We’ve all walked by that Salvation Army bell ringer in the supermarket. Ringing those bells, trying to guilt you into giving them money to help the less fortunate. Most people, including LGBTers, probably donate a few dollars here and a pocket full of change there.
One thing you probably didn’t know as you plunked your change into that little red bucket was that the Salvation Army really dislikes the gays. On Monday, Australian LGBT journalists Serena Ryan and Pete Dillon had an interview with Major Andrew Craibe of the Salvation Army. In that interview, he stated that the organization wouldn't have a problem if gays ‘up and died.’
The interview is available to listen to here: http://soundcloud.com/johnmbecker/salvation-army-major-lgbt
The most relevant portion is as followed:
Ryan: According to the Salvation Army, [gay people] deserve death. How do you respond to that, as part of your doctrine?
Craibe: Well, that’s a part of our belief system.
Ryan: So we should die.
Craibe: You know, we have an alignment to the Scriptures, but that’s our belief.
Later on in the interview, Craibe was asked how he would react to one of his children coming home and telling him that they were gay, in which he answered, “I would continue to love them just as I do now.”
He then followed up with, “Well, I’m not – I’m not saying that they wouldn’t die, cause I would still want them to know salvation.”
How can an organization that dedicates their time to helping people be so judgmental?
The Salvation Army’s "Position Statement" on homosexuality, as stated on its Web site, reads as followed: The Salvation Army does not consider same-sex orientation blameworthy in itself. Homosexual conduct, like heterosexual conduct, requires individual responsibility and must be guided by the light of scriptural teaching. Scripture forbids sexual intimacy between members of the same sex. The Salvation Army believes, therefore, that Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.
The New York Times even reports that the organization has a checkered history of refusing to help gay people at its shelters, and that its actual policy on homosexuality is not all that much better than Craibe's on-air version.
It’s ironic how the Salvation Army doesn’t want to lift a finger to help homosexuals in need, but are more than happy to take their donations. Think before you donate, or join the boycott of the Salvation Army, started by former lead singer of Savage Garden, Darren Hayes, due to their views towards homosexuality.
BY: PAIGE GARNER
