Free Internet Advocacy Resource

Sour Grapes

The following are advocacy books by Christina Engela:

For LGBTI Human Rights:
  • Unchristian Action (2009) (Out of Print)
  • Bricks & Mortar - Talking Back To The Bigots (2009) (Out of Print)
  • The Pink Community - The Facts (Second Edition 2017) FREE.
For Religious & Other Freedoms:

DISCLAIMER:

IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT MY ACTIVISM:
1) I am an activist for human rights, including LGBTI rights and religious equality.
2) I do not hate Christianity or Christians, or any adherents of other religions, nor their religions - I respect everybody's right to believe in whatever religion they like. I do not attack the right of any religion to exist.
3) It is difficult for some people to distinguish between criticism of their faith (i.e. Christianity) and criticism of people attacking the human rights of others while using their faith as an excuse to do so (CHRISTIANISM, BIBLICAL LITERALISM or BIBLICAL INERRANCY).
4) If you cannot understand this explanation, please Google it before attacking me based on an assumption based on ignorance (WHICH AFTER ALL IS YOUR OWN FAULT).
5) Nobody is forcing you to read my articles, or books, or the articles I post links to. If you read one and don't like it, you only have yourself to blame.

Clear (1)

Clear (2)

Clear (3)

Clear (4)

Human Rights Resources

These are quotes and links to useful articles compiled by Christina Engela since beginning human rights advocacy work for the Pink Community, and then later also for religious freedom.

How to use this resource:

Please read them, link to this page, and pass the resource around as far as you can. Information is useless unless it is read, absorbed and passed on. Knowledge is power, and knowing who your enemy is, is knowing how to fight them and to beat them.
Material is divided into two sections:
  1. LGBTI HR Advocacy Reference Material
  2. Religious Tolerance Advocacy Resources
This material is presented under specific sections in order to make such a large body of information easier to navigate.
  • LGBTI HR Advocacy Reference Material
    • Section 1: What is it?
    • Section 2: Supporting Scientific & Medical Evidence
    • Section 3: Support against religious persecution
    • Section 4: Humanitarian resources
    • Section 5: History & Current Affairs
    • Section 6: Homophobic Personalities & Groups
      • Bigots Exposed & Getting Their Asses Handed To Them
    • Section 7: Current persecution, by country
    • Section 8: Harmful anti-human rights sites & resources
    • Section 9: Political Parties To Support/Not Support In SA Elections?
[The internet is fluid and new sites and material appears and older sites and pages sometimes disappear. Links may be broken, and so periodically I will review these resources. If you discover any broken links, please inform us so corrections can be made. Thank you.]

Section 1: What is it?

DEFINITIONS OF GENDER, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER IDENTITY

DEFINITIONS OF HOMOPHOBIC/TRANSPHOBIC MOVEMENTS, PRINCIPLES 

These are the principles prominent in the anti-human rights movement, based primarily in the USA, particularly in Christian fundamentalist groups and especially prominent in the Republican Party (i.e. "Tea Baggers") and undeniably at work in Africa (Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi via the "ex-gay" lobby and supported by Western extremist church groups, and in South Africa in the guise of the Family Policy Institute (Errol Naidoo), Africa Christian Action, Christian Action Network, Frontline Fellowship etc (Peter Hammond, Tarryn Hodgeson, Charl van Wyk, and associated with right wing Christianist political parties (ACDP, CDA) etc).

Section 2: Supporting Scientific & Medical Evidence


PSYCHOLOGY & MENTAL HEALTH


  • Facts - gay mental health (University of California)
  • 20120519 Psychiatry Giant Sorry for Backing Gay ‘Cure’ (Psychiatrist Dr. L. Spitzer, who once offered a study on reparative therapy, has since denounced the practice and has apologized for endorsing the practice.)
  • Transexuality no longer to be classified as mental illness in France (University of Michegan)
  • Scientific/Medical argument against "ex-gay" "therapy" (PFLAG.org ""Ex-Gay" Ministries and “Reparative Therapy”: Ex-gay ministries use out-of-date and scientifically disproved medical theories to justify trying to “cure” lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) peoples' natural sexual orientation or gender identity. Originally, these ministries were a small group of religious people who were virtually unknown. However, because of high-profile ad campaigns and conferences sponsored by the religious right these ministries have become a political tool in the ongoing fight to deny LGBT civil rights.
    Ex-gay ministries believe three main things:
    1. They are called to love LGBT people who are "struggling with sexual orientation and gender identity"
    2. Homosexual orientation and transgender identity are chosen or are the result of bad childhood experiences
    3. They cannot condone this "sinful" behavior and are therefore called on to change the sexual orientation of LGBT people." Many churches also adopt the same stance.)
  • Research on the Impacts of Reparative Therapy, Harms Caused by Societal Prejudice (In 2007, a task force of the American Psychological Association undertook a thorough review of the existing research on the efficacy of reparative therapy. Their report noted that there was very little methodologically sound research on sexual orientation change efforts (SOCEs) and that the "results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through SOCE.)
  • The APA Says ‘No Evidence’ In Support of Ex-Gay Therapy (Truth Wins Out - There is “no evidence that sexual orientation change efforts work.” This was the American Psychological Association’ verdict on “ex-gay” therapy after an appointed task force of experts studied the issue for two years. The APA deserves credit for taking ex-gay therapists to task for twisting the truth and holding them accountable for their scare tactics, such as claiming that there are no happy gay people. “The limited published literature on these programs suggests that many do not present accurate scientific information regarding same-sex sexual orientations to youth and families, are excessively fear-based and have the potential to increase sexual stigma,” said the APA report, “Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation.”)
  • Masters & Johnson’s Notorious ‘Ex-Gay’ Study Debunked (In his groundbreaking new book, “Masters of Sex”, author Thomas Maier discovered through investigative reporting that the results of Masters & Johnson’s study were entirely fabricated. Virginia Johnson acknowledged that the results were fake. She had actually argued in 1978 that book should never have seen the light of day – but it was already to late in the publishing process to undo the damage. One can not overstate the importance of Maier’s findings. They undo the very underpinnings of the so-called “ex-gay” therapy movement, further showing that there is no scientific evidence or data to support the outdated idea that gay people can become heterosexual through therapy. Indeed, many people who have undergone such “treatment” claim the experience was harmful and that they were psychologically damaged. The American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to change sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression and self-destructive behavior.”)
  • Resources & Research Papers Listing (San Francisco State University - includes an easily and freely accessible listing of documents about Family Education Information, Faith-based Family Education Information, Peer-reviewed Research and Policy & Practice Guidelines in English, Spanish and Chinese.)

HOMOPHOBIA & RACISM AS MENTAL DISORDERS


  • 20130904 - Religious Homophobes Prone to Physical Aggression (""Love the sinner, hate the sin" is a phrase that most LGBT people have heard dozens and dozens of times. It's a favorite trope for religious homophobes, who use it to disingenuously sanitize their opposition to LGBT rights and convince themselves that it's nothing personal so they can sleep better at night." "a new study from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium suggests that "love the sinner, hate the sin" is not just a feel-good myth but a deception, and that people with anti-LGBT religious views are more inclined to inflict pain on pro-equality gay people when given the chance. Gay Star News reports: Christians listened to a gay person praising progress in LGBT rights. They were told he didn't like spice but were allowed to give him as much 'Xtra hot' chili sauce as they wanted for him to eat. They gave more of the painfully-hot chili sauce than to a 'neutral' target who had spoken about technological progress instead of gay issues. The full paper will be published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, likely within a year. In an abstract on the university's website the study's authors note that religious people were far more prone to "love their neighbor" when that neighbor was similar to them: "religiosity predicted helping, in a real life context, of an ingroup member in need." They conclude that religion-based homophobic aggression is real and "at the heart of personal religiosity." Chilling, isn't it?" Alternative sources: Universite catholique de Louvain Center For Psychology Of Religion Study "From Religious Homophobia To Physical Aggression")
  • 20130410 - From religious homophobia to physical aggression - (Universite catholique de Louvain (Belgium) Center For Psychology Of Religion Study "Religious claims of “liking the sinner” (gay person) though “hating the sin” (homosexuality) seem not to be true. Using the paradigm of the hot sauce allocation as indicator of aggression, we found that religious people are prone to physically aggress a fictitious gay target who praised gay rights. Individual religiosity relates to prosocial attitudes, behavioral intentions, and behaviors of minimal (no/low cost; limited to ingroup members) prosociality in hypothetical situations. Yet evidence on religious prosociality through other-oriented, costly helping behavior in real life is still to be documented. Similarly, religiosity relates to cognitive, emotional, and attitudinal components of prejudice toward moral outgroups, but evidence on real behavior of prejudice is still needed. In two experiments using the same measure of religiosity and samples from the same population, religiosity predicted helping, in a real life context, of an ingroup member in need (Experiment 1) as well as overt and direct aggression by means of allocating hot sauce to a gay, but not to a neutral, target (Experiment 2). Religious prosociality and aggression are real, concern distinct kinds of targets and are at the heart of personal religiosity. Blogowska, J., Saroglou, V., & Lambert, C. (2013). Religious prosociality and aggression: It’s real. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 52, 524-536.")
  • Homophobia as mental illness ("Homophobia manifests in different forms, and a number of different types have been postulated, among which are internalized homophobia, social homophobia, emotional homophobia, rationalized homophobia, and others.[21] There were also ideas to classify homophobia, racism, and sexism as an intolerant personality disorder.[22]" "Guindon MH, Green AG, Hanna FJ (April 2003). "Intolerance and Psychopathology: Toward a General Diagnosis for Racism, Sexism, and Homophobia". Am J Orthopsychiatry 73 (2): 167–76. doi:10.1037/0002-9432.73.2.167. PMID 12769238." )
  • Wikipedia - Conduct Disorder ("Conduct disorder is a psychological disorder diagnosed in childhood or adolescence that presents itself through a repetitive and persistent pattern of behavior in which the basic rights of others or major age-appropriate norms are violated. These behaviors are often referred to as "antisocial behaviors."[1] Indeed, the disorder is often seen as the precursor to antisocial personality disorder." "Empathy is recognizing feelings that other people are experiencing; lack of empathy is inability to recognize feelings of others. The child diagnosed with CD often presents with a lack of empathy.")
  • Wikipedia - Antisocial Personality Disorder ("Antisocial (Dissocial) Personality Disorder is a personality disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of disregard for, or violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood or early adolescence and continues into adulthood. There may be an impoverished moral sense or conscience and a history of crime, legal problems, impulsive and aggressive behaviour. The American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) and the World Health Organization's International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems' (ICD) (F60.2 Dissocial personality disorder.[1]) have similar but not identical criteria. Both have stated that their diagnosis has also been known as psychopathy or sociopathy, though the criteria are different to other commonly used assessments, and the DSM-5 now has psychopathy as an optional 'specifier' of the main diagnosis.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Antisocial Personality Disorder falls under the dramatic/erratic cluster of personality disorders.[8]")

MEDICAL &  BIOLOGICAL RESEARCH/STUDIES


This subsection focuses on the nature vs nurture debate wrt sexual orientation, gender and gender identity.

