Exporting homophobia wholesale [Updated]

Homophobia is being sold abroad by the evangelical Christian right, concludes Boston-based Political Research Associates. It is being sold by the American Center for Law and Justice, Human Life International and Family Watch International, reports the Guardian:

Each of these "frame their agendas as authentically African, in an effort to brand human rights advocacy as a new colonialism bent on destroying cultural traditions and values", the report says.

In the past five years, the report alleges, all "have launched or expanded their work in Africa dedicated to promoting their Christian right worldview". A loose network of rightwing charismatic Christians called the transformation movement joins them in fanning the flames of the culture wars over homosexuality and abortion by backing prominent African campaigners and political leaders."

Read the entire story here.

Update

Download the full report here [.pdf]. It begins:

Uganda’s infamous 2009 Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would institute the death penalty for a new and surreal category of offenses dubbed “aggravated homosexuality,” captured international headlines for months. The human rights community and the Obama administration responded forcefully, the bill was tabled, and the story largely receded from U.S. headlines. But as the Rev. Dr. Kapya Kaoma reveals in this important exposé, the “Uganda problem” is continental in scale and its underlying cause continues unabated: the U.S. Christian Right, which engineered Uganda’s so-called “Kill the Gays” bill, continues to open new fronts across the African continent in its distinctly American culture war against homosexuality and abortion.

Canberra Declaration announced & Manhattan begs for money

Australia's Canberra Declaration was announced today on the Parliament House lawn in Canberra at the Government of God Conference.

It is apparently descended from the 2009 Manhattan Declaration in the U.S. and the 2010 Westminster Declaration in the U.K.

Born into a country where Christianity is hardly ascendant and the prime minister is an atheist (not their first), it may be a less effective email-address collection tool than either of its predecessors, the first of which is already begging for money. In a drum-beating email to the Manhattan Declaration list, Chuck Colson wrote Wednesday:

. . . although we are seeing a tremendous response from people to the emails, updates, and information on the website, we could use your help to cover the expenses related to these efforts. So we are asking you to please consider giving a small gift today. . . . We're going to increase our frequency of communication with you over the next few months, so check the website often, and watch your email for future updates.

Or adjust your spam filter.

Manhattan Declaration online petition pitch: Fail

Not quite two months after the Manhattan Declaration was unveiled they have less than half the 1 million signatures they intended to have by Dec. 1. Thus having failed, they emailed all of the signers this week, pitching efforts to date as a success and calling for a push on to the million.

Depressingly manipulative, the pitch dwells on rumors of success and outlines a special effort by four Catholic archbishops:

Just ten days ago, Cardinal Rigali of Philadelphia, Archbishop Wuerl of Washington, DC, Archbishop Dolan of New York and Archbishop Kurtz of Louisville reached out to all of their brother Catholic bishops asking them to spread this document throughout their dioceses and encourage their clergy and faithful to study it and join as signatories.

That signature shortfall they've achieved but failed to confess is unexpected. After all, the signatures are unverified.

If the petition gatherer does not somehow verify that there is one, unique, living human being who has associated himself or herself with each signature (and not the same human being behind more than one signature), such petitions are open to padding.

The Manhattan Declaration's signature-collection process does filter for robots. But apparently does no other identity verification. Not even a verification email to the address signers give them.

Our testing suggests that it just bumps the counter.

Which means people can sign several times under bogus names, and that a suitably unethical person can sign for you.

Yes. That million-signature petition, assuming they eventually get their million signatures -- it's_a_joke.

Obama opens for Lady Gaga

Southern Baptists are well-known for their refusal to welcome "unrepentant" homosexual Christians into their midst. You may recall how the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina followed SBC precepts in acting to "disfellowship" Myers Park Baptist Church. Or this year when the SBC ended "the denomination's relationship with Broadway Baptist Church, a Fort Worth, Texas, congregation that has been the source of controversy over its stance on homosexuality."

