Saturday, April 28, 2012

Dan Savage And His Double Standard


   A prominent news agency recently reported an incident involving Dan Savage and his speech at a National High School Journalism Conference called Journalism On The Edge.  This conference was held in Seattle and was attended by high school students and others interested in journalism.  Because Mr. Savage is a syndicated writer, he was invited to the conference as the key speaker.  For those who don’t know who Mr. Savage is, he is a militant homosexual and a self-proclaimed expert in sexuality.  I use the term “self-proclaimed expert” because he has a B.A. in theater, no formal training or education in the area of sexuality as far as I can tell.  Mr. Savage has a history of bashing Christians and anyone else who holds a conservative social view.  He is no stranger to attacking the Bible and belittling anyone who believes in God.  Though there is a lot I could say concerning Mr. Savage’s views, my focus in this writing has to do with the clear double standard at work in his agenda.  Here are a few thoughts concerning his conduct at this event.
   Among the many things wrong with what Mr. Savage did, it is unprofessional and outright deceptive to be invited to speak on a publicized topic and then turn the opportunity into a personal rampage.  No doubt Mr. Savage knows a thing or two about journalism and could have given some helpful and informative instruction in that area.  He chose, however, to use the public forum to vent his vitriolic personal views of the Bible, Christians, and anyone else who holds different views and convictions from his own.  Shame on him for such unprofessional conduct.
   Mr. Savage is also guilty of taking advantage of the captive audience in this situation.  The students who attended this event were doing so as part of their high school learning experience.  Teachers and guest speakers who address high school students are not allowed by law to bash or otherwise demean specific groups of people.  Teachers in public schools can lose their jobs for such behavior.  Yet Mr. Savage purposely ignored the forum which was largely made up of high school students and proceeded to use vulgarity as well as personally attack those who openly disagreed with his views.  Again, shame on Mr. Savage for such childish and immature behavior. 
   The worst part about what Mr. Savage did has to do with his own hypocrisy.  The topic of his discussion was supposed to be about bullying.  Mr. Savage leads an organization that speaks out against the bullying of homosexuals and others who have differing views from the mainstream of society.  If there is a common ground where Mr. Savage and I might agree, it would be on this issue of bullying.  I’m sure my definition of bullying differs from his, however, there is no place in society for one person to take advantage of or hurt another.  There are ways to express differences of opinion and or espouse truth without attacking someone on a personal level.  Mr. Savage became a bully in his speech, the very thing he was there to speak against.  The sad part is his hatred for God, the Bible, and all who follow God is so intense that he cannot see his own failure.  Shame on you Mr. Savage for doing exactly what you preach against with such enthusiasm.  You are no better than the people you condemn on a daily basis.  You really do owe an apology to all those involved with your conduct at that conference.
   Mr. Savage does not realize it, but God loves him.  Let there be no doubt, homosexuality is a sin just like any other form of rebellion against God.  However, Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary to pay for our sin, all our sin.  There is no sin God will not forgive if we are willing to confess sin, repent of sin, and believe on Jesus by faith to forgive us and save us.  Every human being will have to stand before God one day.  Mr. Savage can deny that fact all he wants, but it will not prevent it from happening.  I pray he will come to know Jesus as his personal Lord and Savior before it is eternally too late.  Even if he chooses to reject Jesus to the day he dies, may he realize he is guilty of doing that thing he says he hates the most, being a bully.

4 comments:

  1. Amen and Amen, Pastor Robert, for standing up to those who bully, no matter the reason. Most of all, thank you for stating that anyone, no matter the sin, can be redeemed by faith, repentance and asking Jesus to be his Lord and Savior!! I pray he comes to this conclusion sometime before his death as whether you believe in a Holy God or not, He is the Great I Am...whether you believe that Jesus became the Savior of the World or not, He is and whether you believe in the Judgement of Sin or not, there will be one.
    Praise Our Heavenly Father Above that Oakleaf Baptist Church has a pastor that stands fully on the Bible.
    Signed as Anonymous as couldn't sign any of the other options given. Name follows below!
    The Herron Family (Sam and Tari)

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  2. Mr. Savage's views, according to the Chicago Tribune. He really said this, wow. If only people would see that he said he can bend them to 'his' will. That is scary because without knowing people are being fed hatred. Why is he called a 'straight shooter?' but if a Christian speaks up about Jesus Christ he is a hater. It hurts my heart but John 15:18 says "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." Savage says:

    On using TV: “So many more people. Television is such a mass medium. And I've already seen it in the amount of email I'm getting at Savage Love. I'm just acquiring this huge new audience that I can then bend to my will and make them drones in the international homosexual conspiracy. Yeah, trying to talk your kids — your straight kids — out of getting knocked up prematurely? That's the international homosexual conspiracy.”

    The gospel is that we all have sinned against God and that we need a savior to save us from God's wrath on judgment day. That is it. I just pray our days are getting shorter...

    BTW: me too about the anonymous sign in. Jeannette Tuionetoa... :-)

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  3. unfortunately in my short years walking this earth i have lived in many areas and i have seen the church itself condemn homosexuals. So is he right to say the things he did? absolutely not... but has the church given him a certain amount of ammunition? absolutely just look in a place like key west.... in these ways the society around us needs to meet a certain middle ground that of respect for everybody... He did completely violate every rule of ethic and his own morals though by turning a speech on journalism into a speech of slander against the people he was supposed to help...


    Ps: as to why i used key west as an example it is the self proclaimed gay capital of the world and a place i lived for several years incorporated in the link below is a picture showing what i mean...

    http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQg6QDdcV8bG0tzYcR9jjL0TLiv_58e-GTiiA-gaf3RWxipVWTYQg
    http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSnYRiK4z78bpXnigvMn5t8jbYQWVnrbynp9uQUBWWlE7hi_XO0Yw

    now those are no excuse but it shows that its not wholly a one sided road

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  4. Thanks for your thoughts. You said you have seen churches condemn homosexuals, therein is the problem. You see, God loves every sinner, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Romans 3.23). Jesus died on the cross as payment for all sin, including the sin of homosexuality. God does not hate homosexuals, but make no mistake, God hates all sin and homosexuality is a sin. The church is never to hate any person, however, we have to honest and say what God has already said about sin. The truth is plain and simple, if a person rejects God's call to repentance from sin and resists God's offer of grace, then there is nothing left but judgment. We all have sin, we will all be judged based on our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ. A person who confesses their sin to God and asked for forgiveness will be saved. A truly saved person will begin to grow spiritually which means they will want to obey God's Word. Mr. Savage is not saved as evidenced by his open attacks on God and those who follow Him. Mr. Savage will meet Jesus one day and I pray he gets saved before that day comes. Thanks again for your thoughts.

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