THE DEVIL IS GAY?

Every so often I run across something on the internet that just...well, leaves me almost speechless. Generally speaking, when that happens it usually comes from either the racist right or from the extreme religious right in our society. Today, it came from a Baptist minister. Now, I don't usually count Baptists among my list of crazy, far out, fundamenalist nut-jobs. Maybe the Independent Baptists such as this Ron Hamman are different...I really couldn't tell ya. Or, maybe it has something to do with Alaska? I mean, after all, they did elect Sarah Palin.

At any rate, I was surfing around, catching up on some things I had missed and wandered over to Ed Brayton's Dispatches From the Culture Wars where I find this:

The Wasila Frontiersman, Sarah Palin's hometown newspaper, asks the question that I'm sure we've all asked ourselves many times:

Will the Antichrist be a homosexual?

The article is written by Ron Hamman, pastor of the Independent Baptist Church of Wasila, which is a different brand of crazy from the pentecostal church that Palin favors. And Hamman wants you to know that this is a legitimate question:

In answering this question, it is important to assert the question does not originate with me, lest someone out there think that I am bringing some new doctrine out to bolster the political climate. But as the study of Bible prophecy includes verbiage as to the behavior of the one called "that Wicked" by Paul in II Thessalonians, it is not only a legitimate question to ask, but also one to answer.
Sure it is. Maybe when he gets done answering this legitimate question, he can tell us whether Lex Luthor has diabetes. Or whether the Grinch is lactose intolerant. Because it's important to ask such questions about fictional characters.

Well, I was already cracking up at Brayton so I go over to read the actual article which is a study, in and of itself, and was quickly reminded of why I find such literal interpretations of the scriptures so difficult to swallow - but then that is grist for another mill.

After reading the article, I decided to read some of the comments on Bayton's blog pertaining to all of this, and have been hysterical for the past half-hour. Here are just a couple - you can read the rest for yourselves:

Nah as I was going to say several hours ago -
The Antichrist will be a butt-ugly bull-duke with short spiky dark hair, wearing a rocket-studded leather choker

Posted by Raging Bee - If you believe in prophecy at all, then the coming of the Antichrist is inevitable, so there's nothing anyone can do to prevent it.

Raging Bee, I think a lot of them ruminate over the whole 'what will he look like? How will we know him?' psuedodrama so that they can have the glory of being the first to identify him. ("I knew it! I've had Oprah marked as the antichrist since 'The Color Purple'")

Frankly I'd much rather they stay busy with apocalypse bingo if it keeps them from visiting their brand of insanity on the country at large.

Now, before some of you get your panties all in a bunch over my perceived irreverence, let me make the following statement to you. I believe in God - period. I simply don't much care for organized religion and I certainly am no fan of bully pulpit theology. The God that I know is a loving, caring God and it is up to him to judge others - not some half-baked messenger who warns of hell-fire and damnation.

I find it absolutlely incredible that there could be so much hatred inside those who claim to be the men and women of God. I also find it incredible that there are so many who buy into that kind of bigotry.