In her latest segment for "The Daily Show," comedian Samantha Bee openly mocks an evangelical's claim that Christians are "bullied" by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.
Airing on Monday, the segment features Boise, Idaho, pastor and radio host Matt Slick attempting to make the case that Christians are becoming victims.
"The Christians that I talked to are intimidated," Slick told Bee. "They'll often get intimidated, they'll often get persecuted ... for just saying that they believe that homosexuality is wrong, or that homosexuals are sinful -- just like adulterers, just like pedophiles, just like liars, just like thieves."
Slick goes on to claim that homosexuals "are not tolerant" of Christians and even proposes -- to a visibly dubious Bee -- that "homosexuals go out and find straights to beat up."
"These kinds of events are not publicized very well," Slick said. "Why is this not being covered?"
In a sardonic voice-over, Bee asks why "this hypothetical violence [is] not being covered, or recorded, or even occurring? Maybe it’s because the figures are being hushed up by the Homosexual-Industrial Complex.”
Openly gay Christian and Huffington Post blogger Todd Clayton was interviewed during the "Daily Show" by Bee onscreen. He later spoke with HuffPost about the purpose of the piece.
"The motivation ... was to expose the fallacy [of anti-LGBT Christians claiming to be victims of bullying]," Clayton told HuffPost in an email. "In a country where every president has identified as Christian, where churches are ubiquitous, where Islamophobia is an enterprise, Christianity is hopeless[ly] tied to privilege and power. For Christians to claim they are victims of bullying is asinine."
Clayton, who is currently attending Christian seminary school in New York City, went on to say he hoped the "Daily Show" interview would also show that a Christian identity is not incompatible with an LGBT identity.
"Many religiously affiliated LGBTQ persons still carry uncertainty about their value, and too many are not sure if their lives are worth living," Clayton also told HuffPost. "I can only trust that more LGBTQ people might know, after seeing the clip, that they are beautiful and strong."
Of course, Slick is only the latest in a long line of conservative Christians to make similar complaints about what they say is an anti-Christian bias among members of the LGBT community. In May, Idaho-based religious group Reach America released a video that bemoaned the "problem" of anti-Christian bullying and encouraged teens to build an "army" commanded by Christ.
(Hat tip, The Advocate)
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