In a shot, the video of a toddler singing there “ain’t no homos going to make it to Heaven” went around the blogosphere. Now the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Indiana has issued a statement on their website.
The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason. We believe and hope that every person can find true Bible salvation and the mercy and grace of God in their lives. We are a strong advocate of the family unit according to the teachings and precepts found in the Holy Bible. We believe the Holy Bible is the Divinely-inspired Word of God and we will continue to uphold and preach that which is found in scripture.
As we explained before, Scripture says gays should be put to death. So hate, no. Murder, yes.
Speaking of murder, the church is claiming the pastor has received death threats and that a planned prayer meeting had to be moved to “a secret location” for safety. “We’re told they are looking into increasing security,” says TMZ. “but for now the congregation is handling it… taking turns watching over the church.
Oh please—they’re screaming for blood one minute and quaking in their boots the next? We’d like to see some proof of these death threats. Of course everyone at the Tabernacle is sticking by the little Dickens:
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
“The people who are upset just don’t read the word of God. If we don’t teach the children the truth early they will never learn,” said one congregation member,” says one member. As for the thunderous applause after the hate-filled song, we’re told, “Of course we applauded a child who is singing a song about God.”
Just in case anyone forgot what Adolph Jr’s song sounded like:
Shannon1981
I hope no security company takes the job and someone burns the church down.
For the record, I am nowhere near Indiana.
Pat Duffy
This is SOP for these types, like all bullys. If 1% of the nastiness they put out is aimed at them, they turn into snivelling little worms…in otherwords, they show their True Selves.
xamthor
wow. yet these anti- gay “Christians” worry we might indoctrinate children…..
so incredibly sad.
Shannon1981
@xamthor: I talk about how it is child abuse here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=Bb6ddk4Es1w
Belize
“The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason.”
Exactly. I wouldn’t even call it a hate speech considering the fact that I wouldn’t want to be in the same “heaven” as these idiots.
Belize
“We believe and hope that every person can find true Bible salvation and the mercy and grace of God in their lives.”
Don’t worry. We’ve found it when we left our respective churches and stopped acting like dicks.
Belize
“We are a strong advocate of the family unit according to the teachings and precepts found in the Holy Bible.”
Oh. You mean the one where fathers would kill their sons (or another life for that matter) just because the petty Biblical God said so? LOL. Great.
Belize
“We believe the Holy Bible is the Divinely-inspired Word of God and we will continue to uphold and preach that which is found in scripture.”
It’s a good thing that you already admitted to future murders, discriminations and a whole bunch of other hellish shit by saying that.
Gotta love these idiots. They may be firing guns left and right but you can be sure that they’ll end up shooting themselves in the process.
takakupo
Queerty, you just get it so right sometimes :]
1equalityUSA
Hatred is taught and passed down through inheritance. This child will grow up and very likely teach his successors what he has been taught. The adults around this child are responsible for this, yet they are so caught up in their unmerited superiority that they will never even know what wrong they have done, in the name of God. Seeing how they cloak their hatred in badly interpreted Scripture helps me understand the haters better. It actually helps me to have more mercy in my heart for the haters, because this child is being taught by the adults around him and knows no other reality than this. It’s sad and unedifying. The word, “homosexual” was added to the Bible in 1949. If the words, “Greensburg, Indiana” are added to the list of sins in 2049, I can only hope that haters won’t persecute them the way we have been. These stories are hard to hear, but they help me understand how men in suits, running for office, say the things they say. It will get better, but we are on the front lines of transition. We will take it on the chin, so that generations following will be able to live free of the extensive hatred we are experiencing. I’ve learned so much about hatred and what it does to me personally and what it does to us as a community. It feels as though it is a test. To be born in the bodies we’ve been born in and have the world hate us for it only heightens my sensitivity towards what others may have felt in the past. Discrimination doesn’t feel good, though I have inherited a glimmer of hope.
Trent
As someone who is originally from this place (10 min away). You guys should know that generally the Apostolic are kinda treated like the Amish. They are thought to be kinda extreme. The thing that I found most surprising was that they actually used the words homo in their church. The girls all have to wear skirts and generally aren’t allowed to cut their hair. They have other such rules as well. I think they are not allowed to wear shorts, boys or girls. They are also not allowed to own a TV. So take this video with that in your heads as well.
Timmeeeyyy!!!
