Minnesota for Marriage, the group seeking to block legislation to allow gays and lesbians to marry, appears to have repeated a public relations blunder that last fall landed its chairman in hot water.
On Thursday, the left-leaning Think Progress, a blog maintained by the Center for American Progress Fund, posted an item about a “sermon starter” posted on the website of coalition member Minnesota Pastors for Marriage which compares gays to Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels.
“Homosexuals claim: ‘We were born this way; it is in our genes; God made us gay,’” the sample sermon, penned by Dr. Kenyn Cureton of the Family Research Council, the Washington, D.C., affiliate of one of the Minnesota group’s main members.
“They cite old ‘gay gene’ studies predominantly conducted by researchers who are homosexuals; studies that have been repudiated by credible research. Yet these same biased and discredited studies have been widely publicized by the liberal media as true and factual. They essentially practice Joseph Goebel's [sic] Nazi philosophy of propaganda, which is basically this: Tell a lie long enough and loud enough and eventually most mindless Americans will believe it.”
The post was quickly followed by a detailed memo by Minnesotans United for All Families, the coalition working to pass same-sex marriage, noting, among other things, that last fall a Minnesota for Marriage campaign official compared Minnesotans United’s efforts to Adolph Hitler and Nazi Germany.
The group first apologized, but then backtracked and said that Pastoral Outreach Director Brad Brandon’s point was correct but that he had used a “poor analogy.”
The sermon can be found here.
'More than 10,000 studies'
A couple more worth noting: The sermon, one of a number available on the Pastors for Marriage website, quotes Focus on the Family founder James Dobson making a claim that would seem impossible: "More than 10,000 studies have concluded that kids do best when they are raised by mothers and fathers."
Finally, there is a specific call to action that can be made -- with a couple of caveats legally in Minnesota -- from the pulpit: “We need to participate in our ‘government of the people, by the people, and for the people’ as Abraham Lincoln described it.
“Now some might say: ‘I don’t think Christians should get involved in politics.’ Let me ask you a question: Who created government in the first place? Romans 13:1-7 tells us plainly and unmistakably that God ordained government. Since God created the institution of government, would He want His people to stay out of it? No. If Christians don’t ‘render to Caesar’ (Matt. 22:21) and don’t function as ‘salt’ and ‘light’ (Matt. 5:13-16) in the arena of government, then we disobey the commands of Christ and allow Satan to prevail by default.
“So we need to and impact our government as stinging salt and shining light. Contact your elected state officials and let them know how you feel about marriage. The legislature could vote as soon as this week to overturn the biblical definition of marriage and legalize same-sex ‘marriage.’ Visit minnesotaformarriage.com and click on ‘Contact Your Legislator.’ Call and tell your state House representative and your state Senator that you are against House 1054 and Senate 925 respectively.”