Desmond Tutu has time and time again shown himself to be a bold voice for LGBT rights and equality and he has now stated that he would rather go to Hell than worship a homophobic god. His point, of course, is that God isn't homophobic, it's some of his foulest self-proclaimed followers who are. Indeed, if one is homophobic - or racist, etc. - one is not truly Christian regardless of whatever lip service one may give to false piety and religiosity. Tutu made his remarks in conjunction with a new United Nations initiative to oppose homophobia and the deprivation of rights to LGBT individuals. Tutu is the antithesis of bigots and and hate mongers such as Patriarch Kiril in Russia.The Christofascists have utterly perverted Christianity and are killing Christianity in the eyes of many, especially the younger generations who are leaving religion in droves. ABC News looks at Tutu's latest declarations against homophobes:
CAPE TOWN - South African peace icon Desmond Tutu on Friday said he would rather go to hell than worship a homophobic God, likening the fight against gay prejudice to the anti-apartheid struggle.
"I would refuse to go to a homophobic heaven. No, I would say sorry, I mean I would much rather go to the other place," the retired archbishop said at the launch of a United Nations gay equality campaign in Cape Town.
"I would not worship a God who is homophobic and that is how deeply I feel about this," he said, condemning the use of religious justification for anti-gay prejudice.
Launched by the UN Human Rights Office, the public education campaign "Free and Equal" aims to raise awareness of anti-gay violence and discrimination.
Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, compared the project to the fight South Africans waged to end the former white racist minority rule, a struggle in which he played a pivotal role.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said same-sex relationships are illegal in more than a third of countries around the world and punishable by death in five.
Even in countries where gay rights are upheld challenges remain, she said, noting that South Africa has "some of the worst cases of homophobic violence" despite having some of the world's best legal protections.
"People are literally paying for their love with their lives," said Pillay. The campaign, which aims to push for legal reforms and public education against homophobia, will have a strong focus on working with governments. "I constantly hear governments tell me 'but this is our culture, our tradition and we can't change it'... So we have lots of work to do," said Pillay.
Kudos to Tutu. It is good Christians like him that have kept me even nominally hanging on to the Christian moniker. More like him need to stand up and publicly call out the merchants of hate in the Catholic Church, Russian Orthodox Church, and of course the Southern Baptist Convention.
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