‘Redefining marriage will lead to fall of Western civilization’

Dr. James Dobson, who founded the highly influential groups Focus on the Family and Family Research Council and now runs Family Talk Radio, is warning that if the U.S. Supreme Court redefines marriage as analysts predict, the ruling will presage the “fall of Western civilization.”

“I do not recall a time when the institutions of marriage and the family have faced such peril, or when the forces arrayed against them were more formidable or determined,” he writes in a letter distributed to his hundreds of thousands of supporters.

“Barring a miracle, the family that has existed since antiquity will likely crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself. This is a time for concerted prayer, divine wisdom and greater courage than we have ever been called upon to exercise,” he writes.

The author has frequently has tangled with the Obama administration.

At one point he warned America is heading toward “depravity.”

He also, amid his lawsuit against the administration over Obamacare’s abortion requirements, told the president he would refuse to obey any law that required him to participate in the killing of an unborn child.

“I believe in the rule of law, and it has been my practice since I was in college to respect and honor those in authority over us. It is my desire to do so now. However, this assault on the sanctity of human life takes me where I cannot go,” he wrote in an open letter to the president.

WND also reported that when Dobson spoke to the National Day of Prayer in Washington, hundreds stood and cheered him.

‘Hurtling’ toward Gomorrah

His newest comments were written for distribution to constituents of the organization he founded after leaving Focus on the Family in 2003, Family Talk, which features the daily radio show “Family Talk with Dr. James Dobson.”

“We … are not simply ‘slouching toward Gomorrah,’ as Judge Robert Bork warned in his best-selling book; we are hurtling toward it,” he writes. “The old earthen dam that has held and protected the reservoir of Judeo-Christian values since the days of our Founding Fathers has given way.”

If the Supreme Court redefines marriage, he says, “an avalanche of court cases will be filed on related issues that can’t even be imagined today.”

Religious liberty “will be assaulted from every side.”

“You can be certain that conservative churches will be dragged into court by the hundreds,” Dobson writes. “Their leaders will be required to hire people who don’t share the beliefs of their denominations and constituents. Pastors may have to officiate at same-sex marriages, and they could be prohibited from preaching certain passage of Scripture. … Prison is also a possibility.”

He says Christian businesses and ministries, as already has happened to florists and bakers, will be forced to serve at same-sex ceremonies, and Christian colleges “may be unable to teach scriptural views of marriage.”

A foreshadowing can be seen in Obama’s recent demand for laws that prevent parents from seeking professional therapy if their children are dealing with a sexual identity crisis. Already law in a couple of states, Obama’s plan would require counselors to accept homosexuality in all such cases.

“What business does this man have telling parents how to help their confused and disoriented kids even after they have been abused and exploited sexually? This is outrageous!” Dobson says.

Also, anyone with a state license soon could be coerced into adopting the state definition of morality.

Textbooks would be rewritten, and public schools soon would teach children “gay and lesbian concepts.”

All of which, he writes, defies the facts of marriage.

“The institution of the family is one of the Creator’s most marvelous and enduring gifts to humankind. It was revealed to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and then described succinctly in Genesis 2:24, where we read, ‘For this cause, a man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.’ With those 20 words, God announced the ordination of male-female marriage, long before He established the two other great human institutions, the church and the government,” he writes.

Every civilization has held to that understanding of marriage until now.

“God help us if we throw the divine plan for humankind on the ash heap of history,” he said. “Down one path are millions of strong and vibrant families with their children growing up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Down the other path is a nation drifting away from its spiritual roots in a culture that will teach a dangerous ideology to today’s younger generation and those yet to come.

Kenyan deputy president riles against homosexuality

Kenya’s deputy president, William Ruto, has told worshippers at a church service in Nairobi that homosexuality is not welcome in the east African nation.

Ruto’s comments came on the day US Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Kenya promoting rights, alongside discussions on security and terrorism.

“We will not allow homosexuality in our society as it violates our religious and cultural beliefs,” Ruto reportedly told a cheering congregation at the Jesus Winner Ministry Church near the capital.

“We will stand with religious leaders to defend our faith and our beliefs,” he said. “There’s no room for homosexuality in this country. That one I can assure you.”

Homosexuality remains illegal in many countries, including Kenya where it was outlawed under British colonial legislation.

Ruto, who is on trial at the International Criminal in The Hague accused of crimes against humanity, said his stance was about morality not politics.

“When we say this, we are not saying so as to get votes but to protect what we all believe is right,” he said, according to The Star newspaper.

Conservative Christian and Muslim countries in Africa reject open homosexuality.

In Uganda the anti-gay bill has been watered down and in Nigeria and Gambia tough new anti-gay laws have been introduced, with Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, calling homosexuals “ungodly, Satanic… vermins [sic]” in a speech last year.

