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Prays Gay Offspring will be 'Led Back into Normalcy' Quotes & Re-Quotes Alleged Anti-Gay Bible Verses |
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By Jack Nichols
It was not the first time a leading anti-gay 'religious' celebrity had attacked Kunst. In 1987, Anita Bryant, while singing for her supper in trailer parks, had called Kunst "a nincompoop" admitting to the Orlando Sentinel's Florida magazine that the maverick gay activist had represented "a very dark period" in her life. Kunst, who is also an activist for Jewish causes, was accompanied in Lynchburg by nine supportive lesbians from surrounding Virginian towns. He was representing The Oral Majority, an organization he'd founded to confound Falwell in the late 1970s and arrived here to protest the White/Falwell meeting, calling Falwell "a war criminal" who is incapable of reformation.
Falwell, oddly comparing himself to the Apostle Paul, addressed Kunst's protest: "I realize that many will continue to stridently oppose my message. Bob Kunst, leader of the homosexual-rights group known as the Oral Majority, is one such person. Bob also protested our anti-violence summit, saying that I should stay out of homosexuals' business. He also believes that my insistence in calling homosexuality sin is, in itself, a precarious insult to homosexuals. "Nevertheless, I cannot turn a blind eye to Romans, Chapter 1, and several other biblical passages simply because Bob Kunst doesn't like the message that his actions are sinful and dangerous. "My objective is not to challenge Bob's right to conduct his life as he pleases – within the bounds of law that we all must observe. My intent is rather to challenge the homosexual agenda which, I believe, not only counters the Bible, but also contradicts the Judeo-Christian values set forth by our nation's Founding Fathers. "I not only have a right to challenge him, I believe I have a biblical mandate to confront the culture – as did the Apostle Paul – with the Truthof Christ." Falwell's after-the-meeting reflections were rife with his usual citations of what he considers to be hate-free anti-gay statements in the Bible. He wrote: "I believe the Bible – God's infallible Word – prohibits all sexual activity outside the traditional bonds of marriage between a man and woman. I Thessalonians 4:3 tells us to 'abstain from fornication.' I Peter 2:11 further teaches us to 'abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.' Romans 1:26-27 informs us of an earlier time when sexual immorality and self-worship brought great consequence to those involved. 'For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.' "Other similar verses," insists the peaceful 'new' Falwell, "abound." Falwell attempted to explain to his networks of fundamentalist followers how he'd greeted Rev. Mel White and his gay Christian group: "With 200 homosexuals staring me in the face last Saturday, I accentuated the biblical position that homosexuality is sin. I also cautioned everyone attending that meeting that my position would never falter." Adding fuel to his fires, Falwell once again trotted out mention of the Ex-Gay movement, saying that if he himself were to have a gay son that he'd surely love that son but would pray that he could lead him "back to normalcy." "I am committed to helping Michael Johnston and thousands of other 'ex-gays' declare their message of godly deliverance because I continue to believe that many homosexuals are hungering for an escape from their lifestyle." Kunst moans scornfully: "So much for Mel White's pie-in-the-sky hopes for a de-escalation of Falwell's hate talk," he quips, rhetorically continuing: "This is the guy who accused President Clinton of being a drug smuggler and murderer, then went on to say that the 'anti-Christ' was a living male Jew, then went on the fringe with Tinky-Winky." Last weekend Kunst did approximately 60 media interviews, including at least 5 that were with fundamentalist Christians. He became particularly incensed, however, when he saw Falwell speaking Sunday on a television program: "He anointed Mel White as the 'Titular head of the Gay and Lesbian Movement' on the October 24 Today Show. This really shows how they planned this scam together and now its already backfiring." Kunst observed: "It's all been so Disney World. Falwell Snowed-White. Snowed White loved it. He's such a masochist." |
