Swastikas Terrorize Florida PFLAG Activist

While the vandals have not yet been identified, it's likely that the swastikas painted on the garage of PFLAG activist Ruth Dorfman were the work of "Godly Christians" or white supremacists who took offense at Dorfman's recent newspaper columns that urged acceptance and inclusion of families and their LGBT children. It never ceases to amaze me how those who claim to be followers of Christ seem to demonstrate non-stop hate and intolerance rather than love of God and love of neighbor as preached by Christ. Here are some highlights from the Edge on Dorfman's experience:

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Following the publication of a newspaper article on faith, acceptance, and the need to strengthen families and social bonds by rejecting homophobia and persecution, a Jewish PFLAG chairperson found her garage vandalized--with swastikas.Ruth Dorfman, 64, is the Chair of the PFLAG Interfaith Convocation in Naples, Florida. In a May 8 op-ed for the Naples Daily News titled "Does God Hate?," Dorfman wrote, "As a person of faith, I am disappointed when some people try to use God and a handful of isolated words from the Bible as a weapon to separate gay and lesbian children from their faith and even from their families."

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Dorfman referenced a documentary titled, "For the Bible Tells Me So," which takes faith-based persecution of gays and lesbians as its theme. The documentary, noted Dorfman, "utilizes the experience of five normal religious American families to show their faith and beliefs, encourage and require their love for their homosexual children.

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[V]andals responded to the invitation by paying a visit to Dorfman’s home--and vandalizing her garage door.On June 16, Dorfman, who uses a wheelchair and oxygen, went out to collect her morning paper and found that two swastikas had been painted on her garage. Just to make sure Dorfman knew the reason why, the vandals also affixed clippings of her newspaper op-ed to the garage.

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Florida Commission on Human Relations member Mario Valle wrote the newspaper to observe, "I know firsthand that this incident is neither isolated nor unique. Around the nation, individuals are being terrorized because of their sex, religion, race, disabilities, beliefs and a myriad of other things."In our own state, there are over 56 documented hate groups, which ranks Florida third in the nation.

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Once again I am left feeling that religion is more a force for evil in the world than a force for good. WWJD?

Must See Movie: For the Bible Tells Me So

Last night I attended a special screening of the documentary film, "For the Bible Tells Me So" that was organized by Equality Virginia and shown at the Naro Theater on Colley Avenue in Norfolk. The film is excellent and - in my view - should be required viewing for anyone who claims to be a believing Christian. It is pretty harsh - and deservedly so - in its treatment of the anti-gay Christianists. It literally brought me to tears at a couple of points. I highly recommend it and hope many of you can see it in a local theater. If not, it should be available on DVD in February. The website for the film is here: http://www.forthebibletellsmeso.org/indexd.htm Here's a brief description of the film:

“Can the love between two people ever be an abomination? Is the chasm separating gays and lesbians and Christianity too wide to cross? Is the Bible an excuse to hate? Through the experiences of five very normal, very Christian, very American families -- including those of former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt and Episcopalian Bishop Gene Robinson -- we discover how insightful people of faith handle the realization of having a gay child. Informed by such respected voices as Bishop Desmond Tutu, Harvard's Peter Gomes, Orthodox Rabbi Steve Greenberg and Reverend Jimmy Creech, the film “FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO” offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity.”

Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival, Dan Karslake's provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that Church-sanctioned anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon a significant (and often malicious) misinterpretation of the Bible. As the film notes, most Christians live their lives today without feeling obliged to kill anyone who works on the Sabbath or eats shrimp (as a literal reading of scripture dictates).