Jeff Buchanan has written a lengthy piece about the removal of the Exodus iPhone app, where he repeats the same whining about “freedom of speech” we’re fairly used to by this point, from religious fundamentalists. They are being “silenced,” you see, yet for some reason my Google alerts continue to bombard me with their nonsense. Catch up, Google, we are silencing the Fundamentalists and you Are. Not. Helping!
Anyway, amidst the usual bullroar, he quotes this:
And while we have a responsibility to [hate gays or whatever] in a way that radiates the compassion and love of Christ to all regardless of differing views on any given subject, we must remember that no matter how tender our words or how loving our actions, Jesus predicted that the outcome may not always be pleasant. He said in Luke 6, “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven.”
We exist and therefore, we will not always be liked.
Jesus knew that and in the very same chapter, He tells us what to do when that happens. “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
I was wondering when one of them was going to throw the “Jesus said we would be hated for his sake” card. I always find it funny because these people are not like their Jesus, at all. I also find it funny because Jesus did not immediately follow that statement with “So GAME ON with the lying, the defaming, the hurting people and the general dickishness, y’all!,” which is the message Jeff Buchanan and his fundamentalist handlers seem to have taken from that verse. I mean, maybe my translations aren’t up to date, but I do not think Jesus said that.
There’s a big difference between the low life socialist wino Jesus of the Bible and the hate-mongering Fundamentalist (never existed) Jeezus Jeff Buchanan worships.
Well said, Evan!
I think this passage is to be taken to mean us as gay people are living in Christs love and being hated. He is talking to us in this passage. We have to remember we are standing in loving truth, which represents the Christ in us. In this way we must as Christ’s love stand up against fear, realize we will be hated insulted rejected and evil. By turning the tables here, we are the loving Christ centered ones, not the other way around. We are the ones helping the hateful see their evil ways. So I emplore you not to think Jesus is talking about us in any negative form, he is talking about the ones who hate and not taking heed to them. He is talking to the ones standing in love and truth, us in this case.
Thinking is important, please get this perspective, it can help immensely.
Sorry IDavid, I couldn’t even begin to follow what you were saying.
Hello IDavid, Priya. I think what IDavid was saying was that it is US, the ones who are truly being abused, who must be patient and kind with those who are the bad guys. The bad guys AINT us, it’s them, and we, hard as it may be, should look at their ignorance, curelty (most of it unintentional, for they honestly are so misguided they think they are helping us) and their own self hatred with pity, not (perhaps deserved) hatred.
This is hard…to love ones enemies, even as they hurt us. Christians are supposed to do it, and the conservative ones almost never do. But, there is wisdom in it. It keeps one from falling to ones opponants level. Afterall, if you get in a fight with a pig in the mud, you both get dirty, and the pig just enjoys it (in this case, they throw a self pity party of “Oh…we are the abused ones!”…blah, blah, blah.
IDavid, forgive me if I have spoken out of turn. I may (I do not think so) be misrepresenting your intent. If so, I apologize. Priya, as you know know, I am a man of faith…and, I find I am often in the position of translating “religous speech” to athiest, and “Secular speech” and “Brightspeech” to religious.
I hope that helped (it is..well…entering the minefield to even try lol )
@Gene
Yes u got it. It’s a bit difficult to see, but Jesus would never stand for hateful actions against a group that is just being real. That smacks in the face if Christs message.
Priya, Im looking at this from a Jesus perception, not a religious perception, as i think Jesus’s message is twisted in the Bible. He would never stand against nature, to do so would not be in his makeup. It would be like hating Jews blacks women etc, so we have to be diligent about hatred hating nature, like gays, and understand that Jesus is saying we will endure hatred, but to not fall for it because anything natural i.e. loving, gay sexuality sex etc, is good and is not to be hated.
In essence, he is talking to rightousness in this passage, and we are the righteous ones, and hatred will hate our natural selves because they have fallen into delusion by calling something natuural bad, and therefore we must teach them out of it, like we are doing by standing in our truth. We are the natural ones, the hate is unnatural and gainst us which nature regarding our sexuality will never change. So it’s a flip of perception.
Read it as if Jesus is in full support of us and talking directly to u and you might get a different take.
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[...] In response to critics of Exodus’ libelous and scientifically unsound iPhone app, Buchanan declared: “We exist and therefore, we will not always be [...]