by MICHAEL BROWN
For years I have said that gay activists and their allies would overplay their hand and that their bullying would backfire. It is happening today in front of our eyes as a Christian couple, Chip and Joanna Gaines, who recently graced the cover of Peoplemagazine, is now being attacked simply for attending a Christian church. Oh, the thought of it!
Yes, if you are a public figure and you attend a church that preaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman and you actually believe that homosexuals can be changed by the power of the gospel, you should be shamed, ridiculed and perhaps even fired.
That is the obvious offshoot of BuzzFeed's recent article which carried the headline, "Chip and Joanna Gaines' Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage." How terrible!
Chip and Joanna attend a church that actually believes what the Bible says? They're part of a congregation that preaches what the church has taught for 2,000 years? Worse still, "Their pastor considers homosexuality to be a 'sin' caused by abuse," although, "whether the Fixer Upper couple agrees is unclear." Horror of all horrors. What kind of monsters are these two?
And note that the Gaines' crime was not making a public statement against homosexuality, as Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson did, after which he was promptly (albeit briefly) suspended by A&E.
Their crime was not making ministry-related statements against abortion and homosexual practice, as the Benham Brothers did, because of which they were promptly fired by HGTV (after that network was bullied by radical left activists).
Their crime was not preaching in their own church that homosexuality was a sin, as Dr. Eric Walsh did, because of which he was fired by the state of Georgia as Public Health Director.
Their crime was not writing a book that made passing, negative reference to homosexual practice as did Kelvin Cochran, because of which he was fired by the city of Atlanta as fire chief.
Their crime was not penning an op-ed piece in a local newspaper, taking respectful issue with the notion that gay is the new black, as Crystal Dixon did, because of which she was fired as associate vice president of human resources at the University of Toledo.
Their crime was not even signing a petition after a church service which called for a popular vote on same-sex "marriage" in the state of Maryland (rather than letting legislators decide this), as Dr. Angela McCaskill did, because of which she was placed on leave by Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she served as Associate Provost of Diversity and Inclusion (a position, by the way, which made no reference to sexual issues in its description).
No, the crime of Chip and Joanna Gaines was simply that they attend a gospel-preaching church. How much further will these witch hunts go?
The Gaines and their representatives have not even issued a statement as to their own beliefs (if they do, I sure hope they affirm what their church teaches), nor has there ever been the slightest hint that anything they said on or off the show has been offensive, mean-spirited or hateful. Still, the very fact that they are popular, conservative Christians has put a target on their backs.
I repeat: This kind of shaming and bullying will backfire, and it will backfire sooner rather than later.
That's why the left-leaning Washington Post already published by an article by Brandon Abrosino, himself open and proudly gay, taking issue with the BuzzFeed article and noting that almost 40 percent of Americans are "not on board" with same-sex "marriage." In response to this, Abrosino asks, "Is the suggestion here [meaning, on BuzzFeed] that 40 percent of Americans are unemployable because of their religious convictions on marriage? That the companies that employ them deserve to be boycotted until they yield to the other side of the debate—a side, we should note, that is only slightly larger than the one being shouted down?"
Under no circumstances can gay activists and their allies wave the flag of equality, diversity and tolerance when it comes to the BuzzFeed article. No, this is an overt and explicit attack on equality, diversity and tolerance and is, itself, an example of bigotry and intolerance of the highest order.
So here's a word of wisdom for BuzzFeed and those applauding their attack on Chip and Joanna Gaines: The Bible will be here long after you are gone, and the words of Moses, Jesus and Paul will be quoted for generations to come, while articles like the current hit piece on Chip and Joanna will be here today and gone tomorrow.
Put another way, as Bible-believing followers of Jesus, we're not backing down or cowering in a corner or going underground. We're here to stay, we are not ashamed, and the more you attack us, the stronger we become.
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| Chip and Joanna Gaines, who recently graced the cover of People magazine, is now being attacked simply for attending a Christian church. Oh, the thought of it! (Joanna Gaines/Facebook) |
Yes, if you are a public figure and you attend a church that preaches that marriage is the union of one man and one woman and you actually believe that homosexuals can be changed by the power of the gospel, you should be shamed, ridiculed and perhaps even fired.
That is the obvious offshoot of BuzzFeed's recent article which carried the headline, "Chip and Joanna Gaines' Church Is Firmly Against Same-Sex Marriage." How terrible!
Chip and Joanna attend a church that actually believes what the Bible says? They're part of a congregation that preaches what the church has taught for 2,000 years? Worse still, "Their pastor considers homosexuality to be a 'sin' caused by abuse," although, "whether the Fixer Upper couple agrees is unclear." Horror of all horrors. What kind of monsters are these two?
And note that the Gaines' crime was not making a public statement against homosexuality, as Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson did, after which he was promptly (albeit briefly) suspended by A&E.
Their crime was not making ministry-related statements against abortion and homosexual practice, as the Benham Brothers did, because of which they were promptly fired by HGTV (after that network was bullied by radical left activists).
Their crime was not writing a book that made passing, negative reference to homosexual practice as did Kelvin Cochran, because of which he was fired by the city of Atlanta as fire chief.
Their crime was not penning an op-ed piece in a local newspaper, taking respectful issue with the notion that gay is the new black, as Crystal Dixon did, because of which she was fired as associate vice president of human resources at the University of Toledo.
Their crime was not even signing a petition after a church service which called for a popular vote on same-sex "marriage" in the state of Maryland (rather than letting legislators decide this), as Dr. Angela McCaskill did, because of which she was placed on leave by Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., where she served as Associate Provost of Diversity and Inclusion (a position, by the way, which made no reference to sexual issues in its description).
No, the crime of Chip and Joanna Gaines was simply that they attend a gospel-preaching church. How much further will these witch hunts go?
The Gaines and their representatives have not even issued a statement as to their own beliefs (if they do, I sure hope they affirm what their church teaches), nor has there ever been the slightest hint that anything they said on or off the show has been offensive, mean-spirited or hateful. Still, the very fact that they are popular, conservative Christians has put a target on their backs.
I repeat: This kind of shaming and bullying will backfire, and it will backfire sooner rather than later.
That's why the left-leaning Washington Post already published by an article by Brandon Abrosino, himself open and proudly gay, taking issue with the BuzzFeed article and noting that almost 40 percent of Americans are "not on board" with same-sex "marriage." In response to this, Abrosino asks, "Is the suggestion here [meaning, on BuzzFeed] that 40 percent of Americans are unemployable because of their religious convictions on marriage? That the companies that employ them deserve to be boycotted until they yield to the other side of the debate—a side, we should note, that is only slightly larger than the one being shouted down?"
Under no circumstances can gay activists and their allies wave the flag of equality, diversity and tolerance when it comes to the BuzzFeed article. No, this is an overt and explicit attack on equality, diversity and tolerance and is, itself, an example of bigotry and intolerance of the highest order.
So here's a word of wisdom for BuzzFeed and those applauding their attack on Chip and Joanna Gaines: The Bible will be here long after you are gone, and the words of Moses, Jesus and Paul will be quoted for generations to come, while articles like the current hit piece on Chip and Joanna will be here today and gone tomorrow.
Put another way, as Bible-believing followers of Jesus, we're not backing down or cowering in a corner or going underground. We're here to stay, we are not ashamed, and the more you attack us, the stronger we become.
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