Sexual Orientation:
This subsection focuses on medical and scientific evidence to show that sexual orientation is set by nature and not by nurture.
  • 20140218 - These Are the Genes That Help Decide if You're Gay or Straight ("Is sexuality a choice? Some religious conservatives continue to insist that it is, pushing conversion therapy programs on homosexual teens in hopes that they will successfully "pray the gay away." But research presented at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago last week said otherwise.In testing the DNA of 400 gay men and straight members of their families, researchers found that genes on at least two chromosomes influenced the subjects' sexuality. In addition to a stretch of DNA on chromosome 8, a region of the X chromosome, Xq28, has an impact on men's sexual preferences.Xq28, the chromosomal band and genetic marker impacting sexuality, via UNC GenomicsJ. Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern University and a researcher behind the study, said, "Sexual orientation has nothing to do with choice. We found evidence for two sets [of genes] that affect whether a man is gay or straight. But it is not completely determinative. There are certainly other environmental factors involved." Among these factors may be exposure to hormones in the womb.The researchers were careful to point out the nuances of their research. Not all of the gay men in Bailey's study inherited the same Xq28 region. Indeed, how genes interact and determine phenotypes or instruct behavior is complex, and there are almost always multiple factors at work. The finding of this research corresponds with the results of a set of controversial studies from the early 1990s. Dean Hamer, a researcher at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, also found a link between Xq28 and homosexuality. In summarizing his findings, Hamer said that there is "a 99.5% certainty that there is a gene (or genes) in this area of the X chromosome that predispose a male to become a heterosexual." Hamer received criticism for his study from gay rights advocates who were concerned that scientists could develop a genetic test for parents who wish to abort their potentially gay children. But as Qazi Rahman, a psychologist at King's College London, explained, these types of studies will likely help gay rights. "I don't see how genetics would contribute more to the persecution, discrimination and stigmatization of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people any more than social, cultural or learning explanations," he said. "Historically, the persecution and awful treatment of LGBT groups has been because politicians, religious leaders and societies have viewed sexual orientation as 'choice' or due to poor upbringing." While these studies are very useful for understanding the human body, they may not be necessary for public policy. Regardless of whether sexual preference is a choice, shouldn't we treat all groups equally?")
  • 20140214 - Study finds genes on X chromosome linked to male homosexuality ("A study of gay men in the US has found fresh evidence that male sexual orientation is influenced by genes. Scientists tested the DNA of 400 gay men and found that genes on at least two chromosomes affected whether a man was gay or straight. A region of the X chromosome called Xq28 had some impact on men’s sexual behaviour – though scientists have no idea which of the many genes in the region are involved, nor how many lie elsewhere in the genome. Another stretch of DNA on chromosome 8 also played a role in male sexual orientation – though again the precise mechanism is unclear. Researchers have speculated in the past that genes linked to homosexuality in men may have survived evolution because they happened to make women who carried them more fertile. This may be the case for genes in the Xq28 region, as the X chromosome is passed down to men exclusively from their mothers. Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern University in Illinois, set out the findings to the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago on Thursday. “The study shows that there are genes involved in male sexual orientation,” he said. The work has yet to be published, but confirms the findings of a smaller study that sparked widespread controversy in 1993, when Dean Hamer, a scientist at the US National Cancer Institute, investigated the family histories of more than 100 gay men and found homosexuality tended to be inherited. More than 10% of brothers of gay men were gay themselves, compared to around 3% of the general population. Uncles and male cousins on the mother’s side had a greater than average chance of being gay, too. The link with the mother’s side of the family led Hamer to look more closely at the X chromosome. In follow-up work, he found that 33 out of 40 gay brothers inherited similar genetic markers on the Xq28 region of the X chromosome, suggesting key genes resided there. Hamer faced a firestorm when his study was published. The fuss centred on the influences of nature and nurture on sexual orientation. But the work also raised the more dubious prospect of a prenatal test for sexual orientation. The Daily Mail headlined the story “Abortion hope after ‘gay genes findings’ ”. Hamer warned that any attempt to develop a test for homosexuality would be “wrong, unethical and a terrible abuse of research”. The gene or genes in the Xq28 region that influence sexual orientation have a limited and variable impact. Not all of the gay men in Bailey’s study inherited the same Xq28 region. The genes were neither sufficient, nor necessary, to make any of the men gay. The flawed thinking behind a genetic test for sexual orientation is clear from studies of twins, which show that the identical twin of a gay man, who carries an exact replica of his brother’s DNA, is more likely to be straight than gay. That means even a perfect genetic test that picked up every gene linked to sexual orientation would still be less effective than flipping a coin. While genes do contribute to sexual orientation, other multiple factors play a greater role, perhaps including the levels of hormones a baby is exposed to in the womb. “Sexual orientation has nothing to do with choice,” said Bailey. “We found evidence for two sets [of genes] that affect whether a man is gay or straight. But it is not completely determinative; there are certainly other environmental factors involved.” Last year, before the latest results were made public, one of Bailey’s colleagues, Alan Sanders, said the findings could not and should not be used to develop a test for sexual orientation. “When people say there’s a gay gene, it’s an oversimplification,” Sanders said. “There’s more than one gene, and genetics is not the whole story. Whatever gene contributes to sexual orientation, you can think of it as much as contributing to heterosexuality as much as you can think of it contributing to homosexuality. It contributes to a variation in the trait.” Qazi Rahman, a psychologist at King’s College London, said the results were valuable for further understanding the biology of sexual orientation. “This is not controversial or surprising and is nothing people should worry about. All human psychological traits are heritable, that is, they have a genetic component,” he said. “Genetic factors explain 30 to 40% of the variation between people’s sexual orientation. However, we don’t know where these genetic factors are located in the genome. So we need to do ‘gene finding’ studies, like this one by Sanders, Bailey and others, to have a better idea where potential genes for sexual orientation may lie.” Rahman rejected the idea that genetics research could be used to discriminate against people on the basis of their sexual orientation. “I don’t see how genetics would contribute more to the persecution, discrimination and stigmatisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people any more than social, cultural or learning explanations. Historically, the persecution and awful treatment of LGBT groups has been because politicians, religious leaders and societies have viewed sexual orientation as ‘choice’ or due to poor upbringing.”Steven Rose, of the Open University, said: “What worries me is not the extent, if at all, to which our genetic, epigenetic or neural constitution and development affect our sexual preferences, but the huge moral panic and religious and political agenda which surrounds the question.”")
  • 20130906 - Men With Older Brothers More Likely To Be Gay? Study Expanding To Biological Origin ("Seven years ago a study made headlines for finding that men with older brothers are more likely to be gay. Today the study has resurfaced as researchers extend upon the original findings by looking deeper into the possible biological basis of homosexuality. Published in New Scientist magazine, the 2006 study was conducted by sexologist Anthony Bogaert, a Community Health Sciences chair and professor at Ontario's Brock University. His research led him to conclude that having more older brothers makes it more likely a man will be gay. Each older brother raises the odds of homosexuality by a third, potentially going from a 3 percent chance with the first son to a 6 percent chance with the fourth. Bogaert studied 944 gay and straight men, including some who were raised with non-biological male siblings, to pit prenatal against postnatal factors. His research, which reappeared in a Sept. 4 New Scientist article, ultimately determined that fraternal birth order seems to have a connection to sexual orientation. "That means for each male gestation that occurs, something changes in a woman’s body that makes her more likely to give birth to a gay son," as Brock University explains Bogaert's findings. An abstract from the study, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, summarizes the research:
    Only biological older brothers, and not any other sibling characteristic, including nonbiological older brothers, predicted men’s sexual orientation, regardless of the amount of time reared with these siblings. These results strongly suggest a prenatal origin to the fraternal birth-order effect.
    Today, Bogaert is looking to determine that prenatal origin. "[The 2006 study] was an important study and it does suggest there is probably a biological basis to the older brother effect," he told The Huffington Post during a phone conversation from Canada Thursday afternoon. "It's an important study in the context of sex orientation development. We have additional research going on right now testing specifically the underlying biological effect of the older brother. ... There are no results yet. We are collecting samples of mothers of gay men and comparing them to mothers of heterosexual men and looking to see if there is evidence of a biological factor that differs between the two groups." Bogaert explained that the 2006 study never determined a specific "mechanism" -- a biological factor or process -- behind the older brother effect. He suggested this mechanism could be a maternal immune response, a hormone change in the womb, a gestational factor during pregnancy or even genes. "The 2006 study really strongly suggests that there is biological mechanism but it never really tested the specific mechanism itself in terms of determining what factor is in fact influencing a change in a mother's development during pregnancy," he explained to HuffPost. "What we're doing now is we're looking at the specific mechanism and seeing if we can find evidence for that. We have a study looking at ... mothers of gay and heterosexual men and seeing if there is a maternal immune response. So, that's something very unique and new." Bogaert says that isolating the exact biological mechanism or process will support the "nature" side of the Nature v. Nurture debate. If successful, his new research could provide a biological backing for homosexuality. "I think there's strong evidence that people who believe that there's a biological basis to sexual orientation tend to be more tolerant to sexual minorities, and that's one of the more positive [possible] social outcomes," he said. "And I am in that camp. I don't believe that homosexuality is a disorder or immoral." The overarching purpose of the new study is to delve deeper into the origins of sexuality. Bogaert says he is trying to understand sexual variability, human sexuality and sexual orientation as a piece of the larger puzzle. "Unerstanding the biological mechanisms may have some social ramifications, and for me that's great if it ends up being positive," he added. "But a larger motivation is just trying to understand sexuality, and understanding sexuality has its own benefits from a scientific perspective."")
  • 20091201 - Gay by nature: Part one ("We know that just under half the variation in sexual orientation is down to genes. Then the rest of the variation is down to ‘non-shared’ factors, and those, like hormones, are primarily biological.” "Sexuality is a complex human trait, just like IQ or personality. It is determined not by a single gene, but how several genes work together. A whole range of features with reproductive disadvantages can be maintained in the gene pool down the generations, if only a portion of the genes responsible are advantageous to heterosexual carriers.” “The level of exposure to sex hormones, such as testosterone, during life in the womb, seems to influence the direction of sexual preference. Everyone would be born female if it were not for testosterone. At stages during pregnancy, the hormone is introduced into the womb. The level of testosterone to which the foetus is exposed determines the level of masculinity. Some bodily markers provide an insight into exposure. One example is the relative length of index finger to ring finger." “In males the big brother effect is also important. Gay men tend to be born younger in relation to their brothers. The maternal immune system recognises successive male foetuses and may form an immune response to particular types of protein that form on the surface of the brain in the developing foetus. This might affect sexual differentiation or it might produce some hormonal mechanism that produces that variation, too. The big brother effect only appears to be important when gay men are right handed. Left handed gay men owe their sexual orientation to other causes we are unaware of." “And we know these are different between the sexes, but we find gay men tend to have a female type of spatial ability. Spatial ability is controlled partly by two regions of the brain. So if we know that gay men perform differently in these kinds of tests, that suggests that part of the brain either is structurally different or functions in a different way. That gives us an insight into brain development. Thanks to MRI scans, we also have the technology to look at the brain directly rather than just carry out problem solving tests on people. The studies in the last two years strongly suggest that in the adult gay brain, and lesbian brain, it is wired very differently to the straight brain. “In 2008, Swedish scientists at the Karolinska Institute compared the brain hemispheres of healthy gays and lesbians with heterosexual male and female adults. The results showed that heterosexual men and lesbians show a rightward asymmetry in their brain – it appears to be larger in volume than the left. However, the brain hemispheres of gay men and heterosexual women were more symmetrical. It might explain why heterosexual men tend to be better at spatial skills; there is some evidence that lesbians are better at some visual motor skills as well. Tests show gay men and hetero women tend to be better at language, verbal fluency, skills and emotion processing. The Swedish group also found differences in the amygdala, the part of the brain responsible for orientating the rest of the brain in response to an emotional stimulus, such as a startle (fight or flight) response, or the presence of a potential mate. Heterosexual men and gay women have more nerve connections in the right side of the amygdala, while gay men and heterosexual women have more on the left. So, the brain network which determines what sexual orientation actually ‘orients’ towards is similar between gay men and straight women, and between gay women and straight men.” - Dr Qazi Rahman, assistant professor in Cognitive Biology from Queen Mary University London.)
  • 20091202 - Gay by nature: Part two ("There is a fringe group of psychoanalysts, such as NARTH, who claim that homosexuality is caused by dominant mothers. Dr Raman emphasises that there is no evidence for these claims. He said: “Homosexuality is not due an overbearing mother and a distant father as some psychoanalytic nonsense has suggested. The crux of the theory predicts that gay men should come from homes where the father is absent – no demographic evidence supports this claim. Secondly, the notion that homosexuality is due to unresolved Oedipal complex (a core tenet of psychoanalytic theory) makes the prediction in the wrong way – it should explain heterosexuality and not homosexuality. If gay men are so fixated on their mothers as the theory claims then why do they end up fancying men? Psychoanalytic theory is best left in the land of warlock magic and elfin trickery. ” “All the biological and developmental evidence shows that homosexuality cannot be learned so teaching about same-sex relationships in schools cannot result in increases in homosexuality. You cannot learn homosexuality like you can learn maths! A certain amount of same-sex horseplay is common in adolescence but there is no evidence that is disproportionately results in adult homosexuality.” Although there are frequent reports of kids who are abused, growing up to become gay, Dr Rahman dismisses this as anecdotal." - Dr Qazi Rahman, assistant professor in Cognitive Biology from Queen Mary University London.)
  • 20080616 - BBC NEWS  Health Scans see 'gay brain differences' ("The brains of gay men and women look like those found in heterosexual people of the opposite sex" "Scientists have noticed for some time that homosexual people of both sexes have differences in certain cognitive abilities, suggesting there may be subtle differences in their brain structure. This is the first time, however, that scientists have used brain scanners to try to look for the source of those differences. A group of 90 healthy gay and heterosexual adults, men and women, were scanned by the Karolinska Institute scientists to measure the volume of both sides, or hemispheres, of their brain.")
  • 20080118 - The Genetics of Homosexuality (The results of several interesting and revealing scientific studies performed in the 1990's)
  • 20061207 - Is there a homosexuality gene? (During the past several decades, scientists have discovered some interesting patterns that may point toward genetic causes of homosexuality. Among the findings is that male homosexuality appears to be inherited more often from the mother than the father (Pillard). Also, natural selection might maintain a gene that may decrease the fecundity of one sex because the same gene also increases the fecundity of the other sex. In fact, recent data shows that female maternal relatives of gay men have higher than average reproduction capacity (Camperio-Ciani).)
  • 20050131 - Non sex genes linked to 'gay trait' ("Multiple genes - and not just the sex chromosomes - are important in sexual orientation, say US scientists. A University of Illinois team, which has screened the entire human genome, say there is no one 'gay' gene." "Much of the past genetic research into male homosexuality had focused solely on the X chromosome, passed down to boys by their mother, according to lead researcher Dr Brian Mustanski. His team looked at all 22 pairs of non-sex chromosomes of 456 individuals from 146 families with two or more gay brothers." "They found several identical stretches of DNA that were shared among gay siblings on chromosomes other than the female X. About 60% of these brothers shared identical DNA on three chromosomes - chromosome 7, 8 and 10. If it were down to chance, only 50% of these stretches would be shared, said the authors. The region found on chromosome 10 correlated with sexual orientation only when it was inherited from the mother.")
  • 19950612 - More evidence that homosexuality is genetic ("A DNA transplant made these male fruit flies turn away from females. What does that say about the origins of homosexuality?")
  • 1992 - The American Psychiatric Association: "In 1992, the American Psychiatric Association, recognizing the power of the stigma against homosexuality, issued the following statement, reaffirmed by the Board of Trustees, July 2011: "Whereas homosexuality per se implies no impairment in judgment, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational capabilities, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) calls on all international health organizations, psychiatric organizations, and individual psychiatrists in other countries to urge the repeal in their own countries of legislation that penalizes homosexual acts by consenting adults in private. Further, APA calls on these organizations and individuals to do all that is possible to decrease the stigma related to homosexuality wherever and whenever it may occur."[24]"
  • Wikipedia - Homosexuality in animals (Homosexual behavior in animals is same-sex behavior, homosexual or bisexual, among non-human species. Such behaviors include sexual activity, courtship, affection, pair bonding, and parenting among same-sex animal pairings. Homosexual behavior has been observed in close to 1,500 species, ranging from primates to gut worms, and is well documented for 500 of them.[1][2] The sexual behavior of non-human animals takes many different forms, even within the same species. The motivations for and implications of these behaviors have yet to be fully understood, since most species have yet to be fully studied.[3]According to Bagemihl, "the animal kingdom [does] it with much greater sexual diversity – including homosexual, bisexual and nonreproductive sex – than the scientific community and society at large have previously been willing to accept.")
  • Soulforce (A very good Christian human rights resource which refers to scientific studies and moderate Christian resources in support of acceptance, tolerance and understanding.)

Gender Identity:

This subsection focuses on medical and scientific evidence to show that gender identity is set by nature and not by nurture.
  • 20091211 - Gene discovery could make gender reassignment easier ("The discovery of a single gene which controls gender could pave the way for simpler treatment of trans people. Researchers at the National Institute for Medical Research discovered that just one gene prevents females from developing male physical characteristics such as facial hair and testes. The study in adult mice showed that when the gene, known as FOXL2, was artificially switched off, the ovaries of female mice began developing into testes and they produced male amounts of testosterone. Previously, it was thought that gender was controlled by X chromosomes and Y chromosomes. Men typically have XY, while women have XX. This study refutes the consensus that gender is fixed at birth and that embryos are female unless they possess a male-determining gene.")
  • 20080618 - Swedish study brain symetry GLBT ("Swedish researchers have found that some physical attributes of the homosexual brain resemble those found in the opposite sex, according to an article published online (June 16) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Some psychological tests have shown differences between men and women in the extent to which they employ the brain’s hemispheres in verbal tasks. Positron emission tomography (PET) scans taken by the researchers also show that in connectivity of the amygdala (which is important for emotional learning), lesbians resemble straight men, and gay men resemble straight women. The researchers analyzed the brains of 90 subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess brain volume and PET data partly gleaned from previous olfactory studies.")
  • 20050511 - Preliminary work, genetic link found in transexuality ("In the transsexualism study, the researchers examined a repeat sequence in each of three genes known to affect the sexual development of the brain, in hopes that one or more of these might shed light on transsexualism. They studied several common variants affecting the length of these repeats in different people. These variants “are all much more common than is transsexualism” itself, they wrote. “Hence, the goal of this study was not to reveal the primary cause of transsexualism,” but rather to help explain “whether the studied genes may facilitate or prevent” it. One particular variant seemed significantly associated with the frequency of transsexualism, they found. This variant was in a gene responsible for producing a molecule called ER-Beta. ER-Beta acts as a minuscule gateway that controls the flow of estrogen, a hormone, through the brain during fetal development.")
  • 20020327 - Trans Health dot com ("Despite popular opinion and negative media portrayals which disparage transgendered people as being “mentally ill” or making “lifestyle choices,” an increasing amount of evidence is surfacing which is linking the proliferation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) to variations in gender identity and sexual orientation. In an invited paper published in the December 2001 issue of Neuroendocrinology Letters, Dr. Günter Dörner outlines the various purported causes of transsexualism, which fall into two general classes: 1) genetic enzyme mutations and 2) so-called epigenetic effects which include stressful prenatal/postnatal situations and fetal exposure to endocrine disruptors such as the pesticide DDT and its breakdown products.")

