They Came For.....

“The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. “The tragedy is — I’m kind of upset that he didn’t finish the job!” ~ Pastor Roger Jimenez

 “I’ll pray to God that God will finish the job that that man started,” ~ Pastor Donnie Romero

“I don’t believe it’s right for us to just be a vigilante, but these people all should have been killed, anyway, but they should have been killed through the proper channels, as in they should have been executed by a righteous government.” ~ Pastor Steven Anderson

In addition to the above, very un-Christian remarks, I had the misfortune of reading an article today that was written by a Christian journalist and printed in a Christian publication. The gist of the article was the irritation that the writer and others of his ilk have with the LGBTQ community because they feel that they “extended an olive branch” to them (along with the tired old “love the sinner, hate the sin” line) and the community responded negatively.

I wonder what they expected.

It seems to have escaped these folks that their olive branch is extended with conditions; we will “love” you because we have been told we have to. Remember? That pesky old Matthew 22:39 “And the second is like to it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” That’s the end of the verse. It doesn’t say “EXCEPT……”

It has also escaped them that this community has suffered being beaten, abused, slaughtered and bullied into suicide for a very long time. Find an LGBTQ person and ask them if they have suffered some sort of abuse because of their orientation. I guarantee you, 100% will answer with a yes. I don’t need to be asked. The first time I stood outside a club in downtown Cleveland and got beaten to a pulp was 1975. I was 16 and waiting for a friend to leave the club to go to a party. Three people got out of a car, chased me down, told me they were going to teach me a lesson about being a “dyke” and pummeled me until someone heard the ruckus and came outside. So, I think a bit of understanding where the reluctance is rooted in the community to reject the alleged olive branch.

It’s also honestly insulting to hear the words “lifestyle” and “choice” when it comes to orientation. Who would CHOOSE to be in a minority that is told constantly that they are less human, less deserving of spending their life with someone they love, a target for every radical religious fanatic on the planet and reminded that the way God made them has relegated them to second-class status for life.

 I am often reminded of an old quote by Pastor Martin Niemöller. I am finding it increasingly relevant to the world we now inhabit:

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a communist; Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist; Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist; Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew; Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

 Do we never learn?
They came for the Native Americans……
They came for the “witches”…..
They came for the Africans…..
They came for the Chinese…….
They came for the Irish…….
They came for the Italians…...
They came for the Polish……
They came for the Jews…….
They came for the Japanese……
They came for the Germans…..
They came for the Muslims…..
They came for the Mexicans….
 They came for the gays…….
They came for…………….