Fox News, media, Republican social liberals cheer on LGBTQ agenda in Cleveland

“Fake” Culture Wars? Donald Trump gave homosexual (activist) Republican and PayPal founder Peter Thiel a prime-time slot to address the Republican convention–and he used it to belittle the “culture wars” and pro-family campaigns against “transgender rights,” i.e., laws allowing men wearing dresses to use female restrooms. AFTAH does not cower to political correctness: we tell the truth: that God makes no special dispensation for Republican homosexuality as opposed to the Democrat variety.

By Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH Special Report, Part One

Quick Summary [see videos at bottom]:

• Donald Trump is already taking the Republican Party in a pro-homosexual direction
• Trump as a life-long New Yorker has a history of supporting homosexual “rights”
• In his speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination, Trump went out of his way to affirm the “LGBTQ [Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and/or Questioning] community”
• Meanwhile, Trump said nothing about overturning the Supreme Courts’s Obergefell ruling imposing homosexual “marriage” on the states
• Trump also ignored the battle raging between “gay rights” and freedom of conscience [see this Colorado baker case update]. And his long speech did not mention abortion and the plight of the unborn 
• All these issues were featured prominently in the conservative 2016 GOP Platform approved in Cleveland
• Trump did champion a repeal of the Johnson Amendment inhibiting churches from political involvement. This will greatly help Christians and pastors to engage culturally if he succeeds
• Trump invited openly homosexual PayPal founder and “gay” activist Peter Thiel to give a prime time address at the GOP convention [watch video at bottom]
• Thiel used the opportunity to deride the “Culture Wars” as “fake”; said he was “proud to be gay”; and he belittled pro-family efforts opposing “transgender rights” laws 
• Fox News and other major media applauded Thiel and generally celebrated the “gay Republican” cause
• Fox News’ Megyn Kelly brought on young homosexual Republican Guy Benson and a liberal Democrat–but no social conservative–to comment on Thiel’s address

Homosexualism in the name of “freedom”…is being pushed in the GOP by groups like the American Victory Fund. Shown above are (left to right): Montel Williams, Margaret Hoover and Bruce (“Caitlyn”) Jenner at a widely covered AUL event held at the Republican convention in Cleveland. Watch Jenner’s and Williams’ presentation at the AUL event here. Photo: American United Fund website.

• A convention event put on by the American Unity Fund–a pro-LGBT Republican group–featuring Bruce (“Caitlyn”) Jenner and Montel Williams also received wide media attention in Cleveland
• In contrast, dissident conservative voices–e.g., pro-life and pro-natural marriage voices–will likely receive little media attention at the left-leaning Democratic convention this week
• Socialcons, Beware: Throughout the GOP primary campaign, some socially liberal and libertarian Republicans welcomed Trump’s rise because, to quote one writer, it “appears to have broken the stranglehold social conservatives have had on the party’s primary process”
• The pro-LGBTQ appeal within the GOP is being marketed to and in part driven by millennial voters (ages 18-29)–who, polls show, favor “same-sex marriage” and are more accepting of homosexuality than older demographics
• However, transcendent, biblical morality is timeless and is not determined by polls
• Unlike many politically correct conservatives who walk on eggshells when discussing “gay Republicans” and the GOP’s perversion-enabling “Big Tent,” we at Americans For Truth embrace and boldly defend historic truth: homosexualism is immoral whether advanced by Democrats or Republicans, or by young people or older people.
• And with God’s help, people can overcome the sin of homosexuality: see this inspiring interview with former “gay” Frank Worthen
• Conservatives have long condemned “moral relativism,” but that is the essence of the new campaign by GOP moderates and social liberals to rationalize homosexualism and gender confusion in the name of freedom and conservatism
• Openly homosexual Republicans and their “straight allies” may be conservative on a variety of issues, but on homosexual and transgender issues they usually echo liberal, LGBT talking points
• If the GOP becomes a party espousing homosexual “marriage” and “LGBT rights”–i.e., a “Democrat-Lite” party on moral and social issues–it will cease to be truly conservative and pro-family. It will dishonor God, and become an agent of destructive change in America

