I’m a member of the New Ku Klux Klan. You may be, too.
By the way: the white robes are optional…at least for now.
The “Klan”, or “KKK”, is one of the most emotionally charged phrases in American culture, and deservedly so. Founded in 1866, the KKK was a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s reconstruction-era policies. By 1870 it looked like the Klan’s efforts were paying off as Democrat victories mounted in the south. I know, I know. You thought the Klan was started by hateful white Republicans. Sorry to disappoint you.
After a period of decline, the Klan saw a resurgence with the arrival of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. They were known for their vitriolic hatred of blacks as well as white civil rights activists, leading to verbal & physical harassment, intimidation, bombings, beatings, and murder. Today, the KKK is mostly a by-word…a disturbing memory tied to the ignorance and darkness of some remarkably evil human beings.
Enter the New Ku Klux Klan: Evangelical Christians like me who oppose the radical homosexual agenda and its unending efforts to redefine morality in America.
We are quickly approaching a day in this country when anyone who opposes homosexual marriage will be assumed to be a hateful, ignorant, and bigoted person. How could they be anything else? Homosexual rights are civil rights, are they not? Just like a man or woman is born black, a homosexual is born with same-sex attraction hard-wired into their DNA. In fact, referring to homosexuality as “same-sex attraction” is a bigoted statement in and of itself, isn’t it?
Just as those who sought to deny African Americans equal rights, people who oppose homosexual marriage or the “normalization” of homosexual relations are deeply flawed, if not downright dangerous. At the very least they are hateful – and hate will not be tolerated in 21st century America. Just ask the former C.E.O. of Mozilla who dared to donate $1,000 to a pro-traditional marriage initiative in California…or Chick-fil-A President Dan Cathy who voiced his support for so-called “traditional” marriage…or the Florida teacher who was suspended for posting “anti-gay marriage views” on his personal Facebook page…or the black female administrator at the University of Toledo who was suspended for daring to suggest that homosexuality was not a civil rights issue…and the list goes on and on.
While the term “KKK” has not made it into the mainstream vernacular of the radical homosexual movement, it’s beginning to gain some momentum. Regarding the recent Mozilla controversy, one upset homosexual responded in a blog with this doozy:
“There is not a single mainstream company in the world today that would endure a CEO who donated to a neo-Nazi organization or the KKK, or for a referendum to make interracial marriage illegal. In making our case for marriage equality, we have set the right to marry for homosexuals on the same level as the right to marry inter-racially. This means that the public will respond to those who oppose it just as they would to those who fought to prevent my parents from marrying. And rightly so.”
See my point? The final two lines of this particular post should send chills up your spine, as the writer has no problem equating anti-homosexualists with those who opposed civil rights for black people, i.e. folks like the hateful, bigoted members of the KKK. A small-time blog comment is one thing…a major article in the L.A. Times is another:
“Eventually, the idea that it’s OK to be against gay marriage because of your religious beliefs is going to seem as silly as opposing interracial marriage because you weren’t raised that way. Eventually, gay marriage will be as normal as interracial marriage, which, don’t forget, was illegal in many states until 1967.”
See the logic? Opposing homosexual marriage is “silly,” which means that any opposition can’t be based on logic, but only emotion…and that emotion is obviously hatred. Presto-Change-O! You are a hater. You are a bigot. You are no better than your average KKK member who fought against the justice of the civil rights movement. And…you must be stopped, for the good of society.
You and your backward thinking. You and your allegiance to a 2,000-year-old document. You and your hate speech. You and your discrimination. You and your threat to a civilized and loving society.
Twenty years ago there wasn’t a single country on the planet that had legalized homosexual marriage. Today, it’s on the fast track to becoming the norm. You can either get over your bigoted and hateful opinions, or society will do it for you.
Welcome to the “New KKK”
So, what is a Christ-follower to do? The same thing we have always been called to do…the same thing Jesus did:
“You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48
It sounds great on paper, but it’s hard to do on the street. We must do it anyway. Love them enough to speak the truth. Pray for them. Forgive them when they judge you and malign you. Tell them about the hope that you have, but do so with gentleness and respect (2 Peter 3:15-16a). Share the Gospel with them because it is the only hope for mankind (Acts 4:12). Don’t act surprised by their hatred, for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).
I hate being a member of the “New KKK.” You should, too. Sadly, a growing percentage of our fellow Americans are not giving us a choice, so let’s make the best of it for the sake of the Gospel: let’s be the kindest, most loving and forgiving “New KKK” members we can possibly be.
