Bahamas Bucks Gay Agenda

by Larry Smith

Pastor Lyall Bethel (of Grace Gospel Chapel) and others recently drew our attention to the "Homosexual Agenda" to take over the world.

After much research we were able to confirm that this master plan does exist. Here’s an excerpt from the document that we were able to pull down from a secret web site:

6am - Gym
8am - Breakfast (oatmeal and egg whites)
9am - Hair appointment
10am - Shopping
Noon - Brunch
2pm - Convert all straight youngsters to homosexuality, destroy all heterosexual marriages, establish a global chain of homo-breeding prisons where straight women are turned into artificially impregnated baby factories to produce prepubescent love slaves for the gay leadership, and secure total control of the Internet for the exclusive use of child pornographers.
2:30pm - 40 winks of beauty rest to prevent facial wrinkles from stress of world conquest
4pm - Cocktails
6pm - Light dinner (soup, salad. with Chardonnay)
8pm - Theatre
11pm - Bed (du jour)

Actually, Pastor Bethel’s remarks are not as silly as the above parody makes out. They are drawn from the strong views of powerful religious and social groups in the United States, led by conservative preachers like Jerry Falwell (of Moral Majority fame) and Pat Robertson (of the Christian Broadcasting Network).

These radical evangelists warn of an outright homosexual plan to change society that must be resisted at all costs. They believe homosexuality is a matter of choice and a symptom of moral decay that is strictly outlawed by God.

Pastor Bethel says the gay agenda was proclaimed at a 1993 Gay Pride March in Washington - one of the largest civil rights demonstrations in American history, which attracted more than a million participants.

He says the agenda includes repealing sodomy laws, legalising child sex and same-sex marriage, letting gays teach kids, restricting religious freedom, banning prayer in public schools and allowing gays in the boy scouts and military.

“The great majority of these demands have been met in the United States and parts around the world,” Pastor Bethel says. “The Bahamas stands on the threshold of the unfolding of the homosexual agenda in this country.”

According to Craig Osten of the right-wing Alliance Defence Fund, the agenda was set in 1988 during a summit of gay leaders in Virginia. Osten says the meeting “proposed using tactics that combine the brainwashing methods of Mao Tse-Tung's Communist Chinese with Madison Avenue's most persuasive selling techniques.”

Fundamentalists rely on simplistic interpretations of Bible verses to make their case. For example, the Book of Leviticus prescribes the death penalty for same sex couples - just as it does for children who curse their parents (which would immediately solve our population crisis if applied) and for those who break the rules of the Sabbath (something that Jesus did). According to this view, homosexuality is evil.

Even use of the term "gay" by homosexuals upsets these Bible thumpers, who say it has corrupted a once perfectly good word: “I never use the word ‘gay’ when referring to homosexuals,” according to one theologian on www.bible.org. “There are many bright, exuberant, merry people in this world who are not sexual perverts.”

And that’s the back story to why the Bahamas Christian Council arranged for the hugely successful, award-winning film, Brokeback Mountain. to be banned from public viewing here. In their mind, the film is nothing but filthy propaganda aimed at making homosexuality seem good, and those opposed to it seem bad.

Pastor Bethel (without telling us whether he possesses a secret DVD copy of the film) says Brokeback Mountain is all about how “reckless men destroy their wives and families. It is also interesting to note how the spin-doctors can take the banning of a movie designed to attack the moral sensibilities of a people, and say that (it) is an attack against homosexuals.”

But according to one moviegoer we surveyed, "What the film actually says is that if you engage in homosexual activity you can expect to be mutilated and killed. If you believe homosexuality is voluntary, then by your own logic you should want this movie shown to dissuade youngsters from turning gay.”

We should also not overlook the fact that gays were one of the first groups to be persecuted by Hitler’s Germany, along with epileptics, schizophrenics and other “degenerates”. During the 12 years of Nazi rule, nearly 50,000 were convicted of the crime of homosexuality, and many ended up in concentration camps.

In his 1971 book, Neuroses in the Sun, Bahamian clinical psychologist Dr Tim McCartney said he had “first-hand knowledge...of the undeniable increase of overt homosexuality (and) homosexual prostitution” in the Bahamas. Predictably, he attributed this to “the absence of a father figure in the lives of many young Bahamians and the female dominance under which they grow up.”

