And They'll Know We Are Christians By Our...Hate?

That's a line from a song I learned in Vacation Bible School...of course, the original last word was "love." As an adult, I've learned that, well, love? Not so much.

Consider the Dallas Mega Church that turned down a funeral service for the brother of one of its members. They offered a funeral, then withdrew when they saw photos of the deceased hugging and kissing his partner. Let's let the church speak with its own voice:

"Some of those photos had very strong homosexual images of kissing and hugging," [Rev. Simmons] said. "My ministry associates were taken aback."

...The pastor said that he could imagine a similar situation involving a different sin. Perhaps a mother who is a member of the church loses a son who is a thief or murderer, Mr. Simons said. The church would surely volunteer to hold a service, he said.

"But I don't think the mother would submit photos of her son murdering someone," he said. "That's a red light going off."

Affection for a partner = murder. Got it? Oh, and by the way, the deceased was a Gulf War vet who helped rescue downed pilots. Who is more Christlike, here?

Actually, churches have the right, in my opinion, to decide matters like these on their principles.

But I don't have to respect those principles. Especially when they rest on the shifting sand of bigotry blinded by fear.