If David Bahati succeeds in passing the death penalty for homosexuals in Uganda, we need to pray for our own deliverance in the United States. Analysts tell us that at least 10 African nations will follow his lead immediately. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Uganda are already in hiding or on the run. Children, women and men infected with HIV/AIDS are being denied treatment. Zimbabwe is already on a parallel track. We don't think of Bahati in the same way that we think of Mugabe of Zimbabwe -- one smiles and says he loves gay people. The other reeks of violence. Yet, they are the same wolf at our door.
If Bahati succeeds, we will have allowed him to set the gold standard for wide-spread consumer adoption of sanctioned genocide of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. He and his USA-based radical fundamentalist/evangelical cronies have achieved critical mass in Uganda (more than 90 percent of the people say that homosexuality is a sin and a crime). His message has been clear, consistent and unwavering -- the three tenants of great marketing.
If he succeeds, we can credit our own citizens within the anti-gay movement who have funded and elevated him to rock star status. And, we can credit ourselves for the lives of women and children and men that will be lost in Uganda and in the other African nations who plan to follow Bahati's lead. We have not sent a message that the human rights of gay people are important enough to place U.S. or United Nation's sanctions against Uganda.
In fact, we have encouraged Uganda's trajectory of violence by sending a message that we are divided over basic human rights for gay (LGBT) people. Some of our states have equal marriage, most do not. Some of our cities protect employment for LGBT people. Most do not. We do not effectively prosecute hate crimes. We have just completed elections that were predictable trajectories for the radical religious right. LGBT advocacy organizations do not agree on the messaging that is best to create dialogue with our opponents and, as a result, have limited impact. Those of us who believe in the worth and dignity of every human being and a welcoming God who calls us to love our neighbor lost our way on equal marriage, on employment non-discrimination and Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Our response to this loss was a bit of a collective sigh, but not much else.
We need to get it together. The wolf is at our door and he is very hungry.
I have one idea about one way to to assemble ourselves to push back against the monstrous influence of Bahati and his co-conspirators. My proposal has a track record of modest success in 50+ cities around the world. It comes out of my own practical experience as an ordained, progressive Christian minister and my upbringing as an evangelical and very conservative Christian in the American South.
It is called the Would Jesus Discriminate? Campaign. One discrete measurement of the outcomes of the campaign in Indianapolis demonstrated a 16 percent improvement in attitudes toward gay people after 12 weeks. This program is not designed for the "movable middle." The voting bloc of evangelical, fundamentalist and conservative people is winning. Bahati is winning. Can we afford to continue to write them off? Our ignoring of them seems to be feeding them.
What makes the WJD Campaign work?
1. Not being afraid to invoke the name and example of the Great Includer, Jesus(more than 90 percent of all Americans recognize His name and associate particular behaviors with His name)
2. Inviting people you know to consider and answer for themselves the simple question of Would Jesus Discriminate?
3. Systematically applying the market-proven methodology of consumer adoption in localized markets where neighbors observe neighbors and talk to them about making choices
Most consumers are not early adopters. They want to see if a person who takes a risk is ridiculed or revered. If not, once critical mass is obvious, the majority of people jump in too. We do not have to let the Bahati-effect take root in America. I believe that we must invoke the name of Jesus, as Lawrence Morley says, to create a "revolt [that] must come from the mind: a growing unease and dissatisfaction with things as they are."
You can invoke Jesus's name without being Christian or even a person of faith just like you can invoke the name of John Kennedy without being Catholic. Ask yourself the question, Would Jesus Discriminate? and then ask your neighbor. Take time to listen and share what you believe is right for all people.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. says it best: "In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
Be a friend and speak up.
Follow Rev. Dr. Cindi Love on Twitter: www.twitter.com/SoulforceLove
Americans' Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push - NYTimes.com
Uganda considers death sentence for gay sex in bill before ...
BBC News - Uganda minister says gay death penalty 'unnecessary'
Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uganda to Drop Death Penalty, Life in Jail for Gays (Update1 ...
Uganda debates death penalty for gays - World news - Africa ...