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Quick Links:

• Trump GOP convention speech text
• Peter Thiel GOP convention speech text and video (note conservative Breitbart site’s laudatory coverage)
• Video: Fox “Fair & Balanced”? Homosexual conservative Guy Benson praises Thiel’s speech on Megyn Kelly’s show
• Obama’s Reign of Error: Long list of President Barack Obama’s pro-LGBT actions
• AFTAH article: “Affidavit and Video: Cross-dressing Transgender Voyeur Shauna Smith – Who Shot Video of Woman Undressing at Idaho Target Store – Says It Was Like Viewing Porn
• GOP 2016 Platform: excerpts on key social issues
• Full Republican Party Platform approved in Cleveland (PDF)
• Fox News’ liberalism: Author’s in-depth report on Fox News’ Pro-Gay Bias for America’s Survival (PDF)
• New York Times article (4/22/16): “Donald Trump’s more accepting views on Gay issues set him apart in GOP”
• Politico article (7/22/16): “Gay Republicans want more from Trump”
• AFTAH article on Trump’s liberal, “gay”-affirming past: “Trump Called For Adding Homosexuality to the 1964 Civil Rights Act – in 2000 Interview with ‘Gay’ Magazine”
• Conservative pollster Rasmussen Reports on Trump breaking social conservatives’ “stranglehold” on the Republican Party (3/3/16): “Why Trump Is Good for the GOP”
• Video: American Unity Fund event at GOP Convention featuring Bruce (“Caitlyn”) Jenner and Montel Williams (who compares unchangeable race to homosexuality)
• Trump’s Promise to Christians: Time article (7/14/16) on Trump and the Johnson Amendment: “Republican platform calls for repeal of ban on political organizing by churches”
• “Gay conservatives” get nasty like other homosexual activists: “Tammy Bruce’s Nasty Ambush Interview [of this writer], and Cliff Kincaid on CPAC and ‘Gays'”
• It is a lie to say that “gays” cannot change: “VIDEO: Anne Paulk Interviews Frank Worthen, Dean of Ex-‘Gays’ – at Restored Hope Network Conference”

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Dear AFTAH Readers,

Like Gov. Mike Pence, the Indiana governor and Donald Trump’s choice for his vice-presidential running mate, for the last 30-odd years since I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior, I have considered myself a Christian first, a conservative second and a Republican third—“in that order,” as Pence says.

I became interested in the “gay” (homosexual) revolution in America about 25 years ago. It has been fascinating to watch the interplay of homosexualism, Republicanism, media and Christianity in politics and culture even since. The treatment of homosexualism—which I define as essentially the celebration of homosexuality as a “civil right” and a proud, personal identity—is one indicator of the spiritual and moral health of a society.

As sober and biblically-minded Christians know, the news is not good in America. Like much of the West, we have a spiritual sickness—moral relativism, rooted in disrespect for God and his Laws. We love our sin and the tolerance thereof more than we love God and love Truth (capital “T,” what used to be called absolute truth).

Now that spiritual sickness has infected the Republican Party and “conservative” media, and the result can only be the further deterioration of the patient—because true “goodness” is rooted in God alone and His holy Word–not man’s fickle, transitory and self-rationalizing ideas.  — @Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

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• Outstanding Resources: Order Robert Reilly’s excellent book, Making Gay Okay: How Rationalizing Homosexual Behavior Is Changing Everything, for $25 postpaid—and support Americans For Truth in the process! Give online HERE (note book in memo) or send $25/book (request “Making Gay Okay”) to AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.]
• Also: A Gem for Just $5: Get your copy of the late Dr. Charles Socarides’ book: Homosexuality: A Freedom Too Far: A Psychoanalyst Answers 1,000 Questions Abut Causes and Cure and the Impact of the Gay Rights Movement on American Society — for any gift to AFTAH of just $5 or more postpaid. Give online here.

