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cbayer

(146,218 posts)
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 02:24 PM Apr 2013

Twitter Lovefest Blooms Among Anti-Gay Leaders in Uganda, U.S.

http://www.religiondispatches.org/dispatches/petermontgomery/7010/twitter_lovefest_blooms_among_anti_gay_leaders_in_uganda__us/

Peter Montgomery
April 8, 2013 1:15pm

Martin Ssempa, the virulently anti-gay pastor who figures prominently in the new documentary God Loves Uganda, has a mutual admiration society going with one of the religious right’s most vehemently anti-gay advocates, Matt Barber of Liberty University and the Liberty Counsel.

Ssempa uses graphic images of gay porn and promotes wild conspiracy theories about gay people to fan homophobia to dangerous levels. He has close connections with politicians, including David Bahati, author of the infamous “kill-the-gays” bill. And he has access to the media: he tweeted on April 7 that he’s starting a daily TV news talk show.

Barber, who like Ssempa portrays gay people as threats to children, religious freedom, and civilization itself, is engaging in a Twitter love-fest with Ssempa.

On April 6, Ssempa tweeted, “Homos are paid to spread the vice by hiding it under human rights gibberish! They are $$ by rich European sodomy groups!”

more at link
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Twitter Lovefest Blooms Among Anti-Gay Leaders in Uganda, U.S. (Original Post) cbayer Apr 2013 OP
Isn't this the same batch that did a show at Palin's home church in Alaska? Anyone know? freshwest Apr 2013 #1
I don't know about the connection with Palin, but Liberty U. is a hotbed of rightist cbayer Apr 2013 #2
I edited. Money to build churches is nothing. There's a bigger game afoot there. freshwest Apr 2013 #3
Found it. This is well-funded and international: freshwest Apr 2013 #6
Good research. Hagee's a nightmare, but I didn't know he had any connections cbayer Apr 2013 #7
I've known people in the PNW who attend evangelical churches, large ones, and have gone on tours to freshwest Apr 2013 #10
Smacks of scientology, doesn't it? cbayer Apr 2013 #15
Barber re tweeted Ssempa’s note - pinto Apr 2013 #4
Both cut of the same hate mongering cloth. cbayer Apr 2013 #5
Here in the US, expose them as best we can I guess. No clue about what we can do in Africa. pinto Apr 2013 #8
Agree about exposing them every opportunity we have. cbayer Apr 2013 #9
The U2 guy? freshwest Apr 2013 #11
Well, he might be a good person to speak up on this. cbayer Apr 2013 #13
He's been a vocal and financial advocate for issues that impact Africa. Sunshine and money... pinto Apr 2013 #12
Got it! He's got both the media exposure and the money. cbayer Apr 2013 #14
These people are evil!!! hrmjustin Apr 2013 #16
They really are despicable, Justin. cbayer Apr 2013 #17
Bishop Christopher is. hrmjustin Apr 2013 #18
Look at the innocent faces in Africa being fed this. I fear for the next generation, here and there. freshwest Apr 2013 #19
The sad thing is many of these people are anglicans/episcopalain. hrmjustin Apr 2013 #20
I still think the American churches (not Anglican) are doing more damage than the locals, JMHO. freshwest Apr 2013 #21
Rick Warren comes to mind. hrmjustin Apr 2013 #22
Was he in on this too? IDK that. freshwest Apr 2013 #23
He is denying it but he is an associate of several of the ring leader pastors on this. hrmjustin Apr 2013 #24
Oh snap! Fearless Apr 2013 #25
Somewhere cranking out copies of okasha Apr 2013 #26
Liberty University, apparently. Should we pay them a visit? cbayer Apr 2013 #27
I may have to risk it! Fearless Apr 2013 #28

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
1. Isn't this the same batch that did a show at Palin's home church in Alaska? Anyone know?
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 02:38 PM
Apr 2013

So the GOP are once again exporting right wing economics along with faux religion. They dare call the IWW and UN globalists.

Will this circus ever leave town?

Must be some bucks in it if this gang of grifters is organizing this globally. The right wing has no other god but money, they've proven this time and again.

To follow the trail of blood and money, we have to find out if Uganda has any minerals or resources to be exploited by western predatory capitalists. The failed Republican candidate, but successful televangelist Robertson did a nice con job to cover up his stooge's actions so he could keep his profits from the blood diamonds.

I remember watching him grieve most piteously about all the money they'd lost when that good christian leader was tossed out on his behind. It's not about religion, it never is. It's about money.

What a frigging benighted planet.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
2. I don't know about the connection with Palin, but Liberty U. is a hotbed of rightist
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 02:46 PM
Apr 2013

propaganda.

