Published in the JHU Newsletter November 20, 2008. Written by Steve Iannelli.
Remember when God sent a hurricane to Louisiana to punish the sinful homosexuals in the New Orleans area? He claimed 1800 lives and 81 billion dollars worth of damage to make His point. Prominent pastors such as Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell made it plenty clear that this disaster was a message to homosexuals to stop their sinful ways and repent. As John Hagee said, "[they] were recipients of the judgment of God." Well John, God may have changed His mind.
With a small yet definitive win over the homosexuals of California, Proposition 8 successfully banned the state’s recognition of marriages between anyone except a man and a woman. Sparing little time, God resumed His naturally disastrous expression of divine opinion and set fire to the southern part of the Golden State. Over 10,000 acres have now been claimed in the name of gay marriage, and it doesn’t seem like God is finished. High winds (gusts up to 80mph), high temperatures, and low humidity have been sent to the area prompting Governor Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and Orange Counties. Burn anti-gay activists, burn! So saith the Lord!
Yet now I find myself confused. Doesn’t it seem strange for God, so adamant in His hatred for the homosexual agenda, to suddenly change His mind? Especially after His own agenda, that of denying citizens both marriage and reproductive rights, experienced such a major victory! Why haven’t the pastors spoken up? Where are John Hagee, James Dobson, Pat Robertson, and Ted Haggard to interpret the divine spark and enlighten us to the inner workings of the creator?
Queue James Hartline, born-again Christian and ex-homosexual from San Diego. "Each time homosexual activists attempt to force their agenda on California, there have been raging, massive, incinerating fires sweeping across the California landscape." But wait, James, didn’t the homosexual agenda experience a shattering blow from the passage of Proposition 8? "I have heard the voice of the Lord say, "This state belongs to God! I shall have My way, for this land, I created. And this land is Mine! California belongs to Me, not the advocates of sexual anarchy!"." According to Hartline, God has lifted His leg and claimed the land of 400 foot trees for Himself. Ever heard the phrase ‘pissing fire’? Now you know where it comes from.
So did God truly change His mind? Is it that outlandish to believe that He had a sudden change of heart? Geologists do claim that California is due for another large earthquake; maybe these fires are only a taste of what God has in store for the 52% of Californians opposed to same-sex marriages. Or is God still trying to send a message to homosexuals? He hasn’t yet claimed any lives. Is He holding back the full power of His wrath? Perhaps He is only warning the homosexual community that fighting back against the voice of the people will only condemn them to an expedited fiery grave.
Sorry Hagee, but I give the Christian God a little more credit than that. Jesus’ message to his followers is that of love. Jesus represented the unspoken for, he stood up for the weak and the oppressed. And most importantly, Jesus gave us the golden rule. As he said in Matthew 7:12 "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Or in layman’s terms, ‘do unto others as you would have done to you’. I don’t know what message God meant to send through previous attacks on our nation, but it surely wasn’t that of the golden rule. With this new message to the people of California, God finally realized the error of His ways and placed his support behind the rights of the minority.
So why hasn’t the church fallen in line? Surely Christians such as Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council and outspoken critic of gay marriage, don’t wish for the gay community to ban heterosexual marriage. Surely the Mormons didn’t raise 5 million dollars for Proposition 8 just so that they can express their disapproval of taboo kinds of marriage. Surely James Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, didn’t pump 600 thousand dollars into Prop 8 to demonstrate Jesus’ message of love. (Did I mention Focus on the Family is now laying off employees due to ‘insufficient funds’?)
God and His people have left me utterly confused yet again. Supporting Prop 8 is supporting discrimination. It is not supporting love. Maybe Jesus’ message has been lost throughout the years, but if so, it now falls on God to reignite the flame of love within the hearts of His people. Maybe they just haven’t drawn the connection yet.