Anti-Gay organization complains about Christians being persecuted in foreign nations, but doesn't want the U.S. State Dept. to protect LGBT.
Christians complaining that they are being persecuted as they would want to persecute Gays.
There is an organization which is in the conservative news outlets which is always reporting the persecution of Christians someplace outside the United States called International Christian Concern (ICC) with a website as follows:
Persecution | Your bridge to the persecuted
Every year, 200 million Christians suffer some level of persecution. The press is silent and the Western Church is…www.persecution.org
NOTE: I will have links to these pages saved at the Internet Archive incase they try to pull them off the web or change their URL. I will have these links at the end of this essay.
This organization doesn’t see religious freedom as part of a larger concern for human rights which would include LGBT. Note this document. It is The International Religious Freedom Review: Collected Writings from the International Christian Concern Fellows Program.”
On page 9 in that document, Peter Burns, is arguing against the policy of the U.S. President Obama administration State Department advocating for the rights of “LGBTQ communities and minorities.” The following are some quotes from this essay.
So what’s interesting to me is that both of those are issues that I think did not translate well to the people, the audiences that we were pushing them towards. I think that religious freedom is a lot more universal and a better message for the U.S. to have as our flag, our forward facing value proposition.
Burns positions advocating for LGBTQ as being out of step with the values of the world stating.
I think that religious freedom as a value proposition is something that other countries can find much more space to engage with and usually be more receptive to. Also, it is probably more representative of the international community, since America is one of the more postmodern states in the world, one of those trending away from religion being part of civic life as opposed to the rest of the world where it’s still deeply ingrained in civic life.
Burns advocates that the U.S. State Dept. concern itself with religious freedom only because:
… it could be the antidote to some of our mistaken attempts to thrust our values on other countries, …
Burns is arguing that having the U.S. State Dept. support the rights of LGBT as being an act of aggression against foreign nations, but not supporting the rights of Christians.
Peter Burns essay advocating the U.S. State Department dropping LGBT rights first appeared in a document posted online titled, “Religious Freedom: An Essential Tool of Statecraft,” which had the same essay as printed in the Journal mentioned previously.
It needs to be noted that both publications are from the year 2020. This isn’t something in the past that they can dismiss as some attitude they have had but have become enlighten and no longer have.
In a lot of places around the world whole sale government persecution and murderous policies are held in check or minimized by the fact that the U.S. government expresses opposition to them. This organization puts the safety of millions, tens of millions of gay people around the world at risk and endangers the lives of millions of gay people around the world. When the U.S. embassy has a Pride event or flys the Pride flag, it sends a powerful message that the prejudice against LGBT isn’t universal and that there are nations on the earth which accept LGBT. To individual gay people in those countries it tells them that there are alternative opinions about being gay by credible entities and not to hate themselves or accept local hatred of them as valid.
FIRST ISSUE: Some organizations expressing concern over anti-Christian policies overseas don’t care about persecution of LGBT overseas and actually are against efforts fighting persecution of LGBT overseas.
On June 12, 2015 Omar Matten killed 49 people and wounded 53 in a mass shooting inside a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida. The organization International Christian Concern in their Sept. 2016 issue of their publication Persecution had a major article about it. You can read it online here.
https://issuu.com/persecution/docs/2016-09_persecution_magazine/15
The article, “American Christianity Under Siege,” by Jeff King, president of ICC, on page 14, has the heading:
“Anti-Christian Headlines Seen After the Orlando Pulse Attack Expose the Hatred Towards Christianity and Help to Define the Church’s Predicament.”
There is no reflection by King how Christians might consider how their anti-LGBT rhetoric could result in this type of violence. Instead King uses the Orlando Pulse massacre to advance his agenda to complain how he feels Christians in the United States are persecuted. Perhaps he needs to change the name of his publication to Persecution-Complex.
King writes:
… rather than seen as part of a long-term, growing, anti-Christian trend in our society, or as part and parcel of being Christian in a non-Christian culture.
