Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, recently caused much controversy in the conservative world when he said that Southern Baptists need to repent for their “form of homophobia” and that many in the church have “lied about the nature of homosexuality and have practiced what can only be described as a form of homophobia.”
Mohler received support in an unexpected place last Friday, when American Family Association blogger Elijah Friedeman posted a blog entitled “Let’s be honest, a lot of Christians are guilty of homophobia.”
For some reason there is an irrational fear of and extreme aversion to homosexuals in a lot of churches. We may not come right out and say that we think homosexuals are nasty creatures, but if you read between the lines, it’s pretty easy to pick up on. This is homophobia.
Despite this, Friedeman still called homosexuality a sin and a disorder of those with “addictive personalities.”
Maybe Friedeman should share this with his fellow-AFA blogger Bryan Fischer. Just hours before Friedeman’s posted his blog, Fischer released a statement rebutting everything that Mohler had said about the nature of homosexuality and homophobia in the Southern Baptist Church. Fischer claimed the church was “pander[ing] to the homosexual lobby” and was sending “disturbing signals” about homosexuality. This is rather tame language for Fischer, who is widely known for his anti-gay rhetoric, much of which can be seen in this “best of” Fischer hate rant compilation:
