Some evangelicals who condemn LGBTQ call it 'compassion.' They kicked me out of the club for calling it 'hate'

Rev. Bob Norris has taken me to the woodshed. Again. This time, his April 10 op-ed, (“McDaniel back to old attack tactics again”) banned me from the club. Said I could not be considered a colleague by most of Cheyenne’s evangelical pastors.

Bob accuses me of using terms like “brood of vipers.” Actually, that would be Jesus. The Gospels depict Jesus facing off against fundamentalists who interpreted scripture so literally they left no room for love. Confronting them, he cried, “You snakes. You brood of vipers. How will you escape being condemned to hell?” (Matthew 23:33).

Some find it unseemly when Christians air grievances publicly. But, we aren’t doing anything different than Paul when he wrote letters calling out those who preached messages he thought inconsistent with God’s word and harmful to the community.

The issue dividing Rev. Norris and some of his evangelical colleagues from me, divides Christians everywhere. It’s the definition of the word “hate” used in the context of protecting the dignity of our gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender brothers and sisters. Let me explain.  

Sometime ago, the Wyoming Churches Association, now the Wyoming Interfaith Network, invited Rev. Norris and me to debate this question. During our exchange, Rev. Norris pulled two garden hoses from his brief case. He showed the audience that each had a “female” connector and a “male” connector. He graphically demonstrated that neither two female connectors nor two male connectors could fit together. Bob was proud of his metaphor. Along with much of the audience, I found it gross, and yes, hateful.

Hate is an ugly word. No one likes to have the word applied to their beliefs and behavior. I know you have heard them say they do not “hate” the LGBTQ children of God, but I say to you they are rationalizing. They define hate so as to exclude what they say.

Thus, as Cool Hand Luke said just before the prison guard shot him, “What we have here is failure to communicate.”

One of Bob’s evangelical colleagues is a leader in the Wyoming Pastor’s Network. It endorsed something called the Manhattan Declaration. It defines conservative Christian doctrine. It says the argument for marriage equality “could be asserted with equal validity for polyamorous partnerships, polygamous households, even adult brothers, sisters, or brothers and sisters living in incestuous relationships.”

The same pastor joined others lobbying to persuade the legislature to defeat a proposal protecting LGBTQ citizens from being deprived of their livelihood because of sexual orientation. They don’t lobby for Medicaid expansion so that poor people can have healthcare. They are AWOL when food stamp budgets are cut, endangering the ability of low-income working families from putting adequate food on their children’s table. But, if lawmakers are talking about the dignity of LGBTQ folks, many of these pastors are front and center, encouraging their flock to join them.

Forgive me for believing that is hateful. I am certain Jesus would not find it loving.

What Rev. Norris doesn’t get is how hateful those words and that behavior fall on the lives of their intended targets. Bob’s column assures you evangelicals do not preach hate even as he cherry-picks the Bible to judge LGBTQ folks as sinners, unaware of how that judgment becomes the basis for parents disowning children and children bullying classmates.

Those words lead young people to take their lives. The FBI documents skyrocketing rates of hate crimes against LGBTQ victims, particularly Transgender people.

Churches advocating for the LGBTQ community are as “Bible-believing” as Bob’s. We may not take scripture literally, but we do take it seriously. There are more than 600 Biblical laws, about which Jesus spoke when he said all depend on the greatest commandments to love God and one another.

I’ve been kicked out of their club for doing what my God calls me to do. I am grateful that Rev. Norris prayed for my health and salvation as I pray for the health, safety, and dignity of those he judges to be sinners.