An Inch At A Time: Reflections on the Journey: "Do you have anything to say about the HGTV/Benham Brothers Story?"

Sunday, May 11, 2014

"Do you have anything to say about the HGTV/Benham Brothers Story?"

That's the question I got from the Huffington Post's Yasmine Hafiz via email last week. In case you misssed it, the Benham brothers are the guys who had their reality show un-optioned by HGTV when a bunch of their anti-gay, anti-women's reproductive freedom rhetoric surfaced.

Well, yes -- as a matter of fact -- I did have something to say. And here it is:

The First Amendment absolutely protects the right of the Benham brothers to preach, practice and believe whatever they choose – whether that choice is anti-gay or anti-gluten. That’s part of the beauty of this country. Another part of the beauty of this country is that free enterprise allows networks – like HGTV – the freedom to decide what kind of values they want represented by the talent they hire. And this week HGTV made the decision that it does not want to give air time to two brothers who, when they are not flipping houses for profit, are proclaiming that equal protection LGBT families is “demonic” and protesting a woman’s right to reproductive freedom.

As a Christian priest and pastor, my response is a big fat “Amen.”

The HGTV decision is not a war on Christians. It is not an attack on free speech. And it is not “anti-family” (whatever that means.) It is a business decision made based on the welcome reality that we are becoming a country where prejudice against LGBT people and their families is increasingly understood as counter to American values of liberty and justice for all.

I serve a church where we believe in family values that value all families and support a protect marriage movement that protects all marriages. When Jesus said “love your neighbor as yourself” there was no asterisk that said “*unless your neighbor is gay or lesbian” – and there are many, many Christians – as well as other people of faith and conscience – who find the views of the Benham brothers antithetical to their faith and values.

It is not fun to be fired. It is not pleasant to find your perspective disagreed with. But what has happened to the Benham brothers does not make them victims of the gay agenda. It makes them a footnote in the story of the arc of history that is bending toward justice for LGBT people.

And yes, I got a quote in her story. You can read that here. And THAT resulted in another email ... this one from Mali (I know -- I had to look it up, too.)

My partner and I just read your quote about the cancellation of "Flip It Forward" on HGTV, We are cheering you on from West Africa where we live and teach! Bravo for putting this issue in the proper perspective, and for putting in their place those who preach intolerance and hatred.

Keep up the good work ...

Will do, guys. Thanks for taking time to write. Happy Mother's Day, Everybody!

2 comments:

Unknown said...: It's ironic that you would quote the Lord Jesus when he said "love your neighbor as yourself", and yet miss the central teaching that the "neighbor" he is highlighting in that passage would be some one precisely like the Benham Bros - i.e. some one with whom you vehemently disagree.

If one cheers at their loss (as you did (Amen!)), then how can one claim that they truly "love their neighbor", as the Lord commanded?; 6:27 PM
SUSAN RUSSELL said...: Because I don't accept the premise that "loving your neighbor" requires you to put up with the toxic narratives of bigotry and homophobia.

My "amen" was to HGTV coming down on the side of values that value all families -- not label LGBT familes as "demonic."

(Perhaps you missed the part where I defended their right to believe whatever they choose to as being protected by the 1st Amendment.)

Thanks for taking time to comment!; 7:49 PM

... where I try to be really clear about what I'm clear about. For example:

Religious persecution is when you're prevented from exercising your beliefs, not when you're prevented from IMPOSING your beliefs.

============

Using "biblical standards" to condemn those who understand that sexual orientation is morally neutral makes as much sense as using "biblical standards" to condemn astronomers who understand that the earth revolves around the sun. The Bible may have said it but that doesn't always settle it.

============

It's liberty and justice for all -- not some. It's respect the dignity of every human being -- not just straight ones. Got it? Great. Let's do it.

======

In order to keep moving forward toward liberty and justice for all we can't just be right about what the 1st Amendment protects. We have to be smart about how we respond to those who skipped the 9th Commandment and think lying is a Traditional Family Value.

=======

Jesus said "Love your neighbor." Not "Love your neighbor unless your neighbor is gay."

Smart things other people have said you should know about

“Faith in action is called politics. Spirituality without action is fruitless and social action without spirituality is heartless. We are boldly political without being partisan. Having a partisan-free place to stand liberates the religious patriot to see clearly, speak courageously, and act daringly.” -- Ed Bacon

“Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

"It's time for "tolerant" religious people to acknowledge the straight line between the official anti-gay theologies of their denominations and the deaths of these young people. Nothing short of changing our theology of human sexuality will save these young and precious lives." -- The Rt Rev Gene Robinson

"How can you initiate someone into the Body of Christ and then treat them like they’re half-assed baptized?" - The Rt Rev Barbara Harris

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” ~ Elie Wiesel, 1986 Nobel Peace Prize

"Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving and tolerant with the weak and wrong. Sometime in your life, you will have been all of these." — Siddhārtha Gautama

"I'm so glad Mary didn't wait for the formulation of a Doctrine of the Incarnation before she said 'Yes' to God." -- Ed Bacon

"The great Easter truth is not that we will be born again someday but that we are to be alive here and now by the power of the resurrection." -- Philips Brooks (paraphrase)

"History belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being.” -- Walter Wink

“Patience, a quality of holiness may be sloth in the soul when associated with the lack of righteous indignation.” -- Abraham Heschel

"Don't tell me what you believe. Tell me what difference it makes that you believe!" -- Verna Dozier

“We establish no religion in this country, we command no worship, we mandate no belief. Nor will we ever. Church and state are, and must remain, separate. All are free to believe or not believe, all are free to practice a faith or not, and those who believe are free and should be free, to speak of and act on their belief. At the same time as our constitution prohibits state religion, establishment of it protects the free exercise of all religions. And walking this fine line requires government to be strictly neutral.” -- Ronald Reagan

Let's be clear. The fact that the State authorizes a marriage in no way compels any Church to perform or recognize it. Marriage equality merely guarantees equality under the law to all citizens; it does not compel churches to do anything.-- Katherine Ragsdale