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Here we are, here we are again.
Operation: REBIRTH is 10 months old, and still going strong.
And it’s amazing to think that the pastors we’ve
reviewed are preaching the same sermon! I mean, did they all
go to the same school or something? They all are basically
saying the same things, but each has their own distinct personality.
This month, Bishop Thomas Benjamin of Indianapolis throws
his hat into the ring. In fact, when I heard he was gonna
come from Romans 1, I immediately said, “oh Lord, here
we go again!” Thanks to Rev. Robert Ferguson for bringing
this sermon to our attention and taking a stand against this
destructive theology.
The Good Bishop repeatedly says that this is not intended
to be a gay bashing sermon, that he is trying to bless someone
and free them from bondage. However continually he verbally
tries to incite a riot mentality. Riling the congregation
up and fueling hate with his ignorant antics. He even goes
so far as to preface the sermon by stating that God made sure
to include all of us in the things that are considered unrighteous
in this passage of scripture. He DOES say that even though
there is a focus on homosexuality in this text, to insure
that none of us becomes self-righteous, listed here are enough
things so that all of us would be hit.
He says, "I don’t expect to get a lot of ‘amens’
and ‘preach pastor’ comments during this message
and that is fine. I don’t expect everyone to be as passionate
about this subject as I am. My passion is at this level because
scripture is being fulfilled. There are a host of people who
are trying to make the truth of God into a lie. It is time
now for the church and preachers everywhere to go to
war against the spirit of unrighteousness specifically the
spirit of homosexuality that would have the audacity to call
the nation to have same sex marriage and to normalize homosexuality."
Okay, he’s PASSIONATE about the “spirit of unrighteousness,
specifically the spirit of homosexuality”. Hmm, I wonder
why? One would venture to think the leader of a church of
this magnitude would be PASSIONATE about some REAL issues.
I mean, there are people sleeping on the street, starving
children, poverty in the inner city. There were probably people
in the congregation that day who really needed to hear a message
of hope…and THIS is what he’s PASSIONATE about?
Me thinks the Good Bishop is giving us a peek into some passionate
personal things he’s dealing with; but I digress.
He goes on to say, "All of my young people if I had
to sum it up right now. It ain’t of God. If you're a
girl and she touches you inappropriately.....run the other
direction. If you are a boy and he grabs your hand in some
other way than a handshake.......run the other way. Today
we are going to focus on homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexual
behavior and down low brothers! Somebody say lets get ready
to rumble!!!!!!”
YOU GOT IT BISHOP! LET’S RUMBLE!
(Quick jab to the face) First of all, Paul
wrote this letter to the Christian church in Rome.
The purpose of this letter was to encourage the new floundering
church to not be like the other people in their area. Since
inappropriate sexual practices were considered acts of worship
and sacrifice to the Roman gods, Paul says that this
letter is intended to rescue the Jews and then everyone else.
Rescue them from what???? From the idolatry and sexual orgies
that were going on in temples all around the region during
this time. So Paul goes on a tirade about what will happen
to those people who participate in such vile rituals
and ceremonies. This passage should in no way be used as a
sweeping damnation on modern day same gender loving people.
For a more in depth study of this passage of scripture, check
out “Taking A Closer Look” on this website.
He reads the version of Romans 1 as it is written in "the
message" by Eugene Peterson…
“Since they didn’t bother to acknowledge God,
God quit bothering with them and let them run loose and then
all hell broke loose. They know perfectly well they're spitting
in Gods face. And they don’t care. Worse, they hand
out prizes to those who do the worst things best!!”
At this point in the sermon he goes on a looooong tirade
about the sin of men and women shacking up. Poor women lied
to by bad men and then left all alone. Then he says, “God
loves sinners. Homosexuals, bisexuals and lesbians are sinners.
If you don’t believe GODS word and the authority of
it, then I have no influence.”
(Uppercut/Left Hook Combination) Nobody
disbelieves the true “Word of God”. What’s
being challenged here Bishop is this doctrine of hate that
has been spewed in the Name of God. It never ceases to amaze
me how a “bishop” can preach ignorance and hate
that are only masks for his or her OWN fear, and have the
audacity to call it the “Word of God”. May I suggest
doing some study on the History of the Bible? Some serious
education is most definitely in order here. Might I suggest
STUDYING? An uninformed mind is a TERRIBLE thing.
He then says, “The most dastardly thing about homosexuality
is silly silly homosexuals going around trying to convince
people that what they're doing is normal. That’s the
sin; the abomination. Instead of saying I have a serious problem
and I am struggling with it and I know that it is wrong..............."
