An updated version of ‘Love the sinner, hate the sin”


David Brody writes for CBN (Christian Broadcast Network) which is an evangelical website founded by Pat Robertson and which broadcasts the 700 Club show where Robertson muses on all manner of topics, often unintentionally hilariously.

Brody’s recent article shows how things have changed because he asks whether evangelicals are now more ridiculed in the media than homosexuals.

Let’s be honest: If you are a conservative evangelical who believes in the biblical definition of traditional marriage then guess what? You are one of the following: An outcast, a bigot, narrow-minded, a “hater” or all of the above. It’s a different type of ridicule but it’s still ridicule.

I think he is slightly off in his criticism. Supporters of equal rights can say to evangelicals what they have been hearing from them for so long, that they love the ‘sinner’ but hate the ‘sin’, where the sin in this case is the rejection of the rights of the LGBT community to be treated equally.

Of course, this is as disingenuous on the part of supporters of LGBT equality as it was when evangelicals said it about homosexuality because it is hard to differentiate criticism of the person from that of the action, if the action is based on a strongly held belief by the person.

But what is interesting is that Brody acknowledges that the views of evangelical Christian on this issue is now a minority view, and he appeals to advocates of LGBT equality to treat evangelicals better on the basis of their common experience of being a minority.

The one thing that amused me is when Brody gives as an example of Christians being treated badly that “politicians like former Sen. Rick Santorum have been labeled part of a “Jesus-eating cult” (Whatever that means).” [My italics-MS]

Does he really not understand the basis of the phrase “Jesus-eating cult”? The act of communion may not be familiar to him in those words but surely the meaning is obvious?

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