This is my latest article on Premier Christianity (its always interesting to read the comments!) – I wrote it a couple of weeks ago and just assumed it was not going to be published – but it was yesterday…..There will come a day when if people like Vicky Beeching get her way these articles will not be allowed to be published – so enjoy them while you can!
3 reasons why the commercialisation of sexual politics is wrong
Everyone from the AA to Costa are backing Pride events. But Rev David Robertson argues Christians should resist cultural pressure to endorse all things LGBT
This summer it seems as though everyone is doing it. If you are not on this particular bandwagon you are apparently not ’cool’. If the logo of this group is not on your brand then you are highly suspect. It’s rainbow time.
The police have cars painted with the rainbow logo in order to show they ‘care’. Companies are falling over themselves to signal their own virtue. Wagamama’s have rainbow place mats and a rainbow bench from which you can be served. The AA have joined in the games, re-painting some of their vans. As have Costa with their new rainbow cups. Skittles have changed their packaging, going black and white, because “during Pride only one rainbow matters”.
You couldn’t even avoid the commercialisation of virtue signalling at the World Cup. Paddy Power offered to donate £10,000 to LGBT charities for every goal that Russia scored.
What’s wrong with this? At a superficial level it all seems great because surely it is just about combating discrimination and letting ‘love be love’? But once you get beneath the surface and start thinking about it you can see that there is something deeply wrong with this fashion. It reflects three negative attitudes in our general cultural psyche – pride, phobia and parochialism.
1. The Pride – This is not just the pride at overthrowing the Christian understanding of sex and sexuality and replacing it with the sexual smorgasbord of Queer theory, but also the pride that comes from letting people know how virtuous you are. The rainbow has become a brand and those who use it are branding themselves as ‘the righteous’.
Last week the Prime Minister met with Peter Tatchell and other gay activists in order to praise them, offer millions more in funding and a 75 point action plan to combat homophobia. She may not be able to deliver a Brexit that pleases anyone, but at least she can show how nice the ‘nasty’ party have become by throwing yet more money at LGBT lobbyists.
2. The Phobia – I am not talking here about the irrational and wrong fear of homosexuals or homosexuality which does exist – but rather the fear of being called homophobic – that has become the ultimate crime, the blasphemy against the Holy State. Your political, academic, media, legal or business career is over if you are tried and found guilty of the sin of homophobia in the court of public opinion and the social media mob is let loose on you.
But there is redemption for sinners – providing they pay their penitence. Peter Tatchell has now pronounced his blessing and pardon on Prime Minister May (who once voted against same sex marriage and in favour of section 28). He tweeted after their latest meeting: “She sounded sincere. I believe in redemption & forgiveness, so I’m accepting her apology. I plan to work with her team to deliver more advances for LGBTI rights”.
What will of course happen is that with the corporate and political establishments in this country providing lots of money, the cash rich LGBT charities and lobby groups will be able to lobby for more money and laws – and they will get them – because everyone is phobic about being branded homophobic.
Those charities will in turn offer more awards to companies who indoctrinate their employees with their values and intimidate those who dare to disagree. The sexual thought police are always on the ball – in one of the more ridiculous examples, JK Rowling was recently attacked for not making Dumbledore was openly gay. Any magazine, soap opera or TV programme that doesn’t have a positive portrayal of gay relationships is likely to be branded homophobic.
This pride and phobia are also at work within the Church. We don’t want to be branded
homophobic bigots so we have to get in on the act. The Archbishop of Canterbury gives Vicky Beeching an award for her work, the former Evangelical Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rev Angus Morrison is honoured by the University of Glasgow for, among other things, “changing attitudes within the Church to same sex relationships.”
3. The Parochial – According to the dictionary parochial means – “Narrow minded, provincial, insular, inward-looking, limited, restricted, conservative, conventional, short-sighted, petty, close-minded, blinkered, myopic, introverted, illiberal, hidebound, intolerant”. Although it seems counter intuitive and is the very opposite of what is being claimed – this is what is happening with the rainbow bandwagon.
