THANK GOD OPERATION: REBIRTH IS GROWING!!! People are standing up and making their voices heard. I recently received an article that was basically a transcript of a sermon preached by Dr. Miles Munroe. Not only did I receive the article, but also the brother who sent it vowed to send his response to the newspaper that published the article. It is with his permission that I am publishing his response to you...the readers. I pray that this brother's stand will empower and inspire many to stand up. It's time for us no longer allow these "leaders" to spread hate and fear and pass it off as "Gospel". I applaud Brother Adrian for his stand. Hopefully more people will do the same. - Tuan N'Gai, Operation: REBIRTH

Dr. Miles Munroe Wrong on Gays

Please allow me space in your newspaper to express my views against Dr. Miles Munroe, who said in a Nassau Guardian story on Thursday June 24, "Gays are not born as such." Dr Munroe's view against homosexuality is well known as he had spoken on the subject on radio shows and on television in the past. However, I take exception to his attempt to misconstrue as fact, his opinion that people are not born gay. It truly amazes me that in 2004, in light of many scientific advancements that have helped to improve essentially every aspect of human life and allowed us to better understand human nature, that there are so-called enlightened people who continue to use religion as their only reference when discussing the complex issue of homosexuality.

Does Dr Munroe know that science has already found that sexual orientation is inherent in people and not something that is chosen? The last time I checked, sexual attraction for another person was something that happened spontaneously and not something that involved serious thought or a "decision." Sexual behavior however, is something that people chose to engage in. Interestingly enough, many religious fundamentalists know from irrefutable empirical evidence that some people are born with attributes of the opposite sex and often develop a voice that is indicative of the opposite sex. Some are even born hermaphrodite. So why then, when people say that they have been attracted to members of their own sex as early as they can remember, these fundamentalists respond, "No way, that can't be true," as if they know the answer to everything. What they are really saying is, "People who say they have been attracted to members of their own sex since early childhood are all liars," and, "Only people who say they have been attracted to members of the opposite sex since early childhood are speaking truthfully." Are fundamentalists so blinded by their beliefs that they do not understand, nor want to understand anything that might make their beliefs seem prejudice, therefore unjustified?

Because of this anti-gay prejudice, these people continue to insist on interpreting the Bible literally regarding homosexuality but somehow conveniently "decide" that the religious book should be interpreted strictly in a "cultural context" when it endorses slavery (Leviticus 25:44); forbids the eating of shellfish, calling it an abomination (Leviticus 11:10); forbids women speaking in Church (I Corinthians 14:34); forbids the wearing of clothing of mixed fibers (Leviticus 19:19); forbids men cutting their hair and rounding their beards (Leviticus 19:27) and advocates the killing of people who work on the Sabbath (Exodus 35:2). How often do you hear these "cultural context" scriptures quoted?

Dr Munroe should know that people in biblical times had no knowledge of science that we have today. Their knowledge was based on superstition and a myth that the earth was flat and was the center of the universe. Their knowledge was also based on a belief, no longer subscribed to in modern society, that people had a right to purchase other people and that women were subordinate to, and the property of men.

Dr. Munroe, a well-traveled man, should also know that he cannot go to certain countries preaching his anti-gay message as many have national anti-discrimination/anti-incitement laws which among other things, protect gay people from hate-mongering and attacks on their sexuality, whether those attacks are biblically based or not. These countries, according to the International Lesbian and Gay Association, include: The United States (some states), Canada, Ireland, United Kingdom, Spain, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Israel, Malta, Namibia, South Africa, Fiji, New Zealand, Mexico and Ecuador. Unfortunately in The Bahamas, where there are no such laws, gay people remain targets for attacks as just last year, under the name of Christianity, the former president of The Bahamas Christians Council threatened to blow up parliament if gay marriage were allowed here. He also threatened to "dismantle" The Rainbow Alliance. Does Dr. Munroe support anti-gay violence as well?

Verbal and sometimes physical attacks against gays stem from fear that people generally have about things they do not understand. This "paranoid fear" or homophobia, rife in the Caribbean region, is to a large degree fuelled by people like Dr. Munroe who use the Bible as a club to "beat down" on gays rather than to show true Christian compassion, as Christ had shown to all people. Dr Munroe also said, "Morality is a product of what is right and what is wrong, and right and wrong is derived from what is good and bad. And society has to determine what is good for them and what is bad for them. We, as a society, must make a decision." I maintain that there is nothing wrong with being gay and there is also nothing wrong with two gay adults in a committed relationship with each other.

Based on Dr. Munroe's use of the word "we," is he referring to heterosexuals in society only? Is he saying "we" good heterosexuals must make a decision on "those" bad homosexuals? Might I add that historically, no one has benefited from an "us and them" mentality, as it only helped to create division in people. Dr. Munroe should know that the ability to respect and tolerate the views and differences of others has always been a true measure of human civilization. He should also know that victimization and discrimination against any group of people in society is morally wrong. Supporting this concept was civil rights champion, the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. who said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and, "Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly."