I consider it a matter of conscience that as an atheist I can have a dialogue with any Christian or other religionist without resorting to verbal abuse or name-calling (oddly enough I’ve been given more grief with atheists in this regard!). But to keep things fair and balanced, I’m going to have to have a little discussion with my Christian friend Gregory Dickow after comments he made on his Friday edition of Ask the Pastor. It’s a call-in show in which I occasionally participate.
I took my kids to the mall on Friday. On the way I tuned in to Ask the Pastor (AM 1160 M-F, 5-6 PM in Chicago). My kids are old enough now that I don’t shield them from listening to Christian radio with me. I think it’s informative for them, and often leads to interesting discussions. I definitely don’t make excuses for fundamentalists, nor do I try to marginalize religious viewpoints (except perhaps the insidious purulent movement, Dominionism, what I call Christian Supremacy), when I discuss religion with my children.
But I have to admit that I beamed with pride at my indirect approach, when my 12 yr old made the comment, “Dad, he called us ‘unintelligent!’”
Most of the time my kids tune out Christian radio, but my son sat up and took notice when Dickow mentioned good ole ChucK the AtheisT as among his friends that call in to his show to offer the atheist perspective.
“Dad, he’s talking about you!”
Dickow was debating the absent straw man atheist as he often does. Not seeming to know much about science or indeed how evidence is actually obtained and weighed, he once again made the statement that the onus is on the atheist to scan the observable universe, every possible “corner” of it to prove that his god does not exist. My son then made the astute observation that it was up to Dickow to provide evidence for god.
“Good little man,” I thought. But then Dickow went through the litany of the lame evidence for god: the transformative and revelational truth that Dickow and other Christians have experienced and the “obvious” design in nature that should be self-evident to all. He believes it’s unintelligent not to see this truth.
“Dad, he called us ‘unintelligent!’”
Good little man.
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christianity. Show all posts
Monday, September 5, 2011
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The Homosexual Agenda
There’s something insidious that’s festering at the core of our society. It’s likely to take away all of our God-given rights in America and elsewhere. It’s the Homosexual Agenda. Our country is sliding to hell on a greased pole as we let those reprobates take over. They are trying to proselytize our children in the public schools in the guise of diversity and sensitivity training. It’s not about teaching tolerance, it’s about homosexual power. Before you go to sleep tonight, you had better look under your bed. Next to the demon that’s trying to convince you to masturbate, there’s probably also a homosexual that would just love to poison your mind. The LGBT community wants to create a culture of moral relativism and decadence. And you gay Christians had better watch out. If you think that God’s going to give you a pass because He’s supposed to be about love and forgiveness, you can forget about it.
If you’re wondering WTF ChucK the AtheisT is going on about, you well should. This is the nonsense that I heard (except for the masturbating demon), when I flipped on the Christian talk radio station, WYLL AM 1160 in Chicago last Saturday night. The program was called (and sponsored by) Americans for Truth (AFT), “a national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual agenda (1).” Read on, but later you should check out these folks. This den of radical fundamentalists tries to cloak their intolerance and paranoia in the guise of patriotism, nationalism, and the hopeless desire to return to the bygone days of Christian supremacy. But I think there’s more. For me the AFT and their ilk are projecting their own motivations onto gays and lesbians. The AFT accuses the LGBTC of a grab for power and thirst for cultural privilege that they wish for themselves as the chosen people of God.
The guest that was interviewed for the show was Robert Gagnon of the Pittsburgh Theological seminary. I haven’t done the work to investigate if this “scholar” has any financial ties to the AFT (campaigning, writing, or lecturing for fee), but I did surf a little and found the website for his book, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (2). This was at the top of the Google search. So minimally if you were to look this character up, the first thing you’d find promotes his book.
He started by warning us that gay and lesbian Americans have infiltrated public schools with literature and teaching programs that are designed to normalize the gay lifestyle in our society in the guise of promoting diversity and tolerance. Gagnon is disgusted that the LGBTC provides children’s stories that promote the gay agenda, which he asserts is part of a growing mandatory curriculum in the public schools. Then he blasts moderate Christians like Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at Grove City College, for advocating that the faith community should not discriminate against the LGBTC in the public sphere, and not try to derail attempts for at least a minimally humane recognition of civil unions. It’s easy to see where this is going. Gagnon blames moderated gay-friendly Christians like Throckmorton for contributing to the delinquency of minors and the discrimination of Christians.
Gay Christians are also targeted by Gagnon, because homosexuality is an abomination to God. If gay Christians persist in their sin, they will not inherit the Kingdom. This is somewhat in contradiction with the sort of apologetics that I’ve heard from my friend, Pastor Gregory Dickow, a mainstream Evangelical. Dickow avers that it is the belief in the atonement of Christ that results in salvation. People can accept biological evolution and be gay, and be no more of a sinner than the gossipy backbiters you might find at any local church. Sure Dickow believes that a transformation will eventually occur that will lead to conformity, but for him there is an acceptance of imperfection. Of course ChucK the AtheisT and I dare say most of you will have none of it, but you have to have sympathy for the confusion of Gay Christians, obviously not for their sexual orientation but their religious delusion. To be Christian and gay must be an incredible weight to bear. I think most atheists may hesitate to single them out
And saving the wacky bit for last, Gagnon makes a preposterous claim about some nonsense he calls “the scientific argument from disproportional harm.” He says that same-gender sexual behavior, like bestiality, incest, and polyamory, leads to an apparently exceptional amount of detrimental health and psychological effects. Of course there is not reference to any specific claim by anyone in the scientific community. Gagnon. His title at the Pittsburg Theological Seminary is “Associate Professor of New Testament.” I thought it was a typo, but I saw this title in a few places on his website. Apparently the seminary, a bastion of higher learning, has trouble knowing when to provide a noun with an article.
