Duck! Oh, Too Late!

I'm not a Duck Dynasty fan. Never even seen one episode. Not even interested. But they're all over the stores in a host of Duck Dynasty products (including the Christian bookstores) and now apparently they've made the news for a bad reason.

One of the members named Phil Robertson gave an interview to GQ magazine in which he "compared homosexuality to bestiality". The network has placed him in indefinite hiatus for his "anti-gay" remarks in which he lumped homosexuals with adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, ... the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers." Hater! Oh, wait! That was Robertson's paraphrase of Scripture.

So what was Phil saying? He was saying that terrorists and fornicators and drunks and idolaters are sinners. He was saying that those who engage in bestiality and those who engage in homosexuality are sinners. You know, like everyone. You know, like the Bible says. Robertson wasn't able to redeem himself with his own disclaimer.

We never, ever judge someone on who's going to heaven, hell. That's the Almighty's job. We just love 'em, give 'em the good news about Jesus -- whether they're homosexuals, drunks, terrorists.

Hater! Claiming that people are sinners. Well, naming homosexuals as sinners. Because agreeing with Scripture is anti-gay, the Bible is hateful, and God needs to be put on indefinite hiatus. Like Phil. Not loving and non-judgmental and tolerant like Wilson Cruz of GLAAD who said they were "some of the vilest and most extreme statements uttered against LGBT people in a mainstream publication" and "his quote was littered with outdated stereotypes and blatant misinformation."

Wait ... "vilest", "extreme", and "outdated stereotypes"? You mean the part about how the Bible says that people who practice such things won't inherit the kingdom? You mean the part about how sinners need Christ? Or was the objectionable part the part where he said "We never, ever judge someone"? Don't do it, Phil. Leave that to GLAAD. Because they're much more tolerant. As long as you don't ... you know ... agree with God or anything.

Postscript
Just to be clear, there is a serious misrepresentation here of what Robertson said. It's a form of "one of these things is not like the other", except in reverse. He said he didn't judge "whether they're homosexuals, drunks, terrorists." In what sense was he saying these were alike? They all kill people? No. They're mean? No. What? They are all sin. Remember, he stated the problem: "everything is blurred on what's right and what's wrong ... sin becomes fine." Then he illustrated the problem: "Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there -- bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men." He was listing sexual sin (of all types). He included a variety of sin of all types. How are these things alike? They are sin. That's the claim. Instead of attacking the statement for "outdated stereotypes", deal with the biblical claims. And then take the complaint to the Author, not the one who read it.

One other postscript
To be fair, there are a lot of people complaining in favor of Phil that his freedom of speech has been breached. This is simply not true. He exercised his freedom of speech. He freely stated his views and, in fact, they'll be published next month. The freedom of speech does not include the freedom of consequences. Let's just be clear about that.