I may be treading into waters here that are better left untouched, but this sort of teaching had a profound effect on me shortly after my conversion to Christianity, and drove me into a sort of spiritual dormancy less than six months after my awakening.  Ironically, it was an atheist homosexual that re-awakened me, but that is a story for another time.  As I explained in a post about some of my personal journey to find my voice:

When I became a Christian, I did not have very good bible teaching. I attended church sporadically because of my schedule. Fred Phelps was very active on my campus and cast everything remotely Christian in the shadow of his presence. The single most memorable event in college was trying to get to the student union during Gay Pride Week. He staged a protest and I had to walk the gauntlet between the two groups, bombarded with signs saying, “God hates f*gs” and so-called Christians screaming hateful things and trying to shout down the speakers for the event.

I was horrified, but did not know enough to realize that what these people were doing was not Christian. So I did not identify myself publicly as a Christian because to do so meant I was involved with that. Instead, I was silent.

So what do you think of sermons like this?  [WARNING: Offensive language and you likely do not want your children listening to this. ]

I cannot listen to it outside my own frame of reference…as a new convert intimidated by the same tone, the same language, the same hatred.  As a Christian moved to silence and a witness muted due to lack of understanding of what was going on.

Pharyngula sees a “terrifying, crazy Republican woman” (referring to the author of Homeschooling Hints who has been posting on this issue).  I see another, more subtle, attack on Christianity.  As few in number as they may be, it is views like these which are driving legislation which will eventually affect all of us.  Not to mention the more important issue of the number of people they succeed in driving away from Christ rather than merely into spiritual dormancy for a couple of years.

What do you think?  And how do you respond?

Christianity homosexuality Stephen L Anderson Faithful Word Baptist Church