I just read the following article by Jane Kendricks called, “If God had wanted me to be accepting of gays, he would have given me the warmth and compassion to do so.”
What do you think of this…? Think she’s really anti-gay or communicating something else…? Here it is:
I don’t question God. The Lord is my Shepherd and I shall put none above Him. Which is why I know that if it were part of God’s plan for me to stop viciously condemning others based solely on their sexual preference, He would have seen fit–in His infinite wisdom and all–to have given me the tiniest bit of human empathy necessary to do so.
It’s a simple matter of logic, really. God made me who I am, and who I am is a cold, anti-gay zealot. Thus, I abhor gay people because God made me that way. Why is that so hard to understand?
Here, let’s start with the basic facts: I hate and fear gay people. The way they feel is different from how I feel, and that causes me a lot of confusion and anger. Everyone knows God is all-powerful. He could easily have given me the capacity to investigate what’s behind those feelings rather than tell strangers in the park they’re going to hell for holding hands. But God clearly has another path for me. And who am I to question His divine will?
Compassion, tolerance, understanding, basic decency, the ability to put myself in another person’s position: God could have endowed me with any of those traits and yet–here is the crucial part–He didn’t. Why? Because the Creator of the Universe wants me to demonize homosexuals in an effort to strip them of their fundamental human rights.
I’m sorry, but you can’t possibly ask me to explain everything God does. He works in mysterious ways, remember?
Try to understand. If I were capable of thinking and acting any other way, then I’m sure I would, but God seems to be quite adamant about this one. He’s just not budging at all. So unless our almighty Lord and Savior decides to change His mind about my ability to empathize on even the most basic level–which I find highly unlikely–then everyone is just going to have to accept the fact that I’m going to keep on hating homosexuals. And I know that He will fill me with the strength to remain mindless and hurtful in the face of adversity.
Which isn’t to say that my faith hasn’t been tested. Believe me, there have been times when I’ve drifted from the bitter and terrified life God has chosen for me. When my younger brother told me he was gay, it shook my faith to its very core. But here I am, 27 years later, still refusing to take his calls. Just the way God intended.
It’s actually pretty astonishing how many complaints to the school board you can make regarding the new band teacher you’ve never met when you are filled with the Light of Christ and devoid of any real kindness or mercy toward His other children.
At the end of the day, I’m just trying to lead a good Christian life. That means going to church on Sunday, following the Ten Commandments, and fighting what I believe to be a sexual abomination through a series of petty actions and bitter comments made under my breath. Sure, I sometimes wish God would just reach into my heart and give me the ability to treat all people with, at the very least, the decency and respect they deserve as human beings. But unfortunately for that new couple who moved in three houses down, He hasn’t yet.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have God’s work to do. 
This post was originally here
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Chuck Bomar is pastor of Colossae Church in Portland, Oregon and founder of CollegeLeader (
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Leave it to The Onion to publish an article like this one. The Onion, as a satirical newspaper, is often pretty funny, but they also perpetuate unfortunate stereotypes by presenting them in a ridiculous, over the top fashion. That is the case with this article. Knowing it is from The Onion I can laugh at it, but I also think it’s pretty sad because it might lead readers to (at least subconsciously) believe that is how mainstream Christians feel.
i almost took this seriously at first, but then it reminds me that there really are people with that much hatred out there. i know this is satirical but it is really a challenge for us as christians to say, “what can we do to change this stereotype?’ i personally feel homosexuality is wrong but that doesn’t change how i feel about people who are gay, why should it? if anything, we as the church ought to be going out of our way to reach people with God’s love, and then maybe we could put a dent in this stereotype…
brian, i agree with your concern about potentially leading readers to think wrongly of Christians.
The author is clearly saying that the “God made me this way” argument used by homosexuals doesn’t hold any water, since that same argument could be used by the the hate mongers out there.
The author’s point is that we should all strive to be something more than that which our sin nature desires… whether that sin is gay-hating, or being in a commited, loving relationship with someone of the same sex. The author sees those two things as the same thing…inexcusable using the “God made me this way” argument.
“You say God made you gay? I say God made me to hate gays.”
It would be funny, except for the fact that I meet people like this all the time.
Check http://www.bettybowers.com/ for more fun tongue-in-cheek Christian-ese.
Kurt, thanks for adding here. yes, i do think the author is taking the logic and using it in a different way. and i agree, the fact that there are people like this is not funny at all.
Kurt – that’s what I thought at first as I was reading it, but knowing it’s from the Onion makes it less likely. But I do agree that you could use that logic as an interesting counterpoint to the common argument for homosexuality, for sure.
Remember, because it’s from the Onion, it’s most likely simply making fun of Christians (like Brian pointed out). Also, it means Jane Kendricks isn’t a real person.