Let’s just take the example of Costa telling us that their aim is to enable their employees to have “courage and pride in who they are”. Does this apply to Christians too? Would Costa employees be allowed to wear crosses or ‘Jesus loves you’ t-shirts? Will Costa be giving out cups with Bible verses on them? Will the Corporations and Universities be inviting Christian experts in to train their workforce in rejecting anti-Christian prejudice? Will the government be providing millions to the Evangelical Alliance, the Church of England and the Catholic Church to combat Christophobia? The fact that the very idea is laughable indicates that ‘equality and diversity’ in contemporary society is neither equal nor diverse.
I am part of an organisation that proudly uses the rainbow symbol – because it is a covenant sign of God’s covenant mercy. I find it interesting that the current cultural misappropriation of the rainbow has six colours in it – whereas the rainbow has seven. In the Bible six is the number of man (indicating that something is lacking) whereas seven is the number of God – representing wholeness and purity. Maybe its time for Christians to humbly reclaim the sign of God’s covenant mercy, to love instead of fear, and to freely offer that mercy to all.
Sound comment David, I should mention that every corporate now has control of its workforce , in that individuality and initiative are in the hands of the few at the top. The workforce of such are controlled and conditioned , and not only encouraged to swallow it’s propaganda but are expected to pass on to minor staff that company’s values.
For the Christian it must seem that the doors are closing all around but two thousand years ago a Light came into the world that will never be extinguished. I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it . ( Matt 16 v 18 )
I find it incredibly narrow minded that David would assume all lgbt Christians support and encourage all that the corporate ridden current gay pride movement says and does. Just as the over-sexualised representation of heterosexuality we see all around us does not represent biblical sexual purity and right relationships. David seems so unaware of the patronising and demeaning tone of his article. Vicky Beeching is not on some crusade to paint rainbow flags on coffee cups and silence cross bearing Christians. She is a humble and sincere human being who loves God and loves the Church despite the hurt and damage she has experienced from the Church. She is trying to build bridges and urge churches to really reflect on their own practice instead of waving the ‘us poor persecuted Christians’ flag. I don’t understand why Christians like David Robertson can’t be more attentive, gentle and willing to question their own involvement in such hurt. A narrow mind holds onto a fossilised human interpretation of scripture, an open mind should consider listening to the Holy Spirit and pouring time into studying scripture again and again. LGBT Christians have had no voice for so long. We are people, not just some abstract concept. It is so hurtful when voices of the Church make sweeping statements about what they think is a ‘gay agenda’. There are many aspects of the wider lgbt community I find anti-thetical to my faith and my understanding of holiness and walking with God. ‘Pride’ for most lgbt folk simply means the opposite of shame.. it’s not about parading our sexuality, it’s simply being able to walk with dignity & worth, as children of the living God and putting Him first in our lives.
Patronising, demeaning, narrow minded, fossilised, hurtful…I guess you didn’t like it then and are not too keen on me! Interesting that you think Vicky is not supportive of Pride or the gay agenda as represented by Stonewall….maybe I have misread her posts where she talks about supporting them. There really is not much that I can say when your mind is already made up….
Sorry Ms Bielinski, but “lgbt Christians” is totally oxymoronic. One might as well refer to teetotal alcoholics! If one is a true disciple of Jesus, then one will repent of any sexually deviant activity. If not involved in physical activity, but aware of particular feelings towards those of one’s own gender, then the promised help of God the Holy Spirit will be sought, as well as that of other suitably qualified persons.
Remember, if you are a true disciple, that: “He Who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (I Jn.4:4). However, whatever our sins, He must be approached for help.
Hazel, I am sorry but there is no such thing a Christian homosexual/lesbian, it is an oxymoron. If you are a born again Christian, you are a new creation, you are simply a Christian and that should be your indentity.
The Bible doesn’t contradict, God called it an abomination and He never changes and Jesus as God is not going to say otherwise neither will the Holy Spirit. You may still have great challenges, we all do in different areas. You are either a new creation or you are not.
I think David is much too gentle, attentive etc……However you cannot blame others for ‘your hurt’. It is quite simply your own and Scripture states that the heart is deceitful above all else. Remember the Christian walk is very narrow! Which road are you on? The narrow road to eternal life or the broad road to destruction?
