Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Nuance Patrol

See, I was going cold turkey, but then Ross pointed out the latest iteration in the Brit Blogosphere's most bitter feud: the one between Iain Dale and Iain Dale. So now I've just got to mention a truly bizarre post from last week.

Yep, Dale hopes Jerry Falwell 'rots in hell'. Why ? His nasty rhetoric, of course. Ah yes!

Dale does find the perfect quote to sum up Falwell's nuttiness - too perfect, in fact. Dale quotes Falwell saying this:

[Homosexuals are] brute beasts...part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.
Trouble is that approximately 6 seconds with google reveals that [Homosexuals are] isn't. Falwell didn't mention blokes who run antique shops with a close friend, he was talking specifically about the Metropolitan Community Church - an only-in-America gay cult which teaches a version of Christianity where - how can I put this ? - Jesus moves on from the bread and wine, straight onto the beefcake.

Hey, I'm no theologian, but I'm guessing a poor prognosis for those who teach a blasphemous parody of Christianity in order to promote the commission of mortal sins may not be just Falwell's own idiosyncratic take on the religion.

Equally, it's worth noting that Falwell made that comment during a heated radio debate with the MCC. It was hardly a pre-mediated statement of doctrine. In reality, Falwell was never the carpet-chewing maniac that he is often depicted as. Consider that he received warm tributes from, of all people, Larry Flynt and Al Sharpton. That's not to say you'd necessarily want to live next door to him, but which side of the spectrum is it that keeps yattering about nuance ?

Still, if these are the new rules, then this blogging game is going to get a lot easier or, as Dale once said, 'I hope [Christians] rot in hell'.

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