Homosexuality is illegal in 36 out of 54 African countries and punishable by death in four, according to human rights group Amnesty International.

In Kenya, too, a cross-party parliamentary group is seeking stricter application of existing anti-gay legislation.

Chad outlaws homosexuality

Chad looks set to become the 37th country in Africa to outlaw homosexuality after government ministers voted to make same-sex relations a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The decision, yet to be ratified by the country’s president, was condemned by human rights groups as another setback in the struggle for gay rights on the continent. Chad’s penal code is more than half a century old and does not explicitly mention homosexuality.

But section 361 of a draft new code states the punishment for anyone who has sexual intercourse with someone of the same sex is 15 to 20 years in jail and a fine of 50,000-500,000 Central African francs (£60-£600), according to a document seen by Agence France-Presse.

The cabinet claims that the measure is intended to “protect the family and to comply with Chadian society”. It will go before MPs and President Idriss Déby to be rubber-stamped.

The new penal code also abolishes the death penalty, more than a decade after the last execution of prisoners, a move welcomed by activists.

The reform of the penal code had been in preparation for 10 years but the question of homosexuality, while considered immoral, had never been a public issue in Chad.

The development is a reaction against colonial mores in Africa. Some observers believe it has been a response to the increased visibility and assertiveness of gay lifestyles and politics in Africa.

Although US evangelical Christians have been blamed for instigating anti-gay legislation in Uganda, same-sex relations are illegal in 36 of the continent’s 54 countries, according to Amnesty International, and punishable by death in many.

Last month the Gambia passed a bill imposing life imprisonment for “aggravated homosexuality” relating to repeat offenders and people living with HIV/Aids. The Gambia’s president, Yahya Jammeh, has previously told gay men and lesbians to leave the country or risk beheading.

Uganda recently imposed penalties for the “promotion of homosexuality”, including life sentences for various same sex acts. The law was struck down by judges on a technicality but is expected to be reintroduced by MPs.

In January, the Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, signed into law a bill criminalising same-sex “amorous relationships” and membership of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights groups.

Robert Mugabe, the Zimbabwean president, regularly attacks gay people in speeches and recently said he resented western aid because it depended on conditions such as accepting homosexuality.

John Kerry, Zampolit for gay rights

Getting on the gay life boat?
Getting on the gay life boat?

Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday sounded like the Zampolit for Africa when he likened new anti-gay legislation in Uganda that imposes harsh penalties for homosexuality to anti-Semitic laws in Nazi Germany or apartheid South Africa.

The Zampolit is the Communist political commissar charged with taking “active measures” to ensure thought control. The politruk (Russian term) committed to the civilian control of the military, appeared during the October Revolution. Political commissars were part of the the Red Army that remained in the Soviet Army.

The United States spends millions on military training in Uganda.

“You could change the focus of this legislation to black or Jewish and you could be in 1930s Germany or you could be in 1950s-1960s apartheid South Africa,” Kerry told a group of reporters. “It was wrong there egregiously in both places and it is wrong here,” he added.

Strangely, Kerry forgot to mention that racial segregation in the US, lasted well beyond the 1960’s to the 1970’s.

Most Americans believe segregation leads to negative outcomes across American communities with higher rates of violent crimes, and lower levels of wellbeing. Across American communities, some argue, segregation is a key determinant of inequality.

Bankrupt black cities in the US like Detroit have borne this out. Clearly racial mixing and desegregation have thus been promoted to disguise black crime rates in the country.

The American experiment in South Africa is a complete disaster, however. Crime rates have soared since the ANC took over in 1994 with the assistance of Britain and the US.

Kerry said the legislation signed by President Yoweri Museveni on Monday was “atrocious” and expressed concern at mounting discrimination against gays in 78 countries around the world.

Discrimination against gays dim in comparison to child rape and farm murders in South Africa, despite efforts by certain foreign-funded NGO’s and the SAPS to camouflage the scourges. The American Secretary of State either is not aware of this, or does not care.

Homosexuality is a taboo in almost all African countries and illegal in 37, including in Uganda where it has been criminalized since British colonial rule by popular demand.

Yet Kerry denied that it was an “African problem”. “This anti-gay movement is obviously bubbling up in various places around the world; it is not just an African problem, it’s a global problem, and we are wrestling with it and we are going to as we go forward.”

The term “going foward” is a much used expression of the Zampolit.

Uganda launched a public awareness campaign earlier that led to a sharp reduction in the AIDS rate.

“What is happening in Uganda is atrocious and it presents all of us with an enormous challenge because LGBT rights are human rights and the signing of this anti-homosexuality law is flat out morally wrong,” Kerry said.

The State Department’s annual global human rights report will highlight the issue when it is released on Thursday and Kerry said a gathering of U.S. ambassadors in Washington would discuss ways to deal with rising prejudice against homosexuals.

