While I wish I had more time, I've recently been quite busy. College is about to start and I had many issues to sort out. That said, I wanted to start with a few articles to get some more readers. You know, talk about gaming or something else universal. After much prayer I have decided to write on the following article:
Alvin McEwen writes on Donnie McClurkin
For those unaware, as I was only an hour ago, Donnie McClurkin is an ex-gay, Gospel singer. While he was asked to be a part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. concert in Washington D.C. However, he was cut from the lineup, this by the black mayor of D.C., Vincent Gray. But why? Because of "potential controversy," of course. McClurkin has often spoke of God's freeing him from homosexuality, hence why he is ex-gay.
You see, I'm often accused of being a bigot, homophobe, and the list goes on. And yes, before someone comments about blacks and racism and having black friends, I do have both black and gay friends. The important thing is I take the true Biblical stance: homosexuality is condemned as a sin in both the Old Testament and New Testament. It is crucial that you the reader know that I recognize LGBT as people. They are not second-class citizens, nor are they outcasts of some kind. "Love the sinner, hate the sin." Thus I accept the person and tolerate the sin, just as others do for me.
That does not make the sin right and I disagree with what happened to Donnie McClurkin on these grounds. Rather than tolerate his differing opinion, the Mayor cut Mr. McClurkin from the MLK events. Thus it must be addressed that regardless of anyone's feelings, preemptively cutting Mr. McClurkin from the show is nothing more than bullying. Those who agree with the decision to cut McClurkin say that he is mistaken.Generally, the opinion is that he is a bigot; however, he has not demonstrated and such behavior. Additionally, McEwen claims that gays are not a result of child molestation and poor or single parenting,a beef he has with what McClurkin says in a video clip.
As a cadet teacher I'm quite aware when bullying is going on behind the scenes. This occurrence is so blatant it doesn't take a keen observer; simply disagreeing with someone is no reason to discriminate. There are those who claim that McClurkin disagrees with the homosexual lifestyle, and that he was cut for good reason. By that logic, presidential debates would be non-existent or absolutely riotous. But they aren't because bullies aren't in charge, though I digress with recent memory of the last presidential debates in mind.
The real question, with the video in McEwen's article, is "Is McClurkin right? If not, then he really is lying and that's unprofessional at the least and hateful at worst." Now that's a fair situation. So, do gays result from child molestation or poor/single parenting? There isn't a direct way to measure this; I'm sure no one periodically asks children how gay they feel after an event relating to these criteria. Thus, we must rely on statistics to at least give us an idea. That said, this is not some "nail in the coffin." If successful, it will only show that there's a strong correlation.
Since I will focus on the child molestation angle, it must be said that poorly parented children do often end up participating in alternative behavior. This is problematic for two reasons: Firstly, it's common sense but proves nothing specific. Does it blatantly cause homosexuality? It's quite possible. Without proper guidance, many youths take part in behavior from the benign to the irresponsible. Regardless, it is unprovable without a rigorous study. Secondly, there's no real way to measure this without a large sample of kids over a long period of time. So is it offensive? I can't see how. McClurkin cannot be proven wrong or right without more data and quite frankly his comments aren't inflammatory. The best I can say is that I don't bar people from my get-togethers when they say church makes people into atheists. I don't like it, which I can see in this case, but rather than bully the person I continue with my life. Let's get to the next point and see if Mr. McClurkin is truly being hateful.
To do this, we must look at the rates of homosexuals that molest children. Some studies claim that up to 10% of the USA's population is gay. While various statistics from 2002 (see link at end) put the number between 1 and 3%, any of these three numbers is useful. Even at 10%, if the majority of an action is done by homosexuals then it would be highly disproportionate to the actions committed by the straight population. See the frc link at the end of the article for the myriad of statistics cited.
"A study of 229 convicted child molesters in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 'eighty-six percent of offenders against males described themselves as homosexual or bisexual.'" (frc)
While a small sample, five other studies in the same section corroborate this (#35-39). Still, how does this prove that the actions of the sick-minded (child molestation is sick, regardless of LGBT factors, yes?) makes those children grow up to be gay? This requires further development.
Citations 70-76 in the frc link detail how the abused can become abusers. Of these, 70 and 72 are especially important. By seeing that the abused are at higher risk to abuse it becomes clear that there is some link to child molestation and homosexuality. With so few Americans being gay but such high percentages involved in these activities it is very possible that McClurkin's claims are correct
This does not mean that all gays are as they are because of such situations. Mr. McEwen laments this in his article I linked at the beginning of this post, that McClurkin's comments are unfounded because "Gay men are not the products of child molestation."
Not all are, but statistics are usually telling. It is quite obvious that McEwen is firing from the hip to jump on the
hating band wagon. Disagree, ignore, chide, but do not show bigotry to someone especially when crying for tolerance. McEwen isn't the only one who can make a claim without backing it up. "But Lietzy!," you might ask, "McEwen shouldn't have to cite a bunch of stats and have a huge write-out for his column!" You're right, dear reader, but he has to know what he's talking about! Now he's the one being unprofessional at the least and hateful at worst!
This is where the term "Pink Mafia" comes from. While I usually use the term "Rainbow Brigade" due to the LGBT flag, "mafia" is a much more telling term. Obviously not all LGBT are like this. Just like all Liberals aren't Communists and Conservatives aren't Nazis. Nonetheless, what happened to Donnie McClurkin is unacceptable. By barring his performance, Mayor Grey has caused discord and controversy, quite the opposite of the harmony he clamors about!
Sources: http://www.frc.org/?i=IS02E3
Afterword
I'd like to take a few lines to put down my inspirations for this blog. Reading Bill Muehlenberg's posts on his site was when I got the urge to start blogging. I enjoy the mathematical side of things and thus combined it with cues from Mr. Muehlenberg's work. Also, RKBentley and A Sure Word, another Blogger, have been a great inspiration. While he talks about Christianity and science I decided "Why not do Christianity and use math to corroborate?" Finally, my brother "Epic Professor" and my mother encouraged me to start this.
While I'm at it, I'll add my commenting guidelines since I haven't set that up quite yet. Be professional! Disagree, critique, congratulate, but be clean, concise and without cursing. Avoid slang and try to use proper grammar and punctuation. It helps me respond better and is easier for other readers to follow.
That's all for now, God Bless, readers!
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