Don’t forget the preacher on YouTube PROVING Young Earth Creationism through the Intelligent Design of the banana (“Just the right shape and size to fit the human mouth!”).

Where I come from, these are called “Unintentional Slashfic Setups” and are usually pretty hilarious in a “What Were They Thinking?” way. Left Behind is full of them, especially when LaHaye & Jenkins’ Author Self-Inserts are in-scene together. “Unintentional CANONICAL Slashfic Setups.”

Millions of little members of the worldwide F.F.A. (Future Followers of the Antichrist) have finally learned how to find a certain part of their lower anatomy and quickly touch it while dancing – thanks to Michael Jackson, the highest paid Lower Anatomy Toucher of all time! Special thanks also go to the Jesus-bashing, Hell-bound Hollywood moguls who were just as quick to see higher profits in lower anatomies! [Just saw this opinion on the web. Other grabby items on MSN, Google, etc. include "Separation of Raunch and State," "David Letterman's Hate, Etc.," "Tribulation Index becomes Rapture Index," and "Bible Verses Obama Avoids." - something for everyone!]

I have come to the same, sad conclusion over the past few years and have distanced myself from “crusading” political movements or parties as a result, having gone so far as to even officially change my party affiliation to “Independent.” When Jesus Christ commanded us to have a godly influence on this world, I do not think it was to be achieved through a “Christian” super-majority in Congress or constitutional amendment.

Honestly, even though there can be positive temporal consequences to living a life of virtue, what eternal good does is do anyone to have a Christian moral code legally forced upon them by the State without any underlying acceptance of Christ? Little to none, I would strongly suspect.

ahahahaha – this is why I love listening to your podcast – Hey, everyone, trust me, it is a worthwhile way of spending thirty minutes of your time.

Paradox: (a) the evangelical church has a bad reputation for being very abrasive and unloving towards the gay community, and (b) the evangelical church is becoming known, even among nonchristians (see South Park) for its worship songs like Jesus Take Me As I Am and Lord You Put a Tongue In My Mouth – these lyrics aren’t meant to sound homoerotic, and yet … just call it a tragic irony …

Good comments on reaching out to sinners. Seems we’re a little selective on which sinners we’re cool with reaching out to. This does need to change.

BUT I also strongly feel that the right-leaning church has dealt very badly with this issue. I concur with you that if it is a problem in the church, that’s where it should be dealt with…just like any other sin. The church has no right, no Biblical mandate, no example from Christ or the apostles to make the issue a national political one, as it has done. Frankly, I believe that the small part of the GLBT community that is so militant/activist is a result of evangelical politicizing of the thing. If Dobson, et al had left the matter at church, (if it ever surfaced there) I really wonder if the GLBT would even be so up in arms about ‘rights’ and ‘hatespeech’ etc. I’ve thought for awhile now that political evangelicalism (trying to shape culture only through legislation) is partly, if not mostly at fault for the very thing they fight against with such ‘christian’ love… (and all the while ignoring other things…like divorce, etc)

A final related thought. I don’t think any of this political/activist anti-gay fight the right-leaning church carries on has anything to do with saving souls or living out God’s kingdom here and now. No: it’s all about maintaining a comfortable cross-less culture where they don’t have to love and interact with the ‘enemy’ or face any discomfort/persecution for doing so. (A number of other issues fit into this as well, IMHO)

Blessings
Andrew Zook

And I like how you contrasted the noise about homosexuality against the silence about extra-marital heterosexual sin, rape and child molestation, which is most often perpetrated by heterosexual men and within families. I think that would be a difficult sermon to preach. The parable that comes to mind is the story about the plank in one’s eye that needs to be dealt with before the speck in the other’s.

Thought provoking podcast. God Bless.