Divorce, arrogance, adultery, greed, gluttony, hate, violence and many others are also sins, but the Christian Church seems to have very little to say about any of them, even though mainstream culture often promotes them. Perhaps it is easier to concentrate on a minority that has suffered many centuries of persecution? If you complained about greed or gluttony or arrogance then a lot of people would not be so happy to listen to you because of their sin. It is easier for them to enjoy pointing out the sins of others, then to look at their own.
Vicky Beeching is entitled to her views even if they are wrong, you were right to complain about universities becoming monoversities but then we cannot try and close down the views of others and establish some form of mono-Christianity even if we think it is the right one. We Christians have a bad reputation for religious intolerance, it was virtually illegal to be Catholic in this country until 1829!
I always enjoy your articles David, so I hope you don’t take the above as too much criticism, God bless you.
Thanks Stephen – I have regularly written about these things – not least as regards these corporations….the trouble is that the society (as I point out in the article) is obsessing with sexual politics and is constantly making demands upon us. When we respond we are the ones who are accused of being obsessed. Of course Vicky is entitled to her views but I am entitled to mine (for the moment)…I am not attempting to stop Vicky speaking her views – but I’m afraid the same cannot be said vice versa. Vicky wants to ban those who don’t accept her point of view. And don’t worry about the criticism – I love it especially when it is reasonable.
“…it was virtually illegal to be Catholic in this country until 1829!” We as Protestant believers have certainly morphed into ‘freedom of religion’ types. But, I have to wonder… do we represent God’s point of view on that? Is He ‘tolerant and accepting’ of everyone’s personal views on religion? Can we go about preaching the exclusivity of the gospel and be ‘tolerant’ at the same time? In removing the ‘hard edge’ of the gospel, have we accommodated to the world? And lost the urgency of the day of salvation…
P
You probably ought to stick to the subject. I’ve not seen commercialisation or ‘pride events’ celebrating the issues you mention. Homosexuality is obnoxious to our Creator because of any sin it reflects utter rebellion of Divine ordering and what God has ordained in the attractivenes of feminine response to a man, reflecting what ultimately is for the heart of Christ. Get intelligence, preferably Spiritual.
I’d love to see the reclaimed rainbow everywhere with a Godly explanation!
As a former adherent of the Church of Scotland, I was already aware of and not shocked by a former moderator being awarded for his LGBT work but I didn’t realise the Church of England had also been rewarding people similarly ….
I have friends in my church life group who are teachers and are literally being forced to promote LGBT in their classrooms otherwise they fear being sacked.
Thank you for a succint rational analysis.
All this virtue signalling does is embolden the entire LGBT movement towards greater and greater deviations from biblical norms of sexuality. It’s probably been noted already that pedophilia and polyamorous etc relationships are on track to being normalized. I’m not a ‘slippery slope’ advocate… what’s at the head of the pack is wrong in and of itself. But the emboldening is a real thing… because the movement has an insatiable appetite!
The “Holy State” is last-century thinking: it’s the Holy Market in charge now. There is money to be made, as you observe above, and people *with* money (the “pink pound” has been a thing for ages) to court and flatter into spending it – while intimidating the others into spending on badges and flags to prove they are not “phobes”. And equally directing the pressure of big money to pressure the State into facilitating this marketing goldmine.
I have a “Watson’s Law” I apply to “honest” car dealers and pubs with large hoardings promising “GOOD FOOD” – if they have to tell you in big letters, they probably aren’t. And I suspect the values of these “right-on” corporations would change overnight if enough money was in it for going the other way.
(And I hope I don’t have to say it, but I will – this is NOT a suggestion for megaChurches flooding the place with money to make that happen. That would simply be trying to use the enemy’s methods against him – which is at best dangerous, and worst deadly.)
I think another word for your Pride category is Intimidation.
I make handcrafted books and sell them at fairs. I had one with a rather silly collage depicting a gravestone splitting with lots of colors shooting out like lazers. A lady picked it up and asked me if it was for gay pride. It hadn’t occurred to me even that it was a rainbow. I stammered a negative. She bought it anyway and so I probably unintentionally gave this lady a politically correct endorsement of something I heartily disapprove of. Must be more careful.