Before 1973, homosexuality was listed by the American Psychiatric Association as a mental illness, and Dr McCartney claimed that “re-educative psychotherapy” could help gays confess their sexual bias and re-adjust to “relate to the opposite sex”.

Today, most scientists agree that sexual orientation is shaped at an early age, and is not a matter of choice. It does not appear to be influenced by social example, overprotective mothering, distant fathering, having gay parents, or child abuse. Biological studies have found structural brain differences between those belonging to different sexual orientations. And there is no credible evidence that sexual orientation can be successfully “treated”.

Estimates of the number of homosexuals in a given population range from 1 to 10 per cent. But studies have found that most human beings have had homosexual experiences or feelings at some point during their lives and that we are all essentially bisexual. Experts say there is “mounting evidence that homosexuality is caused by genetic susceptibility triggered by the prenatal hormonal environment.”

Human homosexuality can be traced back thousands of years. It was nearly universal among males in ancient Greece, pre-modern Japan, and other cultures – Alexander the Great being one famous example. And it is also true that animals exhibit homosexuality - from sheep to apes and swans to penguins – although it does not appear that they are not under any socio-cultural influence to practice alternative lifestyles.

Most gays in the Bahamas prefer to avoid this subject and generally do not flaunt their sexuality: “We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves or create a fuss about it,” one man told Tough Call. “There are subtle forms of retribution in this society, which is why so many of us live a double life on the down low (in the closet).

Although most Bahamian gays are not particularly agitated about victimisation, there are some who think they should be more outspoken: "That’s because disenfranchised people tend to be very vulnerable. And when you shrug these things off, disastrous things can happen down the road.

“We see the prejudice as irrational – people using an issue for their own ends. Gays are often more responsible than heteros, but Bahamians don’t want to be shown up for what they really are. The most hateful thing you can do is show them up. Just look at the straight preachers who have recently been charged with child molestation.”

According to an American columnist at SFGate.com, “For some reason, (gays) believe the utterly disgusting idea that they should be able to live their lives in peace and trust and health, with full support and assistance from their schools and hospitals and government, just like everyone else. It is, in fact, remarkably similar to what heteros want. And women. And black people. And immigrants. And dwarves.”

A more radical view points out that the straight community “plays on homophobic fears, claiming that our ‘agenda’ includes their fantasies of recruitment and child molestation while conveniently ignoring the overwhelming evidence that heterosexual males pose the primary threat of sexual abuse against minors.”

Some Christian denominations are deeply divided over this issue. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, regards faithful same-sex relationships as moral, while most Anglican churches disagree. Bahamian Archbishop Drexel Gomez has vowed not to tolerate homosexuality in the church:

"Any evidence of that will be dealt with very firmly and no person who is openly practicing a gay lifestyle will be considered for ordination...we consider it illegitimate in terms of the teaching of the Bible and the historic teaching of the church."

The banning of Brokeback Mountain by the Bahamas Films and Plays Control Board has produced lots of negative publicity and sparked countless arguments on Internet discussion boards. One post on www.bahamapundit.com took issue with a recent article by Sir Arthur Foulkes urging tolerance for dissenting views and lifestyles:

“The most important point to be made is that it is utterly wrong for any one group – majority or minority -- to use the state to force its views or beliefs on others or in any way to penalize or discriminate against dissenters,” Sir Arthur wrote.

To which the commentator responded: “Bahamians have never really 'hated' homosexuals, they just do not wish to see (homosexuality) expressed openly, without discretion. You have a society that has, in this case, an unwritten law that doesn't inhibit the actions of anyone per se, but is only a request for respect of the scruples of the people of the land. Is that so much to ask? I feel that in the same way that homosexuals demand respect for their way of life, the same should be given to the society upon which they are laying their way of life.”

Another discussion on the Yahoo News forum featured praise and condemnation for the film’s banning: “How sickening that a government won't let their citizens decide for themselves whether they want to see the movie. If you are scared of your kids being sodomized or raped, you best keep them away from heterosexuals. They commit 98% of the crime.”