Our culture has been fed a steady diet of anti-Christian hate for 30 years from a coalition made up of Hollywood, cultural elites, the press, the LGBTQ community, and the extreme left …
King lists what he titles as, “Anti-Christian Post Attack Quotes,” in a side box. The quotes merely point out some of the hypocrisy of conservative Christians in regards to the Orlando Pulse massacre and they aren’t criticizing all Christians, just anti-gay Christians. Here are a few supposedly anti-Christian quotes.
This is one quote in response to notorious anti-gay Mike Huckabee.
“We don’t want your hypocritical prayers. You led the fight against LGBT people. You promote this every day.”
— Lesbian author Victoria Brownworth, responding to Mike Huckabee who expressed sympathy for the Orlando victims.
This is another quote:
“Always fascinating to watch conservatives who won’t support basic non-discrimination laws bash Islamic fundamentalists for being anti-gay.”
— MSNBC’s Sally Kohn
This is another quote:
“Hey right-wing Christians desperately trying to point out that right wing Muslims are more anti-gay than you are: your guilt is showing!”
— CNN anchor and lesbian activist
Not attacking Christianity in general in this essay, just pointing out the hypocrisy of a particular segment of Christians who are anti-Gay. A segment as we have seen revealed in the previously mentioned documents includes the International Christian Concern organization.
In these two articles persecution involve vendors facting discrimination lawsuits and prosecution under the anti-discrimination laws.
Christian Florist Faces Two Lawsuits for Refusing to Provide Flowers at Gay Wedding | Persecution
ICC Note: A Christian florist in Washington state is facing two lawsuits, one from the American Civil Liberties Union…www.persecution.org
Christian Baker in Colorado Receives Death Threats | Persecution
The United States Supreme Court will be hearing the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission in…www.persecution.org
Now making phone calls and making death threats is not acceptable and should be prosecuted. But the persecution in the articles is about these vendors having to comply with non-discrimination laws. With ICC’s reasoning a business wouldn’t have to hire gay people and landlords wouldn’t have to rent to gay people. It would seem that in the 21st century the concept of public accommodations not having an option to discriminate would not have to be debated.
During the 1950s and 60s people were racist, but with the passage of the civil rights laws if you were a public accomodation you had to serve peoples of all races, and there were people who argued that their Christian faith was against integration and interracial marriage.
SECOND ISSUE: Some organizations expressing concern over anti-Christian policies overseas have anti-gay agendas in the United States.
Also, the activities of the ICC in fighting what they call persecution seems to involve supporting anti-gay activists overseas. Consider Zizipho Pae in South Africa and her anti-gay crusade.
Zizipho Pae's at it again, now attacks gay Christians - MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online
If you thought that homophobic former UCT student leader Zizipho Pae might have warmed up to LGBT people since her last…www.mambaonline.com
Notice Mamba Online says “again.” This was the Mamba article reporting the original attack.
UCT SRC leader in hot water over alleged gay "sin" post - MambaOnline - Gay South Africa online
A top student leader at the University of Cape Town (UCT) has been accused of posting homophobic comments on her…www.mambaonline.com
Zizipho Pae when criticized about her remarks re-iterated her view and re-affirmed her view against LGBT.
I am definitely not retracting my comment: 'homophobic' Pae - The Citizen
Pae told Cape Times: "I am definitely not retracting my comment. I am a Christian, and that informs my whole philosophy…citizen.co.za
However, International Christian Concern evidently defines strong rejection of anti-LGBT sentiments as a form of persecution.
Christian Student Threatened for Opposing Gay Marriage on Facebook | Persecution
ICC Note: A South African Christian student was removed from her position as acting-president in her university's…www.persecution.org
There is a claim that she was threaten and her office vandalized and gay pornography posted on her Facebook wall. However, none of the regular news reports mention that there was any vandalism or anything done to her Facebook wall. The government wasn’t persecuting her. Sure there were likely some hot heads sending a nasty text message or posting something on her Facebook page, which is not acceptable, but the issue was that the public had a very negative view of her statements, as the article states, “Zizipho Pae has received heavy public backlash since the post.”