DEBUNKING CLAIMS THAT LGBT PARENTS = "CHILD ABUSE"

  • 20140312 - Largest Study of Children Raised by Same-Sex Parents Is Bad News for Bigots ("Bad news bigots. The largest study yet of children raised by same sex couples suggests that not only are these children equal to their peers raised in heterosexual parented households – but on some markers, they are actually doing better.“Children of same-sex parents are doing as well or better than the rest of the population on a number of key health indicators,” The Age reports:“That is the initial finding from the world’s largest study on the children of same-sex parents, under way at Melbourne University.The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families collected data on 500 children nationwide, up to the age of 17.An interim report found there was no statistical difference between children of same-sex couples and the rest of the population on indicators including self-esteem, emotional behaviour and the amount of time spent with parents.However, children of same-sex couples scored higher than the national average for overall health and family cohesion, measuring how well the family members get along.”
    The study’s protocol, detailing its intent and methodology may be accessed here. Unlike the “deeply flawed” and “disgraced,” Regnerus study, The Australian Study of Child Health in Same-Sex Families looks at children of actual same-sex couples.
    This is but one of a number of studies on children raised by same-sex parents, which all have similar findings.
    Those who oppose same-sex couples adopting or having children together, often use arguments about the likely negative impact of such parenting models on the children involved – and pitch the rights of the adults against the rights of the children, favoring those of the child to have a ‘normal’ upbringing, over those of the adults to have children. So, this should be really great news for them – they can now pitch in and celebrate same-sex parenting for achieving such remarkable results. Unless, of course, they are just bigots, dressing up their bigotry in disingenuous concern for children. In which case, this is the worst news ever.")
  • 20091220 - Study shows no difference in adopted children raised by gay parents – Insciences ("Three college educators have determined there is no significant difference in emotional problems experienced by children adopted by heterosexual and gay or lesbian parents. The study, published in this month's Adoption Quarterly, was authored by Scott Ryan, the new dean of The University of Texas School of Social Work, and Paige Averett and Blace Nalavany, assistant professors of social work at East Carolina University.")
  • 20051012 - Study shows same-sex parents raise well-adjusted kids ("Children growing up in same-sex parental households do not necessarily have differences in self-esteem, gender identity, or emotional problems from children growing up in heterosexual parent homes. "There are a lot of children with at least one gay or lesbian parent," says Ellen C. Perrin, MD, professor of pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston. She revealed the findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics Conference and Exhibition. Between 1 million and 6 million children in the U.S. are being reared by committed lesbian or gay couples, she says. Children being raised by same-sex parents were either born to a heterosexual couple, adopted, or conceived through artificial insemination. "The vast consensus of all the studies shows that children of same-sex parents do as well as children whose parents are heterosexual in every way," she tells WebMD. "In some ways children of same-sex parents actually may have advantages over other family structures."")
  • Soulforce ("The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates that between 1 and 9 million children in the United States are being raised by at least one parent who is lesbian or gay. (The broad range cited is due to the social stigma associated with homosexuality — which keeps some lesbian or gay parents from openly disclosing their sexual orientation in surveys).37" "In 2001, Dr. Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz published a comprehensive review of the social science research on lesbian and gay parenting in the American Sociological Review. The overall finding was that lesbian and gay parents were as competent as heterosexual parents. The article did note some differences between families with gay and lesbian parents and those with heterosexual parents, but was careful to emphasize that these were differences, not deficits. Many of those opposing parenting rights for lesbian and gay people seized on these differences, using them to assert that gay and lesbian parents were not as effective as heterosexual parents. In an interview, Dr. Stacey addressed what she sees as a distortion of the literature and her work: “Significant, reliable social scientific evidence indicates that lesbian and gay parents are as fit, effective, and successful as heterosexual parents. The research also shows that children of same-sex couples are as emotionally healthy and socially adjusted and at least as educationally and socially successful as children raised by heterosexual parents.” Later in the interview she commented: “There is not a single, respectable social scientist conducting and publishing research in this area today who claims that gay and lesbian parents harm children.” She explained that the research does find some differences between families with gay and lesbian parents and those with heterosexual parents, but emphasized that they are differences, not deficits. For example, daughters of lesbian moms tend to be somewhat more career-oriented than other daughters. That antigay activists had cited these differences as evidence supporting their efforts to deny partnership and parenting rights to lesbians and gays was for Stacey “a serious misreading and abuse of our work.”39 ")

DEBUNKING CLAIMS THAT LGBT PEOPLE ARE PEDOPHILES

  • Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation ("Members of disliked minority groups are often stereotyped as representing a danger to the majority's most vulnerable members. For example, Jews in the Middle Ages were accused of murdering Christian babies in ritual sacrifices. Black men in the United States were often lynched after being falsely accused of raping White women. In a similar fashion, gay people have often been portrayed as a threat to children." "In recent years, antigay activists have routinely asserted that gay people are child molesters." "Some conservative groups have argued that scientific research strongly supports their claims that homosexuality and pedophilia are linked. The Family Research Council has produced what is perhaps the most extensive attempt to document this claim. It is an article by Timothy J. Dailey titled Homosexuality and Child Abuse. With 76 footnotes, many of them referring to papers in scientific journals, it appears at first glance to be a thorough and scholarly discussion of the issue. On further examination, however, its central argument – that "the evidence indicates that homosexual men molest boys at rates grossly disproportionate to the rates at which heterosexual men molest girls" – doesn't hold up." "In summary, the scientific sources cited by the FRC report do not support their argument. Most of the studies they referenced did not even assess the sexual orientation of abusers. Two studies explicitly concluded that sexual orientation and child molestation are unrelated. Notably, the FRC failed to cite the 1978 study by Groth and Birnbaum, which also contradicted their argument. Only one study (Erickson et al., 1988) might be interpreted as supporting the FRC argument, and it failed to detail its measurement procedures and did not differentiate bisexual from homosexual offenders.")
    20020129 - Playing the Pedophillia Card ("In 1978 psychologist Nicholas Groth screened 175 men who had been convicted in Massachusetts of sexual molestation of children and referred by a court for psychological evaluation. He found not a single gay man in this sample. Every one of the perpetrators was either an exclusive heterosexual, a bisexual with a predominantly heterosexual orientation, or a fixated pedophile with no sexual interest in adults.[4] His conclusion? That "the adult heterosexual male constitutes a greater risk to the underage child than does the adult homosexual male." In the same year, researcher David Newton reviewed the scientific literature and found no reason to believe that anything other than a "random connection" existed between homosexual orientation and child molestation.[5] Later research has confirmed these findings: In 1988, renowned sex researcher Kurt Freund at the Clarke Institute of Psychiatry in Toronto studied two groups of paid volunteers and found that gay men responded no more to male child stimuli than heterosexual men responded to female child stimuli.[6] He later described as a "myth" the notion that gay men are more likely than straight men to be child molesters.[7] In 1992, alarmed over claims made during a campaign for an anti-gay state constitutional amendment in Colorado, two physicians reviewed every case of suspected child molestation evaluated at Children's Hospital in Denver over a one-year period. Of the 269 cases determined to involve molestation by an adult, only two of the perpetrators could be identified as gay or lesbian. The researchers concluded that the risk of child sexual abuse by an identifiably gay or lesbian person was between zero and 3.1%, and that the risk of such abuse by the heterosexual partner of a relative was over 100 times greater.[8]")

DEBUNKING CLAIMS THAT SAME SEX MARRIAGE IS A 'NEW THING'

  • Wikipedia - The history of same sex marriage ("Although state-recognized same-sex unions are becoming more accepted, there is a long history of same-sex unions around the world. Various types of same-sex unions have existed, ranging from informal, unsanctioned, and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions that have included marriage.[1]")

DEFENDING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AGAINST DISTORTIONS BY PSEUDO-SCIENCE

Argument by scientists proving that the Religious Right distorts their research against LGBTI:
  • Respect my research org (Anti-gay activists and their organizations have distorted, cherry picked or misquoted research from esteemed academic scholars across the world. On this site is a one-of-a-kind "Library of Lies", which catalogues these abuses and provides a powerful response from those whose work was twisted.)
  • Masters & Johnson’s Notorious ‘Ex-Gay’ Study Debunked (In his groundbreaking new book, “Masters of Sex”, author Thomas Maier discovered through investigative reporting that the results of Masters & Johnson’s study were entirely fabricated. Virginia Johnson acknowledged that the results were fake. She had actually argued in 1978 that book should never have seen the light of day – but it was already to late in the publishing process to undo the damage. One can not overstate the importance of Maier’s findings. They undo the very underpinnings of the so-called “ex-gay” therapy movement, further showing that there is no scientific evidence or data to support the outdated idea that gay people can become heterosexual through therapy. Indeed, many people who have undergone such “treatment” claim the experience was harmful and that they were psychologically damaged. The American Psychiatric Association says that attempts to change sexual orientation can lead to “anxiety, depression and self-destructive behavior.”)

Pro LGBT org sites:

  • Successful Transwomen worldwide (A site by Lynn Conway with images and bios of transwomen who have made successes of their lives and careers despite resistance and persecution encountered in their environs)
  • Successful Transmen worldwide (A site by Lynn Conway with images and bios of transmen who have made successes of their lives and careers despite resistance and persecution encountered in their environs)
  • Soulforce (A very good Christian human rights resource which refers to scientific studies and moderate Christian resources in support of acceptance, tolerance and understanding.)
  • Steps to recovery from bible abuse (A Christian minister's response to the abusive use of the bible against gays and lesbians.)
  • Religious Tolerance.org (A secular pro human rights information/activism resource.)
  • The Gay Agenda ("Whether you're gay, bisexual, transgender or heterosexual, a small minority of vicious homophobes want you to believe that LGBT people, are somehow abnormal, inferior, less worthy, or downright evil when compared to heterosexuals. Many LGBT people even grow up believing this nonsense, because of the constant emotional bullying and brainwashing.")

Section 4: Humanitarian resources

RESOURCES FOR REFUGEES

  • Your Rights As A Refugee ("Under the South African Constitution refugees and asylum seekers, particularly children, are afforded the same rights and protection available to citizens. As soon as possible after arriving in South Africa potential refugees must register for an “Application for Asylum” at one of the Refugee Reception Offices located in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Pretoria and Johannesburg. The application process includes completing forms and the taking of fingerprints and photographs. The process is free, but applicants are required to provide personal information")