You’ve all probably heard of the Discovery Institute’s agenda and their Wedge Document (3). I submit to you that this is just another manifestation of fundamentalism thirsty for power. It’s so intellectually dishonest to resort to emotional manipulation to advance your agenda. You can appeal to the fear that your children will be brainwashed and your country will end up in ruin. If that doesn’t work at least you can keep Christians in line by threatening them with everlasting torture because of unrepentant homosexual sin in contradiction to what seemed to be the main message of Christianity, that the atonement of Christ pays the debt that your just god expects. No one, not even in the faith community, should have trouble seeing this sort of bull shit for what it is, a cynical grab for power and a return to Christian supremacy in America.
References:
1. Americans for Truth. http://www.americansfortruth.com/
2. Gagnon, R. 2002. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Abington Press: Nashville.
3. Anonymous. The Wedge Document: Intelligent Design Exposed. http://libcom.org/library/wedge-document-intelligent-design-exposed
If you’re wondering WTF ChucK the AtheisT is going on about, you well should. This is the nonsense that I heard (except for the masturbating demon), when I flipped on the Christian talk radio station, WYLL AM 1160 in Chicago last Saturday night. The program was called (and sponsored by) Americans for Truth (AFT), “a national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual agenda (1).” Read on, but later you should check out these folks. This den of radical fundamentalists tries to cloak their intolerance and paranoia in the guise of patriotism, nationalism, and the hopeless desire to return to the bygone days of Christian supremacy. But I think there’s more. For me the AFT and their ilk are projecting their own motivations onto gays and lesbians. The AFT accuses the LGBTC of a grab for power and thirst for cultural privilege that they wish for themselves as the chosen people of God.
The guest that was interviewed for the show was Robert Gagnon of the Pittsburgh Theological seminary. I haven’t done the work to investigate if this “scholar” has any financial ties to the AFT (campaigning, writing, or lecturing for fee), but I did surf a little and found the website for his book, The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics (2). This was at the top of the Google search. So minimally if you were to look this character up, the first thing you’d find promotes his book.
He started by warning us that gay and lesbian Americans have infiltrated public schools with literature and teaching programs that are designed to normalize the gay lifestyle in our society in the guise of promoting diversity and tolerance. Gagnon is disgusted that the LGBTC provides children’s stories that promote the gay agenda, which he asserts is part of a growing mandatory curriculum in the public schools. Then he blasts moderate Christians like Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist at Grove City College, for advocating that the faith community should not discriminate against the LGBTC in the public sphere, and not try to derail attempts for at least a minimally humane recognition of civil unions. It’s easy to see where this is going. Gagnon blames moderated gay-friendly Christians like Throckmorton for contributing to the delinquency of minors and the discrimination of Christians.
Gay Christians are also targeted by Gagnon, because homosexuality is an abomination to God. If gay Christians persist in their sin, they will not inherit the Kingdom. This is somewhat in contradiction with the sort of apologetics that I’ve heard from my friend, Pastor Gregory Dickow, a mainstream Evangelical. Dickow avers that it is the belief in the atonement of Christ that results in salvation. People can accept biological evolution and be gay, and be no more of a sinner than the gossipy backbiters you might find at any local church. Sure Dickow believes that a transformation will eventually occur that will lead to conformity, but for him there is an acceptance of imperfection. Of course ChucK the AtheisT and I dare say most of you will have none of it, but you have to have sympathy for the confusion of Gay Christians, obviously not for their sexual orientation but their religious delusion. To be Christian and gay must be an incredible weight to bear. I think most atheists may hesitate to single them out
And saving the wacky bit for last, Gagnon makes a preposterous claim about some nonsense he calls “the scientific argument from disproportional harm.” He says that same-gender sexual behavior, like bestiality, incest, and polyamory, leads to an apparently exceptional amount of detrimental health and psychological effects. Of course there is not reference to any specific claim by anyone in the scientific community. Gagnon. His title at the Pittsburg Theological Seminary is “Associate Professor of New Testament.” I thought it was a typo, but I saw this title in a few places on his website. Apparently the seminary, a bastion of higher learning, has trouble knowing when to provide a noun with an article.
You’ve all probably heard of the Discovery Institute’s agenda and their Wedge Document (3). I submit to you that this is just another manifestation of fundamentalism thirsty for power. It’s so intellectually dishonest to resort to emotional manipulation to advance your agenda. You can appeal to the fear that your children will be brainwashed and your country will end up in ruin. If that doesn’t work at least you can keep Christians in line by threatening them with everlasting torture because of unrepentant homosexual sin in contradiction to what seemed to be the main message of Christianity, that the atonement of Christ pays the debt that your just god expects. No one, not even in the faith community, should have trouble seeing this sort of bull shit for what it is, a cynical grab for power and a return to Christian supremacy in America.
References:
1. Americans for Truth. http://www.americansfortruth.com/
2. Gagnon, R. 2002. The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. Abington Press: Nashville.
3. Anonymous. The Wedge Document: Intelligent Design Exposed. http://libcom.org/library/wedge-document-intelligent-design-exposed
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