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The “Christians Hate Gays” Myth




During these Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) hearings before the Supreme Court I keep hearing how much Christians hate gay people. This was news to me since I am a Christian and I don’t hate gay people.

I also go to church with over 1000 other Christians, and if any of them hate gay people, they sure haven’t told me.

Before moving to South Carolina I worked at or attended several churches in Texas; prior to that I spent a decade going to church in Florida. Guess what? No one hated gay people.

In fact, I don’t know any Christians who hate anybody. The very uniform of a believer is his love, and if a person does not show consistent love, then he is not actually a believer.

Are there non-believers who hate gay people and claim to be Christian? Of course. But that doesn’t represent Jesus or His church. Equating  hateful sign-wavers with Christianity is like equating a kindergarten baseball team to the New York Yankees. They may claim to be playing the same sport, but everyone understands the difference.  

In fact, the very way to tell a Christian from a non-Christian is on this issue: do they show love? Jesus said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another (John 13:35).” We don’t take people at their word, but by their actions.

The traditional Christian view is that homosexuality is wrong (which is biblical), but Christians are quick to remind that we “hate the sin but love the sinner.” This is not homophobia or “picking and choosing,” as I often hear, because Christians are also opposed to adultery, fornication, strip clubs, pornography, and sensual media, to name a few. When I preach a true love waits message to our teenagers, am I being heterophobic?

The people shouting the “Christians hate gays” lines are the ones picking and choosing. Did you know that Islam is opposed to homosexuality? Why is no one criticizing them? Buddha was opposed to homosexuality, so are Buddhists homophobic? The fact that Christianity is bearing the brunt proves that this is the oldest trick in the book: vilifying your opponent to gain sympathy support.

Once a person is branded as being a hateful bigot or a homophobe then the debate is over. People no longer focus on the objective arguments, and their sympathy is thrown in the corner of the victim of hate.  

So please let me be a calm voice for Christianity and say that, no, we do not hate gays, or anyone else. 
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Comments

Anonymous said…
Yep Christians dont hate gays.... no they just think gays are sick perverted abominations who should burn in hell unless they apologize to an unchanged god who happens to be Jesus who said that gays should have been put to death in the past but now just want to throw them in hell... Yes hate the sin not the sinner. Yes while ignoring that a persons thoughts are sinful, and ignorantly assuming that no gay person ever thinks about their sexual nature. Does the sin go to hell or does the sinner. yes i know the difference in a Christian and a non Christian. Christians hate everyone and everything while pretending that they are loving.They believe that people who don't share their views,who do act exactly as they do should go to hell. They believe that a person who has been good all there life deserves punishment for non belief while a murderer who had an death bed conversion deserves to be rewarded. They even go so far as to not only hate others but hate themselves as well which is not surprising given you guys say some of the most repulsive things about other who you know nothing about ,wish terrible things up on them, take rights and pretend you are loving. You guys don't even respect yourself. You worship something that actively wants to kill you. No sane person would worship something that sent a person as human sacrifice to save you from its wrath. That's just twisted and bizarre and you guys are living proof of crazy....
June 19, 2013 at 7:45 PM
Tommy Mann Ministries said…
Allen, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately there were so many grossly inaccurate mischaracterizations that I can't even begin to address them all.

Yes, Christians believe that people who reject God go to hell, but that is not hateful. Believing something to be true isn't hateful. I believe that smoking causes lung cancer, but that doesn't mean I hate smokers. In fact, it motivates me to warn them. My belief in the reality of hell motivates me to warn people.

My whole post was about love, and you made several comments about us showing hate. You can't comment on a blog about love by saying that I am being hateful. This was the most non-hateful blog ever. Your comments show that you either missed the point or are willfully lying. Either way, they don't discredit my post.

I never said homosexuals are sick perverts, like you accused me of. My entire post was saying the opposite.

And why are you going off about Christians hating themselves? I have no idea what half of that meant, and I wrote a book (All the Law) about how nobody hates themselves.

July 16, 2013 at 7:31 PM
Anonymous said…
Christians are people who follow Christ with intention. This does not indemnify us from human failings, nor does it give you license to invoke a No True Scotsman boondoggle to suggest that those who do hate aren't REALLY Christian. Indeed, the Apostles who walked among Christ failed his teachings several times in the Gospels, so we can follow Christ and get it profoundly wrong. Suggesting that Christians in toto don't hate don't hate is absurd. Some do. Others don't. We're human.

And honestly,asking why nobody blames Muslims boggles the imagination. Muslims are blamed for anything and everything under the sum.

But what's truly telling is that your only interest in this whole issue is apparently not to be called names. Sorry, but welcome to the party.
November 19, 2015 at 11:18 PM
Tommy Mann Ministries said…
Thank you for your comment, and I certainly see your point; some do profess to be Christians and show downright hatred. But Jesus said people would know we are His followers (Christians) based on our love. If a person is known for being hateful rather than loving, they should not be lumped in with traditional Christianity based on Jesus' standard. That is not to say they are not saved, but they should not be touted as proof that Christians are hateful.

I didn't say no one blames Muslims; they are blamed for many things today (but not as much as when I wrote this post two years ago prior to the rise of ISIS). However, I do not hear anyone criticize Islam for their strong stance against homosexuality. I hear that Christians hate gays, but Islam is a religion of peace.

Finally, you could not be more wrong on your assessment of me. I couldn't care less about being called names. You can welcome me to the party, but I've been here for years. I've been called every name in the book for my beliefs, and have never lost a wink of sleep over it. The point of the post was to expose the lie that Christians are hateful based on viewing homosexuality as sinful, and to defend the ones who are constantly called hateful.
December 22, 2015 at 11:37 AM
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