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Special Sin? Has Dr. Al Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary failed the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test” on homosexualism?

[UPDATE: to listen to Janet Mefferd’s interview with AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera, go HERE or click play in the player above (it starts at the 24:00 mark)]

Dear Readers, once again the pro-family, Christian movement falls into “Kvetch and Retreat” mode, which is another way of saying we are constantly backing up in our interactions with the homosexual juggernaut. This is why we lose. Needless to say, homosexual activists and their fellow travelers are not appeased by Dr. Al Mohler’s high-minded retreat on pro-heterosexual Reparative Therapy, as my friend and talk show host Janet Mefferd notes with regard to the Huffington Post columnist and “liberal Christian” professor Derek Penwell below.

I appreciate that Janet applies what I am calling the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test”: simply replace “gay” with another sexual sin and see if it makes sense. This helps to lay bare the pitfalls of making special accommodations, theological caveats–and even questionable apologies–in our approach toward those caught up in the sin of (proud) homosexualism and gender rebellion. With regard to Mohler’s curious apology–on behalf of non-consulted Christians everywhere–to people caught up in homosexual behaviors and feelings, I would ask–as a flawed Ambassador of Christ myself:

Why hasn’t Mohler apologized to the porn-using “community”? The adulterous “community”? And certainly the very large but misunderstood fornicators “community” deserves an apology, too. Why are he and other guilt-ridden Christians not apologizing to these sin groups?

The practical answer to that question, I submit, is that these other sins are not the beneficiaries of a powerful lobby that has turned ungodly yet changeable behaviors into proud self-identities–and a supposedly victimized “minority” with massive media, corporate and government clout behind it. And I say to Prof. Penwell— in the spirit of Jeremiah 17:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11–repent, humble yourself before Almighty God and turn away from all anti-biblical attempts to justify proud homosexuality in the lives of others. Because no amount of cultural power and liberal propaganda can turn sin into righteousness. –Peter LaBarbera, Americans For Truth; @PeterLaBarbera; americansfortruth@gmail.com

P.S. I will be appearing tonight (Oct. 7, 2015) as a guest on Janet’s new radio show, “Janet Mefferd Today”  to discuss Mohler’s ill-timed criticism of pro-hetero Reparative Therapy. To listen to the interview, go HERE — it starts at the 24:00 mark.

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Mefferd writes:

Reparative Therapy, Southern Baptists and Moving the Goalposts

“When even Al Mohler is embarrassed to talk about ‘reparative therapy’ in straightforward terms everyone understands, it means that cultural standards are evolving toward greater hospitality to our LGBTQ sisters and brothers.” – Pro-homosexual liberal activist  and “liberal Christian” Derek Penwell

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The Answer Is No: …if “gay” means positively and proudly homosexual. Dr. Michael Brown ably answers the lies of “gay Christianity” in his book, “Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding with Love & Truth to Questions About Homosexuality.” He similarly responds with “love & truth” to homosexual activist Matthew Vines’ self-serving “40 Questions” below. Buy the book: Readers can purchase Brown’s book–while supporting AFTAH’s ministry–by purchasing ” for $17 postpaid. Two-Book Discount: You can also add Michael Brown’s in-depth book, “Something Queer Happened to America”–and receive both books postpaid for $29. Pay securely online or send your check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522.

“I cannot see our [Heavenly] Father responding positively to the threat of, ‘Unless you let me have a relationship that satisfies me, I will kill myself.’ [Answer # 9]

“What is explicitly affirmed over and again in the Bible is that God requires holiness of all His people and that the only outlet for sexual intimacy is in the confines of marriage, which…can only be the union of a man and woman. This is as explicit as anything in the Word. [#25]

“…the Word never says that an inherently sinful act somehow becomes sanctified by repeating it with the same person. [#27)]

“…your [Matthew Vines’] emphasis is all wrong. In fact, it’s the common theme through your questions, namely, ‘Surely God wouldn’t want me to live without sex and intimacy, therefore I must reinterpret the Bible in that light.'” [#39] — Dr. Michael Brown, author of Can You Be Gay and Christian?