I do not think we can reclaim the rainbow because the Pride Rainbow users will not be able to see the distinction between six and seven colors.
The thing is, it is now almost impossible to buy from a company that is not banging some sexual drum. When you start looking at a broad spectrum of company websites or just reading their instore/house lists of ‘look how wonderful we are at supporting this’, just about everyone is keen to tell you what depraved cause they are promoting. It’s becoming harder to buy from ‘neutral’ companies. I do not want to give my money for the support of these causes but what to do, it’s becoming a genuine dilemma. Businesses get a grip, just do the business and jettison the political/social enginerring nonsense.
I wonder if you feel that a dignified silence is better from all organisations on all matters, rather than giving allegiance to, for example, Brexit (in, wobble, out) or LGBxxx.
Kind regards
Half a Physicist
I remember a day when business was done without all this grandstanding. A business could reject your custom, you went elsewhere, Christians could promote their ethics and if you didn’t like it, you just went elsewhere. There were alternative choices, now there is almost no choice. No choice for those of us who do not nor will not accept this deliberate social engineering going on.
Brexit is hardly the same as this obsession with all things what I call A-Z (how on earth can the two be compared), this sexual obsession whether the A-Z group, adultery, promiscuity, pornography etc is destroying western society from the inside out, imploding quickly before your very eyes and yet most are blind to seeing it and wondering why everything is such a mess.
To madblog, yes pride, what a misnomer, is intimidation, wanting to control and dictate, well God is not mocked and you can see His judgment already at work in the destruction going on, letting people have what they want and still they moan!
We’ve had over a week of pride stuff here in Spain and locals were not happy with it, what right do they have to push their depravity down the throats of people day after day and not allowed to say enough for we are now the villians. Shame. I know a word no longer accepted.
Great article once again. The liberals virtue signal, often they virtue signal on sexuality issues. It’s sad and wrong for the Christian Church to adapt and conform to societies standards if those standards are sinful and condemned in the Scriptures.
Thank you for your insightful writings. As a Christian I have had enough of the intimidation and bullying by the LGBTQ followers to force me to accept and confess with my mouth and actions that I accept their entire philosophy and should be publicly shamed for my biblical worldview. This is not love on their part. It is cleverly disguised bigotry and hatred with the intent to silence the free speech of Christians. This is becoming a fast growing world wide problem and if we don’t take a stand soon, we will be a hunted species on the verge of extinction . As a Registered Nurse in America I have been forced to take specific “sensitivity training” on recognizing, acknowledging and (most frustrating of all) having to verify that I agree with all the belief systems of the LGBTQ followers. There was no opting out of this indoctrination “training”. The test required 100% to pass and was worded in such a way that it cleverly forced me to give answers that were completely contradictory to my biblical beliefs. I desperately need this job to support my family and jobs in my speciality are few and far between. I have always felt that being a nurse is my calling from God. I love ministering to the sick and feel privileged to be a tool for God’s healing and have always treated every patient with dignity and respect. This cultural obsession with all things sexual is getting in the way of life as we know it and causing more division and hatred than unity love as one people under God. The time has come for Christians to stop being silent and stand up for our beliefs and for each other. I have heard a saying that in the face of evil, when a good man is silent, he is condoning the evil. After that forced indoctrination “training” I have promised to God that I will no longer be silent when faced with speaking up for Jesus. I only pray that when the time comes He will give me the right words of wisdom to speak in love.
A short clip on the value of freedom of speech.
https://youtu.be/opo8a8Z5Gds
You have been ‘re-educated’ into the ‘norms and ethics’ of ‘liberal-progressivism.’
There is little or no difference between the indoctrination to which you have been subjected and that imposed on the willing victims under Mao Tse-Tung.
We are now being put through what is in effect a ‘Cultural Revolution’ which in its effect will pervert and scar our society for decades to come, if it is now defeated through knowledge and action.
https://youtu.be/sXAOTjNheVg