Posted Feb 18, 2020 by Michael L. Brown

Writing for the Friendly Atheist blog, Beth Stoneburner took issue with my contention that a President Pete Buttigieg would “do his best to marginalize those who are convinced that [homosexual] relationships are contrary to the will of God.” She also claimed that “no one is trying to silence” me when it comes to speaking out on behalf of Christian conservative values. Are my fellow-believers simply paranoid? Are we manufacturing a crisis when none exists?

According to Stoneburner, “No one is trying to silence Brown. He regularly publishes his bile on larger platforms, for goodness’ sake. He’s doing just fine. Somehow, right-wing believers survived eight years of President Obama but they can’t handle the possibility of a gay president.”

She added, “The fact that Brown is still spewing this nonsense without being arrested or thrown in jail or fined shows you just how little he has to be worried about. If only the people he condemned had the same luxury.”

It would have been better, of course, if Stoneburner had responded with accuracy rather than rhetoric.

For example, I never said a word about believers not surviving an out and proud gay presidency.

I simply stated that such a presidency would contribute to the further moral decline of our society.

As for our survival, Jesus guaranteed that 2,000 years ago, saying that the gates of Hades would not prevail against the church (see Matthew 16:18). He also said He was with us always, even to the end of the age (Matthew 28:20).

So, if the church can survive all kinds of murderous persecution worldwide, right until this minute, ranging from radical Islamic terrorists to oppressive atheistic regimes, it can certainly survive a gay president. Obviously.

I also have no desire to see my political or ideological opponents arrested or thrown in jail or fined. When did I ever utter such sentiments?

But again, why deal with specifics and facts when it’s so much easier to demonize your Bible-believing opponents? Unfortunately, this only adds to the polarization rather than opening the door for a meaningful, candid discussion of our differences.

That being said, I take Stoneburner at her word. I assume she meant what she wrote and that her rhetoric reflects her actual beliefs.

In the interest, then, of setting the record straight, allow me to relate the following.

Contrary to her claim that no is trying to silence me, already in 2012, the gay activist group GLAAD put me on their “Commentator Accountability Project,” urging major media networks not to allow people like me on their shows.

That sure sounds like an attempt to silence our voices.

Also in 2012, the SPLC put me on their list of 30 New Activists Heading Up the Radical Right, seeking to defame me by linking me with neo-Nazis and other violent extremists.

Then, in 2014, the HRC added me to their list of “America's worst globetrotting homophobic offenders.”

Not surprisingly, on a regular basis, Christian groups on university campuses have faced strong opposition when trying to bring me in for a talk or a debate. And not infrequently, those opposing my presence point to the SPLC’s misinformed attacks against me.

Our ministry has also fought numerous battles with Facebook and YouTube for censoring our content.

The fight is real and it is pitched.

Friends of mine have even lost their jobs because they held to conservative Christian values, even though there was not one single complaint them against them for discriminatory behavior. And on and on the list goes.

Already in 2011, a chapter in my book A Queer Thing Happened to America was titled, “Big Brother Is Watching, and He Really Is Gay.” There I noted that, “The really frightening thing is that it would be easy to write an entire book focusing on the subject matter of this chapter alone, and the book could be much longer than this present book – and this is one long book!” (The book is 700 pages long with 1,500 endnotes.)

Last November, Douglas MacKinnon spoke of “longstanding and ongoing discrimination against conservative, Republican and Christian thought.” Five years earlier, professors George Yancey and David A. Williamson documented the presence of “Christianophobia” in America. And shall I mention the absurd restricting of Prager U videos on various platforms?

The attempt to silence conservative voices, in particular, conservative Christian voices, is undeniable, and examples could be multiplied ad infinitum.

Then, last October, “the now-former Democratic presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke proclaimed that churches failing to toe the line on gay and transgender rights would lose their tax-exempt status in his administration” (quoting Prof. Andrew Walker in the National Review)?

No, Ms. Stoneburner, I am not making this stuff up.

As for whether a President Buttigieg would try to marginalize Bible-believers like me, what we do know is that he has already done that very thing. He has already used his campaign platform both to celebrate his homosexuality and to denigrate the Christianity of those who differ with him, including Vice President Pence.

Stoneburner writes that, “There is no reason to believe anything new will happen under a hypothetical Buttigieg administration that isn’t already happening due to public understanding of LGBTQ issues.”