This essay first appeared July 10, 2015, on the Charisma magazine website:

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Dear Readers,

My prolific author friend Dr. Michael Brown–whose book, “Can You Be Gay and Christian?” is available for purchase from AFTAH at right–does a terrific job below answering homosexual “Christian” activist Matthew Vines’ 40 tendentious questions. As Brown notes, Vines’ line of questioning is built on false premises and spurious analogies. For example, Vines repeats the tired homosexual talking point comparing infertile straight couples to same-sex partners (see Brown’s response to Questions 30 and 31).

I would like Michael to try a “do-over” on #12: it is bizarre and, indeed, blasphemous for young Vines (misapplying Galatians 5–which mentions “sexual immorality”) to associate unnatural, sexual-sin-based “relationships” with Holy Spirit-led “goodness” and “self-control,” etc. I understand what Michael is saying, but I would not compare these disordered relationships with normal unions between husband and wife–including marriages that are not Christian.

Vines’ questions themselves are a study in the error of homosexuality-positive “Christianity”: can you see the intense self-focus in them, as Vines does his biblical “exegesis” backwards:–starting with his politically correct premise (committed homosexual relationship are fine) and trying to rationalize it as somehow being compatible with Scripture? He utterly fails. It is no wonder that Vines will not publicly appear in the same debate forum with Dr. Brown or Prof. Rob Gagnon. By the way, Dr. Brown received AFTAH’s “American Truth-Teller Award” in 2014; we commend him for his diligence and faithfulness in defending Truth. — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera; Like the AFTAH Facebook Page

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Dr. Michael Brown Has 40 Answers and 2 Questions for ‘Gay’ Christian Matthew Vines

By Michael Brown; Twitter: @DrMichaelLBrown

I am answering the 40 questions put forward by “gay Christian” advocate Matthew Vines, after which I will put two simple questions to Matthew (and his allies). What is absolutely stunning, though, is that in these 40 questions, he failed to ask the only one that really matters, namely, “What does the Bible say about homosexual practice?” The reason for that is self-evident, namely, it is impossible to make a case for homosexual relationships using the Word of God alone.

That’s why, for the last decade (and until this moment), I have offered to debate the issue of the Bible and homosexual practice with any qualified representative of the “gay Christian” position, yet I have had no takers. (Matthew and I did engage in a brief debate hosted by Moody radio, but as is well known, Matthew agreed to do the broadcast before realizing he would be debating me, after which he felt it would be worse publicity to drop out rather than do the show. Those interested can watch the debate here. (For a relevant follow-up article, go here.) I also address many of the questions Matthew raises in my book Can You Be Gay and Christian?, but for the benefit of those who don’t have the book, and so as to answer all the questions conveniently in one place, I’ve responded to each of them here.

Before addressing the questions, it’s important to address Matthew’s premise, namely, those of us who uphold Scripture “oppose marriage equality.” Actually, we oppose redefining marriage; as for so-called “marriage equality,” as I have pointed out, advocates of “same-sex marriage” represent just one group clamoring for changes in marriage laws, including polygamists, polyamorists, and adult incestuous couples. That’s why the Marriage Equality Blogspot calls for “Full Marriage Equality,” specifically, “for the right of consenting adults to share and enjoy love, sex, residence and marriage without limits on the gender, number or relation of participants.” So, from that point of view, Matthew also opposes “marriage equality.”

To answer the 40 questions:

1. Do you accept that sexual orientation is not a choice? Sexual orientation is a relatively modern construct, but if you mean is it true that, generally speaking, homosexual men and women did not choose to be attracted to the same sex, the answer would be yes, it is not a conscious choice they made, any more than someone who struggles with angry desires, violent desires, or adulterous desires consciously chose to have those desires.

