Interview with Donald Miller.

I was the guest on a radio show recently that was broadcast on a secular station, one of those conservative shows that paints Democrats as terrorists. The interviewer asked what I thought about homosexuals who were trying to take over the country. I confess I was taken aback. I hadn't realized that homosexuals were trying to take over the country.
"Which homosexuals are trying to take over the country?" I asked.
"You know," the interviewer began, "the ones who want to take over Congress and the Senate."
I paused for a while. "Well," I said, "I've never met those guys and I don't know who they are. The only homosexuals I've ever met are very kind people, some of whom have been beat up and spit on and harassed and, in fact, feel threatened by the religious right." Think about it. If you watch CNN all day and see extreme Muslims in the Middle East declaring war on America because they see us as immoral, and then you read the paper the next day to find the same exact words spoken by evangelical leaders against the culture here in America, you'd be pretty scared. I've never heard of a homosexual group trying to take over the world, or for that matter the House or Senate, but I can point you to about fifty evangelical organizations who are trying to do exactly that. I don't know why. In my opinion, we should just tell people about Jesus, not try to build some kind of temporary moral civilization here on earth. If you want that, move to Salt Lake City. "And what is the name of the homosexual group that is trying to take over America?" I asked the host, somewhat angry at his ignorant misuse of war rhetoric.
"Well, I hear about them all the time," he said, rather frustrated with me.
"If you hear about them all the time, what is the name of the organization?"
"Well, I don't know right now. But they are there."
"Can I list for you ten or so Christian organizations who are working to try to get more Christians in the House and the Senate?" I said to the host.
"Listen, I get your point," he said.
"But I don't think you do. Here is my position: As a Christian, I believe that Jesus wants to reach out to people who are lost and, yes, immoral-immoral just like you and I are immoral; and declaring war against them and stirring up your listeners to the point of anger and giving them the feeling that thier country, their families, and their lifestyles are being threatened is only hurting what Jesus is trying to do. This isn't rocket science. If you declare war on somebody, you have to either handcuff them or kill them. That's the only way to win. But if you want them to be forgiven by Christ, if you want them to live eternally in heaven with Jesus, then you have to love them. The choice is yours and my suspicion is you will be held responsible by God, a Judge who will know your motives. So go ahead and declare war in the name of a conservative agenda, but don't do it in the name of God. That's what militant Muslims are doing in the Middle East, and we don't want that here."

This was something that showed me the conservative movement from an angle previously unavailabe to me. Not that I think those political people are evil or anything but there really are other things we can be spending our energy on!