Ironically (and quite unintentionally), she has hit the nail on the head. LGBTQ+ activism has already had a deleterious effect on society in many ways, some of them outright oppressive. We could expect more of the same – really, much more – with an out and proud gay president.

No fearmongering here, and, for the record, no paranoia. I plan to continue to speak out regardless of cost or consequences.

I’m simply sounding the alarm in advance. A word to the wise is sufficient.

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Comments

OT posted a comment · Feb 23, 2020
Latinuproar, your comment is rational . Thank you
OT posted a comment · Feb 23, 2020
Commenters here write : I’m blinded by liberal bias and can only see liberal media source as fact! Ignore Bible warning on sin, decline of society 1 Timothy 1:9-10, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,
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Latinuproar posted a comment · Feb 22, 2020
Oreopagus wrote: Michael Brown wrote: "For example, I never said a word about believers not surviving an out and proud gay presidency. I simply stated that such a presidency would contribute to the further moral decline of our society." === https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/nevada-town-hall-sanders-buttigieg-klobuchar/h_3db2798f237e3dfd01b366443f4ace9e “The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values,” Buttigieg said, before pausing for cheers and applause. “I’m sorry but one thing about my marriage is it's never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse, with him or her,” Buttigieg said. “So, if they want to debate family values, let's debate family values, I'm ready.” Trump and Pete both sinned, and/or are actively sinning in open rebellion against God. The difference I would argue is the AGENDA to enable homosexuality is far a greater threat to moral values in society. Trump sinned and could still be cheating on his wife, but as President has he DIRECTLY used the constitutional powers ASSIGNED to the presidency to bring about an enabling of this exact behavior? As Christians we see how Trumps behavior can be a strong influence to bring about the same ungodly behavior by others. We wish he would quickly start acting like a true Christian, or even become one if he lies about that too. Further, aside from Trump, we already have what seems like an infinite amount of influential celebrities/persons who are consistently living adulterous immoral lives(even worse actively promoting their ungodly behavior). Even so, is the sin of homosexuality vs the sin of adultery much far worse? Many true Christians are being forced to pick the presidential candidate whose AUTHORITATIVE ACTIONS would be more in line with what is biblical. Trumps actions in office have stood for pro life, pro Israel, and standing up against the radical LGBTQ agenda, just to name a few for why true Christians voted for him. In 2016 I didn't vote for Trump. I feel I was a true Christian, but in my ignorance I never bothered to look up what the candidates stood on the issues. I regretfully voted for Hillary in my simple minded reasoning that she is for Latinos and blacks, Trumps is for whites, and so this is who I'm supposed to vote for. At least when it comes to choosing a candidate now, I'm not so careless. Sent from my iPad
Swkh310 posted a comment · Feb 20, 2020
Yes, Chicken Little, you are exaggerating wildly.
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Markwithrow posted a comment · Feb 19, 2020
With spiritual eyes the reality is so clearly on display, the Godless movements push this Godless degenerate sexual agenda. It is not surprising. Praying for you and your ministry Dr Brown
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Oreopagus posted a comment · Feb 19, 2020
Michael Brown wrote: "I’m simply sounding the alarm in advance. A word to the wise is sufficient." Bill Barr became the Attorney-General just over 12 months ago. Why hasn't Brown ever sounded the alarm over what Trump andBarr are doing, regarding the... POLITICIZATION OF THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT (February 13, 2020) https://www.americanoversight.org/investigation/trump-administrations-politicization-justice-department (In doing a search of Brown's website, Bill Barr's name doesn't come up even once!) Trump Influencing Barr https://www.cagle.com/kevin-siers/2020/02/trump-influencing-barr
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Oreopagus posted a comment · Feb 19, 2020
Michael Brown wrote: "For example, I never said a word about believers not surviving an out and proud gay presidency. I simply stated that such a presidency would contribute to the further moral decline of our society." === https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/nevada-town-hall-sanders-buttigieg-klobuchar/h_3db2798f237e3dfd01b366443f4ace9e “The idea of the likes of Rush Limbaugh or Donald Trump lecturing anybody on family values,” Buttigieg said, before pausing for cheers and applause. “I’m sorry but one thing about my marriage is it's never involved me having to send hush money to a porn star after cheating on my spouse, with him or her,” Buttigieg said. “So, if they want to debate family values, let's debate family values, I'm ready.”
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Skeptic posted a comment · Feb 18, 2020
You feel "outright oppressed" because we end the discrimination against the LGBT community? People who are suffering because they are not accepted, shunned and see in many cases suicide as the only alternative? How dare you!