Beware of the 'yeah, but' Christian

Say what you will about the religious right, their behavior is a boon for people who like to create new words and phrases.

Sometimes the only way you can describe their actions is to invent new words and phrases.

Take my favorite phrase for example - headless monsters. A headless monster is a story or an idea that consistently gets refuted but continues to be repeated as truth due to the ignorance or the blind persistence of those repeating it.

Like the notion that "homosexuality takes decades off of your life," or "gay men molest children at a very high level."

Recent events have led me to create another new phrase to describe the religious right - the "yeah, but" Christian.

The "yeah, but" Christian is someone who, when caught in a contradiction or hypocrisy, pulls an addendum out of the air supposedly justifing his or her behavior even if he or she rails against someone else for behaving in the same manner and if said behavior contradicts all that he or she claims to stand for.

Take this case for example courtesy of One News Now:

Opposition is mounting to the University of Notre Dame's invitation to President Obama to be a commencement speaker in May.

Inviting the most pro-abortion president in history to speak at a Catholic school is not the only issue, according to David Castanzo is a spokesman for the Cardinal Newman Society.

"For a Catholic institution to make a clear and decisive move to award a doctoral degree to an individual who is so opposed to the pro-life movement, that is where the primary conflict comes into play," he explains.

The Catholic League is taking no official position, believing it is a matter for the church to resolve internally. But spokeswoman Susan Fani does encourage people to go to NotreDameScandal.com to sign a petition drive launched by the Cardinal Newman Society.

By reading many of the comments on this article, a lot of folks aren't exactly happy with Notre Dame for inviting President Obama.

But weren't some these folks the same people who gave the lgbt community hell during the Rick Warren situation. Weren't we accused of being intolerant and not wanting to "start a dialogue" with folks who think that homosexuality is a sin?

Aren't some of these individuals guilty of the same bit of "intolerance?"

"Yeah, but abortion is murder. No middle ground."

Then there is this situation:

A self-proclaimed bisexual male teacher in New York has invited his seventh-grade students and their parents to witness his commitment ceremony to another man.

The New York Times reports 32-year-old Chance Nalley gave slips of paper to his entire seventh-grade class at Columbia Secondary School, inviting them to the upcoming ceremony to be held at St. Paul's Chapel on the campus of Columbia University on April 4.

Nalley teaches math, science, and engineering at the school -- "whose mission statement includes a commitment to diversity," notes the Times. Nalley reportedly obtained his principal's support before coming out to his students in the fall of 2007, when the school opened.

And of course some of the comments from this article is screaming bloody murder.

But aren't some of these the same folks who believe that parents should be the final word when it comes to the raising of children? If the parents allow their children to attend, then what's the problem?

"Yeah, but homosexuality is a sin."

Yet another addendum.

If this sort of thing keeps up, then my next book will be a religious right-to-English dictionary.

Thursday mid day news briefs

Barney clariifies remarks on Scalia - Don't back down, Barney!

NC: lobbying black legislators during the Day of Action was an eye-opening experience - An excellent post giving a good reason why more needs to be done to not allow folks to divide the lgbt and African-American experience. People like myself shouldn't have to "choose" to be either gay or black.

Ugandan Gov’t Poised to Take “Stern Action” Against Gays - This shit is getting waaay past scary.

Ugly situation in Uganda intensifies

Anti-gay spokespeople from the United States went to Uganda for a "conference" and the next thing you know, villification of the lgbt community in that country intensified:

Two newspaper (so far) and three television stations in Uganda have reported on a sensationalistic press conference organized by Stephen Langa, director of Kampala-based Family Life Networks, which appears to be the start of a fresh public anti-gay vigilante campaign.

The Ugandan media is continuing to take notice of the recent anti-gay conferences and meetings which have been taking place in Kampala the past few weeks. The most recent meeting was held on March 22. These series of meetings were instigated by a three-day conference organized by Langa and featured talks by three American anti-gay activists, including Exodus board member Don Schmierer, Holocaust revisionist Scott Lively, and Richard Cohen protegé Caleb Lee Brundidge.

The lie of recruiting children has been (and continues to be) a staple in anti-gay hysteria, especially in this country. But imagine, if you will, having the full brunt of the media and the government behind these lies:

Ugandan news media have been issuing regular reports of that conference and two follow-up meetings which have been held on successive Sundays since then. The latest one from Uganda Pulse reported on a press conference held today:

Parents in Uganda have expressed concern over the increasing levels of homosexuality, defilement and sexual harassments of children. The parents under the Family Life Network (FLN) says that information revealed from several reliable sources indicates that many children in schools are facing horror, frustration, mental and psychological torture for being cajoled into homosexuality.

FLN’s Executive Director, Langa Steven say [sic] that there are agents involved in recruiting children into homosexuality and lesbianism. Langa says that these suspected groups take advantages children by using deception, manipulation and coercion.

Pastor Joseph Male who addressed a press conference in Kampala with Langa also says that findings show that immorality groups are recruiting children into homosexuality. He says these homosexual promoters hide behind human rights organization and claim to be protecting sex minorities Uganda.

Pastor Male claims that these groups spend about 2,000,000 per week to recruit university students into homosexuality and lesbianism.

And this only scratches the surface of what they are doing over there. My prayers go out to my lgbt brothers and sisters in Uganda.

Big props to Box Turtle Bulletin which has published a brilliant report on anti-gay activities in Uganda:

Complete BTB Coverage:

Mar 26: The “Ex-Gay” Star of the Uganda Anti-Gay Campaign

Mar 25: More on Uganda Anti-Gay Vigilante Incitement

Mar 25: Another Anti-Gay Vigilante Campaign May Have Begun In Uganda

Mar 23: Schmierer’s & Lively’s Uganda Talks Continue to Reverberate

Mar 17: Lively Defends Forced Therapy Proposal

Mar 16: Commentary: When Good Men Do Nothing

Mar 13: Sanctimony Alert

Mar 13: Scott Lively and Alan Chambers Respond to Questions About Uganda Conference

Mar 13: Exodus Applauds Schmierer’s Part in Uganda Conference

Mar 12: South African LGBT Advocates Condemn Exodus

Mar 12: Ex-Exodus Minister Condemns Uganda Conference

Mar 12: Ugandan Conference Leaders Call For Another Meeting While Pushing Pedophilia Theme; Exodus Continues Silence

Mar 11: Open Letter To the Exodus International Board of Directors

Mar 10: Scott Lively: The Gay Agenda Is “To Turn The Whole World Gay”

Mar 9: Exodus Removes Link To Scott Lively From Its Web Site

Mar 9: EU Group Condemns Ugandan Conference

Mar 8: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Three — Gays Blamed For Rwandan Genocide & Pedophilia; More Exodus Ties To Holocaust Revisionism

Mar 6: Uganda Anti-Gay Conference: Day Two

Mar 6: Exodus’ Silence About Uganda: Day Five

Mar 6: Exodus Board Member Participates In Uganda Conference Calling For Forcing Gays Into Conversion Therapy

Mar 5: Anti-Gay Conference Kicks Off In Kampala

Mar 5: Warren Throckmorton Speaks Out Against Uganda Conference

Mar 5: International LGBT Group Expresses Concern About Uganda Conference

Mar 2: Anonymous Ugandan Blogger Wants Answers From American Anti-Gay Activists

Feb 24: Exodus Board Member Joins Nazi Revisionist At Uganda Conference