We all know the reputation Christians have among the LGBT community. These days, to call yourself Christian is almost seen as being synonymous with homophobia. We hear a lot about "conversion therapy", and parents disowning their own children because they came out as gay. As an ex-gay, LGBT activists say some very vicious things about me, and I even have non-practicing LGBT friends who, because they will not act on their attractions due to their faith, are told they are not allowed to be a part of the LGBT community, since they are "homophobic bigots".
But Jesus has some excellent advice for people who think this way: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5).
The unmerited hatred LGBT activists often show towards Christians is morally identical to the unmerited hatred Christians allegedly often show towards members of the LGBT community. The truth is, although Christians are nowhere near as homophobic as we are often perceived to be, LGBT activists (which I must point out I distinguish from the LGBT community as a whole) have absolutely earned their reputation for bigotry.
This can be seen in the way LGBT activists treat Christian businesses. Whereas they used to say all they wanted was equality (which, by the way, they already had), as gay "marriage" became legal in the Western World, Christians were told that we not only have to accept it, but actively participate. How so? Well, it shouldn't need to be said that Christian businesses aren't likely to partake in gay "weddings". Bakers, florists, photographers, all have the absolute right (and even constitutional right in countries like the U.S.A.) to refuse service. Nevertheless, even in the U.S.A., the first amendment was pushed aside by activist judges who decided that LGBT privilege takes priority.
"But discrimination". Ok, well, first of all, no. There is a difference between the refusal of service because of the product/service and because of the person. In many cases, the business in question had actually served the customers before, and would do so again, it's just that they drew the line at participating in that which violated their conscience. But let's examine that claim more closely. See, I, myself, face discrimination, not only from businesses, but from my very own "government".
In spite of a major rebellion by 100 Conservative party MPs, Boris Johnson recently managed to force his "Plan B" on the UK, which requires, among other things, proof having received the Covid jabs before attending large gatherings, such as concerts or football matches. Now, as an introvert, you won't often find me within half a mile of a night club (which are also required to check people's Covid passports before letting them in), so that doesn't really matter much to me. I'm still ticked off on behalf of my fellow Brits, but it doesn't affect me personally. However, as shown to the right of this paragraph, there is at least one pub that specifically requires me to receive a Covid jab if I am to enter their premises for a drink.
[Post publication update: Since this article was originally written, a lot has changed. Plan B is no longer in effect, and widespread discrimination has all but completely disappeared. As the point remains the same, and it is based on real history, I have decided to make no changes to the article.]
Now, first off, notice the major difference. Christian businesses do not discriminate based on people, but on product/service. You want a birthday cake? No problem. Graduation photos? Sure thing. Flowers for your funeral? Absolutely. Your sexuality does not matter. But when you ask for a gay "wedding" cake, you are asking for a specific product, catered to a specific event, that is obviously going to violate a Christian's conscience. By contrast, a beer is a beer is a beer. The product is identical. The patrons on table A have the identical product. The patrons on table B have the identical product. The difference between refusing me service and not refusing them service is me. They have made a medical choice you agree with, I have made a medical choice you do not agree with, therefore you will not provide me with the identical product or service. That is very real discrimination. So, what's my solution?
Theoretically, because it is actual discrimination, I could sue. It would be legal, it would be justified. But I actually have a better solution: Give my money to their less bigoted competitors. You don't want to serve me a beer? No problem, there's a pub across the road that really doesn't care what I do with my body, and they're probably struggling thanks to Covid fearmongering and even public policy, so I'm sure they'll see your discrimination against me as an act of charity in their favor. Simple.
So why is it not that simple for LGBT activists? Because of the aforementioned plank in their eyes. The hatred they accuse Christians of having for them is actually hatred they have for Christians. Christians, at least as far as they are consistent with their faith, do not hate gay people, even those who are hateful towards us. Rather, Christians are commanded to love gay people, and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43-48). Thus, the Bible tells us that the Christians who genuinely are homophobic are actually acting inconsistently with their faith. There is no good reason for a Christian to hate gay people.
The Bible does, however, tell us why LGBT activists might hate us. "If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also." (John 15:18-20).
Here, Jesus tells us that the world projects its hatred of Christ onto His followers. The closer a man gets to Christ, the more that man will resemble Christ, both in His love, and in His teachings. Jesus, of course, teaches us that our works are evil. Each and every one of us has sinned against God in one way or another, and so we have earned His eternal wrath. Among those sins, of course, is homosexuality. This is not a nice message, and so neither is it a popular one. The problem we have is that it is absolutely true.
But because God loves gay people, there is a solution to our problem. The wrath God owes to sinners, He poured out on His Son instead. Because of this, we can effectively "swap verdicts". Because He was punished for our sin, we can be rewarded for His righteousness. This rather makes LGBT hatred seem unreasonable, if you think about it. Yes, He's asking you to give up a self destructive lifestyle you enjoy, but this just seems like God's getting the raw end of the deal. We get Him, with all the blessings He brings, for nothing but faith, while He gets us, with all our fragility, which He had to pay for with His own blood. If you want to give that up for unnatural sexual practices, that's entirely your choice, but it would be the most homophobic thing we could do, as Christians, if we didn't at least try to encourage you to reconsider.