2. Do you accept that sexual orientation is highly resistant to attempts to change it? Again, using your definition, in the majority of cases, certainly. However, we must not downplay the many successful stories of change through counseling and, more importantly, the possibility of change through the gospel. Cannot Almighty God change a homosexual into a heterosexual if it so pleases Him? Has the church really devoted itself to seeking God to help men and women who struggle with same-sex attractions?

3. How many meaningful relationships with lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) people do you have? My first organ teacher, when I was barely 7-years old, was openly gay, and he and his partner would come to our home and have dinner with our family. Over the years, I’ve had good friends who came out of homosexuality (including someone very close to my family), and I interact as often I can in as much depth as I can with those who identify as LGBT.

4. How many openly LGBT people would say you are one of their closest friends? None that I know of, but that is not because of my rejection of them. I have never turned away from a person because of their sexual brokenness or sexual desires. If, however, they openly scorned God’s Word and God’s ways, I’m afraid it would be hard for us to be close friends. That being said, I have close friends who are very religious Jews, yet they still believe my faith in Jesus is wrong and I still believe they are lost without Him. In other words, friendship with people (or lack thereof) has absolutely nothing to do with determining the truth of God’s Word.

Dodging Debates: Self-described “gay Christian” Matthew Vines refuses to debate Bible scholars and apologists with expert knowledge on Scripture and homosexuality, like Dr. Michael Brown and Prof. Robert Gagnon.

5. How much time have you spent in one-on-one conversation with LGBT Christians about their faith and sexuality? Many hours, and many more hours reading their stories prayerfully, sometimes having to put down the book I’m reading and get on my knees in prayer, even with tears and a heavy burden. I hurt deeply over the pain they have experienced and I long to see them find wholeness in the Lord.

6. Do you accept that heterosexual marriage is not a realistic option for most gay people? Probably so—again, with God, all things are possible—but this too has nothing to do with what God has to say about homosexual practice. It calls for great compassion from the church, but not for rewriting the Bible. Also, unless we get caught up with the spirit of the age, it’s important to realize that “heterosexual marriage” is the only marriage God acknowledges.

7. Do you accept that lifelong celibacy is the only valid option for most gay people if all same-sex relationships are sinful? I accept that our Father knows best, that His ways are ways of life, and that if He does not enable someone to enter into a heterosexual relationship then He will give grace to that person to be celibate, just as He gives grace to a believer suffering decades of imprisonment and torture, just as He gives grace to a drug addict to get free from addictions, and just as He gives grace to many heterosexuals to live in lifelong, non-chosen celibacy.

8. How many gay brothers and sisters in Christ have you walked with on the path of mandatory celibacy, and for how long? Less than 10, and not more than 10 years so far, but the term “mandatory celibacy” is misleading, since I’ve walked with heterosexual believers for decades who did not choose celibacy but never met their mate, and they found Jesus to be more than enough to carry them through. Plus, Jesus requires all of us to deny ourselves and take up the cross and follow Him, and He does not promise any of us a spouse. I also have close friends whose spouses divorced them and who believe they cannot remarry as long as their spouse is alive, and they too have survived and even thrived by God’s grace despite years of singleness imposed on them by their convictions.

9. What is your answer for gay Christians who struggled for years to live out a celibacy mandate but were driven to suicidal despair in the process? This is a heartrending issue that I do not take lightly, but my answer is that anyone who says, “I will kill myself unless I can have sex and be intimate with another human being” is not taking hold of what God has for them. Generally speaking, it’s also true that people who commit suicide are struggling with other emotional issues; otherwise, no matter how acute their problems, they would not take their own lives. Ultimately, though, I cannot see our Father responding positively to the threat of, “Unless you let me have a relationship that satisfies me, I will kill myself.”

10. Has mandatory celibacy produced good fruit in the lives of most gay Christians you know? Again, I object to the term “mandatory celibacy,” and I believe the term “gay Christian” is misleading and unhelpful, but yes, the single Christians I know who are still same-sex attracted are enjoying the Lord, enjoying healthy friendships, and are really quite vibrant. Others have seen a shift (or complete change) in their attractions, and they are happily married to their heterosexual partner. I’ve been quite close with some of them over the years.

Sin Advocate: Young and winsome Matthew Vines is working hard to win Christians to the idea that committed homosexual relationships should be blessed before a holy God. Despite his apostasy, Vines was recently welcomed as a “brother in Christ” by Rev. Caleb Kaltenbach, lead pastor of Discovery Church in Simi Valley, CA. See Vines’ curiously named “Reformation Project.“

“We are to have no fellowship with darkness. We can’t ‘dialogue’ with any professing Christian who’s in open rebellion against the Word of God. We can’t ‘dialogue’ with anybody who is deceiving and misleading the Body of Christ on any sin while claiming to be a Christian!”–Janet Mefferd

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I welcome my friend Janet Mefferd to the pages of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality. Janet is a former longtime radio talk show host with the Salem Radio Network–and, I must say, as someone who cumulatively chatted a few hours in on-air interviews with Mefferd over the years–she was one of the best in the business (Christian and secular). We look forward to seeing what’s next in Janet’s career, but until then we are delighted to publish her work.

Regarding this issue of “dialogue” or “bridging” with homosexuality advocates, I recall an article by the late Alan Medinger–a man who walked away from homosexuality with the help of the Savior he loved, Jesus Christ. Medinger, who founded Regeneration Ministries in Baltimore, wisely cautioned against an internal Church debate over homosexuality because there is nothing compelling it except outside, anti-biblical agitation. The sinfulness of same-sex behavior is a settled matter in both the Bible and thousands of years of Church/Old Testament tradition, argued Medinger, and we need not debate it now within Christendom any more than we should debate, say, adultery.

Read this beautiful tribute to Medinger by Regeneration’s Josh Glaser–then decide if the same Spirit of Christ that impelled Alan lies with Matthew Vines, who–by trying to redefine Christianity to accommodate homosexual relationships and “gay marriage”–propels the very same debate that Medinger rejected on principle. Below Mefferd ably applies what I call the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test.” — Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

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Enough with the “Dialogue,” Already

“Evangelicals Open Door to Debate on Gay Rights.” Just the kind of headline I never enjoy, but it ran June 8 in The New York Times over a story about “influential evangelicals” meeting with homosexual activist Matthew Vines at Biola University last month, complete with a Times reporter and photographer on hand.

Vines, you may recall, is author of 2014’s controversial “God and the Gay Christian: The Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships,” which manipulates biblical terminology in an unconvincing attempt to argue against the sinfulness of homosexuality.

Worse, the book was published by Crown Publishing Group’s Convergent imprint, which shared staff and operations with and was a sister imprint of evangelical Christian publisher WaterBrook Multnomah. Among other repercussions for printing such unbiblical garbage, WaterBrook Multnomah resigned its membership from the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB). (Crown later separated the two imprints.)

Vines also runs an apostate group called The Reformation Project, which claims to exist “to train Christians to support and affirm lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. Through building a deep grassroots movement, we strive to create an environment in which Christian leaders will have the freedom to take the next steps toward affirming and including LGBT people in all aspects of church life.”

By Jason Salamone, AFTAH writer

Please share these links and the video below about Islam and homosexuality…

Homosexual activists and their fellow travelers certainly are deceived to believe Christians are hateful for telling them the truth about the sinful acts they engage in. Christians want persons caught up in homosexual practice to repent and turn away from sexual sin, so they can make it into heaven. Islam doesn’t have that same love in its heart and concern for the person’s soul. Islam doesn’t understand the concept of repentance and the grace of Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

How can persons caught up in homosexual practice not see the clear difference between Islam and Christianity? That last thing a Christian wants is anyone to die before that have come to the Lord. Yet homosexual activists excoriate anyone who does not accept their same-sex “marriage” lie. Now the real face of hate shows itself in Islam, and barely a peep from the LGBTists. Homosexual activists and their sympathizers just don’t get it: we Christians are NOT their enemy…

This video was posted by MRC-TV [click HERE]. Here is the link for the UK Daily Mail article on the barbaric “death penalty,” including stoning, in Syria: [click HERE]. And HERE is a useful article from “Answering Islam” on the difference between Islam and Christianity on homosexuality.

