‘Christian’ gay-bashers anything but Christian

Today we find ourselves in the middle of Easter weekend, the most important celebration in the Christian calendar. Indeed, many would argue it is the crucifixion of Jesus that defines Christianity and lies at the centre of Christian faith.

It is the teachings of Jesus that we are to follow and it is His sacrifice on our behalf that we celebrate during this season.

While it is purported that, as Christians, we are to try to follow the example set by Christ and stay true to the lessons he taught, many socalled Christians have decided to promote their own views on certain subjects under the guise of promoting Christianity or protecting their Christian beliefs.

This seems to be especially true for some Christians who are vehe- mently opposed to the existence and rights of gay and lesbian people.

Last month, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a case involving one of these so-called Christians and the actions he had taken in promoting his anti-gay beliefs.

In 2001 and 2002, Bill Whatcott published and distributed four antigay fliers in the cities of Regina and Saskatoon. Complaints were made and the Saskatchewan Human Rights Tribunal ruled in 2005 that his actions and the content of the fliers violated the hate provision of the province’s laws and ordered him to pay compensation to the complainants.

Whatcott refused and, with the support of a conservative Evangelical group, appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of Canada. This court ruled unanimously on Feb. 27 that two of Whatcott’s fliers did meet the test under hate law legislation because they expressly called for open discrimination against gays and lesbians. The court ruled that the other two fliers, while offensive, did not constitute hate and the decision on these fliers was overturned.

I wonder how closely he has read the words and teachings of Jesus, and where among them he finds the instruction from Jesus to go into the community and persecute those who do not fit his definition of acceptable.

Whatcott has been ordered to pay $7,500 in compensation to the complainants who received the prohibited fliers.

It should not come as a surprise that Whatcott has continued to claim he will not pay the compensation and has openly urged Christians to disobey the ruling of the court, asserting that as a Christian he has the right to preach his views that homosexuality is a sin and that such people should therefore be condemned.

I wonder how closely he has read the words and teachings of Jesus, and where among them he finds the instruction from Jesus to go into the community and persecute those who do not fit his definition of acceptable. In my view, this is the most egregious part of Whatcott’s actions, something that has not been emphasized too widely in the media.

While the court case has mostly focused on the content of the fliers, it is Whatcott’s way of distributing them which causes me the most concern. He went around door-to-door and put his fliers in the mailboxes of people’s homes, which meant that they were exposed to this information involuntarily.

While some may argue that people could just ignore the fliers, consider for a minute how any gay or lesbian people living in these homes might feel. We all tend to consider our homes as safe places; to have material calling for discrimination against you placed in your place of safety — and knowing that your neighbours have likely also received the same fliers — can and likely did cause major fear and concern for one’s safety.

Whatcott’s intransigence in the light of the court’s ruling shows that maybe gay and lesbian people do need to be concerned, and it is for this reason that such laws were created in the first place.

Some, like Whatcott, see such legislation as an attack on their right to express their Christian beliefs, but such is not the case. Had he distributed his fliers in a church of likeminded people, it may have been offensive and distasteful, but would not have been against the law in that setting. It was when he attempted to force his views into other people’s private homes that he crossed the line and was suitably chastised.

During this Holy Week, perhaps Whatcott and those like him might choose to spend some time reflecting on the message of Jesus and ask themselves if actions such as Whatcott’s truly reflect the message that He came to this world to convey.