The Gay Scarlet Letter: Brought To You By The Church Of England

My rants against religious institutions typically focus on the more Evangelical factions, mostly found here in the US under clever "Pro-Family" guise, but that doesn't mean that others are able to add to, or even top, some of the Crazy Christian antics. Oh no, we would be remiss to not include our lovely friends across the pond in England and their loverly Church of England.

I'll be the first to admit that I have this notion in my head somehow that London, and most of greater England, is a bastion of acceptance, in particular of the gay lifestyle. Well, at least I did until I read these comments from Rev Peter Mullen, chaplain of the London Stock Exchange (why they have a chaplain is beyond me, but given the state of our stock exchange it may not be a bad idea):

"It is time that religious believers began to recommend ... discouragements of
homosexual practices after the style of warnings on cigarette packets... Let us
make it obligatory for homosexuals to have their backsides tattooed with the
slogan SODOMY CAN SERIOUSLY DAMAGE YOUR HEALTH and their chins with FELLATIO
KILLS."

Yes. We often forget that queers are the only people to participate in anal sex and enjoy oral sex. In fact, we in the gay community often forget that those particular sex acts are the only way we can express our satanic love for each other. That's all my boyfriend and I do all day in fact, it's a pretty spectacular thing.

And what about our lesbian sisters? Would we brand their tongues and break their fingers?

All that, and I haven't even touched the cigarette pack issue! And I won't because there's more.

When confronted about the issue, the man used the "some of my best friend's" defense:

I certainly have nothing against homosexuals. Many of my dear friends have been
and are of that persuasion

Quaint. You know, I typically don't make rash statements about branding my near and dear friends for their differences. In fact, I cherish the diversity of my circle of friends. Actually, I'm really unaware of anyone that keeps friends around them that they find so morally despicable that they should brand them with vulgar statements. Funny then that Mullen keeps friends that are apparently going to die from sucking a dick.

But wait, there's even more. After the "some of my best friends" defense, he was forced to describe what he meant, if he didn't really mean to brand gays a la Scarlet Letter. You see, to him, it's more about people being preachy:

What I have got against them is the militant preaching of homosexuality

Again. Quaint. This time with a tinge of irony, given that the Reverend is pissed off about someone being preachy.

You know what I have against many organized Christian Sects, now including the Church of England? This absurd notion that they are the only moral authority in this world and that all things they say and do should be met with irreverence. The believe they are immune to all attacks and that they should not be held to the same standard they hold others to, if any standard at all. And what I've got against you, Rev Mullen is your militant preaching of hate toward the LGBT community. Leaders that are suppose to inspire the people around them are in no place to spew hate speech. Those kinds of words are the things that lead unstable people to justify murdering gay men and raping lesbian women. Those are the words that lead gay men and women to not have equal rights in this world. Those are the kind of words that drive young men and women to run away and live on the streets or to suicide because they simply can't rectify the reality in their hearts to the foaming puss of anger and hate coming from the leaders they were taught to respect.

What I have against you, Mr. Mullen, is that you somehow believe that it is cute to still use the queers of the world as your punching bag. And unfortunately for you, we aren't going to take it. I hope you enjoy being ousted from the church and ostracized by all those lovely gay people you supposedly surround yourself with.

[Source]