Ain't No Homos Gonna Make it to Heaven

A couple of days ago a child, identified as a four year old, was invited up to the pulpit in the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Indiana.  There he sang the following passage three times:

The Bible's right, somebody's wrong.
The Bible's right, somebody's wrong.
Romans one, twenty six and twenty seven;
Ain't no homos gonna make it to Heaven.

Leaving aside the grotesque crimes of the double-negative and the verb-noun agreement, the Christian congregation burst into cheers and cries of support, effectively rewarding the child for spouting forth this hatred.  The video can be watched here.

It is quite clear that the child is a victim in this.  Just like children in the 3rd Reich, indoctrinated to revile the mythical Jew figure, he presumably has no understanding of what a "homo" has.  He and other children will grow up hating them, whoever and whatever they come to represent to him, his family and the community of his church.  Pity him if at 13 or 14 he discovers he is one himself.  Pity any other gay person he ever comes into contact with, including possible family members, later in life.

Apostolic Truth Tabernacle: if this is truth, God help us

The anti-gay hatred that is being whipped up across the United States currently is following the political movement to give same sex marriage equality.  The struggle follows closely the pattern of the civil rights movement in the 1960s: states on the East and West coasts pressing on with equality whilst large swathes of the middle of the country resist.

The epicentres of hate are once more small rural Christian communities.  Substitute "n****r" for "homo" and we are right back there again.  Racism was justified on the basis of scripture for centuries.  The Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa claimed political apartheid was part of God's commandment until the early 90s.  Christian preachers in segregated communities lectured on the evils of "black" music such as jazz and rock and resolutely supported the oppression of a minority based on Jesus' word.  Of course the perversion of - at least what I understand as - actual Christian teachings is breathtaking.

As I have quoted before on this blog, in the short history of the civil rights movement there is one recurrent truth; the group fighting for equal rights, sooner or later, wins.  Legal battles in Washington will determine the outcome here once again, but the damage being done is immense.

The debate on marriage equality has been (for the large part) conducted here with much more British reserve.  Those at the vanguard of opposing it have, of course, been Christians, but there has always been a sugar coating that people like the Archbishop of York put on it.  This, yesterday on Twitter, was a rare slipping of the mask:

(Tweet since deleted by the author)

Those against marriage equality in this country, like it or not and deny it or not, are aligning themselves with the likes of people at the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle.  They are seeking to discriminate against a group of people on no other basis than "we have it, so you can't."  I perceive attempts to stop same-sex marriage as a direct homophobic attack on me, my friends, and on my community.  To deny us this is to say we are different, second class, deserving of less - however you dress it up.  You may politely  say "You know, I fear this may in time undermine the basis of a long standing institution" over a nice cup of tea, or you may stand up in church and shout and cheer to "Ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven".  You are saying the same thing.

The language of hate is vicious, it affects people in unknown ways and it sends long lasting ripples around the world.  It is 2012, not 1964 or 1933.  This has to stop.

If you have not already done so, please visit the C4EM website and fill out the government consultation on same-sex marriage.  It only takes a moment and there is just over a week left.