Kirk Cameron knows NOTHING about humility or the love of God

Former child star Kirk Cameron recently gave a speech at Liberty University in which he talked about the controversy stemming from his interview on Piers Morgan's talk show. Naturally, he made himself look like the victim:

 

For the edification of those who do not know what Cameron actually said, this is the portion of the interview in question:

 

My personal opinion is simple. When Cameron voiced his disagreement with marriage equality, that was fine. He had every right. However, where I draw the line is when he called being gay "detrimental" and "destructive." He wasn't talking about an "ism." He was talking about actual people and actual families, many whom he had never met.

As a matter of fact, when a group of gay students wanted to have a meeting with him about his comments, Cameron refused.

That's the problem with folks like Cameron. Their words and actions are not about bringing glory to God or understanding to the human experience as it relates to God.

 It's all about them and their so-called "strong convictions." It's all about their egos.

Despite of what Cameron claimed in his Liberty University speech, there is no love in his words to Piers Morgan nor is he a victim.

To me, the real victim is a young gay child who hears those words and hates him or herself a little more. Who is there for them while Cameron basks in his martyrdom and self-victimhood? Who is going to be there for them while Cameron basks in his media attention and receives praises from religious right groups and their supporters?

In Matthew 25:40, Jesus said " . . .whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."

I don't think he meant kicking an anonymous gay child in the face and then bragging about it later.

Take the hint, Kirk.

Presenting probably the most asinine reason to oppose marriage equality

There is an old adage which says give a man enough rope and he will hang himself. In the case of the audio above, I think the adage should be give a bigot enough space and watch her make a fool of herself. With that, I present to you NOM's Jennifer Morse with possibly the dumbest reason EVER to oppose marriage equality. And I think it says more about her biases as a person than marriage equality itself.

Hat tip to Equality Matters. 

'Anti-gay teacher resigns after controversy' and other Thursday midday news briefs

N.J. high school teacher who made anti-gay comments on web resigns - Remember Viki Knox, the teacher who got into trouble for criticizing a pro-gay display at her school and whom NOM was canonizing as a martyr. Well as it turns out, she has resigned and this article includes other portions of the story which NOM omitted. She may have been making outrageous charges against lesbian and gay teachers.  

Anti-Gay Strategist Feigns Ignorance About Campaigns’ Harms - Frank Schubert, the NOM mastermind of the "gays want to harm children" lie doesn't think that the claim doesn't harm anyone. Schubert's sister, by the way, is a lesbian raising children. 

 Maryland Marriage Alliance head: Gay families 'not God's best' - And they are bashing gay families again.  

Happy National Coming Out Day…messages from Harvey Milk - After all of that ugly news, let's get some inspiration. 

Pastor - if you vote for Obama, you deserve your misfortune

According to Right-Wing Watch, Bishop Harry Jackson preached a blistering sermon telling folks that if they vote for President Obama, they are voting against God and deserve any misfortune they get.

Transcript:

Listen to me Black Christian. You are foolish enough to vote against the God that brought you out of slavery, the God that brought you out of the civil rights thing. Just because somebody’s skin is black, you’re gonna support an anti-God, anti-Gospel agenda -- no wonder you can’t get a job. If you celebrate your race over grace you ought to do badly. God is spanking you right now. And I got news, you heard it right here, the folks that sign onto this now and support the president right now in this will find that their best days are behind them….Four more years of Barack Obama will ensure an aggressive anti-Christian spirit that has currently grabbed hold of the administration and this country. Beware my Christian friend, you should not vote for Barack Obama 

Naturally one of the reasons he mentioned has to do with President Obama's support of gay equality. Jackson's sermon was his participation in an event called Pulpit Freedom Sunday, in which religious right groups encourage pastors to endorse or rebuke candidates in the pulpit.

If Jackson was a true Christian, he should talk about something more important, like how the influence of money can taint everyone.

Of course he wouldn't and the irony is that particular sermon would relate to him.

Remember, Jackson, has already received a grand total of $80,000 from the National Organization for Marriage for his efforts against marriage equality.

So my guess is that when he preached this sermon, his eyes wasn't on God, but his bank account.

New effort to harm Obama in eyes of black voters will fail

Alveda King

According to the Advocate magazine, there is now a HUGE effort to keep African-Americans from voting for President Obama because of his support of marriage equality:

A nonprofit group of African-American faith leaders has pledged $1 million toward an anti-Obama ad campaign encouraging black voters to abandon the president at polls in November, due to his support for marriage equality. The group, which calls itself God Said, aims to strip Obama of 25% of his African-American support, asking voters not to cast a ballot by political affiliation, but rather to vote "their biblical values."

On Tuesday, the newly formed group announced its plan to target voters with radio and TV ads in the swing states of Ohio, Virginia, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and Florida, according to The Daily Caller .

"The black community is among the most religious in America," founder Apostle Claver Kamau-Imani told The Daily Caller in a statement. "We are offended that President Obama has announced his support of same-sex marriage, that the NAACP has blindly supported the secular views of the Democratic Party, and that their national platform plainly supports same-sex marriage. I am confident this message will be well received and acted upon on Election Day."

According to the group's website — which features an ominous video preaching that "God said marriage equals one man and one woman" — its founders hope to "impact the social and cultural climate; to bring about a notable, nonpartisan support of natural marriage and natural family life in the African American community and society as a whole."

