouthpieces for your religion & stop worrying about some random Joe on Twitter.
Homophobes make the same argument about public gay figures.
The fact is, "public gay figures" aren't saying anything like that.
Trying to use a false equivalency to substantiate some flawed premise never works out.
The core failures of human beings inevitably breed "keiths". Some of them use religion to excuse their inhumanity. Some use anti-religion to excuse their inhumanity. Some use science, or philosophy, or the arts, or commerce.
And in the eyes of homophobes, it is the "flamboyant" gays who get all the press. Don't fall into the same mistakes that homophobes make.