As the article states, there is certainly financial gain for the Ugandans involved in this:

Anti-gay ministries in Uganda are themselves enriched by money that flows from conservative evangelicals in the U.S., as God Loves Uganda makes very clear. One pastor featured is among the five richest people in Uganda; he says his church was built with American money. Another pastor marvels that aid from American evangelicals increased threefold when his ministry began attacking homosexuality.


This is truly horrible.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
6. Found it. This is well-funded and international:
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 06:06 PM
Apr 2013


Palin's Churches and the Holy Laughter anointing

Uploaded on Sep 11, 2008

From the research team that made the international viral video hit that in May 2008, according to the New York Times (and a wide range of other media including the LA Times, The Wall Street Journal, AP, the Dallas Morning News, CNN and MSNBC) forced Senator John McCain to renounce the political endorsement of Texas megachurch Pastor John Hagee, also head of Christians United For Israel.

The 3:40 video featured an excerpt from a late 2005 sermon, broadcast internationally and sold by Hagee's ministry as a DVD, in which Hagee stated that "God sent a hunter - Hitler was a hunter" and suggested the divinely appointing mission was to drive Europe's Jews to Palestine because that was, according to Hagee, "God's top priority".


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/23/us/politics/23hagee.html?_r=0

Documentation for the "Palin's Churches and The Holy Laughter Anointing" video, along with articles on the religious doctrines held at at least 3 of four out of Palin's Alaska churches, please see:

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008/9/5/03830/11602/

See the first video in the series, Palin's Demon Haunted Churches (removed by YouTube)

http://www.talk2action.org/story/2008...

From the research team that brought you Palin's Demon Haunted Churches and John Hagee's sermons.

Link will not post, will break up at the end of this post and you can join it together to watch it on vimeo. *** Description from that video page:

God Sent Hitler

Pastor John Hagee---in a sermon given sometime between September 24, 2005 and Janaury 1, 2006 and which John Hagee Ministries packaged as part of a three-sermon set still sold by JHM (available online at the John Hagee Ministries website under the title "Jerusalem: Countdown To Crisis" )---claims that God sent Hitler, to force Europe's Jews back to the land of Israel. In the same sermon Hagee also claims Jews are not "spiritually alive."

The youtube description of the first video in this post continues:

Palin's Demon Haunted Churches, also listed as Sarah Palin's Churches and the Third Wave (currently removed by YouTube for reasons unknown to the researchers) focused on the links between Wasilla Assembly of God and leaders and organizations of the Third Wave or New Apostolic Reformation, including Morningstar Ministries. This movement is the resurgence of a heresy condemned by the General Council of the Assemblies of God in 1949 and again in a resolution in 2000.

The new movie, Palin's Churches and the Holy Laughter Anointing, focuses on Juneau Christian Center, formerly Bethel Assembly of God, and the pastor's relationship with Rodney Howard-Browne. Howard-Browne is the world leader in the anointing of Holy Laughter but also a fierce proponent of the Third Wave's belief that they must take over the United States and the world before the end times.

When in residence in Juneau, Sarah Palin has chosen to attend Juneau Christian Center as documented by the church, and by the Alaska Assemblies of God state newsletter, Alaska Update.

Rodney Howard-Browne is recognized worldwide as the source of Holy Laughter anointing to revivals around the globe. He has become a central figure in the Third Wave, also known as the New Apostolic Reformation, and is credited with bringing Holy Laughter to the Toronto Airport Blessing and the Lakeland Outpouring. Howard-Browne is also a long time associate of Mike Rose, senior pastor of Juneau Christian Center, formerly the Bethel Assembly of God. Mike Rose has been the Alaska State Legislature Chaplain since 1994 and has espoused Christian nationalist sentiments since that date, when he offered the following prayer, May 5, 1994 on the AK Senate floor:

"Our society's rejection of biblical principles and truth has placed our country in spiritual and moral jeopardy. Our need for revival and renewal is great, but you said in Your word, 'If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land.'"


Other links:

http://www.salon.com/2012/07/25/conservatives_other_kenyan_obsession/

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3493314

Anyone who has seen the mass marketing of Palin, the groups of women who supported her, knows this is going on. And those small churches in neighborhoods that are of these denominations we've seen all of our lives, there is no way to tell if this is their belief system or not.

I found a website full of vitriol about Obama, claiming that they were Hillary supporters. They urged women to vote for Palin, since she is a woman, and there is right wing meme about Obama 'raping' Hillary. Their contention was that since PBO is a man, he cannot represent the female of the species.

I think he has done more than I've seen in years with the provisions in the ACA, his steadfast support of VAWA and women's rights to abortion, contraception and funding, standing up for women since his first day in office when he signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act.

This is out there folks, and although it's deeply offensive to most of here at DU, these folks do vote, and they do control enough state houses, state governorships, school boards and other offices to make our lives hell.

Stay informed, not hostile. Be ready to stand up for what you believe in, the kind of democracy that Jefferson and Paine envisioned for America, and not the theocracy these groups want to create here. Because they are working on this everyday.

