Nigeria: The Religious Right's Anti-Gay Model? : Dispatches from the Culture Wars

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Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of Michigan Citizens for Science and co-founder of The Panda's Thumb. He has written for such publications as The Bard, Skeptic and Reports of the National Center for Science Education, spoken in front of many organizations and conferences, and appeared on nationally syndicated radio shows and on C-SPAN. Ed is also a Fellow with the Center for Independent Media and the host of Declaring Independence, a one hour weekly political talk show on WPRR in Grand Rapids, Michigan.(static)

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Nigeria: The Religious Right's Anti-Gay Model?

Category: Gay Rights
Posted on: January 2, 2007 5:22 PM, by Ed Brayton

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I wrote that it could be worse? Turns out I wasn't kidding. A conservative Christian news service is actually pointing to NIgeria as a model for American policy toward gays. The article is entitled Lessons for America from Nigeria - Archbishop Stands against Homosexuality, and it actually cites Nigeria as a model for how America should deal with gays. Mind you, Nigeria is where they still sentence gays to death by stoning. It's also where the government is currently considering an insane bill that would make any meeting between two or more people where one is gay a crime punishable up to five years behind bars. Frightening.

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From the article:

In the biblical sense of the word he is one who is towing the line.

Now that's an interesting interpretation of that metaphor :) Perhaps a more apt one than the one they meant to use, too!

It's impossible to toe the line when it comes to Biblical literalism, since the Bible is so self-inconsistent, so those who claim to be leaders of Biblical literalists should be recognized as towing!

-Rob

Posted by: Rob Knop | January 2, 2007 5:49 PM

Sounds like something the late RJ Rushdooney and other Dominionists would be happy with.

Posted by: mark | January 2, 2007 6:07 PM

Referring to San Francisco as a place where an atmosphere of tolerance and acceptance has resulted in a cultural and technological boom, Garrison Keillor said "There's a reason the iPod wasn't invented in Kansas."

Looks like it may be a while before anything at all gets invented in Nigeria. All the scams in the world won't help their economy.

Posted by: decrepitoldfool | January 2, 2007 6:13 PM

Others in his church think that he is off course and should be focusing on the problem of aids and Africa 's seething poverty. The Bishop must see the connection between wholesale immorality and the dreadful conditions in Africa

Possibly the best hidden rascist comment I have seen in the last few years. If Africa is underdeveloped, it's because the simple black folk are so caught up in their sin. They deserve it, right? This is the sort of line Lee Atwater used to specialize in.

Posted by: kehrsam | January 2, 2007 7:28 PM

Kehrsam:

I don't see any racism in that comment. Either that, or it's that well hidden.

I see them making a false connection between "wholesale immorality" and the famines, etc. I think they'd make the same judgement if they were so white they were transparent.

Posted by: Russell Miller | January 2, 2007 7:35 PM

By Rev Michael Bresciani, American Prophet News and Articles

"American Prophet"?

Posted by: Coin | January 2, 2007 7:38 PM

This homophobic Archbishop is the same one who prompted the voting that led to several VA Episcopal churches to break away and technically join a mission of his Nigerian church (which is against the Anglican rules of establishing missions, though Canterbury hasn't made an official statement yet).

The separation would have happened anyways - the churches in question, had united as the conservative refuge by being the place where conservative Episcopals went after always being a powerless minority in their own nearby churches. Had it not been the gay bishop thing, they would eventually have found something else. The Episcopal church is generally "moderate" (which certainly appears liberal when compared to evangelicals and fundies), moving with the nation. Some people finally decided they couldn't play along anymore.

more's the pity. I had friends in those churches and now I am finding it very hard not to hate (though I still condemn) the hatred inherent within those votes and their choice to turn over the future of the church not to the people or the diosys that founded it, but to the madness of lawyers that don't care about the issues or the faith, but merely the money.

Posted by: Joe Shelby | January 2, 2007 9:01 PM

Re Shelby

In particular, there is probably going to be a nasty law suit over who owns the property currently occupied by the renegade churches. This is a particular issue here in Falls Church where the Falls Church (where George Washington) was once a vestryman) sits on land worth millions of dollars.

Posted by: SLC | January 3, 2007 8:35 AM

I guess we can take it as a good sign that these wingnuts have to look as far as Nigeria to see their ideal of gay-bashing behavior. They sure as Hell can't call themselves "patriotic" anymore.

Now if we can start looking to foreign countries for examples of GOOD alternative policies, we'd be back on track...

Posted by: Raging Bee | January 3, 2007 11:06 AM

This reminds of the scene in Borat where he is at the rodeo and the old cowboy warns him against acting gay.

Cowboy: "when someone acts like that in your country don't you take 'em out back and string em up?"
Borat: "Yess"
Cowboy: "thats good, thats what were trying to get done here too."

Its amazing how all the uber-patriots in America glorify freedom and liberty, yet when you actually sit down and go over their beliefs one by one you find what horrible despots most of them are. If Saudi Arabian law was changed from Allah and Muslim to God and Christian, with all the rules staying the same, most of these jerks would be right at home. /rantoff

Posted by: Random Guy | January 3, 2007 12:28 PM