Section 5: History & Current Affairs

THE HISTORY OF LGBT PERSECUTION
  • Wikipedia - Violence against LGBTI people ("Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people frequently face violence motivated by their sexuality or gender identity.[1] Violence may be executed by the state, as in laws prescribing corporal punishment for homosexual acts (see homosexuality laws), or by individuals engaging in intimidation, mobbing, assault, or lynching (see gay bashing, trans bashing). Violence targeted at people because of their perceived sexuality can be psychological or physical and can extend to murder. These actions may be motivated by homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, transphobia, and may be influenced by cultural, religious, or political mores and biases. In the modern Western world and much of the developed world in general, where homosexual acts have been legal in almost all countries since at least the 1940s, violence against LGBT people is often qualified as a hate crime,[2] motivated by homophobia, and is often connected with either extremist religious or political ideologies which condemn homosexuality and relate it to being weak, ill, feminine, or morally wrong.")
  • The History of Truth Wins Out ("The right wing has launched a multi-million dollar culture war. Their goals include ending the separation of church and state and persecuting groups who do not share their puritanical beliefs. The gay and lesbian community is their number one target. There is no limit to what the right will say or do in its effort to deny GLBT people their birthright of full-citizenship.")
  • Hate Crime, Bias Crimes & Homophobia ("These sites deal with hate crimes and bias motivated violence based on [perceived] sexual orientation and directed against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.")
  • 20080727 - Gunman Opens Fire On Gay-Friendly Church, Two Killed ("A lone man armed with a 12-gauge shotgun entered the sanctuary of the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, just after 10:00 am this morning and opened fire, killing two people and wounding at least seven others before being subdued by members of the congregation." The church's welcome of LGBT members is believed to be the reason for the attack.)
  • Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate ("Beginning in 2009, BTB has been closely monitoring events leading up to and following the introduction of Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. These pages include links to all of our posts, and including more information that we learned after some of the events took place. These pages will be updated as events continue to unfold." - following the involvement of the American religious right wing and notorious ex-gay movement in the events still unfolding in Uganda. Also mentions Scott Lively, now charged with crimes against humanity.)
  • The Pink Swastika (The vicious piece of holocaust revisionism by Scott Lively, in the name of Christianity. "The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party is a book first published in 1995 by Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams.[1] The book drew criticism from historians." "Erik N. Jensen regards the authors' linkage of homosexuality and Nazism as the recurrence of a "pernicious myth", originating in 1930s attacks on Nazism by Socialists and Communists and "long since dispelled" by "serious scholarship".[5] Jensen sees the book as coming about in "the aftermath of an Oregon measure to repeal gay rights".[5] Dorthe Seifert cites it as a response to increasing awareness of Nazi persecution of homosexuals.[6] Christine L. Mueller argues that the historical record does not support Abrams' assertions.[7] Bob Moser, writing for the Southern Poverty Law Center, says the book was promoted by anti-gay groups and that historians agree its premise is "utterly false".[8] Jonathan Zimmerman, an historian at New York University, wrote the claim that gay people helped bring Nazism to Germany "is a flat-out lie."[9] Zimmerman, points out that "Between 1933 and 1945, the Nazis arrested roughly 100,000 men as homosexuals. Most convicted gays were sent to prison; between 5,000 and 15,000 were interned in concentration camps, where they wore pink triangles to signify their supposed crime."[9] He further notes, "To win their release from the camps, some gays were forced to undergo castration. Others were mutilated or murdered in so-called medical experiments by Nazi doctors, who insisted that homosexuality was a disease that could be 'cured'."[9] In addition, "Hitler authorized an edict in 1941 prescribing the death penalty for SS and police members found guilty of gay activity."[9]") 
ON GENOCIDE & HATE CRIME
  • 8 Recognizable Stages of Genocide ("By Gregory H. Stanton, President, Genocide Watch. Classification Symbolization Dehumanization Organization Polarization Preparation Extermination Denial. Genocide is a process that develops in eight stages that are predictable but not inexorable. At each stage, preventive measures can stop it. The process is not linear. Logically, later stages must be preceded by earlier stages. But all stages continue to operate throughout the process.")
  • Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, New York, 9 December 1948 ("The Convention, a major pillar in the evolving framework of international humanitarian rules, declares genocide a crime under international law. It condemns genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, and provides a definition of this crime. Moreover, the prescribed punishment is not subject to the limitations of time and place.")
  • Argument showing anti hate crimes law does not target religious beliefs, just hate crime and incitement to it. ("...a collection of the nation’s most obnoxious anti-gay activists showed up in Washington DC to have a showdown with the government. They were there to defy the new law criminalizing preaching against homosexuality and to be arrested for preaching the gospel.")
  • 65 Years After Auschwitz & Christianists Have Learned Nothing (Compares anti semetic Nazi propaganda against GOP anti gay propaganda. - "As noted by Bob Felton at >Civil Commotion, January 27, 2011, was the 65th anniversary of the day that Allied forces liberated Auschwitz and discovered the full extent of the horrors of the "Final Solution." The hatred and malicious denigration of others can lead to shocking horrors, yet conservative Christians in the USA and their minions and hangers overseas (such as in Uganda) have apparently learned nothing from the nightmare of the Nazi regime and its deadly propaganda campaign against Jews. We hear much about supposedly "protecting marriage" from the Christian right, but their true agenda is denigrating LGBT citizens and keeping us a hated class of individuals. Indeed, as the now defunct HateCrimes.org website once set out in detail (some of the details are still available here), the Christian right continues to use an anti-gay propaganda campaign eerily similar to those used by the Nazis against the Jews more than seven decades ago.") 
TRANSPHOBIA
  • The List ("What follows is a list of transgender people whose deaths are attributable to prejudice and that were reported in the media during the past year. This list does not include victims that were unreported."- if this won't make you cry, nothing will.) 
RELIGIOUS ANTI-LGBT HATRED
  • 20120521 - Just Your Friendly Local Preacher Advocating Death to Gays ("Pastor Charles Worley of Maiden, N.C.'s Providence Road Baptist Church recently told his congregation that lesbians and "queers" should be rounded up, placed in camps with electrified fencing, and left to die. Worley believes that placing gays in camps will ensure homosexuality dies out since gays "don't reproduce." Worley isn't apologizing for his sermon, saying,"We offer NO apologies in believing the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible is the inerrant Word of God. If you live in this area or are ever passing through, I invite you to come visit with us at Providence Road Baptist Church."" - Funny the pastor doesn't seem to be aware that King James himself was gay. Ironic.) 
  • 20090108 - God commands you kill gays ("I spend a lot of time here mocking Religious Right groups and activists for their views of homosexuality, but as Jeremy says about these audio clips he posted the other day, "this 'culture war' is all fun and games until someone wants to execute you." And he's not joking. Just listen to these rants from Steven L. Anderson of Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ, explaining to his audience how gays are out to rape their children in order to recruit them and says that the only way to stop them is to kill them." -  Pretty self-explanatory really.)
  • Christian Action Network (CAN) CAN - Christian Action Network (a conglomerate of small Christo-fascist groups mostly led by front-man "Dr" Peter Hammond - a Christian fundamentalist activist who is anti Muslim, anti-feminist, anti-gay, and has been tied to gun-running and covert Apartheid-era espionage and intrigue - and has also been involved in an incident in Cape Town in which a child was shot in the face while trick-or-treating Halloween 2005).
  • Christians For Truth (LMAO - excuse me)
  • Frontline Fellowship (CAN's own little online bookshop which peddles Hammond's hate-inciting books because no other publisher will touch them)
  • Christian Liberty Books (CAN's own little ChristianIST printing press masquerading as a "Christian publisher" which only produces CAN's in-house materials)
  • The Reformation Society (A right wing ChristianIST think-tank of which CAN forms a large part, working to transform Christianity into an extremist force to take control of *gasp* the WORLD. Reference the Wikipedia links at the top on Reconstructionism)
  • Dr Peet Botha (Homosexuality.co.za - Another member of CAN/FF etc's network spreading lies and misinformation about homosexuality, breaking down human rights, etc. Now removed, finally.)
  • Kwasizabantu (An evangelical right wing mission school indoctrinating black youth with messages of hatred from Peter Hammond and Focus on the Family.) 
  • Joy! Magazine ("Real People, Real Life, Real Christianity" - A religious fundamentalist rag peddling fundamentalist anti-everything christo-fascism. Erroll Naidoo and Peter Hammond are both listed on the editorial staff and regularly feature their inane "persecuted church" conspiracy-theory claptrap in articles, while using their religious soap-box to incite hatred and persecution of other cultures, religions and of course, those 'evil and threatening homosexualists [sic]'.)
  • Gospel Defence League (A religious fundamentalist sewing and gossip circle that formed part of the CAN's root, but whose site no longer exists.)
  • African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) (A homophobic christo-fascist party in South Africa involved in some events in Uganda and actively trying to take power in South Africa to erase that annoying little line between church and state since 1993. Since their disastrous failure in the 2009 elections, they have cleaned up their public websites, policy statements etc to carefully avoid mention of sexual orientation or gender identity, but instead refer to 'Christian and family values', protecting 'the Family' against anything they perceive as 'a threat'. Same ass, different hat.)
  • Family Policy Institute (FPI) (Using the ironic slogan "Defending Faith, Family & Freedom", this group, based in Cape Town at 49 Parliament Street and led by Erroll Naidoo, a "pastor" who has openly stated in media interviews that he hates gay people, done his worst for two decades to ban Pride events around the country by making false claims of public pornography, indecent behavior, child abuse (including accusations of child labor) and who has been colluding with sympathetic fundies in government to strip liberalism and human rights out of the Constitution and SA Law in favor of replacing it with the fundamentalist interpretation of the Christian bible. This group has been working to unite all right wing extremist homophobic political parties into one "Republican Party for South Africa since 2009.)
  • Conservapedia ("The reliable encyclopedia" *Snort* Yes, we can believe all the stuff on their site - lulz)
  • Angus Buchan (The ding-bat darling of the Rapport and Die Burger, the ex-pat Zimbabwean potato preacher with his silly hat and right-wing chauvinist message of hate to "real men" who have their dilly wives permission to pretend to be the boss in the house and in the bedroom.)
On The Separation Of Religion And The State:
The original US Constitution - proof that religious fundamentalists weasel their way into anything and then try to change history to suit themselves by saying "it was ALWAYS this way."
US Constitution
Did you know
African Persecution - Homosexuality/on LGBT being "Un-African":
  • 21 varieties of traditional African homosexuality - January 30, 2014 ("At least 21 cultural varieties of same-sex relationships have long been part of traditional African life, as demonstrated in a new report that is designed to dispel the confusion and lies surrounding Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill. The following discussion and the 21 examples are from that report, “Expanded Criminalisation of Homosexuality in Uganda: A Flawed Narrative / Empirical evidence and strategic alternatives from an African perspective,” which was prepared by Sexual Minorities Uganda:In their work anthropologists Stephen Murray and Will Roscoe provide wide‐ranging evidence in support of the fact that throughout Africa”s history, homosexuality has been a ‘‘consistent and logical feature of African societies and belief systems.” Thabo Msibi of the University of Kwazulu‐Natal documents many examples in Africa of same-sex desire being accommodated within pre-colonial rule.”Deborah P. Amory speaks of ‘‘a long history of diverse African peoples engaging in same-sex relations.” Drawing on anthropological studies of the pre-colonial and colonial eras, it is possible to document a vast array of same-sex practises and diverse understandings of gender across the entire continent.Examples include:One notably ‘‘explicit” Bushmen painting, which depicts African men engaging in same-sex sexual activity.
    In the late 1640s, a Dutch military attaché documented Nzinga, a warrior woman in the Ndongo kingdom of the Mbundu, who ruled as ‘‘king” rather than ‘‘queen”, dressed as a man and surrounded herself with a harem of young men who dressed as women and who were her ‘‘wives”.
    Eighteenth century anthropologist, Father J-B. Labat, documented the Ganga-Ya-Chibanda, presiding priest of the Giagues, a group within the Congo kingdom, who routinely cross-dressed and was referred to as ‘‘grandmother”.
    In traditional, monarchical Zande culture, anthropological records described homosexuality as ‘‘indigenous”. The Azande of the Northern Congo ‘‘routinely married” younger men who functioned as temporary wives – a practise that was institutionalised to such an extent that warriors would pay ‘‘brideprice” to the young man”s parents.
    Amongst Bantu-speaking Pouhain farmers (Bene, Bulu, Fang, Jaunde, Mokuk, Mwele, Ntum and Pangwe) in present-day Gabon and Cameroon, homosexual intercourse was known as bian nkû”ma– a medicine for wealth which was transmitted through sexual activity between men.
    Similarly in Uganda, amongst the Nilotico Lango, men who assumed ‘‘alternative gender status” were known as mukodo dako. They were treated as women and were permitted to marry other men.
    Same-sex relationships were reported amongst other groups in Uganda, including the Bahima, the Banyoro and the Baganda. King Mwanga II, the Baganda monarch, was widely reported to have engaged in sexual relations with his male subjects.
    A Jesuit working in Southern Africa in 1606 described finding ‘‘Chibadi, which are Men attired like Women, and behave themselves womanly, ashamed to be called men”.
    In the early 17th century in present-day Angola, Portuguese priests Gaspar Azevereduc and Antonius Sequerius encountered men who spoke, sat and dressed like women, and who entered into marriage with men. Such marriages were ‘‘honored and even prized”.
    In the Iteso communities, based in northwest Kenya and Uganda, same-sex relations existed amongst men who behaved as and were socially accepted as women.
    Same-sex practises were also recorded among the Banyoro and …
    the Langi.
    In pre-colonial Benin, homosexuality was seen as a phase that boys passed through and grew out of.
    There were practises of female-female marriages amongst the Nandi and …
    Kisii of Kenya, as well as …
    the Igbo of Nigeria,
    the Nuer of Sudan and
    the Kuria of Tanzania.
    Among Cape Bantu, lesbianism was ascribed to women who were in the process of becoming chief diviners, known as isanuses.
    This is by no means an exhaustive list. Given the overwhelming evidence of pre-colonial same-sex relations which continued into the colonial and post-colonial eras, as well as historical evidence of diverse understandings of gender identity, it is clear that homosexuality is no more ‘‘alien” to Africa than it is to any other part of the world.
    As stated by Murray and Roscoe: Numerous reports also indicate that in the highly sex-segregated societies of Africa, homosexual behaviour and relationships were not uncommon among peers, both male and female, especially in the years before heterosexual marriage. These kinds of relations were identified with specific terms and were to varying degrees institutionalized.
    What the colonisers imposed on Africa was not homosexuality “but rather intolerance of it — and systems of surveillance and regulation for suppressing it.”")
  • ‘Homosexuality Is Very African As Much As It Is Nigerian.’ – Bisi Alimi speaks  ("Nigeria’s foremost gay activist, Bisi Alimi delivered a lecture two days ago ‘Post-colonial sexual identity and orientation in Nigeria’ at Free University in Berlin, Germany where he said homosexuality is very African as much as it is Nigerian. Below is an extract from his paper:Even though Nigeria has recently seen a more active conversation around the issue of sexuality and gender, these conversations are played out on the premise of sentiments, morality, religion and assumptions rather than on facts. But it is facts and not assumption that can put things into perspective.The argument against homosexuality in Nigeria has been on the premise that it is “un-African” and hence not part of our culture. The other premise used is that since it is not part of our culture, therefore it is “un-biblical”.Since the introduction of modern religion into Africa, there has been confusion between the real African identity vs. enforced identity.This confusion has also found its way into the discourse around cultural identity. The modern understanding of what really is an “African culture” has created a basis for identity misunderstanding not just in Nigeria, but the whole of Africa.
    It was not only religion that played a role in the misconstruction of “African Culture” in the 21st century. With the coming of colonizing, African identities were systematically washed away. Africans were made to believe through western education, politics and religion that anything African is not fit for purpose and therefore demonized in most of the cases.
    However, unlike culture, identity is more on a personal individualist level. Identity could be strongly interwoven with culture.
    I remembered when I first came to the United Kingdom, as a Nigerian. There are certain things in my culture that were not permitted within the English culture. For example, the English could not understand why I have to eat certain food with my fingers.
    However, that lack of cultural understanding has not taken away from me my gender identity as a man nor has it eroded my sexual identity as a gay man.
    Therefore, how then does the argument used by Nigerian religious and political class as regards sexuality and gender fit into the actualization of fundamental human rights for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people?
    Prior to colonization, there are evidences to prove that Africa was never a “heteronomative” society. In “African Sexualities: A Reader”, Sylvia Tamale argues: “African sexuality lies in ancient histories that live through girot, ighyuwas, imbongies, jellies, igawens, guewels”.
    As a young child with deep interest in my culture, I was really fascinated at the eloquences with which histories are passed on from generation to generations in Africa through the power of poetry and oration.
    I remembered in 2005, as part of my research in sexuality and sexual identity, I came across the famous word “Adodi”. This translates as “anus fucker”. The fact that there is a language for sexual behaviour explains that there are indeed people that are considered as such.
    Aside from that, many of African arts (it is important to note here that while Africans were never seen as writers, the one fact that can never be taken away from us is that fact that we are artists. We tell the story of our lives through our sculpture, painting and drawing), have shown the celebration of same sexual relationship before the colonization of the continent.
    African arts has had huge influence on the Greek art and even more so the Roman arts. These arts that not only promote but celebrate sexuality has African culture and identity at its core. From Igbo Ukwu, to Benin and Ife art, Nigerian art works celebrate the existence of same sexual relationship, not as seen as “homosexuality” in modern terms, but as a process of nurturing the acceptance of dualism of sexuality.
    In religious setting, most Nigerian gods actually have dual sexes. Take for example ESU who is neither man nor woman, male or female. Sango, the god of thunder is dressed as transvestites, wearing skirts with earrings on both ears and braided hair. Obatala, though a male god, is subtle, emotional and sexual.
    Even more interesting are the female gods. Oya the goddess of the ocean and Yemoja the mermaid are said to have used their sexuality to conquer men. They were not just seductive, but they exhibited a level of romantic affinity for each other.
    Then the question will be, what happened? Ben Anderson in “The Politics of Homosexuality in Africa” examined the written literature of colonial observation of same sexual relationship in Africa. According to him, examples of famous western sexuality historians like Staples, Davies and Whitten tend to disregard pre-colonial homosexuality in Africa as a forced, accidental ‘phase’ rather than a cognitive choice”.
    Anderson noted that in an article in 1982, Lamb argued, “it is curious by Western standards that homosexuality in Africa is virtually unknown.” He stated further that “Africa’s tradition is rigidly heterosexual”
    As a student of African sexuality and gender identity, I know this is not true. I am not alone in my argument, Dr. C. Otutubikey Izugbara in a paper titled “Patriarchal Ideology and Discourses of Sexuality in Nigeria” explained that “evidence, indeed suggests that, in many cases, homosexual practices, while not always explicitly discussed or identified as such in larger public imaginary were often treated with more tolerance in pre-colonial Nigeria than during and after colonial period”.
    In the book “The Origins and Role of Same Sex Relations in Human Societies”, James Neil buttressed my earlier assertion that in Nigeria homosexuality is rooted in our traditional religious believe. He stated, “members of a spirit possession cult among the Hausa in northern Nigeria practices cross-dressing and take the passive role in homosexual intercourse”.
    Lyn Ossome in her contribution to Queer African Reader edited by Sokari Ekine and Hakima Abbas further dismissed the perceived westernization of homosexuality on the continent of Africa. In a contribution, she argued that the notion that “there is no homosexuality in Africa” is a false claim “often accompanied by the similarity insidious accusation that homosexuality is a ‘western perversion’ imposed upon or adopted by African population”.
    In the book “The Construction of Homosexuality”, Greenburg documented the existence of same sexual relationship in diverse African communities including Nigeria. Also Davis and co. in “The Cross-Cultural Study of Human Sexuality: Annual review of Anthropology” argued that “a wide variety of homosexual behaviour is reported”, they also documented “the use of artificial phalli” between two women as a “compensation for rare heterosexual intercourse”.
    Two notable anthropologists have not only documented behaviours, but they have also shown acceptance even to the level of marriage. First of such is William Naphy in his well-written book “Born to be Gay”. In it, Naphy captured the process of same gender marriage with the medium of paying bride price. He claimed, “it is clear that customs involving woman-woman ‘marriages’ (in which case bride-price and dowries may exchange hands) is extensive”. He dismissed argument against same sex relations in Africa as ‘ludicrous and to suggest that a practice which is so widespread and yet differently constructed is anything but indigenous. Even more so Naphy considered any argument by white Europeans against the exhibition of same sex relations between Africans as racism.
    Another interesting take on beyond sexual behaviour to actual exhibition of relationship is ‘Boy wives ad female husband’. According to Anderson, this book in its research “also effectively demonstrates the existence of same sex love before the arrival of the white settlers”.
    But let us for a second agree with the proposition of Staples that exhibition of same sexual behaviour in pre-colonial Nigeria was a phase. The question we then have to ask is: where did they learn this phase? Who and what influenced the occurrence of this phase among what the western academia will refer as “primitive” people.
    There are possibly two answers to these questions. It is either we argue that Africans are of lesser human and therefore happened to experiment occasional sexuality, or that actually, homosexuality like every other human traits is inherent in all people irrespective of race, gender, or age.
    If you agree with me that homosexuality is very African as much as it is Nigerian, then the argument put forward by both the western and the African opposition to homosexual behaviour is flawed.
    Based on the above explanation and argument, I will say that homosexuality is well rooted in the core of Nigerian society and identity.
    Source:
    Related articles