You’ve got to be taught before it’s too late,
Before you are six or seven or eight,
To hate all the people your relatives hate,
You’ve got to be carefully taught!
http://youtu.be/GJhRYYjHThI
stephen foreman
How Are You All Doing ? I Encourage Us All Not Even To Call The Individuals That Practice Same Sex Activity Gay Because They Are Not:but In Fact The Activity That They Practice Is Queer=Meaning Abmormal,And The Same Thing Applies To Lesbianism,And Bisexuality !!!!!!!
SteveC
I’m an atheist so talk of ‘god’ is confusing to me. How can anyone believe in ‘god’s’ existence when no evidence for its existence can be found anywhere.
Out of curiosity, even if heaven and hell existed, why do these morons care whether gay people get to heaven or not?
(Actually thinking about it, I guess they are just using their belief in the bible as the word of ‘god’ as an excuse for the hatreds within themselves.)
1equalityUSA
“Some of the greatest minds in history have endeavored mightily, as did Saint Thomas Aquinas, to prove the existence of a deity; and some equally great minds have endeavored just as mightily to prove that a deity cannot exist. They have utterly failed to convince the other side.”
How Math Explains the World—James D. Stein
samwise
@Trent: Trent, that’s all well and good, but there are a lot of so called Christians who feel the same way about LGTB people as these church goers do. And those “Christians” do wear normal clothes, watch TV, and have typical haircuts. You’re not exactly helping.
Caleb
I am REALLY hoping the Rapture comes soon so we can be done with these asshats once and for all!
1equalityUSA
samwise, Trent’s take on this church was interesting because it clarified that the entire community of Greensburg, Indiana was not as extreme as this profiled church.
If the world judged my beautiful San Francisco by the Peoples Temple, whose founder, Jim Jones, lead all of his sheep to drink cyanide laced Kool-aid to commit mass suicide in the grassy knolls of Guyana, I would be inclined to speak up too.
Pixie
@Belize: Shellfish is an abomination according to the bible. I bet that doesn’t keep these fat asses from all you can eat night at Red Lobster.
randalaw
They “applauded a child singing a song about God.” Was God mentioned even once in this little ditty? This was plainly and simply a song about exclusion and hatred of the excluded. I know that there were gay people in that congregation who were in great pain during that service or will be some day because of that service. I know that because a half century ago I was in similar services (though not so venomous as this one) and it caused me great anguish later in life. I left the Southern Baptist Church and have not looked back until now with the hateful rhetoric of today’s scene. Though it is cold comfort, I know that this congregation will be held accountable for their actions.
Larry
@Trent: the other kid in the video is wearing shorts???? plus why take a video if you have nothing to watch it on??? I question some of your statements…AND how could anyone hate the amish…they are nothing like these hate filled finger pointers
Trent
@samwise: I realize a lot of Christians feel this way and there are others, I just wanted to prove a point as @1equalityUSA: said.
Also, I feel that Christians get villified sometimes and I know many good Christians in that area that feel what was done is terrible. Sorry, this one hits close to home, so I am offended, but slightly defensive as well.
Susan
For the record, whoever said this: The people who are upset just don’t read the word of God.
I spent two decades reading the bible cover-to-cover, twice a year. I’ve read it. I’m upset.
And the little boy was not singing a song about God. God was not mentioned in the song. It was about how the bible is right and everyone who disagrees is wrong.
D P
It is EXACTLY this that opened my eyes, as a former catholic zombie, to really see the world as it is.
I’ve since moved to united church of christ, baptist, even metropolitan community church seeking some manner of reconciling spirituality with sexuality. Today I am more agnostic than I’ve ever been, and practicing to become full-fledged atheist.
I say practicing, because I have some terribly habitual actions that I need to purge myself of.
I have discovered Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, AND Pat Condell, and listened carefully and pondered just what their message is, and I find truth in their words.
I didn’t mean to turn this into my personal testimony, but it seems appropriate here, in response to this church’s own expression.
I think ANY form or manner of spirituality in the supernatural, especially organized religion of ANY denomination stinks, and should go the way of my bowel movement.
Cheers!
steve Morrison
Well then they should be very busy stoning to death insolent children and non-virgin brides… Get those rocks ready to stone.. it’s in the scripture!!!
