Caribbean Christians resist homosexual agenda
Christians in many Caribbean territories being pressured by
developed countries and international agencies to normalize homosexuality are
joining in prayer and sharing resources to defend family values and
Bible-taught sexual mores.
In a shrewd appeal to nationalist sentiment as well as biblical
truth, Barbadian sociologist Veronica Evelyn told a rally of approximately
6,000 islanders gathered at Bridgetown's Bay Street Esplanade on November
22, "A handful of wealthy nations in North America and Europe have decided
to turn the world upside-down, to deconstruct society with new, ungodly
versions of family and marriage." The rally was an attempt to mobilize
Christian churches to become actively involved in public affairs, including
sexual rights issues.
Dr. Evelyn, a key organizer of the event, warned, "Today,
family, faith and freedom are under severe and persistent attack in
Barbados, the entire Caribbean, and across the world."
Citing President Obama, who at his second inauguration likened
the struggle for LGBT rights to the struggles of blacks to attain equality, Dr.
Evelyn objected strongly to the notion. "How can a moral wrong ever become
a civil right?"
Across the Caribbean, the message is being delivered by
developed countries and international agencies, she said, that the region's
island nations must conform to the new morality.
In May, the Barbados Ministry of Industry, International
Business, Commerce and Small Business Development collaborated with the
Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network to invite a same-sex couple to conduct a
week-long training to sensitize police, military, prison officers, and others
to LGBT issues. At the end of the week, the collaborating parties hosted a
public panel discussion on the topic "How Gay is Too Gay and should they
be Invisible?" The moderator of that discussion ruled faith-based
questions out of bounds.
The point of all this effort, Dr. Evelyn told the crowd, is
the repeal of Barbados's anti-sodomy laws, which criminalize anal penetration.
But it is socially lethal to normalize what is against the law of God, she
argues. "When human governments collaborate to usurp the authority of God
and to make His laws void, it is time to defend family, faith, and freedom. As
a church, we must focus on being God's ambassadors, the salt that will preserve
our country from legalizing mass sexual confusion, and the light that will
guide the way towards building strong families and a strong nation."
Warning that they would be called "homophobic ... haters,
bigots; intolerant, discriminatory," Dr. Evelyn urged the crowd to return
this hostility with love and openness to dialogue. At stake, she said, is the
moral and physical health of their country, their children and grandchildren.
"How much longer can we continue reacting to our multiple
social problems by covering our sores instead of at least trying to cure
them?" she asked. "We create social policies and programs, and these
are good, but they don't get to the root of the problem. And the root of the
problem is sin."
Dr. Evelyn's speech was merely the warm-up for a three-hour
event that evening. It was followed this month by a march for youth. Along with
removal of the anti-sodomy laws, so-called reformers are urging for laws to be
changed so that minors can seek sexually related advice and treatment without
parental consent.
Unwed pregnancies are closely linked to poverty in Barbados, and
anal penetration is directly linked to HIV/AIDS infection. The international
organizations preaching acceptance of sexual rights were surely "not
telling the whole truth" in this matter.
Dr. Evelyn told LifeSite News that homosexual activists would no
doubt try to challenge Barbados's laws with anti-discrimination lawsuits, as
was being tried in Jamaica by a Canadian-based expatriate. It is significant
that this expatriate was the same individual who conducted the sensitization
sessions in May and who also conducted similar training in Antigua in November.
Dr. Evelyn said the "Family, Faith and Freedom"
rallies in Barbados were an allied effort of church and business leaders to
chart a national Christian response to sexual rights issues. A similar march in
Jamaica in September drew 25,000. Over the past five years, other
collaborations of church leaders and laity have developed in other island
nations.
While the campaign to defend the family was starting with the
churches, she said, it must move into secular society, with "rigorous
arguments about what makes a society wholesome." She condemned the idea of
"twenty countries in a small section of Europe and North America who,
because they have money, believe they can call the shots. It is cultural
imperialism."
Quoting a line from a well-loved calypso tune, she asked:
"In a divided world that don't need islands no more, must we be forever at
someone's mercy?" Judging from the number of church leaders and the
enthusiastic participation of those present at the rally, the answer seems to
be a resounding "no."