The gay theme is very popular amongst Anglo-American elites. A former French prime minister Edith Cresson suggested that one in four British men may be gay.

“It’s a question of education, and I consider it something of a weakness,” Cresson said at the time.

She passed similarly harsh judgments on American and German men.

 

Uganda tabloid ‘names and shames’ gays

redpepperThe Ugandan tabloid, Red Pepper, has named the country’s 200 top homosexuals, a day after President Yoweri Museveni signed into law a bill toughening penalties for gay people.

The list appeared under the headline: “Exposed”. Western governments have condemned Mr Museveni’s decision to approve the bill, but South Africa would not be drawn into the debate.

Homosexuality is also frowned upon by most South African blacks. The ANC fears that an open debate would upset their voters ahead of the coming elections.

Although same-sex relationships are legal in South Africa, the black majority are against such unions.

The Ugandan bill includes life sentences for gay sex and same-sex marriage, but a clause criminalising those who do not report gay people was removed as well as a proposed sentence of up to 14 years for first-time offenders.

But the passing of the bill has been popularly received in Uganda, where Museveni — in power for 28 years — faces reelection in 2016..

Earlier, government spokesman Ofwono Opondo told Reuters news agency Mr Museveni wanted “to demonstrate Uganda’s independence in the face of Western pressure and provocation”.

Uganda is a deeply conservative society where most people oppose homosexuality.

Homosexual acts were already illegal in Uganda, but the new law bans the promotion of homosexuality and covers lesbians for the first time.

There was applause when Yoweri Museveni spoke out againts gays: “Society can do something about it to discourage the trend”.

Last year the Red Pepper published photographs of retired gay British man Bernard Randall, taken from his stolen laptop, who then arrested and deported last month. The new list also includes some Ugandans still in the closet, the Associated Press news agency reported.

On Monday, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Mr Museveni’s decision would launch an internal review of US assistance programmes to Uganda.

Uganda receives a reported $400m in annual aid from the US.

Sweden’s Development Assistance Minister Hillevi Engstrom called Mr Museveni’s decision “terrible” and said that direct aid to Uganda, worth about $10.8m, could be withdrawn.

As a result of the new law, the Netherlands has stopped a $9.6m subsidy to Uganda’s judicial system.

Norway and Denmark said they would transfer direct aid – together totalling about $17m – to non-governmental organisations.

Sweden’s Finance Minister Anders Borg, who is visiting Uganda for meetings on trade and economic issues, has met with gay rights activists.

Homophobia is widespread in Uganda, where evangelical Christianity is on the rise.

Museveni earlier this month also signed into law anti-pornography and dress code legislation which outlaws “provocative” clothing.

Obama warns Uganda about anti-gay bill

Yoweri Museveni
Yoweri Museveni

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni plans to sign a very popular bill into law that prescribes life imprisonment for some homosexual acts, officials said Friday, in a country where homosexuality already has been criminalized.

Museveni announced his decision to governing party lawmakers, said government spokesman Ofwono Opondo. Opondo said the legislators “welcomed the development as a measure to protect Ugandans from social deviants.”

homosexual acts,warned Museveni on Sunday that enacting an anti-gay law would complicate U.S. relations with Uganda and would be a “step backward for all Ugandans.”

His national security adviser, Susan Rice, said via Twitter that she had spoken by phone to Museveni on Saturday night to protest after he told members of his party that he would sign the law.

“As we have conveyed to President Museveni, enacting this legislation will complicate our valued relationship with Uganda,” Obama said.

Museveni’s decision was based on a report by medical experts presented at the retreat, saying that “homosexuality is not genetic but a social behavior,” said Opondo.

Evelyn Anite, a spokeswoman for the governing party, said the report, which had been requested by the president, was prepared by more than a dozen scientists from Uganda’s Health Ministry.

Homosexuality already is illegal in Uganda under a colonial-era law that criminalizes sex acts “against the order of nature.”

The bill is popular in Uganda, one of many sub-Saharan African countries where homosexuals face severe discrimination if not jail terms. A new law in Nigeria last month increased penalties against gays.

After the Ugandan bill was passed late last year, Museveni called for a “scientifically correct” position on homosexuality, ordering the team of government scientists to investigate whether homosexuality is a lifestyle, according to Anite.

Their report led Museveni to believe homosexuality should be punished, she said.

Museveni believes gays should be “rehabilitated”.

Museveni has been under pressure within his own party to sign the legislation, which has wide support among Christian clerics and lawmakers who say it is needed to deter white homosexuals from recruiting Ugandan children.

US exporting cultural war to Africa

ugandagayBy Barbara Bradley Hagerty

The battle over the Bible and homosexuality has torn apart Christian churches and entire denominations in the United States. But what happens when that culture war is exported to other countries? Ugandans are finding out — with potentially deadly consequences.