“I have a theory on why this movie caused such a ruckus. How many really macho men tend to take off camping and hunting with their buddies every year? I wonder how many of them are now wondering what people are going to think if they go this year?”

Homosexuality is not a crime in the Bahamas, nor in most countries of the world today. The US Supreme Court struck down sodomy laws in the 13 remaining states that had them more than two years ago. But it is still a serious crime in many Islamic and African nations. Israel is the only country in the Middle East where homosexuals are protected under anti-discrimination laws.

Legal analysts say the American Supreme Court ruling enshrines for the first time a broad constitutional right to sexual privacy: "The petitioners are entitled to respect for their private lives," Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote for the court's majority. "The state cannot demean their existence or control their destiny by making their private sexual conduct a crime."

To which arch conservative Justice Antonin Scalia (who voted against the decision) responded: ”I have nothing against homosexuals, or any other group, promoting their agenda through normal democratic means. Social perceptions of sexual and other morality change over time, and every group has the right to persuade its fellow citizens that its view of such matters is the best. But persuading one's fellow citizens is one thing, and imposing one's views in absence of democratic majority will is something else.“

Perhaps the real bottom line to all this is (as one Internet commentator put it), “the more mainstream gay people become, the less reason people will have to be disgusted by us. For the vast majority of gays, our lives are NO different from that of heterosexuals.

“I don't judge one straight couple from another based on what they may or may not do in their bedroom. It would be nice if people wouldn't judge gay people based on that, too.”

Comments

[Jane Poveromo]

Your article has prompted me to express some of my thoughts on the ongoing discussion of homosexuality which has been raging since the Bahamas Films and Plays Control Board's banning of the film Brokeback Mountain.
I am appalled at the hypocrisy and homophobia of many Bahamians who have condemned this film, most likely without having seen it, and who have in their ignorance missed the point. Its theme is not primarily about homosexuality or bisexuality but about the struggle of two men to deny their love in order to conform to the 'norms' of society; these feelings incidentally (and I say this to the 'Christians') which God gave them, a God who expects us to love, not hate one another.
As a teacher I have long maintained that one's sexuality is not a choice (why would one choose to be held up to ridicule and hatred?) Even at a very young age some of my students' sexual orientation was often blatantly obvious.
As for 'treating' homosexuals, that is as preposterous as asking a heterosexual to take up with a member of the same sex!
Lastly, among the critics of this beautiful film there are no doubt some who in fact find themselves in similar circumstances and live a lie.
Incidentally even the White House this year hosted same-sex families and their children at its annual Easter egg hunt.

[Chris Armaly]

Interesting article, however just like the yank media we are protecting the gay agenda. Like typical liberals the media preaches tollllllerance, however whenever the church or any traditionalist disagrees there is a direct attack on that person and their family. Some tolerance!
As for whether it is a chosen life style or not, I believe it is both. While some might be born that way, being gay is the "in" thing or the "fad" of the decade, one that is certainly being pushed by the "Hollowood" crowd. In a nutshell don't call me a bigot just because I have not tried or have no desire to chase members of my same sex, or that I am hiding these tendencies and must "find myself". Should they become more mainstream perhaps it would not be such a controversial issue. I have never seen heterosexuals parading in the streets of San Fransicko and Toronto half naked performing sexual acts in public in front of children etc., but perhaps I am to young and it did happen some years before my time.
While if you desire a gay lifestyle, that's fine with me, but don't tell me there isn't an agenda. If there wasn't, our schools (here but mainly in the U.S. and Canada) would be teaching math, English and world history and events, not forcing our young grade 1-4 kids to read "Sally has two Mommies". Please get semi- serious and at least save that for University.

Once again, good article and I am sure you will get a firestorm of responses on both sides of the issue and like me in the middle.

[islandlizard]

It seems to me, as an outsider who has made the Bahamas my home for over a decade, that the only group desperate to enforce their own Agenda is the fanatical and fundamentalist Christian Council.

This 'council' is a disgrace to true Christians the world over, selectively quoting The Bible for their own gain[1], ignoring the true ideals and principle of the Book, and abusing thier membership in public office to enforce their agenda at will.

