Ancient Christian Witness

"There was an event that happened on Sunday, November 9,
2008, in Lansing, MI, that appears to have slipped under the radar of most
Michigan and national news.

According to Catholic Online, which appears
to give the least biased account of the happenings at Mount Hope Church in
Lansing:

November 12, 2008: Catholic Online: On Sunday, November 9, a
band of about 30 gays stormed a church in Lansing, Michigan. Some were well
dressed and were stationed inside Mount Hope Church; others were outside dressed
in pink and black. The group of self-described homosexual anarchists, Bash Back!
, claims the evangelical church is guilty of "transphobia and homophobia."
The protesters outside the church were beating on buckets, shouting "Jesus
was a homo" on a megaphone and carrying an upside-down pink cross. Fire alarms
went off inside the church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge
rainbow-colored flag was unfurled with the inscription, "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY!
BASH BACK!" The church was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers
were confronted. There were no arrests.
Okay, while nothing too violent
appears to have happened during this confrontation, I disapprove of involving
children on either side of a radical event. Right or Left.

And I'll
point out that while we cannot claim that Jesus was homosexual with any
definity, he was certainly raised in a homosocial environment. Seriously, look
it up.

Back to the action

November 11, 2008: LifeSiteNews.com:
When the signal was given the protesters inside the church rose from their seats
and began loudly to disrupt the service. The fire alarm was pulled inside the
church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge rainbow-colored flag was
unfurled with the inscription, "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY! BASH BACK!"
The church
was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers were confronted.
According to Right Michigan the protestors in their demonstration also used
condoms, glitter, confetti, and pink fabric. A video camera wielded by the
homosexualists attempted to capture violent reactions from members of the
congregation, of which there were none. Right Michigan also reports that
approximately an hour after the demonstration two of the demonstrators were
found by security in a public restroom in the church together. There were no
arrests.

Bash Back! issued a press release on their website after the
fact, which admitted that "the group was extremely loud and wildly offensive."
The group described Mount Hope Church as "deplorable" and "anti-queer."

The release concluded, "Let it be known: So long as bigots kill us in
the streets, this pack of wolves will continue to BASH BACK!"


According to Bash Back! Lansings "Points of Unity", as listed on
their MySpace account , all members must agree to:

1. Fight for
liberation. Nothing more, nothing less. State recognition in the form of
oppressive institutions such as marriage and militarism are not steps toward
liberation but rather towards heteronormative assimilation.
2. A rejection
of Capitalism, Imperialism, and all forms of State power.

3. Actively
oppose oppression both in and out of the "movement." All oppressive behavior is
not to be tolerated.

4. Respect a diversity of tactics in the struggle
for liberation. Do not solely condemn an action on the grounds that the State
deems it to be illegal.


Which, again, why do 'Anarchist' groups have
rules, tenets, or manifestoes?

November 12, 2008: Global Politician:
Right Michigan observes that Mt. Hope Church is guilty of nothing more than
providing "free 24 hour counseling, prayer lines, ... care for families dealing
with medical emergencies, support groups for ... [people] dealing with ...
life's troubles, crisis intervention, marriage ministries, ... volunteer work"
and much, much more.
For promoting and practicing their Christian faith, the
sexual deviants decided to target the church in an action planned out like a
military operation.


Again, why portray this group as 'Anarchists'?
They obviously had a plan, brought the press, had two groups in action, one as
an "inside" team that wore suits and carried bibles and the "outside" team who
brought in the demonstration gear. They were also wearing Secret Service style
earwigs to coordinate the action.

Apparently Nathan Harris, a reporter
for 'City Pulse', had prior knowledge of the event and was there to document it.

November 11, 2008: RightMichigan: The initial RightMichigan story
mentioned his presence on-site and [suggested] that he was more interested in
getting a story than in preventing the vandalism, the violence and the
anti-Christian hatred being spewed by the lefties.
Harris: I wanted to
identify myself for you, put a name to the quote-unquote journalist, and let you
know that, according to all professional guidelines I'm aware of, I stand by my
story as reported. There is a specific role the press plays in our society, and
there are significant questions that go along with putting that into practice. I
know that I have a responsibility, though, to provide an accurate record of
events, regardless of where my personal sympathies may lie for any given
assignment.

Harris brings up an interesting point... journalists, in the
best tradition, are there to watch, to listen, to observe and to record, but
never to interfere (name that TV show). In other words, the conclusions I'd
drawn in the initial story were 100%, spot-on, laser-focused accurate. He was,
and admits, to being more interested in getting his story than in preventing
violence, vandalism and anti-Christian hatred.

Here's the broader,
ethical question... where does the responsibility of a journalist end and the
responsibility of a human being, a moral agent, begin? Is it when there is a
possibility of some uncomfortable moments? Maybe not. When there is an imminent
threat of physical violence? See how suddenly the line blurs a bit?


But there were no reports made of physical violence, just a
disruption of services, a bit of lewdness, passing out of flyers and glitter.
Actually something I would have prayed for when I used to have to go to church.

However, there was some indecency involved."