Uganda is now considering a bill that would impose the death penalty or life in prison on gay men and lesbians for some homosexual acts.

To understand how this bill came to be, one needs to know the story of King Mwanga. In 1886, Uganda’s king ordered some two dozen male pages to have sex with him, and when they refused because of their Christian faith, he ordered that they be burned to death. Every year on June 3, Ugandans celebrate a national holiday honoring the Christian martyrs and deploring the pedophile king.

Into this climate stepped Scott Lively, an American evangelical and president of Defend The Family International. In March 2009, Lively traveled to Uganda to speak, along with two other Americans from “ex-gay communities,” about the “gay agenda.”

“The gay movement is an evil institution,” he told Uganda’s Family Life Network. “The goal of the gay movement is to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity.”

Then Lively, who has authored a book called The Pink Swastika, played into the fears raised by Uganda’s history.

“Male homosexuality has historically been, not adult to adult; it’s been adult to teenager,” he said. “It’s called pederasty — adults sodomizing teenage boys.”

Later in his trip, Lively addressed the Ugandan Parliament on the gay issue, recommending therapy to help people leave their gay lifestyle. A few months later, a bill was introduced to execute people for some homosexual acts.

Lively says he never suggested putting the death penalty into bill, and he says he thinks the bill goes too far.

“But the fact that they’re willing to stand up and say, ‘No, we are not going let you homosexualize our country!’ — that is a step in the right direction, and I would hope that it would spread to other countries,” he says.

Lively is considered a fringe player in the American culture wars. But in recent years, mainstream evangelicals in the U.S. have forged close spiritual and financial ties with their biblically conservative African brothers. For example, dozens of Episcopal churches and even some dioceses have left the U.S. church to go under the authority of Anglican bishops in Uganda, Nigeria and Rwanda — primarily over the gay issue.

Jim Naughton, a former canon in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., says their message plays one way in the U.S., but differently in a place like Uganda. And they should have known.

“If you go to countries where there’s already a great deal of suspicion and maybe animosity towards homosexuals, and begin to tell people there, ‘Well, actually these people are child abusers, they’re coming for their children, that they’re the scourge that is being deposited on you by the secular West,’ you’re gonna get a backlash.” Naughton says it’s like “showing up in rooms filled with gasoline, and throwing lighted matches around and saying, ‘Well, I never intended fire .‘ ”

Many U.S. evangelicals, including Lively, say they are “mortified” by the death penalty provision. Naughton doesn’t buy it.

“I think if they were mortified, they would have been mortified immediately,” he says. “Instead they were mortified — oh, two, three months into the campaign against this thing, when it was getting real traction.”

Megachurch pastor Rick Warren is a case in point. Warren, author of The Purpose Driven Life, has extensive ties with religious leaders in Africa, including Uganda. Initially, he refused to condemn the bill. Finally, two months after the bill was introduced, he urged pastors in Uganda to oppose it.

“We are all familiar with Edmund Burke’s insight, ‘All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,’ ” Warren began. He explained his silence by saying, “It is not my role to interfere with the politics of other nations,” then stated that the bill “is unjust, it’s extreme, and it’s un-Christian.”

If Warren was slow to condemn the bill, other Christian conservatives have yet to do so, says Warren Throckmorton, who teaches psychology at Grove City College and has been monitoring U.S. evangelical response. He says some of the Christian groups most publicly tied to Uganda have been the quietest. Joyce Meyer Ministries, Oral Roberts University, the College of Prayer in Atlanta — all have close ties and declined to express reservations about the death penalty.

“Silence is often interpreted as consent,” says Throckmorton, who is himself a conservative evangelical. “So I think those kinds of responses may lead those individuals in Uganda to think that perhaps what [they’re] doing really is according to the evangelical faith.”

“The question is, what’s the most effective way to deal with it?” asks Martyn Minns, bishop of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a group that broke from the Episcopal Church and is now aligned with Nigeria.

“Sometimes megaphone diplomacy doesn’t work,” Minns says. “Sometimes quietly talking to folks who will actually shape the final product is more effective.”

His group has been working behind the scenes to remove the death penalty from the bill. But Minns also says Uganda has a right to resist the wave of gay activism that he says is flooding in from the West.

“It’s hard for any of us who have not lived under colonial rule to realize how offensive it is for people who have won that freedom to now basically be told, ‘You’re fools. You’re ignorant. One day you’ll grow up and be like us,’ ” Minns says. “That comes across in a very patronizing way.”

This week Uganda’s president called for the bill to be withdrawn, saying it was harming the country’s foreign policy. The sponsor has refused to do so, and it is expected to be considered in February. But no matter what happens, the story of Uganda is considered a cautionary tale of what can happen when the West’s religious debates are transplanted to another culture. – NRP