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‘Christian’ Bigotry Can Breed Violence : Gay bashing: Inflammatory rhetoric of preachers can lead to extremism that kills ‘in the name of God.’

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Marvin Liebman, who describes himself as "conservative, Republican, Christian and gay," founded Young Americans for Freedom and is the author of "Coming Out Conservative" (Chronicle Books, 1992)

The world was shocked last month when an ultra-religious right-wing Jew assassinated Israel’s Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin. The murderer said he acted “in the name of God,” following the preachings of fundamentalist rabbis whose interpretation of God’s word gave him the license to kill.

I was neither shocked nor surprised. There has always existed in Israel--as in Iran, Bosnia, Ireland, the United States and throughout the world--extreme religious fundamentalism that calls for death for apostates who stray from the true believers’ view of God’s teaching.

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Dec. 7, 1995 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday December 7, 1995 Home Edition Metro Part B Page 9 Op Ed Desk 2 inches; 57 words Type of Material: Correction
Writer’s identification: A Commentary article on Wednesday by Marvin Liebman (“Christian Bigotry Can Breed Violence”) carried an incorrect biographical note about the author. It should have read: “Marvin Liebman, who once described himself as ‘conservative, Republican, Christian and gay,’ founded Young Americans for Freedom and is the author of ‘Coming Out Conservative’ [Chronicle Books, 1992.]”

In 1947, I worked with the Irgun, the armed underground of the right-wing Zionist Revisionist Party, whose basic philosophy rested in the certainty that God had decreed that a Jewish nation should exist on both sides of the Jordan River. According to the Irgun, any man who gave away even a handful of Israeli soil, for whatever reason, did so at his own peril.

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The Revisionists have become the extreme right of the Likud Party. Their inflammatory rhetoric led to the assassination of Rabin and will result in more killings, all “in the name of God.” Does this scenario--extremist clergymen and politics--sound familiar?

The United States is certainly not immune to attacks based on the rhetoric of religious leaders. Take, for example, the decades-old epidemic of hate-based violence against lesbians and gays. It may at last provoke an overdue nationwide debate--both moral and political. As in Israel today, scrutiny of the role of far-right religious groups in fanning such violence is a good place for that debate to start.

A recent Newsweek poll showed that 21% of all Americans and 43% of evangelical Christians believe that the gay rights movement is an “incarnation of Satan.” Taking this belief to its logical conclusion, lesbians and gays become Satan’s agents on earth and thus must be eradicated “in the name of God.”

The linkage between anti-gay religious rhetoric and acts of violence is complex, but begs exploration. Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and Gays is a national organization that wants to expose the connection between hate rhetoric and anti-gay violence. Recently, the organization produced two 30-second TV spots that take aim at just this combination.

In the ads, the voices of the Revs. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson are heard. Robertson says: “Homosexuality is an abomination . . . many of those people involved with Adolf Hitler were Satanists; many of them were homosexuals. The two things seem to go together.” Falwell simply says, “God hates homosexuality.” Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) has threatened to take legal action against any station running the TV spots, effectively keeping them off the air.

Syndicated bigots like Falwell and Robertson, whose Christian Coalition has become the major powerbroker in the Republican Party, liberally intersperse their sermons with inflammatory anti-gay tirades.

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“Christian” and “family values” hucksters constantly bemoan the influence of TV and Hollywood portrayals of violence. Let the anti-gay religious leaders listen to their own inflammatory rhetoric. Let them understand the violence that can stem from their sanctimonious sermons on Satan and homosexuality.

With the proper resources, attaching a stigma to incendiary religious rhetoric is not difficult. Falwell and Robertson implicate themselves. The Parents, Family and Friends group ads deftly make the case that their own words provide the climate in which such acts of violence proliferate and gain religious sanction.

The case against anti-gay violence can take many tacks. Yet, for too long, the sheer abundance of other pressing issues on the desks of gay political leaders has allowed attention to the issue to lapse. With its far-reaching ravages, hate violence against gays cannot continue to slip from the spotlight. Rabin’s murder has once again awakened people of conscience around the world to the fact that far-right religious preachings can eventually lead to bloodshed. Perhaps gays in America can awaken our fellow citizens to a similar and equally simple conclusion.

In this month of Christian celebration, we gays call on Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and all the other professional “Christians” in the name of their professed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to preach love, not hate, and peace, not violence.

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