Secondly, atheists are profoundly outnumbered by Christians, so ostracizing any claims that Christians have to approving the repeal of DADT is absolutely ludicrous. Doing so also implies a hidden enjoyment of the martyr complex so espoused by the crazies you are telling moderate Christians to be -- was it more fun when only two of you were out there protesting DADT? If you don't like the articles that use Christian rhetoric to argue Christian grounds to remind a Christian audience to act with humanity and humility, don't read them, because you aren't the
But, yes, he was silent on homosexuality. When it comes to homosexuality in the Bible, all you've got is Leviticus, which no one would ever suggest we should live by, and Paul, who most Christians also ignore selectively. Confront an anti-gay Christian with another verse from Leviticus or certain ones from Paul and they'll justify ignoring those while defending the alleged anti-homosexuality verses. It's mind-boggling.
The very idea of the Uganda law is horrifying as is the fact that is has support from some in the US.
"The Family has always operated in secret; for more than 70 years, the group has influenced policy and business deals in the U.S. and abroad almost entirely without the public’s notice. Family members have advocated for the violently anti-gay legislation currently before Uganda’s legislature; David Bahati, MP who introduced the bill to Uganda’s parliament, has been a longtime darling of the Family and a guest at the group’s only public event, the National Prayer Breakfast. Their involvement in the Uganda anti-gay bill isn’t an outlier: in the past, the Family has done business favors and supported dictatorships in Indonesia, Somalia and Haiti, among other nations under authoritarian rule. Meanwhile, Family forces connected to the U.S. military seek to spread fundamentalist Christianity. An organization of 15,000 officers is dedicated to what is described as “reclaiming territory for Christ in the military.”
http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/148413/the_family_secretive_christian_group_of_conservative_lawmakers_building_a_godled_government
To me, this could mean a few things:
1. Jesus is not a good teacher.
2. Jesus' teachings are not clear enough.
3. Jesus' followers cannot think for themselves.
The problem with organized religion is that it's so disorganized; people get mixed messages when it comes to issues like killing homosexuals and using condoms. Any Ugandan who proclaims to be a Christian yet supports this bill is beyond ridiculous. How does this kind of Christian justify the death of another human being while attempting to improve the life of others? If there really is a heaven waiting for them, how to they justify killing homosexuals but defending their charity and good works to other human beings.
This, like many other issues in the Christian Church, reek of contradiction. Adults who've spent the last 2,000 years waiting for someone to "come back" while assuring us that it's going to be "soon".
We are called to live our faith and that is a daily call to perfection; we all start out in different places and at different levels of understanding precisely what this call is and what our response needs to be. Just because many distort the truth for political gain doesn't mean the truth is invalidated.
Yes, you are called to live your faith, but you do it based on a book with directions on how to live your life regardless of what level of understanding you happen to carry. And please don't confuse truth with the Bible. A man living in a whale is not truth; it is fantasy.
The Ugandan law is based on the Bible, and those who have been supporting it in the US are Christians. That's why we are discussing Christians.
We have been hammered with the idea of "tolerance", but tolerance of what? Does anything go?
Would Jesus discriminate against, or tolerate the call for the death of individuals who are heterosexual or homosexual, or would he discriminate, hence not tolerate, the calls for the death of the either?
I have been thinking about "freedom of religion" and it's inherent and necessary caveat, "freedom from religion".
While the religious and non-religious are willing to take up arms to defend those constitutional rights, we refuse to accord the same fervor to "freedom of speech".
As such we live in a society where anything goes, including rabid free speech rights, which is in reality hate speech. Perhaps when Jesus speaks of the stone the builders rejected, he wasn't talking about the founders of the constitution but the constituents. Constituents are builders by default in one way or another.
We are builders of society and the constitution is our specificatations of how to build a society so that the pursuit of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness is available to all because we have harmonized the first amendment, rationally.
Until then we will continue to live in chaos.
Cindi, can you please provide the names of those evangelical Christians who are asking for the death penalty...or are you implying that because they call it a sin, then they should be held responsible for the death penalty bill that is being pushed in Uganda..?
please clarify..
To claim to be a Christian and ask for the death penalty for those who sin is to disregard Christ's sacrifice and willingly return under the law...which cannot justify, but condemn only, consequently damning everyone to the same penalty for other sins as well. Jesus never sentenced or asked anyone to be put to death...neither must Christians.
To the Christian, the law functions as a gauge, noting where they are at, in their walk with Christ.
planet? right?
That said, and to answer your question............he was adopted by someone else.