1equalityUSA
DP, I was agnostic and went into reading the Bible so that I could see for myself what exactly it was saying about gays. It changed me, though I have yet to join a church in the twenty seven years I’ve been studying. Churches are disappointing. The words are so complex and beautiful that it would take me 800 years to fully grasp its complexity. I view it as a three-dimensional structure, like a basket missing much of its weave. Parts have been altered, whole books omitted, worldly tinkering through the ages has changed it, but the structure is still there. The skeleton is still recognizable. History repeats itself and humans never change. The very things that vexed people in ancient times vex us today. Observing life can provide the meat for the skeletal remains of ancient words that have succumbed to human tampering. Some of the most profound verses have transformed my heart and mind. The greatest gift given to me from Scripture is a vantage point outside of myself, a bird’s eye view of the world. When Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players” a line such as this cannot be written without seeing the world from a distant vantage point. When Isaiah described the earth as an orb in the palm of God’s hand, this train of thought cannot come into being, without seeing from a vantage point apart from the flesh, especially when it was believed that the earth was flat. So, for all of the chaff that I sift through, the nuggets of wisdom far outweigh the mythology and it is these nuggets that have saved me time and much vain effort. It’s like having a really wise friend pass on bits of advice that prevents stumbling. Faith is a whole different animal, something which requires humbleness and it needs to be sought after. It brings the words alive, operational. It offers refuge, not persecution. I’m blown away by the beauty of the Bible. I looked into it to disprove the churches stance and it helped me understand that the church has destroyed Christ’s message. Mere men cannot take away from me what has been given to me by Christ, no matter how powerful, no matter how much they engender disharmony towards the LGBT community.
say whaa?
Look at them how they all jumped out the pews and went to cheering. LOL “those” people.
Bryan
Of course they’ve been receiving death threats *rollseyes* Must be the new bigot tactic to try to appear as the oppressed after you get called out on your BS.
DenverBarbie
@Shannon1981: This has “Bash Back! opportunity” written all over it. Their method, or “why they’re in court right now,” is less fire and more flash mob of good ol’ fashion gay loving during the service.
samwise
@1equalityUSA: 1equality, I hardly think that anyone in there right mind would condemn all of SF just because Jim Jones’ church led to the death of many, many people. I made my comment to insinuate two things: the churchmembers in question call themselves Christians but certainly don’t follow what’s in the Bible. Meanwhile, there are other Christians who do follow the Bible, but never, ever speak out against those Christians who hate gay people with a passion. Do you have any explanation for that?
TAKE ACTION
This church is a precinct polling place in Decatur County Indiana. As a polling place this church receives taxpayer money for use of its location! Local residents have asked the County Clerk to move voting somewhere else but she refuses. Contact her and demand that the county stop using the “Apostolic Truth Tabernacle” as a polling place.
The Clerk is Janet Chadwell. Her phone number is 812-663-8223 the mailing address is
Clerk 150 Courthouse SQ Greensburg, IN 47240 or email her at [email protected]
THANKS
1equalityUSA
samwise asked “Meanwhile, there are other Christians who do follow the Bible, but never, ever speak out against those Christians who hate gay people with a passion. Do you have any explanation for that?
No, I don’t. We sent out an “It gets better” email in our organization here in San Francisco and two co-workers and my own mother-in-law (who attended our wedding) wrote back, very innocently, “What’s LGBT?” It was mind blowing and very valuable to realize how little people in general think about us or the plight we endure. Clueless? It sure put things in perspective for me. Maybe it’s a case of that?
Cal
We’ve seen young kids who haven’t been corrupted by negative thinking openly saying that they think homosexuality is perfectly natural, yet here we have a child who has obviously been influenced by a negative religious upbringing being cheered as he sings disgusting lyrics… If he was singing “Aint no black people gonna make it to heaven” would they still be cheering him? Sadly, probably yes.