(Flying Roundhouse Kick to the Head) The
dastardly thing about this is, the Bishop (like many others)
has resorted to name-calling and insults. And since we’re
“rumbling”, let me just say that Bishop Benjamin
sounds quite silly himself. Not that I’m calling him
silly, I’m just saying he SOUNDS silly. Old folks used
to say, “if it sounds and looks like a duck….”
ANYWAY, have we, or have we not heard the American Psychiatric
Association say that homosexuality is NOT a sickness? Didn’t
God make psychiatry? And are not the people who have studied
and earned degrees in the psychiatry that God made more qualified
to speak on what IS and IS NOT a problem than a “bishop”
who hasn’t? In my humble opinion, it would be “silly”
to listen to and believe someone who hasn’t studied.
This is where he gets stupid. He says "Homosexuality
is a spirit of the underworld and you who collaborate with
that spirit collaborate with the devil himself. But be careful
on who you think is a homosexual and who is not. Everybody
that is effeminate is not a homosexual, they just didn’t
have the kind of parenting where a father said ‘son
take that switch out yo' walk boy, son we don't walk like
that, or bend like that either.’ The first time a father
sees his son do his wrist like this he needs to take
his hand and say .....uh............uh...........here. Your
wrist goes like this. Men don’t talk up here (high).
It’s a choice, you can change, you can choose, you can
choose.
Every effeminate person is not gay and every weight lifter
is not straight. He might be the biggest girl in the city.”
Uproarious laughter breaks out in the congregation.
Then Bishop Benjamin goes into this exaggerated feminine voice
(the congregation gets the joke) and says, "Now Bishop
you know that some people who have a genetic pre disposition.....(disgust
outbreaks from the congregation, a man in the back says ‘WHAT!’
like Lil John)........................that’s what they
call it. I do know this, no matter what you were born with
you can be born again, God changes people who want to be changed"
(Mortal Kombat Mode) Now, we could go into
an entire discourse about biology, genetics, and all that
to prove the Good Bishop even more ignorant than we already
have, but that would be an exercise in futility. See, people
like Bishop Benjamin attribute things they don’t understand,
or things they are too lazy or stubborn to research and study
to “a spirit”. That way they APPEAR “deeper”
than they are. (Choke Hold) When dealing
with people who are into that, all one can do is pray that
they don’t kill anyone. Remember the little boy in Milwaukee
who was killed by his “pastor” lying on top of
him while two other people held him down? They believed autism
was “a spirit” that possessed this child. (Preparing
to Break the Neck) When people are THAT far gone,
all you can do is pray that God would reveal THE TRUTH to
them before it’s too late. I sincerely hope there wasn’t
anyone in the congregation needing a real WORD from the Lord
to keep them sane or from committing suicide. I shutter to
think that someone could now be dead after hearing this sermon.
Unfortunately, we could go on and on and on quoting the unashamedly
ignorant Bishop Benjamin. And I DO mean he goes on and on
and on. And since “let’s get ready to rumble”
was the Bishop’s battle cry…here’s
move that will FINISH HIM!
“God, we love You. We thank You for being all You are
to us. We ask that you PLEASE reveal your truth to us so that
people will stop preaching hate and ignorance and calling
it Your Word. We especially pray for Bishop Benjamin and all
those who like him that insult your people in priestly authority.
God, please be merciful to them. Forgive them, for they know
not what they do. They are killing your people, and doing
so “supposedly” in Your Name.
“God, You said that your people are destroyed for lack
of knowledge, and it’s because they have rejected the
knowledge you have provided. We humbly ask that you heal us.
Rebuild the people who have been, or are being destroyed because
they trust in leaders who reject knowledge. Restore hope to
those who have been spiritually abused and beaten down by
those who refuse to accept and teach that Your love is unconditional
and all inclusive. Save us from the hand of those who would
use your people and prostitute their gifts to build “churchy”
empires. Deliver us from those who erroneously use the Bible
in an attempt to control our thinking. Set us free from those
who use fear and intimidation in Your Name to keep your people
bound in spiritual poverty and depression. You said that You
would write Your Word in our hearts and not on tablets that
a man could manipulate and control. Heal us. Empower us. Mend
our hearts. And lastly, help us not to be bitter or vengeful
against those who have done injustice to us. Help us to show
them the unconditional love that they were unable to show
us.
IN YOUR NAME….AMEN!
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