Christianity- YERDOONITRONG!!!!

If you're using your faith to spread hatred and homophobia, what you're spreading isn't Christianity. "Mental rape?" Seriously??

I've learned one thing, and that's to quit worrying about stupid things. You have four years to be irresponsible here, relax. Work is for people with jobs. You'll never remember class time, but you'll remember the time you wasted hanging out with your friends. So stay out late. Go out with your friends on a Tuesday when you have a paper due on Wednesday. Spend money you don't have. Drink 'til sunrise. The work never ends, but college does.…

• Tom Petty

Hatred. Bigotry. Homophobia. If you’re a Christian and believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, those three things should have no place in your life. Why? Because even as an atheist, I remember being taught in Sunday School that Jesus Christ was about love, tolerance, acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness. I could throw a few other positive values in there, but those five will do nicely to get us started, no?

I pull those five out of my hat because I hear none of them coming from alleged Bible-believing, God-fearing, America-loving Christians who claim to revere Jesus Christ and His teachings above all else in this world. And then they go and pull shit like this:

Right-wing pastor John Amanchukwu has built a reputation for himself and generated lots of media coverage by making appearances before North Carolina school boards to rant about the supposedly “perverted” books that are available in school libraries. He’s so pleased with himself that he’s taking his bigotry-promoting show on the road.

Amanchukwu is a pastor at Upper Room Church of God in Christ in Raleigh, North Carolina, which is overseen by virulently anti-LGBTQ pastor Patrick Wooden, who also happens to be Amanchukwu’s father-in-law. In addition, Amanchukwu serves as a contributor to Charlie Kirk’s Christian nationalist Turning Point USA Faith organization.

Earlier this month, Amanchukwu appeared on Charisma publisher Stephen Strang’s podcast, where he declared that allowing public school students to have access to LGBTQ-friendly books is “mental rape.”

“We are seeing those who support special interests push their agenda upon children,” Amanchukwu declared. “It’s indoctrination. I use that term often; oftentimes I call it grooming as well. But a more appropriate term for what’s taking place, Stephen, is that it’s mental rape. It’s mental rape because it assaults the soul, it stains the brain, and it robs children of their innocence.”

“Mental rape?” Seriously? Does Pastor Amanchukwu have ANY idea of what he’s talking about? Is he even listening to the words coming out of his mouth? Does he not understand that teaching children to hate, to internalize bigotry and homophobia, is one of the LEAST Christian things he can do? Nothing in his words reflects the love that his Savior taught. Yet he sees nothing wrong with spreading hatred, bigotry, and homophobia as if they were the inalienable and immutable Word of God.

Pastor Amanchukwu is yet another proof that there’s nothing “Christian” about Christian nationalism- or Christian homophobia, for that matter.

“It’s also kind of normalizing this,” Strang added. ” You know, it used to be considered shameful. In fact, in our language, we called it ‘being in the closet.’ So if people were like this, they hid it in the closet. I guess that’s where the term came from.”

No, there’s nothing shameful about being honest about who you are. NO ONE should be expected to “hide in the closet” because they’re LGBTQ, and “Christians” like Pastor Amanchukwu disapprove of their right to exist.

What Pastor Amanchukwu is attempting to “normalize” is hatred, bigotry, and homophobia- none of which are things that Jesus Christ preached. Nothing in the Bible “normalizes” what Pastor Amanchukwu is advocating. What’s shameful is the theology he’s bastardized enough to justify his own prejudice and homophobia.

In contrast to Amanchukwu’s intentionally inflammatory rhetoric, multiple studies have confirmed that inclusive curricula have a positive effect on student safety and well-being.

Not content to harass school boards in his home state of North Carolina, Amanchukwu has recently begun to take his bigoted show on the road, appearing before the school board in Temecula, California earlier this week, where he accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of “creating space for pedophiles to have their legacy thrive.”

It appears as if Amanchukwu is just getting started, as he recently posted a video on YouTube bragging about his appearance in California and asking his supporters where he should go next.

I may be missing the mark here, but aren’t men of God supposed to be humble and not braggarts? Pastor Amanchukwu seems to be too full of himself and WAY too proud of the hatred, bigotry, and homophobia he’s now spreading across the country.

Where should he go next? How about straight to Hell? Do not pass “GO.” Do not collect $200. Go directly to Hell. Hopefully, there will be a reserved parking spot waiting for him.

I’d challenge Amanchukwu to show an instance of anyone who’s LGBTQ preying on children or even “recruiting.” Most objective data shows that most pedophiles are White Conservative Christian heterosexuals. So why not focus on where the REAL problem is? It’s staring you right in the face.

Or is it too difficult to admit that the empire you’re working so hard to build is constructed on the soft sand of bigotry, hatred, homophobia, and LIES? You’d instead push lies and damage lives with your dishonesty and lack of integrity than address the real source of the problem you claim to want to address.

Amanchukwu’s eagerness to travel the country to promote his anti-gay bigotry puts him in the company of other far-right activists who are seeking to purge classrooms and libraries and who are harassing school board members who support welcoming school environments for all students.

Pastor Amanchukwu’s eagerness to travel the country has nothing to do with spreading the Gospel of Jesus, which you’d think would be the primary concern of a man of God, right? No, it seems this is about ego, money, and harassing school boards.

And he’s beside himself with joy that he’s been so “successful” thus far. It seems that his message of hatred, bigotry, and homophobia in the name of Jesus Christ has been well-received.

Except that, there’s one problem with that message- it has nothing to do with the Gospel. I’m not saying that Pastor Amanchukwu has to be a gung-ho LGBTQ ally. Still, given that the Jesus Christ he claims to revere never preached against homosexuality, that wouldn’t be bad. But homophobic rants aren’t things he should preach to his congregation nor attempt to spread across the country.

Pastor Amanchukwu is free to love- or hate- whomever he chooses, but as a man of the cloth, speaking as an ordained minister, he should remember on whose behalf he’s speaking. That person preached about love, tolerance, acceptance, inclusion, understanding, etc.

It should be easy to come to the conclusion I did- that Pastor Amanchukwu is a charlatan, liar, bigot, and homophobe who has no business in the pulpit. There are plenty of other places he could spread his hate and bile, but the pulpit of a Christian church shouldn’t be one of them.

Where should Pastor Amanchukwu go next? Yeah, how about straight to Hell? He should feel right at home there.

(Jack exits stage left…and as the light slowly dims to black, he mutters to himself, “Man, is it any wonder I’m an atheist?”)