Section 6: Homophobic Personalities & Groups

Paul Cameron:
Paul Cameron is a disgraced former psychologist who tried to make a name for himself as a scientific researcher. However, his lack of credibility, which resulted from his failure to stick to professional ethics in conducting his infamous "studies" intended to isolate and marginalize and type-cast LGBT people to suit his extremist personal religious prejudices, resulted in his expulsion from the APA and also divorced him from the scientific legitimacy he sought - and still claims for himself to this day. It also won him, for a time, the status of being the "go-to-guy" for far-right fanatic Christianist groups (including US president Reagan believe it or not) seeking apparent scientific bases on which to build their arguments of hatred against LGBT people. Cameron has even argued in favor of the extermination of LGBT people. Many right wing groups who hate and target the Pink Community refer to Cameron’s work even today – including the US based “Family Research Council”, whom today even our local friend Errol Naidoo visits every six months for inspiration, support and funding to service his own "Family Policy Institute" in Cape Town. The FRC meanwhile, has been classified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center - and I think the FPI (perpetuating the hateful material and outlook as the FRC) should also. The actual scientific community refers to Cameron's "studies" as "essentially a waste of paper".
  • 20140226 "'Researcher' Paul Cameron 'Open To' Gay Death Penalty" ("Crackpot doctor Paul Cameron -- possibly the only anti-LGBT "researcher" in the United States more thoroughly discredited than Mark Regnerus -- went on the David Pakman Show today to endorse Uganda's new Anti-Homosexuality Law. Host David Pakman summarizes the interview thusly: Dr. Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute said today that he not only favors the Ugandan anti-gay law which indicates prison as a punishment for homosexuality, he added that he consulted with Ugandan officials on the law, and that he would be open to the idea of the death penalty as a punishment for homosexuality. Cameron refused to answer, however, the logistics of how he would carry out and administer death sentences for LGBT individuals. As I've written previously here at The Bilerico Project, Cameron is a certified wackjob. He was kicked out of both the American Psychological Association and the American Sociological Association for peddling virulently anti-gay junk science; the Southern Poverty Law Center calls him an "infamous anti-gay propagandist" and lists his organization, the Family Research Institute, as a hate group. Cameron is best known for the thoroughly debunked lie about the supposed "health risks" of homosexuality -- you know, the one about how gay men, on average, live only half as long as their heterosexual counterparts. In a 2012 appearance on a Christian talk radio show, Cameron made the wild-eyed claim that "the long term goal of the homosexual movement is to get every little boy to grab his ankles and every little girl to give it a try." Last year, the Russian government flew him in to spread his anti-LGBT propaganda at a Duma roundtable on "family values." And now Paul Cameron is "open to the idea" of killing gay people. He may be a deranged wingnut, but he's also evil. Pakman's interview with Cameron is after the jump. ")
  • Sourcewatch article ("Paul Cameron, the chairman of the Family Research Institute, is a discredited Psychologist who has been kicked out of the American Psychological Association and condemed by the Nebraska Psychological Association and the American Socialogical Association. He has campaigned against the civil rights of homosexuals based on misrepresentations of science. In the past, he has advocated facial tattoes for AIDS victims and the castration, deportation to a former leper colony, and even extermination of homosexuals.")
  • Dr. Paul Cameron and the Family Research Institute ("Paul Cameron is both the best known, and the least credible, of the various psychologists, medical doctors, and associated professionals which actively collaborate with the Religious Right, and attempt to lend a veneer of scientific respectability to the Religious Right's anti-gay propaganda." "Background and general information, Examples of Cameron's Propaganda, Cameron's Propaganda in Action")
  • Paul Cameron (University of California - "Psychologist Paul Cameron has used his own studies to claim that homosexuals threaten public health, social order, and the well-being of children. His conclusions are generally at odds with other published research, and objective indices show that his work has had no apparent impact on scientific research on sexual orientation. Although Cameron has been criticized in the popular press, extensive scientific critiques of his group's research have not been widely available. Those that have been published have been brief or appeared in obscure journals. This inattention by the scientific community is perhaps not surprising, given the poor quality of the Cameron group's data and the low prestige of the journals in which they have published. Most scientists have simply ignored the Cameron studies. Lacking training in research methods and statistics, however, nonscientists may not be equipped to subject the Cameron group's results to the rigorous scrutiny that they warrant. Consequently, they may mistakenly assume that the Cameron group's papers are basically sound because they included lengthy bibliographies, reported many statistics, and were published in academic journals. Some members of the lay public may not understand that the mere presence of bibliographic references does not guarantee an assertion's accuracy or validity, that statistics can easily be generated from faulty data, and that academic journals vary widely in their quality and their criteria for accepting papers for publication.")
  • Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation (University of California -  "One individual has claimed to have data that prove homosexuals to be child molesters at a higher rate than heterosexuals. That person isPaul Cameron. As detailed elsewhere on this site, Cameron's survey data are subject to so many methodological flaws as to be virtually meaningless. Even so, his assertions are sometimes quoted by antigay organizations in their attempts to link homosexuality with child sexual abuse. In a 1985 article published in Psychological Reports, Cameron purported to review published data to answer the question, "Do those who commit homosexual acts disproportionately incorporate children into their sexual practices?" (p. 1227). He concluded that "at least one-third of the sexual attacks upon youth are homosexual" (p. 1228) and that "those who are bi- to homosexual are proportionately much more apt to molest youth" than are heterosexuals (p. 1231).Cameron's claims hinge on the fallacious assumption that all male-male molestations are committed by homosexuals. Moreover, a careful reading of Cameron's paper reveals several false statements about the literature he claimed to have reviewed.")
  • Paul Cameron (Wikipedia - "Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist and sex researcher. While employed at various institutions including the University of Nebraska he conducted research on passive smoking, but he is best known today for his claims about homosexuality. After a successful 1982 campaign against a gay rights proposal in Lincoln, Nebraska, he established the Institute for the Scientific Investigation of Sexuality (ISIS), now known as the Family Research Institute (FRI). As FRI's chairman, Cameron has written papers associating homosexuality with perpetration of child sexual abuse and reduced life expectancy. In 1983, the American Psychological Association expelled Cameron for non-cooperation with an ethics investigation. Position statements issued by the American Sociological Association, Canadian Psychological Association and the Nebraska Psychological Association have accused Cameron of misrepresenting social science research.[1]")
  • Paul Cameron’s World ("When most social scientists speak of homosexuality, they speak of sexual orientation and attractions with the understand that homosexuality isn’t a choice. This is true when it’s Focus on the Family, NARTH, and Exodus explaining homosexuality through the lens of modified Freudian theories. This is also true when gay-affirming theorists promote a biological premise for homosexuality. The two sides rarely agree on anything, but at least they generally agree on this: Homosexuality is not a choice. This is nonsense as far as Cameron is concerned. Like most anti-gay activists, he dismisses outright the possibility that there might be a biological component to homosexuality. But unlike other anti-gay activists, he publicly scolds Dr. James Dobson and the entire anti-gay movement for promoting “the hocus-pocus of Freudian thought.” It turns out that in Cameron’s world there are only three causes of homosexuality: In FRI’s analysis, most of those who engage in homosexuality adopt these sexual activities and rebellious attitudes as a result of three kinds of experiences:
    1) direct recruitment to homosexuality by seduction or molestation (particularly of the underage);
    2) indirect recruitment via cultural institutions (e.g., the schools, media, churches) preaching that ‘homosexuality is another way to fulfillment and personal satisfaction;’ and
    3) being around homosexuals as friends, acquaintances, or family members.
    We would argue that these same mechanisms also account for most of those who take up smoking, drug abuse, or other common ‘bad habits.’     In Cameron’s world, homosexuality is not an orientation. It’s strictly about pleasure, a choice of entertainment")
  • The Southern Poverty Law Center (Articles referring to, or about, Paul Cameron and his propaganda machine.)
  • Paul Cameron Conquers Cambridge ("Cambridge University Press has published Paul Cameron’s “Children of Homosexuals And Transsexuals More Apt To Be Homosexual” in the May 2006 issue of the Journal of Biosocial Science. Will this give him the “stamp of approval” he has longed for?" "It’s a terrible pity that the editors and reviewers of the Journal of Biosocial Science (JBS), who presumably posses far better credentials than I, have not been able to recognize blatant propaganda when they see it. This is all the more surprising given the clue that is not so well hidden in the very first sentences of the article: ‘Common sense’ holds that homosexuality is ‘contagious’ (Levitt & Klassen, 1974). Thus Rees & Ushill [sic – ed.] (1956) state ‘it is vain to blind oneself to the fact that the problem of male homosexuality is in essence the problem of the corruption of youth by itself and by its elders. It is the problem of the creation by means of such corruption of new addicts ready to corrupt a still further generation of young men and boys in the future’ (p.29).' Homosexuality is a contagion, a corruption, and an addiction. With that opening volley, Paul Cameron begins his latest article, “Children of Homosexuals And Transsexuals More Apt To Be Homosexual,” which appeared in the May 2006 edition of the Journal of Biosocial Science,1 an imprint of Cambridge University Press.")
  • Paul Cameron Posts Archive (Right Wing Watch.org) 
  • American Family Association promotes debunked quack scientist ("I wrote the other day about how WorldNetDaily had written about a new “study” by an anti-gay quack scientist who was thrown out of the scientific profession twenty years ago. This quack in question is Paul Cameron, the guy who is largely responsible for the “gays molest children” myth and created the “average age of death for gay men is 41″ (it’s not) myth as well." " “At the 1985 Conservative Political Action Conference, Cameron announced to the attendees, ‘Unless we get medically lucky, in three or four years, one of the options discussed will be the extermination of homosexuals.’ According to an interview with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Cameron was recommending the extermination option as early as 1983.” – Mark E. Pietrzyk, News-Telegraph, March 10, 1995. “At least twice Cameron has advocated the tattooing of AIDS patients on the face, so that people would know when they were meeting with an infected person. The penalty for trying to hide the tattoo would be banishment to the Hawaiian island of Molokai, a former leper colony. In the event that a vaccine were developed to prevent AIDS, Cameron has proposed that homosexuals be castrated to prevent them from ‘cheating’ on nature.” – Mark E. Pietrzyk, News-Telegraph, March 10, 1995." "This is extremely disturbing. Not just because Cameron’s fake science was debunked 20 years ago, but because there’s now a clear pattern of the religious right and far-right news outlets trying to rehabilitate this man. I cannot understate how crazy this guy is. He was SO discredited that the religious right stopped citing him altogether about 5 years ago. And now they’re trying to bring him back. To compare this guy to Josef Mengele would not be a stretch. We are talking nutjob, vicious, nasty, bigoted, lying nutjob. And the American Family Association tries to rehabilitate him.")
  • Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill (Wikipedia - "American evangelicals such as Scott Lively and California pastor Rick Warren have a history of involvement in Uganda where they focus their missionary work. As a result, Warren and others have become influential in the shaping of public policy in Uganda, Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, Kenya.[17] Stephen Langa, the March 2009 workshop organiser, specifically cited an unlicensed conversion therapist named Richard A. Cohen, who states in Coming out Straight, that was given to Langa and other prominent Ugandans, 'Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.' These statements were based on faulty studies performed by Paul Cameron, who has been expelled from the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association, and Cohen confirmed their weaknesses, stating that when the book will be reprinted, these statistics will be removed.[40][41][42]") 
Ronald Reagan:
  • The Genocidal Legacy Of Ronald Reagan ("30 years ago today, on June 5, 1981, that the Center for Disease Control first published a report on the mysterious epidemic that we have now come to know as AIDS. And while Republicans and the Tea Party proudly wallow in the revisionist life history of Ronald Reagan let us, the friends, the family, and the also the victims of this man's bigotry and homophobia remember the truth and continue to shout it to high heaven so it is never forgotten of the genocidal part that Reagan played that killed almost an entire generation of gay men." "Ronald Reagen deliberately ignored one of the deadliest diseases in history of the world which is now affecting over 70 million people around the globe all in the name of God, bigotry and homophobia." "In 1981 with the emergence of the AIDS epidemic also came the emergence of the Christian Right, who which Reagen ushered into power and disgustingly seized the moment as a sign of God's abhorrence for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Reagan, who saw the first signs of the AIDS epidemic in 1981, his first year in office, . said "maybe the Lord brought down the plague because illicit sex is against the Ten Commandments." "AIDS research was chronically under-funded. When doctors at the Centers for Disease Control and the National Institutes of Health asked for more funding for their work on AIDS, they were routinely denied it."")
"Dr" James Dobson:
  • Know your right wing speakers ("...one of Dobson’s favorite targets is the infamous “gay agenda.” According to Dobson’s 2004 book Marriage Under Fire, the homosexual agenda aims to “implement a master plan that has as its centerpiece the utter destruction of the family.” What’s in this “master plan”? Dobson says the evil scheme includes “overturning laws prohibiting pedophilia [and the] indoctrination of children and future generations through public education,” among other things. Unsurprisingly, Dobson vehemently opposes marriage equality, calling it a slippery slope leading to polygamy, bestiality, and general mayhem. If we permit marriage equality, he says, “How about group marriage? Or marriage between daddies and little girls? Or marriage between a man and his donkey?”")
  • Right Wing Watch ("Focus on the Family founder and chairman James Dobson is perhaps the most influential right-wing Christian leader in the country, with a huge and loyal following that he can reach easily through an impressive media empire." "FOF is a strong supporter of the Defense of Marriage Act; since the decision of Massachusetts to recognize same-sex unions, FOF closely monitors the status of same-sex marriage prevention measures being enacted in each state across the country." "FOF is anti-choice, anti-gay, and against sex education curricula that are not strictly abstinence-only." "FOF works against "special rights" for homosexuals and hate crime legislation, and supports "reparative therapy" for homosexuality, which has been widely discredited and rejected by the vast majority of doctors and physicians. FOF sponsors "Love Won Out," conferences held around the U.S. that claim to prove that "homosexuality is preventable and treatable," where many of the speakers are "ex-gays." "Love Won Out" is from the title of a book by John Paulk, an "ex-gay" who is the host of the conferences and is an employee of Focus on the Family. For those ex-gays who cannot change, FOF considers sexual celibacy another option. FOF regularly asserts the idea that there is a "homosexual agenda" and associates homosexuals with pedophilia and recruitment of children as sex partners.")
  • Wikipedia - James Dobson ("Dobson believes that God defines marriage as between one man and one woman only and describes this as the central stabilizing institution of society. Dobson believes that any sexual activity outside of such a union — including homosexuality — cannot be approved by God. In Dobson's view, homosexuality is a choice that is made through influences in a child's environment rather than an inborn trait. He states that homosexual behavior, specifically "unwanted same-sex attraction", has been and can be "overcome" through understanding developmental models for homosexuality and choosing to heal the complex developmental issues which led to same-sex attraction.[39][56]" "Dobson strongly opposes the movement to legitimize same-sex relationships." "Sociologist Judith Stacey criticized Dobson for claiming that sociological studies show that gay couples do not make good parents. She stated that Dobson's claim "is a direct misrepresentation of my research."[60] In response to Dobson's claim that "there have been more than ten thousand studies that have showed that children do best when they are raised with a mother and a father who are committed to each other," Stacey replied that "[a]ll of those studies that Dobson is referring to are studies that did not include gay or lesbian parents as part of the research base."[61]Dobson objected to a bill expanding the prohibition of sexual orientation-based discrimination in the areas of "public accommodation, housing practices, family planning services and twenty other areas." He said that, were such a bill passed, public businesses could no longer separate locker rooms and bathrooms by gender, which he claimed would lead to a situation where, "every woman and little girl will have to fear that a predator, bisexual, cross-dresser or even a homosexual or heterosexual male might walk in and relieve himself in their presence."[62][63]")
  • 20090511 -  Dobson parts ways with radio show, Focus on the Family ("Critics portray Dobson as part of an older generation of evangelical leaders whose influence is waning, and point to younger leaders who are taking up the environment and poverty as political causes. Daly, 48, who has taken on a higher profile as Dobson has receded from the public stage, shares Dobson's beliefs about culture wars issues, such as abortion and gay marriage, but hasn't been as political. Daly complimented Obama for his efforts to promote responsible fatherhood but has said he disagrees with Obama's policies on most other issues.")
  • 20061125 - James Dobson Identifies Cause of Homosexuality ("Dr. James Dobson, leading light of the Christian right, says people are neither born gay nor choose to be gay.  They’re just mama’s boys.")
Scott Lively:
Surprisingly little-known in South Africa, considering the amount of time this bigot has been active in sub-Saharan Africa, Scott Lively is today responsible for the dramatic increase in homophobic hysteria and anti-lgbt violence in various places around the world, including principally, Uganda, Russia and Belarus. Uganda's pink community was the first to bring charges of crimes against humanity against this man, and the world now waits with bated breath to see what will happen.