This type of fundamentalist behaviour is not new - look at AlQueda, another group that believes its interpretation of religion is the only true correct one.

The Bible teaches many things, but the most important messages are:

None of us has the right to judge another, and;

We must love and forgive all.

The 'Christian' Council in the Bahamas needs to step down from its pious throne and deal with the hypocrisy of its own self.

--------

[1] Religious fundamentalists such as the council usually quote the words of Leviticus as 'proof' that the stance they take is the righteous one, specifically:

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination." (Leviticus 18:22)

and

"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13)

How come these people then choose to ignore other verses from the same chapter, verses such as:

"For everyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death. He has cursed his father or his mother. His blood shall be upon him." (Leviticus 20:9)

and

"Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves. You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property." (Leviticus 25:44-45)

or perhaps:

"Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales; that shall be an abomination to you." (Leviticus 11:12)

Maybe the high and mighty council will next turn to the slaughter of those who cuss at their parents.

Maybe they are preparing their campaign for the reinstating and promotion of slavery.

And of course, we are waiting eagerly for the campaign against the abominations that are shrimp and lobster and all who would *dare* to eat them.

Yeah, those lobsters probably have a secret agenda too!

[Colyn Roberts]

a couple thoughts and comments about the whole Brokeback/Censorship/Gay Agenda controversy:

First ... Pastor Lyall Bethell, Apostle [??] Cedric Moss and Pastor Allan Lee wrote a letter to the editor which missed the point on censorship by a mile. In comparing the voluntary restraint of the Tribune in not printing pornographic photographs with the coercive imposition by government of a movie ban, they really don't quite get the point.

No matter what one's views on morality, the example of Jesus ... the really Christian approach to these things ... doesn't even come close to what I see the established church trying to do in the Bahamas today with marches on cruise ships and an extremely narrow focus on only ONE aspect of sexual sin. (To his credit, Cedric Moss has been very vocal in recent years about other condemnable aspects of the films passed for viewing).

I simply don't see anywhere in Holy Writ where Jesus used - or recommended the use of - civil government to impose an agenda on society. Matter of fact he ate with tax collectors and sinners without condemning them beforehand ... it's what got him trouble with the established clergy of his day.

It is not ... repeat NOT ... the Church's job to change society in any other way than by the attempted persuasion (dare I say conversion ?) of one person at a time ... and that, largely by example (see John 13 guys).

NOW ... to the point of the latter part of Larry's current article: While the Western press would have us believe that "gayness" is innate, the science is still not clear. Indeed, accompanying the original study noting the brain differences between gay and straight men was the qualifyer that it was not certain which came first ... that brain differences may indeed develop as a consequence of a lifestyle (as it does with other learned behaviours).

But be that as it may ... what REALLY concerns me ... is suppose we find (as studies have already shown) that criminals have brain differences. Do we then excuse criminal behaviour?

The horror of this scenario is that rapists, murderers and plain old "tiefs" would have to be excused by the justice system, wouldn't they? Not their fault!

So ... IF a behaviour is wrong (and I'm not pronouncing on gayness here, understand - it's immaterial to the essence of the question) it's wrong. PERIOD.

Don't people have ANY control over their impulses? Do we HAVE to always give in? Do we have no responsibility for our actions?

Again, I want to make it clear I am not pronouncing here on my personal view of a particular aspect of morality. But the questions need asked.

And there are serious implications in the answers which various societies eventually reach by consensus.

[larry smith]

And by the way, why would anyone who is straight "desire" the gay lifestyle? - you would have to be a real masochist.

[andrew allen]

I must agree with the reader above who points out that the real people with an aggressive agenda in the Bahamas are the christian freaks who would convert us all to their religious views.

I dont push my atheism on christians, nor my heterosexuality on gays. Why should christians be encouraged to continually pressure all other groups with a faith that many of us find repugnant.

[larry Smith]

For those of you who are interested, here is Lyall Bethel's response to my article. It was published as a letter to the editor in the Nassau Guardian on April 25.

Dear Sir,
Last week Mr Larry Smith made a "Tough Call", using my recent letter to the Editor concerning Sir Arthur Foulkes' article against the Bahamas Christian Council and the clergy to lampoon the idea of there being a homosexual agenda.