I feel physically sick
Paul F
@1equalityUSA:[Warning: religious talk ahead] Your second from last sentence hits directly on the problem here. Saul of Tarsus was sent out by his religious leaders to destroy the message that Jesus taught. The direct, kill them all, line of attack wasn’t working. Then he “saw the light”. If you can’t destroy them from without, destroy them from within. Saul then CREATED the “Christian” RELIGION to negate what Jesus taught and spread it amoung the people who hadn’t heard the original message. Since non-Jews vastly out numbered the Jews who heard the original version, his phoney religion overwhelmed the people who knew better. So now you have the “whole” world following the religion of the beast (Saul of Tarsus) and the result of this on the population is very obvious to those of us in the cross hairs of it. The idea that you can say or do ANYTHING at all, and it will be forgiven because of the bloody death of Jesus on a cross lets’ “Christians” commit any atrocity with clear conscience. This is why they constantly quote from the Old Testiment or from what “Saint” Paul said. They can’t support their twisted views by quoting Jesus because he refutes everything they say. What Christ taught and what the “Christian church” teaches are two very different animals, opposites in fact. Also, I resent that he changed his name to MINE to distance himself from his earlier killing spree. My grandmother named me before I was CONCEIVED. (She kept calling my brother “Paul” and there weren’t any “Pauls” in the family tree. So when I came along, the consensus was, I was to be called Paul and she had better not start using any new names after that!) It took time, but I finaly threw out the “wash water” of the religion and kept the “baby” of Christ’s teachings. Speaking of babies, don’t they just LOVE baby Jesus? He’s so cute and safe just laying there not saying anything, like maybe pointing out they’re under the control of the bad guy, not God.
Ted TampaBay
I don’t think Jesus meant this when he said, “A little child shall lead them.”
Mark
@Trent: I’m originally from GB as well, sorry to say. It’s the same place that just two years ago bullied a 15 year-old kid (Billy Lucas) to death at the local high school. Make all the apologies you want, but the town is a backwater hillbilly-wannabe redneck sh*thole. And people wonder why I never go back…
Scott Amundsen
“The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason.”
Yeah sure, right. That’s why the audience went bananas cheering when the kid got to the line “ain’t no homos gonna make it to heaven.”
Why don’t you take your lies and SHOVE them where the sun doesn’t shine along with the white sheets and the crosses you use for weekend burning parties that I am sure you have hidden under the bed or in the garage somewhere?
1equalityUSA
Paul F, I would not go that far, as many nuggets and beautiful concepts are contained in Paul’s letters. Some of my favorite verses are in these letters. If I discern anything that doesn’t ring true, it’s usually attributed to humans “tinkering” or Rabbinical teachings carried over to the radical concept of spirit. I read all of it with an idea that it was written by men. The concepts that rise above the world appeal to me the most. The difference between spirit and flesh is laid out and spoken of so plainly. No other theology speaks like this. Though spirit and flesh are very different substances, the descriptions used to describe spirit invoke physical terminology such as pinpoint of light, rushing like water, weight, light. The molecules we occupy are seen as inanimate dust. Even tables and lamps and all the whole world around me are merely molecules harnessed and brought into being by the energy. Take away this energy and the atoms fall to meaningless particles. Energy and what we do with our lives, the words that come from our minds, the thoughts we think are forever altered by the radical concept of spirit. There’s no going back. It’s like a traveler who leaves, lives in another country, in another culture for a period of time, and then returns back home, forever changed by the experience. I’ll never be fully at home, on the earth, again. Part of me is changed by the realization that death, though sad, is transition and that this world is temporary and hologram-like in its form. Love really is the superior emotion. Any church that does not practice love, patience, forbearance, and humility is not rooted in the teachings of Christ. Hate is the lesser of the two.
stephen foreman
If You Are An Atheist The Questions To Ask Are How Are Hearing,Seeing,Smelling,Tasting,Swallowing,TalkingWalking,Running,And Jumping,Hopping,Skipping Or Everything Else !!!!!!!
Shannon1981
@DenverBarbie: LOL yeah. I am thinking up something to say. Now, granted, I tag my posts both “christianity” and “atheism” but the religious youtubers are inboxing their hate so far, and t here isn’t much of it…its like they are scared to troll me in public or something. But I get 2 or 3 hateful pm’s per video lol.
I gotta spin this one carefully, though, because, everything I say seems…I don’t know…like when I watch it back, it seems I might be implying that they can’t have their church or beliefs. I gotta figure a way to where it doesn’t sound that way.
Shannon1981
@stephen foreman: Easy. See Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution for one. Some basic biology and genetics should help you out as well.
nikko
@stephen foreman: You’re retarded. Seriously.
How about all the std’s heterosexuals have been getting all this time?
