March 12th, 2010
In a column appearing in this morning’s Washington Post, Nobel laureate and retired South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu lays out the moral wrongs of what is happening to LGBT people across Africa, as only he can:
In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights. We knew this was wrong. Thankfully, the world supported us in our struggle for freedom and dignity.
It is time to stand up against another wrong. Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are part of so many families. They are part of the human family. They are part of God’s family. And of course they are part of the African family.
…No one chooses to be gay. Sexual orientation, like skin color, is another feature of our diversity as a human family. Isn’t it amazing that we are all made in God’s image, and yet there is so much diversity among his people? Does God love his dark- or his light-skinned children less? The brave more than the timid? And does any of us know the mind of God so well that we can decide for him who is included, and who is excluded, from the circle of his love?
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Michael
March 12th, 2010
What an amazingly simple, direct and moving statement! He said so much in so few words.
Ben in Oakland
March 12th, 2010
1 desmond tutu has more chrstianity in him than a million of our own brand of Christians.
Regan DuCasse
March 12th, 2010
And that IS the message and COMMANDMENT to DECENT people of faith.
Stand up for those under the yoke of injustice, not because or WHEN it’s popular, but ALWAYS because it’s RIGHT.
Desmond Tutu has been one of my heroes and someone I would try to emulate.
He’s done what he’s done when it wasn’t safe, popular or convenient to do so.
I love him. I really do.
Paul in Canada
March 12th, 2010
God bless Desmund Tutu!
RCM
March 12th, 2010
Amen to Paul in Canada.
Timothy Kincaid
March 12th, 2010
Regan,
You aren’t alone. This man’s courage transcends nation and places him as a global hero.
Richard W. Fitch
March 12th, 2010
Some may wish to call him a hero, but more aptly he is a true saint – one set aside and made holy by his faithfulness.
anteros
March 13th, 2010
Desmond Tutu is so unchristian! …gotta love him for that:-)
Fred in the UK
March 13th, 2010
Probably the only man who could convince me to give up agnosticism and return to the Anglican fold.
tina c
March 13th, 2010
Fred, here’s a quote for ya:
“Don’t let the people who gave you a bad impression of your religious tradition be the only ones to define it. You, too, are a part of that tradition, and you’re not just a descendent, you are also an ancestor, and you helped to create the future of that tradition.” ~Rabbi Sandy Sasso
The Anglicans would benefit (even if you retain your agnosticism- no one knows anything for absolute sure anyhow) from your company.
Food for thought, anyway.
As for Tutu~
So glad to see that make the news.
He can say with conviction & a smile, “Here is how you love.”
That guy is an instant mood lifter!
Cobus Fourie
March 14th, 2010
The word “saint” doesn’t even do justice to the most venerable person in South Africa. I am proud to call myself a South African with Tutu living here. He is the personification of integrity and compassion.
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