***http:// vimeo.com/ 1264130

Remove the spaces and paste into a browser address bar to see it.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
7. Good research. Hagee's a nightmare, but I didn't know he had any connections
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 06:17 PM
Apr 2013

with Uganda. I did know that he was involved in issues around Israel.

He definitely has supporters and is well funded and organized. However, he is seen as extreme even within the Republican party. IIRC, McCain rejected is endorsement.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
10. I've known people in the PNW who attend evangelical churches, large ones, and have gone on tours to
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:16 PM
Apr 2013

Israel with RW politicans, Haggee and other groups. It costs a lot of money. These are middle class people, some of them are into IT. They also go on cruise ships to do... whatever it is they do.

I was good friends with a woman who went down the rabbithole with this stuff, plenty of money in the family and it's not just at the church where these folks gather weekly. They don't want their kids exposed to anything from the government, they homeschool now.

This is what I tell people who claim PBO is supposed to fix everything, yet don't get involved with what is going on in their neighborhoods and local elections that create what is going on in Washington, D.C. right now and giving us all fits.

This did not evolve overnight. They meet more than once a week, are part of community and private firms transforming us into something I can only recoil at. A wife of a MicroSoft employee I know just went on one of these Israeli tours with her church.

They are into the Rapture concept and quite intolerant of other people and now raising her family that way. She is in her twenties and for charter schools although she got her degree from state universities and worked at public schools, she only saw them as a stepping stone. Her husband and son are really into this stuff, they regard non-believers as the enemy.

The PNW is getting divided between these folks who are getting into office with Tea Party groups. Even though McCain finally rejected Haggee's help, Palin and others use believers in this stuff to stay in office. What is the solution to this movement, to bring them back to secularism, or will they continue to sabotage us?

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
15. Smacks of scientology, doesn't it?
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:30 PM
Apr 2013

There have always been isolationist end-of-days types up there, hasn't there?

As has been been said elsewhere, I think we need to expose them every chance we get. While they may appeal to some, I would hope most people would be repulsed by them. The tea party has lost it's mojo, imo.

If by "bring them back to secularism" you mean convince them to give up religion, I don't see that happening. Encourage them to become more mainstream in their religion, perhaps. If you mean make sure that their extremist beliefs stay out of government, I totally agree.

pinto

(106,886 posts)
4. Barber re tweeted Ssempa’s note -
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 03:42 PM
Apr 2013
Barber re tweeted Ssempa’s note, and then praised Ssempa in a follow-up tweet, “Here’s a man not afraid of the international homofascist juggernaut.”


And this type of western evangelical mission, among others, actively "preaches" against the concerns and rights of women, PWA's, AIDS orphans and other marginalized segments of societies on the continent.

These tweets are an obvious extreme tip of a larger picture, imo.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
5. Both cut of the same hate mongering cloth.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 04:15 PM
Apr 2013

Despicable, really.

What can we do to counter them, pinto?

pinto

(106,886 posts)
8. Here in the US, expose them as best we can I guess. No clue about what we can do in Africa.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:05 PM
Apr 2013

The UN may be an option internationally on human rights grounds. But I bet these perps know they're beyond the UN's reach.

(aside) Bono.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
9. Agree about exposing them every opportunity we have.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:13 PM
Apr 2013

Shameful. The more sunshine, the better.

Bono??

pinto

(106,886 posts)
12. He's been a vocal and financial advocate for issues that impact Africa. Sunshine and money...
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:18 PM
Apr 2013


(aside) Cross linked your OP in LGBT group.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
14. Got it! He's got both the media exposure and the money.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 07:24 PM
Apr 2013


Thanks for cross-posting this.

There was just a maddezmom sighting, btw.

freshwest

(53,661 posts)
19. Look at the innocent faces in Africa being fed this. I fear for the next generation, here and there.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 09:51 PM
Apr 2013
 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
20. The sad thing is many of these people are anglicans/episcopalain.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 10:04 PM
Apr 2013

The low church or evangelical wing of the church( communion once a month) preached in central Africa and they turned out very conservative. Yet in Southern Africa the high church or ritualistic wing of the church( mass every sunday and every day) preached there and the national churches are more gay friendly. South African has gay rights in the constitution. It hurts these are people of my denomination. Yet they still take money from the episcopal church that ordains women and marries and ordains gays.

 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
22. Rick Warren comes to mind.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 10:08 PM
Apr 2013

I know he lost his son and I am sorry for him that it happened but he has a lot of explaining to do with the kill the gays bill.

 

hrmjustin

(71,265 posts)
24. He is denying it but he is an associate of several of the ring leader pastors on this.
Mon Apr 8, 2013, 10:17 PM
Apr 2013

He is the really big name. The Pope Benedict blessed one of the top politicians whop sponsored the bill before he retired. He rightly go flack for that.

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