On Sept. 12, a group of predominantly Christian Utah clergy put out a statement proclaiming that they “see absolutely no inconsistencies with either tradition or scripture in accepting LGBTQ people as God made them.”
Their claim is deeply delusional or deliberately dishonest.
Let’s review, pastors. According to Judeo-Christian scripture, your God Himself directly commanded that gay lovers be killed (Leviticus 20:13). Likewise, the New Testament declares that gays and lesbians are “filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity” and “deserve death” (Romans 1:24-32).
These hate manuals are distributed in pew after pew, so you can’t reasonably claim ignorance of their contents. That you publicly disavow, disown and deny them is damning testimony badmouthing your religion’s validity and value.
But even if you reject your own scripture as bigoted myth, another reality remains. You also preach that your omniscient, omnipotent, omnibenevolent God willfully watched Mathew Shepard be tied to a fencepost, tortured and killed. Your God easily could have intervened. But He wanted to watch the anti-gay snuff action instead.
Which, according to you, was the right thing for Him to do.
Because “God is love.”
With love like that, who needs hate?
Gregory A. Clark
Salt Lake City