[Note from AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera: The Answering Islam author’s section on anti-sodomy laws, at the end of his paper, is a bit shallow; AFTAH has long opposed draconian penalties on this issue, but we no more support removing anti-sodomy laws from the books than we would anti-adultery laws. As the saying goes, “the law is a teacher”–and the very fact that Western anti-sodomy laws have produced nothing close to the present barbarity we are witnessing in the Middle East testifies to the humaneness of the Christian approach toward those practicing homosexual sin (and other sins) compared to the approach of Muslim sharia law.]

Embracing the “Gay” Lie and slandering God in the process: Apple CEO Tim Cook writes that he is “proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me.” Cook was repeating a gay theology falsehood, labeled as “Satan’s Talking Points” by AFTAH. Homosexual activists have worked to switched the societal stigma from people practicing the sin of homosexuality to the people opposing it. Cook is giving heavily to an HRC project to promote homosexuality in the South.

“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line.” — Isaiah 28:17

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” – Hebrews 13:8

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Help AFTAH Contend for The Truth Against Homosexual-Transgender Lies:  We are David and the well-funded “Gay” Lobby is Goliath. Support AFTAH today with a year-end gift of $1,000, $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can give! Give online [safe credit-card form HERE] or send a check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. All gifts postmarked by or made online midnight Dec. 31 are tax-deductible for your 2014 taxes.

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By Peter LaBarbera; Twitter: @PeterLaBarbera

[Sign up for weekly AFTAH e-newsletters HERE]

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Dear AFTAH Supporter,

I hope you had a blessed Christmas Day.  Happy New Year!  This is the season to dwell on Absolute Truth, lest we reduce “the holidays”—happy or otherwise–to mere sentimentality.  Divine Truth.  We profess it, but do we actually believe in it?  The namesake of Christmas—Jesus Christ–is the most important Absolute Truth anyone can ever know: God becoming man, to solve man’s sin problem.  [“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”—1 John 2:2]

The explosion of sexual sin in Western cultures–especially one like ours with a magnificent Christian heritage that still professes to be “under God”–is ultimately a manifestation of losing the Truth of Jesus.  Let’s face it: many or even most Americans—secular or professing “Christians”–think they’re “smarter than God” when it comes to sex (and other issues), and the result is a society is awash in sin and its consequences: fornication, broken homes, divorce, abortion, widespread STDs and, yes, homosexualism and extreme gender rebellion.

All sins dishonor God, but there’s something especially deplorable and significant about the spread of homosexuality and related perversions in a civilization.  Someone smart once said something to the effect that if homosexual sodomy—what Noah Webster in 1828 defined as “a crime against nature”–is OK, then nothing is wrong.  The court-imposed spread of sodomy-based “marriage” is a cultural act of defiance for which America will be judged—or perhaps is already being judged–as a nation. [Read the AFTAH article, “Gay Marriage and Distant Consequences.”]

Following and obeying Jesus is the key to righteousness.  I find this reality to be evident in my own life: the more I stray from the Savior, the less virtuous, the less “godly,” I become.  The closer I get to Jesus through the Scriptures, the Word of God, the more righteous I become.  So it is with nations.

Changing the standard of right and wrong

All people sin.  But most of us lack the audacity and hubris to attempt to change the transcendent, eternal standard of Right and Wrong, even as we fall short, sometimes woefully short, of God’s righteous demands.