  • 20140226 - "US HATE PASTOR’S LIES BEHIND UGANDAN GAY BILL" ("The Guardian has highlighted the appalling influence of American evangelists on anti-gay laws in Uganda. The newspaper’s website has posted an excerpt from Roger Ross Williams’ documentary God Loves Uganda, which depicts one of the worst offenders, Scott Lively in action. It features undercover video taken by Boston-based Anglican priest, Kapya Kaoma, which shows Lively holding a workshop in Uganda in which he peddled outrageous lies about LGBT people. According to Kaoma, the pastor told the audience that gay people have taken over the UN and America, that they are recruiting children in Uganda and are out to destroy society. It was these kinds of workshops, says Kaoma, that fuelled the belief among legislators that the country’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill – signed into law on Monday – was desperately needed. It’s been previously claimed that thousands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and politicians, have attended Lively’s talks during his visits to Uganda. “American evangelists are all powerful in Uganda and that power is used to persecute those who are trying to question them… religion is being used to demonise and in fact kill”, Kaoma claims in the clip. He adds that the global war against homosexuality waged by American evangelists has “nothing to do to with the Christian gospel but American culture wars. That is what is driving their activities across the world.” Lively, who believes that Hitler and other Nazi leaders were gay and their homosexuality led to World War II, is facing charges in the US of “crimes against humanity” because of his role in the formulation of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. In September last year, Lively said that he’s proud to have influenced anti-gay movements in both Russia and Uganda. Lively heads up the Abiding Truth Ministries, a church opposing “the homosexual agenda”. He has travelled around the world promoting his hateful crusade against what he calls the “social cancer” of homosexuality. His crackpot theories are often accepted as legitimate by political and religious leaders. Lively, however, has dismissed as “a leap” claims that his actions and words have led to violence and the death of gay people in the countries in which he’s peddled his anti-gay views. Watch an alternative excerpt from God Loves Uganda, below.")
  • 20130815 - Truth Wins Out Pleased That Crimes Against Humanity Case Against Scott Lively Will Proceed (The lawsuit, filed by the Center For Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), accuses Lively of inciting persecution against LGBT people through his advocacy work in Uganda, leading to increased violence and directly inspiring the now infamous “Kill The Gays” bill. Lively, for his part, claims that the lawsuit “boils down to nothing more than an attempt to define my Biblical views against homosexuality as a crime.”)
  • Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill (Wikipedia - "American evangelicals such as Scott Lively and California pastor Rick Warren have a history of involvement in Uganda where they focus their missionary work. As a result, Warren and others have become influential in the shaping of public policy in Uganda, Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, Kenya.[17] Stephen Langa, the March 2009 workshop organiser, specifically cited an unlicensed conversion therapist named Richard A. Cohen, who states in Coming out Straight, that was given to Langa and other prominent Ugandans, 'Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.' These statements were based on faulty studies performed by Paul Cameron, who has been expelled from the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association, and Cohen confirmed their weaknesses, stating that when the book will be reprinted, these statistics will be removed.[40][41][42]")
  • Redeeming the Rainbow: A Christian Response to the 'Gay' Agenda ("Powerful new on-line book by Dr. Scott Lively on defeating the "gay" agenda. BOOK POSTED BELOW. This is possibly the most powerful book on confronting the homosexual agenda! For the past ten years, while lecturing and consulting on pro-family strategies in more than 30 countries, Dr. Lively has been writing the world's first textbook that teaches pro-family advocates how to defeat the homosexual agenda and reestablish family-centered culture in their respective nations from a Christian perspective.")
  • 2002 - The Pink Swastika ("The Pink Swastika is a thoroughly researched, eminently readable, demolition of the "gay" myth, symbolized by the pink triangle, that the Nazis were anti-homosexual." This book written by Scott Lively attempts to rewrite history by ignoring huge swathes of historical facts in order to try and sell the notion that Hitler, Goering and other high-placed Nazis were closet gays - and fails to take into account the vicious persecution meted out to hundreds of thousands if not millions of LGBT people under Nazi dominion, not to mention the various internal purges of gay men in the Nazi party, chiefly of which was the infamous "Night of the Long Knives". Only people who know nothing about history and don't bother to research for themselves will fall for this rubbish.)
Rick Warren:
Rick Warren,  author of "The Purpose Driven Life" is a pastor at Saddleback Church which he founded in Lake Forest in 1980. 
  • "Our Pastor, Rick Warren" ("Pastor Rick Warren was born in San Jose, California. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Theological Seminary, and Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary. Pastor Warren founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest in 1980 with one other family. Today, it is one of America’s most influential churches, with approximately 20,000 people attending the weekend services. Saddleback offers more than 200 community ministries and support groups for parents, families, children, couples, prisoners, addicts, people living with HIV/AIDS, depression, MS, Parkinson’s, autism, and many others. He is the author of The Purpose Driven Life, the bestselling hardback in American history, with over 30 million copies sold worldwide. He built the Purpose Driven Network, a global alliance of pastors from 162 countries and hundreds of denominations who have been trained to be purpose driven churches. He also founded Pastors.com – an online interactive community that provides sermons, forums, and other practical resources for pastors – including archives of a bi-weekly newsletter that is sent to more than 100,000 pastors and ministry leaders. Pastor Warren and his wife Kay are passionate about global missions and what he calls “attacking the five global giants” of poverty, disease, spiritual emptiness, self-serving leadership, and illiteracy. His solution – The Peace Plan – is a massive effort to mobilize Christians around the world into an outreach effort to attack these five global giants of today by promoting reconciliation, equipping servant leaders, assisting the poor, caring for the sick, and educating the next generation.")
  • Rick Warren (Public Eye.org - "Warren has gained notoriety as an advocate of encouraging Christian religious leaders and believers to adhere to his Purpose Driven theology. “Purpose driven” refers to the attempt to balance the five “purposes” of worship-- fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism-- in followers’ churches and personal lives." "Max Blumenthal has noted that the details of Warren’s activities in this area have not been explored and Warren himself has not opted to shed much light on the matter. However, it does appear that Warren has formed alliances with African religious leaders such as Henry Orombi and Martin Ssempa of Uganda and Peter Akinola of Nigeria, some of whom have forfeited scientifically viable solutions to the AIDS epidemic in favor of abstinence only education. In particular is pastor Martin Ssempa, who is also a close friend of Uganda’s First Lady and member of Parliament, Janet Museveni. Ssempa has put on such displays as public condom burnings and the publishing of the names of alleged homosexuals in local newspapers. He is also a key advocate for stricter punishments for gays and their supporters such as imprisonment. After global criticism of the 2009 Anti Homosexuality Bill in Uganda began circulating, Warren issued a statement separating himself from Ssempa.")
  • Rick Warren *directly* uses Hitler Youth, Cultural Revolution as models for Joel's Army ("...his extensive connections to groups and persons connected to the "New Apostolic Reformation" aka "Joel's Army", a particularly virulent "Christian Nationalist" movement (which had its initial origins in neopentecostal dominionist churches but has since spread via "cuckoo" cell-churches to even some mainstream denominations). In particular, Rick Warren is not only well documented to be a dominionist with links to Joel's Army promoters in the Assemblies of God, but has been mentored from his beginnings in the ministry by no less than C. Peter Wagner--"Mr. Joel's Army" himself. Recent research by members of the New Apostolic Reformation Research Team have found, however, possibly one of the most disturbing examples of this yet--where Rick Warren literallypromotes the Hitlerjugend and the Cultural Reformation as explicit models for steeplejacking entire nations.")
  • 20091210 - Follow-up: A Purpose-Driven Genocide (about Warren finally speaking out against the Kill the Gays Bill - "My one beef is that, in his words, since he didn’t “rush to make a statement,” Warren said he was being characterized as supporting the bill. In FACT, the Uganda bill was previewed 9 months ago, has been in the news for at least 4 months, and the full-text has been available for 2 months. There’s a difference between “not rushing” and sitting on the sidelines waiting for it to blow over or seizing a media-savvy moment to speak up. I speak with an air of judgment, I admit, but people who can speak have a responsibility to do so.")
  • 20091207 - Rick Warren's Dissertation Advisor Leads Network Promoting Uganda Anti-Gay Bill ("In 2008 Rick Warren declared that, following Rwanda, Uganda was the world's second official "Purpose Driven" nation. Uganda is currently in the news because of a bill before the Ugandan legislature that would establish the death penalty for homosexual acts and, critics charge, might even require the execution of HIV-positive Ugandan citizens. Some observers have wondered if Purpose Driven Life author and mega-evangelist Rick Warren has had a role in the globally controversial bill, especially because of Warren's close association with Ugandan anti-gay activist Martin Ssempa and, more broadly, because Warren has refused to denounce the anti-gay bill." [which he did later in 2009, under public pressure to do so.] "To little notice, a charismatic network overseen by Warren's doctoral dissertation advisor, C. Peter Wagner, has played a major role in politically organizing and inspiring the Ugandan legislators who have spearheaded the anti-gay bill." "Both Wagner and Warren have designed elaborate infrastructures for blurring the lines between church and state. Wagner describes his movement as the “New Apostolic Reformation” and openly espouses his goals of reorganizing and mobilizing the church to take Christian “dominion” over government and society." [See "Dominionism"] "Warren’s movement is described as a “second reformation” in the form of his P.E.A.C.E. plan, but his goals of rapid “expansion of the kingdom” in Uganda and elsewhere closely parallel those of Wagner's. Wagner is the Convening Apostle in a movement of charismatic "relational networks" which has extended its reach from the United States to Uganda, and worldwide. Under its umbrella of authority are virulently anti-gay apostles in the United States and Uganda")
  • Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill (Wikipedia - "American evangelicals such as Scott Lively and California pastor Rick Warren have a history of involvement in Uganda where they focus their missionary work. As a result, Warren and others have become influential in the shaping of public policy in Uganda, Nigeria and, to a lesser extent, Kenya.[17] Stephen Langa, the March 2009 workshop organiser, specifically cited an unlicensed conversion therapist named Richard A. Cohen, who states in Coming out Straight, that was given to Langa and other prominent Ugandans, 'Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; 40 percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.' These statements were based on faulty studies performed by Paul Cameron, who has been expelled from the American Psychological Association, the Canadian Psychological Association, and the American Sociological Association, and Cohen confirmed their weaknesses, stating that when the book will be reprinted, these statistics will be removed.[40][41][42]")
  • 20081218 - Rick Warren Compares Gay Marriage to Incest, Pedophilia ("You don’t have to dig too deep to find bigoted statements by Rick Warren, the homophobe who is Obama’s new BFF. Just last week in a video interview, Warren compared gay marriage to incest and pedophilia: "RICK WARREN: But the issue to me is, I’m not opposed to that as much as I’m opposed to the redefinition of a 5,000-year definition of marriage. I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage. STEVEN WALDMAN: Do you think, though, that they are equivalent to having gays getting married? RICK WARREN: Oh I do." …The favored form of marriage in the Middle East 5,000 years ago was polygamy. Abraham, the father of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, was a polygamist, as were Jacob and the kings David and Solomon. Until the early 19th century, marriage was predominantly a business arrangement between male heads of households.") 
Fred Phelps (Westboro Baptist Church):
  • Extremism in America - Westboro Baptist Church ("The Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is a small virulently homophobic, anti-Semitic hate group that regularly stages protests around the country, often several times a week. The group pickets institutions and individuals they think support homosexuality or otherwise subvert what they believe is God’s law. Incorporated in 1967 as a not-for-profit organization, WBC considers itself an “Old School (or Primitive)” Baptist Church. WBC’s leader is Fred Phelps and several of his children and dozens of his grandchildren appear to constitute the majority of the group’s members. WBC has no official affiliation with mainstream Baptist organizations. Other WBC targets include schools the group deems to be accepting of homosexuality; Catholic, Lutheran, and other Christian denominations that WBC feels are heretical; and funerals for people murdered or killed in accidents like plane crashes and for American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, a tactic the group started in 2005. Though the group's specific focus may shift over time, they believe that nearly all Americans and American institutions are “sinful,” so nearly any individual or organization can be targeted. In fact, WBC members say that “God’s hatred is one of His holy attributes” and that their picketing is a form of preaching to a “doomed” country unable to hear their message in any other way.")
  • God Hates Fags.com (WBC's own site - "Since 1955, WBC has taken forth the precious from the vile, and so is as the mouth of God (Jer. 15:19). In 1991, WBC began conducting peaceful demonstrations opposing the fag lifestyle of soul-damning, nation-destroying filth. In response, america bombed WBC, sued WBC, prosecuted WBC, burned WBC. God is now america's enemy: 6750 dead soldiers; $16.74 trillion+ national debt. "Arise, O LORD, in thine anger...because of the rage of mine enemies..." (Ps 7:6)america crossed the line on June 26, 2003, when SCOTUS ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that we must respect sodomy. SCOTUS sealed your doom on June 26, 2013, with fag marriage. WBC's gospel message is your last hope. More about WBC.")
  • 20130719 - Top five times Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church got owned ("It's no surprise that Westboro Baptist Church is up to its usual well-publicized and well-hated shenanigans, but members of the "God Hates F*gs!" gang have gone and done it now -- they pissed off a group of New York City Satanists (a group you really don't wanna piss off) by threatening to picket the funerals of Boston Marathon bombing victims. So last weekend the enraged Satanists decided to do Fred Phelps's dead mother a solid, and ceremoniously turned her into a homosexual. That put the score at Satanists 1, WBC 0. But this is far from the first time that the church has been completely owned, and hopefully it won't be the last.") 
"Dr" Peter Hammond (the Paintball Pastor):
This is the founder and front man of the Christian Action Network movement in South Africa, although it's gnarled claws extend deep into sub-Saharan Africa under the guise of "church planting" and "missionary work", often closely accompanied by rumors of gun-smuggling, mercenary activity and incitement to persecution and harm of other religious groups (Islam, Pagan religions) and cultural groups (LGBT) and in fact, ANY other group which does not fit with his conservative and ultra-right extremist views of Christianity, even Christian moderates. He has been in the news for decades, fronting his various groups and speaking out claiming to represent Christians while attacking the fundamental humanity of others in the name of his own religious views with lies, false information and fraudulent "scientific studies" - and enlisting the support of similar hate groups in the USA.
  • Who is Dr Peter Hammond? (Answers.com - "It is very difficult to get an answer to this. He is reputed to have a doctorate in missiology but in every such statement, it after this is stated, "was granted an HONORARY doctorate in missiology".I cannot find any record of such a doctorate in any University of any type. He has written many politically and religiously far right publications. Such make the religious right of the US, quite "leftist comparison. His themes show that calvinism, to be almost more relevant than the bible itself, propounding that God himself chose selected persons through history to be damned to hell. Not by their actions, but by Gods will. In this he debunks Christian belief that persons can choose by responding who they will serve. If God selected whom he would have believe, then why does Hammond rail against Catholicism, because despite catholicism being a heresy as he believes, all whom God has chosen, are saved anyway. He condemns arminianism which shows hat mankind does indeed have a choice.")
  • 20130725 - 20 years later St James horror endures ("When Kenilworth resident Peter Hammond arrived at the church 20 minutes after the attack he ran through the double doors, the same the attackers had burst in from. All he saw were bodies scattered on the ground and paramedics working on the injured. Hammond saw Gerhard Harker’s dead body: “He had leapt on a hand grenade and someone had put a jacket over him.” There was a leather Bible lying in a pool of blood, pews were at crazy angles, there were holes in the ceiling, and people were crying. He said the incident shocked him: “In the days following I would just break down because these were people we knew.”")
  • 20111028 - ‘Christian Action’ and the Halloween conspiracy (Via Penton Pagan Magazine: "When you lie and knowingly repeat the lie about followers of another religion, just to promote your own religious agenda, you make a mockery of everything your religion stands for. In their attempt to promote 31 October as Reformation Day in honour of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, South African based evangelical ministry ‘Christian Action‘ and its spokespersons Dr Peter Hammond (Director of the Christian Action Network and The Reformation Society, with ties to Frontline Fellowship USA), J. Kerby Anderson and Taryn Hodgson (Africa Christian Action National Coordinator) have waged an annual smear campaign against the commercial and religious celebration of Halloween and ‘paganism’ in general. [0]Their campaign is based on prejudicial and provable lies and as avid purveyors of these lies, they are guilty of bearing false witness. [1] Legally speaking, a false witness is a person who deliberately gives false testimony, a perjurer, liar, and a prevaricator – a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly. [2]")
  • 20100210 - The Politics of Email: You Send it, You Own it ("Sent to me by an old chum, “Islam Explained in Layman Terms” told me about the fundamental viciousness of the Muslim religion. Originally written by one Dr. Peter Hammond, it contained a neat rundown on the bad things that happen to countries when their percentage of Muslims increases. For example, America has minimal civic trouble because Muslims represent a mere .6% of the population, but Bosnia has a boatload of unrest because its Muslim population hovers around 40%. The presentation appeared very scholarly and seemed to be the product of a lot of painstaking research. But hold on a minute. Bosnia? Trouble with Muslims…in Bosnia? Wasn’t that where Christian Serbs and Croats decimated their Muslim neighbors in the 80s and 90s with a sustained, official campaign of rape, slaughter and internment in concentration camps? So Hammond was telling me that the skin-and-bone Muslims I saw pleading behind barbed wire back then are now villains? Time to Google this Dr. Hammond guy.The very first hit on Hammond was his organization, Frontline Fellowship, a group devoted to Christian proselytism in Africa. Its logo, a sword and bible over a silhouette of the continent of Africa. The site also features Hammond’s views on a smorgasbord of subjects, including a lengthy defense of the Crusades and his equally remarkable assertion that “there was no apartheid in Rhodesia.” From the decadence of popes throughout history, to treatises on the “homosexual agenda” and home schooling, Hammond leaves little doubt about his religious and political views." "To believe anything about Islam written by a Crusades apologist with an itchy paintball trigger-finger makes about as much sense as accepting at face value a Michelle Obama exposé published by an outfit that calls itself conservative. Though both reports might have been objective and accurate, the chance of them being so was extremely low. Yet both of these e-frauds and countless others continue to be circulated by individuals who either/and:  1) Believe everything they find in their in-boxes 2) Believe anything authored by a person with ‘Dr.’ in front of his or her name 3) Believe anything that supports their political views, and want you to believe it too. They seem to forget that their return email addresses, names, and added ‘kinda makes you think’ messages are their own personal endorsements of lies.  Circulating these things without checking them out—especially when it’s so incredibly easy to do—undermines their reputations as straight shooters.")