Some Southern Baptists will not welcome President Barak Obama's message at the Human Rights Campaign dinner Saturday night:

But some will applaud, if they have not yet joined the Jimmy Carter exodus from the SBC. The year before the Myers Park disfellowship and in response to one of a series of actions which included expelling the late W.W. Finlator's Pullen Memorial Baptist Church for the congregation's "unqualified acceptance of homosexual Christians and their full participation in the life and work of the church," one Southern Baptist college student was moved to write for her blog in the now-defunct North Carolina Biblical Recorder BRBlogs:

Donald Miller once opened a confessional booth on his campus, not to accept others confessions of previous sins, but apologize for our actions (current and historical) as Christians. He apologized for the crusades, for genocide, and bigotry all done in the name of Christ.
Right now, I know why he did it, I feel so ashamed.
From my own confessional booth I would like to say to all of you that this news from the Baptist convention is going to upset, anger, or turn off ... I'm sorry. I'm sorry that we as Baptists feel the need to separate ourselves from the very ones we should love. I am so sorry that there was ever a division in the first place. I'm sorry that I am guilty of disconnecting myself with people and places that I am supposed to go and serve. I am sorry.
I am ashamed of this decision and that it is my very denomination making it but hear me, I am not and never will be ashamed of the God I serve. Ever.
Yeah, the church is messed up. But God isn't. It is my hope and prayer that those of you who do know him are appalled by this...and that you continue to serve our amazing father. If you support the banning of homosexuals in the church...wow.
Reconsider.
Reconsider just because God loves us (as followers) beyond all our stuff that no one sees.
And if there is a division that we have to draw between "us" and "them" remember that it is "them" that we are supposed to love. if you do not follow Christ, don't be turned off by this recent action of the convention. I promise there is so much more to God than any of us know ... even those of us who think we do.

Again, from one of your own.

Marriage definition ‘adjustment’

Seriously. Are you upset because Merriam-Webster's lexicographers are doing their jobs?

Just askin'.

Westboro B*ptist hits a solid British wall

Westboro B*ptist Church's plan to picket (a favorite target) a production of The Laramie Project at Basingstoke, Hampshire, has been cripped at the British border.

"Homophobic American cleric" Fred Phelps, who heads Westboro Baptist Church, and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper, had announced plans to lead protests against the play and have been banned from doing so by Britain's home secretary, Jacqui Smith. Other members of the family may be banned as well.

The UK Border Agency applied the British "exclusions policy," targeted at "all those who seek to stir up tension and provoke others to violence regardless of their origins and beliefs." They said, "Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities."

No mention was made of Phelps' companion website God Hates the World, which this week stated: "God hates England. Your Queen is a whore. You're going to hell."

Westboro B*ptist hits the British wall

Westboro B*ptist Church's plan to picket (a favorite target) a production of The Laramie Project at Basingstoke, Hampshire, has been cripped at the British border.

"Homophobic American cleric" Fred Phelps, who heads Westboro Baptist Church, and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper, had announced plans to lead protests against the play and have been banned from doing so by Britain's home secretary, Jacqui Smith. Other members of the family may be banned as well.

The UK Border Agency applied the British "exclusions policy," targeted at "all those who seek to stir up tension and provoke others to violence regardless of their origins and beliefs." They said, "Both these individuals have engaged in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against a number of communities."

No mention was made of Phelps' companion website God Hates the World, which this week stated: "God hates England. Your Queen is a whore. You're going to hell."

Westboro B*ptist Church takes its act to the British

Westboro B*ptist Church's plan to picket (a favorite target) a production of The Laramie Project at Basingstoke, Hampshire, seems to bemuse the British.

Tongue in cheek, upper lip stiff, The Telegraph published "the full text" of their correspondence with hyperhomophobic Westboro over their "threatened" demonstration. It's all deadpan questions, and the [ahem] answers.

Andrew Mueller of the Guardian reviews with scathing humor Westboro's logic and behavior, concluding:

Fortunately, this is one of those rare, glorious situations in which the right and smart tactic is also the easy, lazy one: let them come, and let them speak. Our common sense, our liberal tradition, our language – and our rich lexicon of dismissive hand gestures – equip us amply to respond.