Michael Corby
A shining example of why I quit “religion.” Utterly revolting.
axon
@D P: Good luck to you on your journey!
axon
@Paul F: Interesting! I have often wondered why there seem to be NO church on earth that actually follows anything Jesus (allegedly) said. If you read the gospels, he seems to be saying he came to revise his own religion in the direction of humanizing it, and refuting the zealots. Somehow, Christians usually skip that little part. (Btw, I’m an atheist.)
ScaryRussianHeather
@SteveC:
“Out of curiosity, even if heaven and hell existed, why do these morons care whether gay people get to heaven or not?”
Exactly. It’s all a sham. Morons don’t care what people find after death. It’s to cover up their obsession on sexuality. And most likely their personal interest in what they pretend to be the ick factor.
Are we to believe that they’ll be just so happy to find gay people in the clouds right next to them forever in the afterlife? LMAO. Well, maybe it’s true. Because then they can have all the ~unnatural sex they want and they’ll be invisible doing it.
I have no compelling interest in children, in fact I avoid the topic due to the high incidence of idiocy, poor or no parenting, and screwed up-ness imposed on kids by parents and government schools, and mind controlling media. However, no 5 year old is capable of or should be forced to address sexuality, religion or any adult concepts. They don’t even know what any of that is. They barely get the concept of how to play some semi-organized game or why they shouldn’t eat the dog’s food.
My kid told me I was expecting too much of him when he refused to remove his socks in karate at 5 years old FFS.
dan
am i the only one curious about the full set of lyrics? i’d love a copy.
Paul F
@1equalityUSA: I once attended a “home” church where the leader described how evil gets it’s message across. He used a very non-PC example of how to poison an animal. You don’t just put out a bowl of poison to kill it, You wrap it inside a nice juicy piece of meat so it eats it along with the meat. He was trying to scare us away from mainstream entertainment, but the analogy works quite well with religion as well. I’m glad you found the delicious parts of what he was peddling but it’s wrapped around some nasty tidbits too.
1equalityUSA
PaulF, I’ve actually taken a pen and scratched out those verses. Disrespectful, but like I said above, the parts that don’t ring true just don’t ring true. Paul and I have had our differences. Silly gender issues and things that have absolutely NOTHING to do with the spirit are discerned out. Good to hear your point of view. It was interesting. Thanks.
shannon
WOW…………….WHITE PEOPLE ARE REALLY HOMO-PHOBIC……………
Arizona Mildman
The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason. But they give a standing ovation to people who do? Tabernacle, you got some explaining to do. They don’t want their non-profit status to be denied as per IRS rule 501 c 3, since gay marriage is now, because of conservative Christians, a campaign issue, and they would be endorsing something political and one of their members was stupid enough to publish the video, thinking it was cute.
Full story here: http://www.queerty.com/aint-no-homos-church-we-do-not-condone-teach-or-practice-hate-20120531/#ixzz1wkV0xxFs
LL
It was called AINT NO HOMOS. I may have learned English late in life, but I know what I heard.
Dagrlzrd
Homo is the genus that includes modern humans,based on that no-one is going to heaven.From the Latin humanus an adjective cognate to homo which is derived from a Proto-Indo-European word for earth.That being said Religion is primitive mans attempt to make sense of things that were not easily understood like fire,or the sun. As civilizations and populations grew it was necessary to come up with solid belief systems to govern human behavior and to control the masses.What better way than to instill the fear of God with a veneer of the most basic human emotion love.Unfortunately religion is steeped in the blood of countless millions,slavery,ethnic cleansing,all done in the name of a faceless God.I prefer the more tangible teachers like Buddha,and yes even Jesus in that we should all have compassion for our fellow humans. Don’t lie, don’t steal,Don’t kill,do unto others, that kind of stuff. It is common sense people.It breaks my heart to see little children taught to hate something they do not even understand.If God exists I think he would more impressed by the fact that I have been in a loving committed relationship with the same man for over 25 years I am NOT QUEER!!! I am Gay proud and happy. I am loved and more accepted now than at any other time in history. We still have a long way to go but Baby I Was Born This Way. Hate is abnormal, it is a stressful and unhealthy state of being. Thank you all,and please try to feel the love. Zuriel Andresson
1equalityUSA
Dagrizrd, You can’t go wrong with love. Anything that edifies and brings about good in people is worthy. it is better to err on the side of love than to prove a theological point. I’d rather be holding the hand of a woman than holding a sign saying whom God hates.