  • 20070907 - Paintball Gun Spree By Pastor Targeted Halloween Kids ("Controversial pro gun campaigner and ardent Christian evangelist Peter Hammond stated that he was charged with assault after organizing an anti-Halloween paintball gun shooting spree. Currently serving as the director of the Cape Town based Frontline Fellowship, a "missionary outreach" organization, Hammond appeared in the Goodwood Magistrate's court to face the charges. "It was not intentional and not malicious," said Hammond; an ardent opponent of South Africa's gun control laws. In an interview, Hammond said that his wife and four children including himself, do not approve of Halloween. The Hammond family believes that Halloween is an "occult holiday celebrating human sacrifice, witches and goblins". Hammond went on further to state that his children asked him to do a "counter Halloween", and he agreed and devised a plan to drive the children around the neighborhood to fire paintballs at trick or treating kids on Halloween. "It was meant to be a joke: nobody was meant to get hurt," Hammond said. "I laid down a few ground rules: we were just going for teenagers, no kids." "Hammond is described on the Fellowship website as a missionary who has pioneered evangelistic outreaches in war zones of Mozambique, Angola and Sudan. He has also been accused of gun- running for rebels in Sudan, and of assisting the Renamo movement when it was fighting a South African-backed civil war against Mozambique's Frelimo government in the apartheid years. Hammond is known for his opposition to homosexuality, pornography, communism, militant Islam, and to what he says is "humanism" in state schools.")
  • 2006 - "Protesting perversion in parliament" (CAN website - "The ANC has been railroading through Parliament the legalisation of homosexual “marriages” in South Africa. The betrayal of this country into the hands of Marxist mass murderers has led to the paganisation of this once strongly Christian nation. Once babies were protected from abortion, all foul language, sex scenes and blasphemy were censored out of Hollywood films before they could be shown in our country, Sundays were honoured with no commercial activity or cinemas open, in honour of the Lord’s Day, schools started with Bible reading, hymn singing and prayer in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, today, we have legalised gambling, legalised prostitution, legalised abortion, and now even legalised homosexual“marriages.”The National Co-ordinator of the Christian Action Network, Taryn Hodgson, went to Parliament to present a written and oral submission at the public hearings concerning this Bill. Later, on 23 November, I joined Taryn to present the Christian Action Network’s objections to the Civil Unions Bill at the Select Committee on Social Services of the National Council of Provinces (the old Senate) at Parliament." - A copy of their submission to Parliament counter marriage equality is visible here signed "Yours Sincerely, Taryn Hodgson National Co-ordinator CharI van Wyk Executive Member")
  • 20060427 - 'Paintball' pastor's case to be evaluated ("The assault case against Pinelands pastor Peter Hammond has been referred to the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide if it should be pursued." "Magistrate Edward Wessels postponed the hearing to August 2")
  • 20060323 - Case against 'paintball pastor' postponed ("The case against Pinelands pastor Peter Hammond, accused of a paintball shooting spree with his son last Halloween, has been postponed for a month, when he will be asked to plead. The 45-year-old evangelist, director of the Cape Town Frontline Fellowship and pro-gun campaigner, briefly appeared in the Goodwood magistrate's court on Wednesday on a charge of assault. His 11-year-old son started out as his co-accused, but on a previous appearance the charge against him was dropped. Since the minor would no longer join the proceedings, the case was transferred to a different courtroom. The father of four allegedly took his children on a paintball shooting spree on Halloween night on October 31, firing at trick-or-treaters. Hammond was told by magistrate Edward Wessels to return to court on April 26.")
  • 20051203 - Paintball spree was anti-occult, says pastor- ExChristian.Net ... ("He said last night that he had not touched the gun that day, and that it was accidentally discharged by his 10-year-old son. "It was not intentional and not malicious," said Hammond, who is a vociferous opponent of South Africa's gun control laws." - Not intentional? Not malicious? A paintball gun can fire a semi-solid projectile at speeds of up to 450 feet per second - and even at competition speeds of 300 fps this can cause severe bruising and even the loss of teeth - or an eye. Their targets were NOT wearing safety gear or expecting to be shot with paintball guns. What did he think was going to happen? He was the only adult on the scene, the parent of the child who was armed with the weapon, firing it at children (NOT teenagers) at close range while under his direction and authority - and so it is the kid's fault?)
  • 20051202 - ("Boys need to play with toy weapons to learn how to be "aggressive and adventurous", according to Lenora Hammond, wife of paintball-evangelist Peter Hammond. "Men who follow Jesus Christ the dragon-slayer, must themselves become lesser dragon-slayers. And this is why it is absolutely essential for boys to play with wooden swords and plastic guns," she writes in an article on Hammond's Frontline Fellowship website www.frontline.org.za. A prominent Christian right-winger and pro-gun lobbyist, Hammond faces charges of assault for allegedly taking his two young sons out to shoot trick-or-treating children with paintball and BB guns in Cape Town suburbs on Halloween. In the article, Lenora Hammond asks why boys "gravitate to weaponry", and explains that in terms of "true and Biblical masculinity", man was created to exercise dominion on the earth. "Right from an early age, boys want to conquer and subdue, even if the terrain is only the backyard. They are in training after all, and should be encouraged to become men who exercise dominion. "They should be learning to be lords in the earth, and should be adventurous and visionary. This is difficult to do when they are only surrounded by videos and computers." ""The Christian faith is in no way pacifistic. The peace that will be ushered in by our great Prince will be a peace purchased with blood. "As our Lord sacrificed Himself in this war, so must His followers learn to do. Our boys must therefore learn to be strong, sacrificial, courageous and good.... "These future men need to learn how to be aggressive and adventurous, they are learning to be lords of the earth... "We want to instill in them a hatred for evil and to have a deep desire to fight it. They are learning what a weapon feels like in their hands."")
  • 20051130 - 'Paintball pastor' arrested after kids shot ("Controversial pro-gun lobbyist and missionary Peter Hammond is facing criminal charges after allegedly shooting children with a paint gun in a bizarre Halloween trick or treat game. The Reverend Hammond, head of the Peninsula-based Frontline Fellowship, was arrested after surrendering to police in Pinelands. At least four children allege they were hit by paintballs in Rosebank and Pinelands on the evening of October 31. Hammond faces charges of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and is due to appear in the Goodwood magistrate's court on December 20. Pinelands police said he had allegedly driven around Pinelands, Rondebosch and Rosebank with his three young children in the back of his car, calling costumed youngsters over then firing paintballs. One boy was shot in the face. Private detectives of PM Reynolds and Associates, hired by the father of one victim to probe the attacks, have taken statements from boys aged between 10 and 12, who were apparently lured to Hammond's car that night and shot with a paint gun." "The victims were all out on the streets dressed in Halloween costumes having fun when a car pulled up and they were lured closer by the driver shouting 'Trick or treat'," "In two of the cases I'm still trying to establish which occupant in the car actually shot the children."The victim in the Pinelands attack, Marcus van der Oever, 12, who was shot at point-blank range in the face, so far has produced the most detailed account."")
  • 20031102 - Rev. Peter Hammond Exposed, A Judeo-Christian War Enabler Uncovered by His Own Financial Supporter ("Pharisee Watch is publishing a letter by the Board of Elders of The CHURCH OF CHRISTIAN LIBERTY, a well known church, school, and home school network, pertaining to one Dr. Peter C. Hammond. The Church confirms an immoral personal scandal on the part of Hammond that has no doubt been an embarrassment. WHTT is grateful to the Church of Christian Liberty for being forthright about Hammond; we know of other institutions that know the truth about Hammond but have chosen to sweep this matter under the carpet. These findings are a small part of a pattern of business immorality of which Hammond and many other mail-order missionaries are flagrantly guilty. It demonstrates that Hammond is a pathological liar, which we have long suspected. He also implicates dozens of larger institutions associated with Hammond. We print this expose only because there is a larger and more sordid scandal yet to be exposed. Hammond, and dozens more like him, have preyed upon the people of Sudan as war fodder with their claims used to milk and bilk thousands of well meaning financial contributors out of many millions of American dollars. These dollars have produced misery for many of those who were supposed to be helped in Sudan. It has also probably swelled the well hidden international accounts of men like Hammond and his father-in-law accomplice, Missionary Bill Bathman, who has covered for him shamelessly.")
  • 20020504 - Ban lifted on book with 'homophobic' agenda "An adults-only age restriction slapped on an allegedly homophobic book has been overturned by a review board of the Film and Publications Board." "The committee was concerned that the book has made assertions that are questionable to say the least, and the (authors') leap from homosexuality to criminal conduct is... completely without justification," a Film and Publications board spokesperson said at the time. In a statement, McCafferty said: "We are very excited about the ruling. In many ways we feel justified in that the Board has agreed that our book is not harmful to under-18s. "We argued in our appeal that, through the sex education, children as young as nine are being confronted with positive messages about sodomy, bisexuality and so forth. In their early teens they are being faced with choices as regards their own lives and entering homosexuality. "It would be wrong to deny them access to all the different views on homosexuality and the facts about it, including the medical problems associated with sodomy," she said.")
  • 20020410 - Gun-toting SA priest in pickle again in Sudan ("Controversial right-wing Christian leader and pro-gun lobbyist, the Rev Peter Hammond, has been arrested and charged with treason and insurrection in Sudan, according to his Frontline Fellowship organisation. The organisation said Hammond was arrested together with a Sudanese bishop by intelligence agents of the rebel Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in a church building in Yei province on Saturday. Frontline Fellowship official Charl van Wyk said from Cape Town on Wednesday that Hammond and the Episcopal Church of Sudan's Bishop Bullen Dolli were arrested while lecturing at the Biblical Worldview Seminar." "The brush with the Sudanese authorities isn't the first for Hammond - the ruling Muslim government declared him an undesirable figure in 1999, amid accusations of gun-running. The government accused Hammond of supplying military hardware and training to the SPLA. Hammond is the founder and director of the Frontline Fellowship, a Cape Town-based right-wing Christian organisation that is devoted to spreading the gospel in conflict situations. Earlier this year, a book he co-authored drew calls for a banning, with gay and lesbian groupings regarding it as homophobic and as spreading hate speech against them. However, the Film and Publications Board only imposed age restrictions on the book, entitled The Pink Agenda: The Ruin of the Family. The foreign affairs department could not confirm Hammond's arrest on Wednesday night. ")
  • 20020129 - 'Pink Agenda' gets porn treatment ("The Film and Publication Board has decided against banning an allegedly homophobic book, but has ruled that it be sold with an adults-only age restriction. The book, The Pink Agenda: The Ruin of the Family, was co-authored by Christian activists Christine McCafferty and Peter Hammond. The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project (LGEP) has described the book as "the worst example of homophobic hate speech ever published in South Africa".The board's decision, which will be gazetted later this week, follows a hearing on Friday by a three-person committee, where the publisher, Christian Liberty Books, defended the book.")
  •  20011103 - Sacob slammed for 'gay-bashing' book launch ("Gay activists have accused the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) of helping to promote homophobia because it allowed its Cape Town boardroom to be used as the venue for the launch of a book opposed to homosexuality. The Lesbian and Gay Equality Project wrote to Sacob chief executive Kevin Wakeford this week to express great dismay at the fact that Sacob would be "hosting" the launch of The Pink Agenda: Sexual Revolution in South Africa and the Ruin of the Family. "The book, quite simply, is a work of pure hatred and will contribute to fostering of homophobic attitudes in South Africa," project co-ordinator Evert Knoessen wrote. He also attacked the book's co-author, Peter Hammond, alleging he was implicated in gun smuggling in Sudan and Rwanda, and in human rights offences before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in 1997." "In their book, McCafferty and Hammond explain: "This book in not as much an attempt to provide new information, as an attempt to expose what has been hidden by shrill accusations of "homophobia, discrimination and hate speech". "Being bulldozed into accepting anything as normal good and right - without free and open debate - is one of the ways that apartheid came to be accepted as normal." Hammond said on Friday: "The homosexual agenda is an attack on the family. This (book) is not an attack against homosexuality, but more a defence of the family."")
  • 19991221 - Christian 'slave redeemers' linked to pro-apartheid militants ("Iviews.com has learned that Christian "slave redeemers" who are allied with Sudanese rebels have close links to militant South African missionary groups with ties to the former apartheid government of South Africa. Swiss-based Christian Solidarity International (CSI) is one of the most prominent missionary groups involved in the Sudanese war. CSI portrays the conflict as a war imposed by the Muslim and Arab North to forcibly convert a black African Christian South." "The dominant rebel Sudanese militia is the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The SPLA claims to be defending the population of South Sudan from Khartoum's army and from Islamization. "Though its members claim to be 'Christians' resisting Islamization, they have behaved like an occupying army, killing, raping and pillaging," wrote the New York Times." "ITMI is the American arm of the South Africa-based ultra-right missionary group Frontline Fellowship. Frontline Fellowship activists have made dozens of trips to South Sudan, where they say they "smuggle Bibles" to Christian Sudanese. ITMI collects money for Frontline Fellowship and serves as its U.S. base of operations (Frontline Fellowship lists ITMI's phone number on its web site in its contact information, and ITMI solicits donations for the group on its web site). The chairman of Frontline Fellowship is Peter Hammond, a former South African army sniper and intelligence officer. Hammond, the son-in-law of ITMI president Bill Bathman, formed Frontline Fellowship on a South African military base in Namibia, drawing on ex-Rhodesian commando units for members. Frontline Fellowship literature called the South African army under apartheid a "missionary force" which must be supported. He is also the current director of UCA (of CSI's Gunnar Wiebalck), of which Frontline Fellowship has been a member since the 1980s. "If you believe Christ wants a holy war to preserve apartheid, the Reverend Peter Hammond is your general, his Frontline Fellowship your army," wrote the National Catholic Reporter in 1989. The Indian Ocean Newsletter reported in February that moderate Christian relief agencies delivering aid to South Sudan such as Church Ecumenical Action in Sudan (CEAS) "say the Fellowship understands the southern Sudanese conflict in purely religious terms and therefore only heightens opposition between Christian and Moslems there." CEAS also "criticizes the Fellowship's strong-arm tactics, the presence of mercenaries in its ranks, and the fact it allegedly offered military equipment to the southern Sudanese rebels." The government of Sudan charges that Frontline Fellowship is running weapons to the SPLA. Hammond denies this, but his group has a history of such activities. Kathi Austin, a visiting scholar at Stanford University's Center for African Studies and a former researcher for Human Rights Watch, told iviews.com she took photographs of military equipment Frontline Fellowship smuggled into Mozambique in support of South African-backed rebels--under the cover of smuggling religious material. Ian Gray, an Australian who was recruited in 1986 for missionary work by one of the many supposedly religious groups associated with the Mozambique rebels, soon found himself tasked with carrying military messages for the insurgents. Gray said in a 1988 interview that Hammond was involved in more than proselytizing. According to Gray, Hammond was often surrounded by former South African military men, whom he described as being more military than missionary. Gray said that whenever Hammond arrived at the rebel base, "there were other guys that were with him that were involved in military activities." He said he doubted their claim to be missionaries because "a lot of them even had liquor." "Hammond's brother Derek runs a missionary group called Faith in Action, also known as Love in Action. The group, according to its web site, is affiliated with Frontline Fellowship. Derek Hammond describes the Sudanese conflict as the fault of "the anti-Christian religion of Islam." But, says Hammond, "in spite of the odds, the Christians are 'doing something' about their situation, they are standing up against the evil of Islam. . . not only fighting for survival, but fighting to win back that nation for Christ."")
Videos on YouTube by/featuring Peter Hammond:
Christine Mc Cafferty:
Her sole claims to infamy being her one-time position as spokesperson for the virulently homophobic African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) as well as the dubious honor of being co-author of "the Pink Agenda" alongside "Dr" Peter Hammond, this person faded out of the spotlight very suddenly after the media frenzy surrounding the launch and subsequent censorship battle. Having created the impression from her conservative and ignorant writings, I initially presumed she was an 80-year-old spinster pouring her bitterness and misery into her writing - but was astonished to see in a video interview at the time that she could have been no older than 30!
  • Book Review: The Pink Agenda (by me)
  • Threats to Ban Christian Book in South Africa (Frontline Fellowship: "Co-author Christine Mc Cafferty says that this attempt by The Equality Project to ban the book is typical of the intolerance of homosexual activism worldwide. “Our book shows how homosexual activists’ constantly attempt to ban and censor anything that disagrees with their view on homosexuality or anyone who attempts to stop the promotion of homosexuality in society. When they call for “freedom”, it is only “freedom for their own agenda.”")
  • The Pink Agenda Part 1 (""enews" and "crux" have done reports on Afrca Christian Action's "The Pink Agenda" book where they interviewed Dr Peter Hammond and Christine Mc Cafferty" - also features an interview with gay-hater Errol Naidoo.)
  • The Pink Agenda Part 2  (""enews" and "crux" have done reports on Afrca Christian Action's "The Pink Agenda" book where they interviewed Dr Peter Hammond and Christine Mc Cafferty")
  • 20020221 - South Africa Moves to Suppress Book about Homosexuality (""It is ridiculous!" author Christine McCafferty told Culture & Family Report. "Note how medical facts are described as "too graphic"! Of course, we will appeal the ruling to the board, and then to the courts." The Pink Agenda contains an impressive array of the latest medical information regarding homosexual practices, discusses the impact of laws and cultural trends, and includes a Christian outreach to homosexuals. This writer reviewed the book before publication and wrote a book-jacket endorsement: The Pink Agenda is one of the most readable and comprehensive books ever written on the challenge that homosexuality poses to society and to its own practitioners. Before public officials approve any more "gay" affirming laws, they need to read this. The sections on health risks alone would give anyone pause before promoting homosexual behavior as a "civil right." "We have tried to convey a message of love while telling the truth about homosexuality," McCafferty said in an e-mail.")