But the earthly “enemies” against which AFTAH contends are all about changing the Truth standard–in a desperate quest to rationalize their sin.  They want to change God’s plumb line of righteousness, based on the authority of, well, their feelings.  “LGBTQueer” forces–fueled by seemingly endless financial resources–work day and night to change the standard, but the standard does not change.  The standard cannot change.

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Help AFTAH Fight Against the Lies of Big ‘Gay’ Inc:  We are David and the well-funded “Gay” Lobby is Goliath. Support AFTAH today with a year-end gift of $1,000, $500, $250, $100, $50 or whatever you can give! Give online [safe credit-card form HERE] or send a check to: AFTAH, PO Box 5522, Naperville, IL 60567-5522. All gifts postmarked by or made online midnight Dec. 31 are tax-deductible for your 2014 taxes.

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 Apply the “Sexual Sin Substitution” Test for Moral Clarity

OVERCOMING HOMOSEXUALITY: Dan Hitz (left) went from being a homosexual “terrified of true intimacy with a woman” — having grown up in a chaotic and dysfunctional home — to a family man with a wife and five children. Read his Christian testimony HERE and support the new ex-“gay” umbrella group, Restored Hope Network.

Part One (1-5)

By Peter LaBarbera

1) Decide Whether You are with God or Against Him … on the issue of homosexualism (out-and-proud homosexuality as a “civil right”) and sexual sin in general. These days there is no shortage of Secular- and Religious Left activists — and even self-professed “evangelical Christian” sellouts like apostate Jay Bakker — who will tell you that the Bible is ambiguous on homosexuality or even pro-homosexual. Nevertheless, the Word of God is crystal clear on this subject (see Romans 1 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, for starters). No faithful Christian can make a “biblical” case for accepting homosexual behavior. Thankfully, Jesus Christ has helped many men [e.g., Dan Hitz] and women [e.g., Anne Paulk] overcome homosexual attractions (see Point 4 below). Two great websites refuting “gay Christianity” are Prof. Robert Gagnon’s at www.RobGagnon.net and (former homosexual) DL Foster’s “Gay Christian Movement Watch” at http://www.gcmwatch.com.

2) Apply the “Sexual Sin Substitution Test” (S³T): if you wonder what the proper Christian approach is to any homosexual-related question, simply plug in another egregious sexual sin – incest, pornography use, adultery – for homosexuality and gay and then see if it makes any sense. The theological basis for this test is Leviticus 18, where God (through Moses) lops all the serious sexual sins (including bestiality) in together. (Is God “hateful” for making this association, or does He rather “hate” sins like homosexuality and incest that rebel against nature and its Creator?) Also, don’t fall for the snarky “gay” spin that seeks to dismiss Leviticus by equating its condemnation of sexual sins with the book’s list of ceremonial and dietary laws for Jews. As former homosexual Joe Dallas writes in his book, A Strong Delusion: Confronting the “Gay Christian” Movement (p. 178):

A commonsense approach to the Bible shows that certain ceremonial and dietary laws in the Old Testament…aren’t necessary to follow today. Christians are not, thankfully, under the Mosaic law (Galatians 3: 17-25). But the biblical commandments against homosexual conduct do not appear in the same sections as the dietary and ceremonial laws; in Leviticus…they appear alongside other sexual sins forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments (Lev. 18:22; 20:13).

Applying the S³T approach will give you renewed moral clarity — for example: why is nobody ever accused of being an “incest-phobe” or suffering from “adultery-phobia”? Should President Obama issue a “Porn-Users Pride Proclamation” every June to match his annual “Gay Pride Month” proclamation? Should schools allow “porn-using student clubs”? (There are thousands of “gay”-affirming student clubs in public and private schools across the United States.) What about legalizing incestuous “marriages”? Or celebrating at bawdy Lusters’ Pride Parades in major cities every June? Clearly, homosexuality is the “special sin” that is indulged in our morally degraded society because it has been so well-marketed, to the point where it is now widely treated as an innocuous identity and “civil right.”