Dan Savage To Progressive Christians: Get With It Already!

Last May, Sojourners  magazine, a “progressive” christian publication  rejected a Believe Out Loud ad that promoted LGBTQ faith.  Savage responded with, “”Okay! If progressive Christians can’t unite behind the concept of welcome then, gee, what the fuck good are they? It’s a God hates fags with a big smile.”

The guy’s got a point.

Dan Savage, for those two of you not familiar with him, is a queer sex advice columnist who has taken on Rick “Forthy Mix” Santorum, started the “It Get’s Better Campaign” with his husband Terry Miller and once volunteered with then Republican  Presidential Candidate Gary Bauer in order to be able to lick doorknobs, pens, and anything else Bauer would touch in hopes of passing on his particular strain of the flu.

Joseph Ward III, with Intersections International, a group that works at the intersection of communities in conflict, writes over at Huffington that, “From the upper echelons of government, we have conservative politicians, like Santorum, who advocate reinstituting harmful anti-LGBTQ policies such as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and who support preventing same-sex couples from ever having the opportunity to marry or adopt children. They spew harmful anti-gay rhetoric and align themselves with Political Action Committees and funding sources that do the same. Of course, these bullies aren’t solely in the halls of Congress, PACs or conservative grassroots advocacy groups..the church plays a signifgant role in all this..”

Ward says “There is a growing community of LGBTQ-inclusive Progressive Christians who are out there, and doing all they can to make sure it also gets better in the church. When I mentioned this to him, Savage had one piece of advice for the community and folks like myself: “Be louder!” “Louder and as well resourced as groups like Tony Perkins,” — the head of the anti-LGBTQ Family Research Council.”

Ward’s advice is this:

“To clergy — make a point to preach on welcome and don’t be afraid to talk about how God made LGBTQ persons in God’s own image.

To congregants — open your hearts and minds and remember, you’re not being asked to welcome some abstract concept into the church. You’re being asked to welcome your neighbors, your grandchild, your sons and daughters, children who just want to grow up in a world free of fear and discrimination. Many LGBTQ young people look to you as a role model to help them realize they can live in a world that respects their right to exist, and allows them a fair opportunity to reach their full potential. Meet the LGBTQ community if you haven’t. And if you’ve ever been in a situation where you might have unintentionally been bullying young people by something as simple as denying them equal access to faith, you are forgiven. But starting today, don’t ever do it again.”

Here is the “offending”  advertisement:

Read Ward’s full Huffington Post article HERE.