In addition to Kamau-Imani, the executive board of God Said also includes former Miss America contestant Day Gardner, and Alveda King, the right-wing niece of Dr. Martin Luther King.

So this "group"  is targeting Obama in the swing states; states crucial for victory. How convenient. 

Personally, I have never heard of these folks except for Alveda King and if this woman is involved then hold your nose so you don't smell the distinctive wafts of a rat.

For those who don't know, Alveda King has made a career out of being the niece of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She has self-anointed herself as the designee of his legacy in civil rights and is almost always called upon if conservatives or members of the religious right needs a token African-American to somehow make it seem that their policies and efforts are universal.

However, other than exploiting her uncle's name, King has done absolutely nothing for the civil rights movement. In an interview I conducted with her earlier this year (in which I confronted charges she made about Bayard Rustin, the openly gay organizer of the 1963 March on Washington), she could not tell me what her participation was in the civil rights movement nor could she defend the charges she made against Rustin. I guess that's why she hung up on me.

Any group or effort which Alveda King is involved in when it concerns civil rights should be taken with a grain of salt. A very small grain of salt.

But even if King wasn't involved in this endeavor, it would fail anyway because of its own ego. The organization made a huge mistake in revealing how much money will go into its effort to undermine Obama's African-American support.

Or to put it in the vernacular of so many African-Americans who will read this article - "where in the hell are they getting $1 millon from?"

This silly organization with a cute name, will, no doubt, be correctly pegged as an astroturfed group which is backed by predominantly white organizations who actually support Obama's opponent, Mitt Romney.

We already saw that with the Coalition of African-American ministers (CAAP), who has received funding from the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage - two group who support Romney.

And we already saw that with Bishop Harry Jackson, a black pastor who received a grand total of $80,000 from the National Organization for Marriage for his efforts against marriage equality.

So there is no question that this new group  - thanks to its ego in announcing its funding - will fail.

The only question I have is how much of that $1 million will magically ease its way into Alveda King's purse.

'African-American leaders push back hard against anti-marriage equality argument' and other Wednesday midday news briefs

Video: Southern Baptist for Maryland equality - The next time someone accuses black ministers being at the forefront of homophobia, show them these videos. Just awesome:





 It's a welcome change from the attacks on our families by bought-and-paid for pastors like Harry Jackson

In other news:

Former NOM president: Marriage is not a “civil rights issue” - From the sound of the article, Maggie Gallagher got some serious push back against her positions from some African-American leaders. I wish I had been there.  

Transgender Voters Could Be Disenfranchised By Voter ID Laws, Advocates Warn - Better safe than sorry. Transgender voters need to know this info before they attempt to vote.

 Preserve Marriage Washington Sidelines Ken Hutcherson, Imports Harry Jackson To Play “Homophobic Black Pastor” - That's gotta be nice. Disposable homophobic black pastors. Just throw the one you are finished with in the trash and pop in a new one.

 

Bishop tells woman she risks going to hell if she accepts her gay son

Nienstedt

What you are seeing is an unbelievably cruel letter by Minnesota Archbishop John Nienstedt to a mother of a gay son in 2010. In essence, it's telling her that if she accepts her gay son, she risks going to hell.

Apparently this is par for the course for Nienstedt. According to an article in the Minnesota's Star Tribune, Nienstedt has raised eyebrow with how he has led the charge against marriage equality in Minnesota:

Working aggressively behind the scenes, the 65-year-old Nienstedt has emerged as a key financial and political force for passage of the marriage amendment, which will be on the Nov. 6 ballot and is the most contentious issue in the state this election season.

He has committed more than $650,000 in church money, stitched together a coalition of leaders from other faiths and exerted all his power within the church to press Minnesota's million-plus Catholics to back him.

 . . .  Nienstedt is not a new disciple to the traditional marriage campaign. In 2006, as bishop of the diocese of New Ulm, he mobilized Catholics to send postcards to lawmakers urging them to support a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Not long after he was promoted to archbishop in 2008, Nienstedt ordered an end to the gay pride prayer service at St. Joan of Arc Church in Minneapolis. Before the 2010 election, he led a move to send DVDs opposing same-sex marriage to 400,000 Catholics in Minnesota . . .


 . . .   Undeterred by the criticism, Nienstedt has raised the stakes. To a mother who pleaded for acceptance for her gay child, he wrote: "I urge you to reconsider the position that you expressed. ... Your eternal salvation may well depend upon a conversation of heart on this topic."

To clergy, he issued orders that no "open dissension" would be allowed. He wrote one outspoken priest, the Rev. Mike Tegeder, that if he persisted, "I will ... remove you from your ministerial assignments."

"He silenced his priests under the order of obedience," said Ed Flahavan, a member of Former Priests for Marriage Equality, a group that went public in May with the names of 80 former Minnesota Catholic priests against the amendment. "It's the first time in my experience or knowledge that kind of blanket order has been given" in this archdiocese.

Individual Catholics have seen their parishes directed to form committees to work for passage of the amendment. The archdiocese also appointed married couples to talk up marriage at Catholic high schools. Nienstedt asked priests to recite a "marriage prayer" during mass.

Folks like Nienstedt is most likely the reason why some people are making the choice to turn away from religion.