It isn’t persecution when your opinion is unpopular. When people strongly express that your opinion is stupid it isn’t persecution. However ICC is trying to make her a victim of persecution when it is just local controversy.
THIRD ISSUE: ICC supports anti-LGBT campaigners overseas. At least in this one case.
This article shows that what ICC calls persecution is when they can’t dominate others, when other groups have different opinions or don’t want to do what ICC would want them to do. For example in this case where a British group Girlguiding becomes more secular to accomodate a large fraction of their members who aren’t religious. That is supposed part of “The Birth of Modern-Day Christian Persecution in Europe.”
The Birth of Modern-Day Christian Persecution in Western Europe | Persecution
By Ryan Morgan 8/30/2013 Europe (International Christian Concern) - Starting on Sunday, September 1 st, a small but…www.persecution.org
Another question that should be asked what is the agenda of these Christian groups being persecuted. How many of these persecuted Christian groups hope to persecute others when given the chance? If not suppressed by the government do they look to attack other religions or LGBT? If U.S. foreign policy ends their persecution will it lead to another group being persecuted? Conservative Christians hae a fairly bad attitudes towards other religious groups as well as LGBT.
FORTH ISSUE: Will these persecuted groups given the chance persecute other groups including LGBT. If the U.S. government ends their suppression will the result be another group the target of the persecution of this previously oppressed Christian group?
FIFTH ISSUE: Many of these Christian groups are not supporters of a broader idea, philosophy, of human rights. They are just concerned about Christian groups. There concern is just self-interest.
WHAT SHOULD BE THE GAY RESPONSE?
Currently there doesn’t seem to be any response by LGBT groups to this hypocrisy of anti-LGBT groups complaining about persecution.
So I propose this agenda.
1. I think the hypocrisy of these groups complaining about the persecution of Christians, but supporting anti-LGBT persecution either here in the United States or elsewhere ought to be brought up for public discussion. They should not be allowed to represent their concerns as part of a general philosophy of human rights.
2. When these groups assert that some Christians are persecuted, it should be asked whether they are actually persecuted or merely unpopular or can’t get their policies implemented. It should be made clear to them that false claims of persecution undermine the credibility of assertions of real persecution.
3. We should make an inquiry whether the persecuted group has or wishes to persecute some other group whether ethnic, racial, religious, LGBT, or otherwise.
Unfortunately, I haven’t heard the issue of the hypocrisy of these Christian anti-gay groups being brought up when they complain about Christians being persecuted overseas. None of the LGBT organizations working with the neoliberal state bring it up.
As for the foreign policy of the United States should include the following principles:
1. Anti-LGBT groups should be excluded from foreign policy programs working on the problems of the persecution of religious groups.
2. The foreign policy of the United States should at least involve the expression of hope to these groups being aided give consideration that later they should not persecuting others.
3. There should be planning measures as to what might be done if some persecuted group later decides to persecute LGBT.
The persecution of groups is unacceptable and so help for these groups should be given. We just don’t need this issue to pull the wagon of anti-LGBT Christians. By being excluded these anti-LGBT Christian supposed rights groups will be reduced in scope and influence.
We shouldn’t demand that these groups being persecuted not have anti-LGBT views, but they should understand that hopefully that later the U.S. government won’t have to be intervening for the human rights of LGBT because of them. These overseas Christian groups should understand that the help for them derives from the same group of ideas as derives the help for LGBT overseas.
The Evangelical Christians and other right wing Christian groups should be made to realize that there are consequences for their ongoing, decades after decades, campaign against LGBT.
The policy of having a broad policy of human rights can’t be one-sided.
The LGBT leadership needs to be willing to fight for the LGBT even if it causes discomfiture for themselves or the neoliberal establishemnt and various sentimentalists.
INTERNET ARCHIVE LINKS: Some days it takes a minute or two to load so be patient.
The site for persecution.org has been extensively archives and you can see pages from 1998 to 2021 at this link.
Wayback Machine
The Wayback Machine is an initiative of the Internet Archive, a 501(c)(3) non-profit, building a digital library of…web.archive.org
This is the journal I referred to.
I just have the following for a better thumbnail for this article.