I found it puzzling that he mocks me and the many other "radical evangelical", "right wing", "Bible-thumping" Christians (boy don't we sound scary?) when we say there is a homosexual agenda; cites my quote listing their stated agenda, but then FAILS to address the valid arguments and overwhelming evidence raised.
For those who missed it – on Wednesday April 12th in the Nassau Guardian, a portion of my letter to Sir Arthur was printed where I took him to task for his statement that the Church was attacking homosexuals.

Sir Arthur wrote, inter alia: "Religious leaders can preach all they want against homosexuality or anything else, but in this democratic society and pluralistic society they should not be allowed to manipulate the apparatus of the state to force their views on other people."

My letter of response never appeared in the Tribune.

Into this fray - with the whole nation waiting to see Sir Arthur show his quality and withdraw his hastily spoken comments – jumps Mr Larry Smith, like a soldier of chaos whose job is not so much to win a battle but to keep "the enemy" engaged needlessly, pointlessly. It seems as though his letter was intended to muddy the waters, as opposed to bringing forth any clarity? Can he honestly deny the litany of successes achieved by the homosexual agenda?

No! In fact, he doesn't even try to. Instead, he trots out the usual fare of cliched arguments and tactics used against Christians. Since Mr Smith is too enlightened to use the Bible and its timeless truths he must rely on the "experts", "most scientists" and "studies" to prove his case. Anyone else will notice how "studies" and "experts" seem to contradict themselves depending on who and when the study is done? But anyway, let's have a look at his cited studies, experts and estimates.

The ten percent myth
"Estimates of the number of homosexuals in a given population range from 1 to 10 per cent," he says. But Mr Smith should know that the 10 per cent myth springs in part from research carried out by Alfred Kinsey, which has since been discredited for its shoddy statistical methods. In fact, a legal brief by a coalition of homosexual groups in a 2003 legal case admits that the percentage of people who declare themselves homosexuals or bisexuals ranges from 2.8 per cent for males to 1.4 per cent among females. The brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Lawrence v. Texas. I am surprised that a "thinker" like Mr Smith was not more careful with his research.

Is there a gay gene?
"Experts say there is mounting evidence that homosexuality is caused by genetic susceptibility triggered by prenatal environment," says Mr Smith. The reader should note that central to the programme of the homosexual lobby is that (a) no gay can change, and (b) no gay should change. This has led to attempts to portray homosexuals as having an immutable genetic code that creates them as homosexual at birth. Space will not allow me to take this apart with scientific studies available out there but let me answer him with this. It is noteworthy that leading homosexual apologists have repudiated the genetic myth. David Yates Rist of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation has called the genetic cause argument "an expedient lie." And Peter Tatchell, founder of Outrage, condemned "the flawed theory which claims a genetic causation for homosexuality." As for the homosexual's inability to be changed in his sexual orientation, I must mention that there are many thousands of persons who are living free of their former lives as homosexuals. Check out Exodus Ministries' website to read their stories. Like every other sin for which Christ died there is deliverance for those who truly want to change. Obviously, I could go on taking his article apart but I doubt any of the papers will give me the two-page spread Mr Smith had to rant and rave, so let me end here.

Thanking you in advance for the space in your valued column.

Yours, etc.,
Pastor Lyall Bethel

[David Smith]

In Mr. Bethel's response he never once spoke to the abuse of power of the "so called" Christian Council in banning this movie. Interesting....

[resveratrol]

The amazing thing is I’ ve only really just finished Chapter 1 and I feel like I’ ve put my head through a wringer. So I’ d really like it if you can come and visit me at the funny farm after I’ ve done Chapter 5. Visiting hours are 9- 5 and please don’ t shout at the other patients it freaks them out. Anyway, today’ s mind melt is Exercise 2. 5 and it asks us to…

[crohns disease]

Cognitive- Behavioral Therapy Cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT) is very useful in treating anxiety disorders. The cognitive part helps people change the thinking patterns that support their fears, and the behavioral part helps people change the way they react to anxiety- provoking situations. People with OCD who fear dirt and germs are encouraged to get their hands dirty and wait increasing amounts of time before washing them. The therapist helps the person cope with the anxiety that waiting produces;...