Recently a 17-year-old gay teenage youth was murdered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Another gay youth had been beaten in the same area by a man shouting anti-gay slurs at him and his partner. These were considered hate crimes. One of the gay advocacy leaders said, “The time is now to take a stand and say enough is enough.” The local newspaper posted a video on their website. Some are implying that the conservative churches in the area and their pastors are in some way responsible for acts of violence against gays. Do Bible standards produce hate?
Of course they produce hate, but not the kind of hate that hate-crimes supporters are talking about. Jesus hated evil. Hebrews 1:9 speaks of Jesus and says, “Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated evil.” But Jesus did not go around murdering people and beating them up. He gave His life for them that they might be delivered from enslavement to sin.
Homosexual activists are quick to exploit tragic news items such as this for their own political agenda. New and draconian hate crimes laws are the product. It’s a handy tool for bashing Christians and demonizing those who have biblical convictions. Gay activists are often guilty of Christian bashing, the very kind of bashing against homosexuals that they claim to oppose.
There is a massive campaign against smoking, and the dangerous effects of second-hand smoke. There are TV spots, newspaper and magazine reports, and testimonials from medical professionals. Are they guilty of promoting hatred against smokers? Should those who promote anti-smoking campaigns be considered accomplices in crime if a person who smokes cigarettes is found murdered? Should those who boycott tobacco companies be labeled hate-mongers?
Christians, and especially Christian leaders, must oppose all behavior that they consider sinful, whether it’s homosexuality, pornography, the illegal use of drugs, gambling, or gluttony. But while this is true, it is doubtful if those who participated in these attacks were faithful church members acting on the advice of their pastor or church leader. There have been several attacks against homosexuals that were reportedly done by right-wing fanatics.
A case in point is the murder of Matthew Shepard, the homosexual in Wyoming. The media first announced that the murder was committed by fundamentalist Christians, but later investigations found that the two perpetrators of this crime were young men who were totally bereft of a Christian lifestyle.