Jesus Must Be SO EMBARRASSED!

Bishop Gene Robinson

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, USA. Visiting Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.

Sometimes, Jesus must just hold his head in his hands with embarrassment at being associated with people who claim to be his followers.
Jesus was always preaching compassion and acceptance for the most marginalized in his time, those pushed to the edges of society by the condemnation of secular and religious authorities. He saved his sharpest criticism for those who claimed to be religious, but seemed the most reluctant to reach out in love to society's outcast. From the religiously observant priest and Levite who passed by the man mugged and left for dead (and ultimately saved by The Good Samaritan), to the religious leaders who criticized him for dining with notorious sinners, Jesus rebuked those who claimed to do the loving will of God, but had little evidence to show for it.
There is a religious spectacle taking place in Congress right now that surely would make Jesus cringe. The debate surrounding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which just passed in the U.S. Senate and is now headed for the House, has a number of religious leaders arguing against it. The proposed legislation would make it illegal to fire someone from her/his job simply for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Oddly enough, 90% of Americans believe this protection is already in place for LGBT workers. But they would be wrong. That protection only exists for gay and lesbian citizens in 21 states, and only 17 of those states include protections for transgender people based on gender identity. So, in most U.S. states, there is no legal recourse when someone LGBT is fired - not for poor performance on the job, but simply because the boss discovered that the person is LGBT.
Although the membership of every major Christian denomination shows a majority of support for this legislation, opposition to this bill is coming in large part from many of the leaders of these same religious denominations, demanding ever-broader exemption from the provisions of this law. One amendment which would have added these exemptions to ENDA was defeated in the Senate, but will undoubtedly reappear in the House debate. They would create a hole in the protections big enough to drive a PopeMobile through. It would allow an exception for non-profits and for-profits alike from having to implement the legislated protections, providing they could show at least a thin connection to some religious entity which takes a dim view of LGBT people.
For instance, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops is vigorously opposing ENDA, asserting that their right to discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity is essential to Catholics' religious liberty. Now stop, and just take that in for a moment. A Church, dedicated to following the man known for his outreach and compassion for the marginalized, petitioning the government to be exempted from the fair treatment of marginalized and vulnerable LGBT people. It takes my breath away.
Can you imagine what Jesus might have said to St. Peter if the disciple had requested an exemption from Jesus' command to "love your enemies?!" What if disciples James and John had argued with Jesus about whether or not "love your neighbor as yourself" actually should apply to them in all cases? What would Jesus have said to the good, religious people of his time when they asked for an exemption to Jesus' command to "love one another as I have loved you," based of course upon their deeply-held, religious beliefs?
I don't know what he would have said. But the shortest verse in all of scripture probably describes what he would have done upon hearing their request: "Jesus wept."
The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress, Washington, DC, and is the recently retired IX Bishop of New Hampshire.

North Carolina Republican switches to Democrat, writes a blistering assessment of the GOP

November 1, 2013

By Anomaly

A Republican congressional candidate is renouncing his party and switching his affiliation to Democrat writing, “Enough is enough’ in a statement released today.
North Carolina Republican Jason Thigpen, is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Walter Jones in the 3rd Congressional District, and wrote a detailed assessment of the GOP, saying his shift was precipitated by the tea party push for a government shutdown, the NewsObserver reports. 

His statement reads in part:

I simply cannot stand with a Party where its most extreme element promote hate and division amongst people. Nothing about my platform has, nor will it change. The government shutdown was simply the straw that broke the camels back. I guess being an American just isn’t good enough anymore and I refuse to be part of an extremist movement in the GOP that only appears to thrive on fear and hate mongering of anyone and everyone who doesn’t walk their line. We’ve received some wonderful support by numerous leaders and members within the NC GOP, as the vast majority of Republicans are wonderful, hard-working people that don’t agree with those radical nut-jobs either but unfortunately the extremists in the party, with their ‘burn it all down’ philosophy, appear to be the ones turning out the majority of voters in the primaries and mid-term elections. And I want the people to know there is a choice.”
…
Thigpen further explains, “I didn’t go to war to defend the liberties and freedoms of one Party, race, sex, or one income class of Americans. Whether white, black, Hispanic, Asian, man, woman, gay, lesbian, straight, rich, or poor – we fought together as equals, side-by-side for the benefit of every American in the same. So, to come home from serving our country and see North Carolina legislators using their super-majority status to gerrymander districts and pass a law to deliberately suppress and oppress the voting rights of Democrats but more specifically minorities and college students, is absolutely deplorable.
This same group of spineless legislators piggybacked a motorcycle safety bill with legislation intentionally geared to shut down women’s health clinics because of their ‘right righteous’ beliefs on abortion, while then cutting funding to the programs which help feed and provide healthcare to the babies they invariably forced the same women to have. Sounds like the Christian thing to do, huh? These legislators, acting under the guise of the religious right and morality believe themselves to be the divine judge but according to the Bible, there is only one judge.
They say they’re for a smaller government and individual rights while pushing legislation for more government intervention and regulation usurping our right to choose for ourselves. They take money away from the public school system so they can call it broken, only to give the money to their charter schools that are really private schools, just so our kids don’t go to the same school as theirs all the while giving some great speech trying to convince us it isn’t segregation. Right. But all along, they seemingly want you to believe that you have a choice – like ‘cake or death.’

What took him so long?

FRC Literally Prays To God To Kill ENDA And Keep LGBT People From ‘Inappropriate Occupations’

 by David Badash on October 31, 2013

No doubt you are always amused when anti-gay hate groups bemoan their all-too-well-earned label of anti-gay hate group. They always claim it’s unfair, that they aren’t haters, that they’re merely following God’s will, or God’s word, or that it’s the fault of the liberal Southern Poverty Law Center which calls anyone who disagrees with “God’s view of marriage” a hate group.
Of course, that’s all false.
The Southern Poverty Law Center takes great pains and spends years studying groups before they label them hate groups.
And those hate groups always keep working to earn that label.
Take the Family Research Council, who yesterday offered this disgusting statement attacking ENDA:

“This law would mandate the employment of homosexual, bisexual and ‘transgendered’ individuals in inappropriate occupations, disregarding the fact that sexual conduct may be relevant to employment.”

That’s just all kinds of wrong — and, quite possibly already illegal if put into practice.
What is an “inappropriate occupation” for an LGBT person, anyway?
Knowing that the Senate will likely vote on ENDA, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, next week, and seeing the huge momentum the bill is gathering, what does Tony Perkins‘ Family Research Council do?
Pray to God ENDA is defeated.
Yes, literally pray to God:

May ENDA, first introduced in 1996, be decisively defeated. May deceptive and inadequate religious liberty amendments not distract Congressmen from taking a principled stand on the issue. May God intervene to prevent furtherance of this law, which would plant homosexuality even more deeply into the fabric of our society. Bring millions who need Christ into His kingdom, including those involved in sexual sins, both homosexual and heterosexual (Josh 1:7; Ps 85:6; Is 10:1; 59: all; 64:1-9; 1 Tim 1:9).

And to support their “prayer,” the FRC offers this:
“ENDA will impact private and public employers and workplaces like the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell impacted the U.S. Military.”
How has DADT repeal impacted the military? The last study we could find found less than five service member quit the military because of DADT’s repeal.
“Military leaders and chaplains are now caught in crises of religious conscience over elevating homosexual rights above religious liberty. Christian service personnel are bearing the brunt.”
In other words, all of a sudden it’s unacceptable to make fun of gay people. It’s no longer acceptable to preach to gays that they’re going to hell. Sorry, FRC, that’s not a right, that’s just offensive.
“Employers and employees will similarly be required to give special treatment to LGBT employees. This law would mandate the employment of homosexual, bisexual and ‘transgendered’ individuals in inappropriate occupations, disregarding the fact that sexual conduct may be relevant to employment. ENDA would open America’s businesses to a host of lawsuits and, I predict, more anti-Christian bias in business, just as is now happening in the military.”
Again, it’s not “anti-Christian bias” to ask someone to treat people equally, and to not tell them they’re going to hell for being born LGBT.
Hate hiding behind the bible is still hate — and there’s no room for it in the 21st century.

Hat tip: Right Wing Watch
Image of Tony Perkins via FRC on Facebook
The New Civil Rights Movement