Dr. Dobson, SpongeBob and Homosexuality

It's been awhile since I took a stand on something... but I felt like I needed to take a stand on this. I encourage you to read this only if you have time... because it got quite lengthy as I began to put it together. However, if you don't have time... please come back when you do.

I am a sinner... I know this because I have done things and continue to do things that are against what the Bible (God) tells me I should do. A sin is a sin and God makes no distinction of one being worse than another, only humans do. However, I believe in the powerful, persistent, and unfathomable love of the one, true, almighty God manifested in the persons of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. I believe He loves every single person on this planet equally. I believe Jesus Christ, the only son of God, entered into human history, fully God and fully man, lived a perfect life, died voluntarily as a substitute for my own sins, and bore the totality of the punishment I deserved. I do not believe "God hates fags." Fred Phelps (I refuse to put a link for his site here) believes this and he has a small cult of devoted followers doing everything they can to make the rest of the world think that is what the Christian Right stands for. It is not.

I am writing about this because of the incident with Dr. James Dobson and SpongeBob SquarePants. It is quite obvious after doing a little research of my own that this is not about whether SpongeBob is gay but about this nations liberal media twisting Dr. Dobson's words and only reporting part of the story, to further divide the right and the left and make the people of this nation (even many Christians) wonder if Dr. Dobson and his organization can still be trusted.

The We Are Family video is designed to be shown to kids in elementary schools and has lessons plans to go with it. Below is a quote from an article written by Dave Huntwork:

On the surface this appears to most people as a harmless version of the old Biblical standard of 'loving thy neighbor' and that is exactly what the producers of this propaganda video and accompanying teacher's guide want you to believe. The insidious nature and true motives of this campaign are not immediately obvious but are easily revealed for what they truly are.

Some of the questions included in the teachers material, which used to be linked on their website but has been removed, are not appropriate for kids in elementary school.

I believe this entire ruckus about Dr. Dobson stems from his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment. Here are some questions to ponder from my friend Joe C. dealing with gay marriage

…what might come about as a result of the widespread legalization of [gay] marriage? Already there are movements underway to legalize polygamy should homosexual unions be granted. And why shouldn't polygamists demand the same rights as homosexual couples? In fact, who are we to say whether a 40-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl should not be allowed to marry, if they feel they are in love? Should homosexual unions become legal, public schools by default must begin to teach homosexuality as normative…

Joe sent this out several months ago and it has nothing to do with Dr. Dobson or SpongeBob.

Teaching homosexuality as the norm is quite obviously the goal of We Are Family no matter how hard they try to cover it up. You cannot faithfully teach God's Word to your children while living a lifestyle specifically condemned by God's Word. All Christians are sinners forgiven by God's grace, but living in a homosexual relationship constitutes habitual, un-repented sin. There are those out there who will tell you that homosexuality is not a sin, but I will not discuss that here because that is a very long discussion. If you want to read more about homosexuality and the Bible go here. Let me give you the definition of compulsory heterosexuality according to We Are Family, a term used in many of the questions that teachers are encouraged to discuss with their students after watching the video:

Thee assumption that women are "naturally" or innately drawn sexually and emotionally toward men, and men toward women; the view that heterosexuality is the "norm" for all sexual relationships. The institutionalization of heterosexuality in all aspects of society includes the idealization of heterosexual orientation, romance, and marriage. Compulsory heterosexuality leads to the notion of women as inherently "weak," and the institutionalized inequality of power: power of men to control women's sexuality, labor, childbirth and childrearing, physical movement, safety, creativity, and access to knowledge. It can also include legal and social discrimination against homosexuals and the invisibility of or intolerance toward lesbian and gay existence.

I don't even know how to respond to that… I mean, it's hard enough for me to take in that entire definition and it is intened for elementry age kids. Here are the questions teachers are to ask:

• Identify ways in which homophobia and compulsory heterosexuality are at work in your daily life.


• Find some examples of compulsory heterosexuality in your daily life.


• How are you affected by compulsory heterosexuality?


• How are you affected by homophobia?


• How would you be affected if your sexual orientation were different than it is now?

Don't get me wrong, I am all for loving your neighbor, but I am not for asking children to consider the impact homosexuality has on their life. Unfortunately I am not the best writer in the world so I leave you with a quote from John Paulk that expresses how I feel Christians should react to homosexuality:

Historically the church has not done a good job dealing with this issue. It needs a gentle, loving rebuke, then instruction on how to reach out to homosexuals. Love and compassion are the only correct responses. At the same time the clear biblical position that homosexuality is not what God intends cannot be compromised. The power of love will always win out over fear, hate or ignorance.

If you would like to look further into how Christians can love homosexuals read an interview with, Chad Thompson, author of "Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would: A Fresh Christian Approach"

- footprints of Chad, 2:35 PM

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