Taryn Hodgson:
Described as "co-ordinator for Christian Action Network", Taryn Hodgson is one of Peter Hammond's sidekicks, often appearing in international media as a staunch critic of of homosexuality, abortion, pornography and spouting her indoctrinated Christian nationalism learned at Hammond's knee, parrot-fashion. 
  • 20121012 -  National March for Life and Life Chains Proclaim Right to Life of the Pre-Born (Again via that right wing fundamentalist rag "JOY! magazine" re abortion: "“Pro-life groups are willing to help the Department of Health and Police crackdown on illegal abortionists who are endangering so many millions of women and babies’ lives. However, it is ludicrous when the police fine pro-lifers for taking action against these abortion posters but fail to arrest those are clearly contravening the law,” says Taryn Hodgson, International Co-ordinator of the Christian Action Network.")
  • 20111028 - ‘Christian Action’ and the Halloween conspiracy (Via Penton Pagan Magazine: "When you lie and knowingly repeat the lie about followers of another religion, just to promote your own religious agenda, you make a mockery of everything your religion stands for. In their attempt to promote 31 October as Reformation Day in honour of Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation, South African based evangelical ministry ‘Christian Action‘ and its spokespersons Dr Peter Hammond (Director of the Christian Action Network and The Reformation Society, with ties to Frontline Fellowship USA), J. Kerby Anderson and Taryn Hodgson (Africa Christian Action National Coordinator) have waged an annual smear campaign against the commercial and religious celebration of Halloween and ‘paganism’ in general. [0]Their campaign is based on prejudicial and provable lies and as avid purveyors of these lies, they are guilty of bearing false witness. [1] Legally speaking, a false witness is a person who deliberately gives false testimony, a perjurer, liar, and a prevaricator – a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly. [2]")
  • 20110111 - Marie Stopes: Killing babies for profit  (via Bibliopolit: Taryn on CAN's anti-abortionist crusade. "Taryn Hodgson of Africa Christian Action, wrote an article on Marie Stopes and her evil organization, especially with the commemoration of the legalization of abortion on demand in South Africa on 1 February 1997. Because of this, many people will be involved in protesting the legalization of abortion in South Africa over this time. See the end of Taryn's article below for more information on how you can be involved in these protests! I will be at the protest in Boksburg, so if you decide to join us, please comes over to say "Hi!" I will be the one with the camera!")
  • 20090519 - Cape Town Sexpo hots up inside as protestors stand in the cold (Goes to show that CAN and Taryn are little more significant than the WBC nutjobs are in the USA: "But not so keen on enjoying the saucy carnival were the smatterings of protestors outside the convention centre from the Christian Action Network (CAN), holding placards reading: “Pernicious Porno Plague Rife at Sexpo: Turn 2 Jesus” and “Sexpo = Sexploitation”. Disappointed at a small turnout of 15 protestors, National CAN coordinator Taryn Hodgson said the group was nonetheless using the opportunity to give the Christian perspective on sexually explicit material destroyed marriages, and expressed disdain for the Vegas-style wedding chapel inside. “It makes a complete farce of marriage,”said Hodgson." - I think people like Hodgson and her lunatic ranting and hateful remarks against others make a farce of marriage, and of her religion.)
  • Taryn Hodgson (on the anti TV-soft-porn bandwagon. CAN, telling people what not to watch since 1980 - even reaching as far as China "Porn on free-to-air national TV is outrageous” said Taryn Hodgson，international coordinator of the Christian Action Network，in a statement.")
  • 2008 - OPEN LETTER TO COPE REGARDING OBJECTIONS TO THE BIBLICAL ISSUES VOTERS' GUIDE http://www.savotersguide.org/index.php/correspondence-1/21-cope (Taryn and CAN get really political about the issue or COPE supporting human rights "COPE's policy documents, however, which we quote in the references (back page) of our Voters' Guide state that: “We recognize our responsibility to protect and defend our Constitution as the only thing of value that we collectively own as South Africans” (COPE Policy Documents). Is the Bible, according to COPE, of lesser value than the Constitution?" [Duh - COPE is not a religious fundamentalist ChristianIST pseudo-political party like the ACDP or CDA] "COPE also supports a “society where discrimination…based upon…sexual orientation…[is] condemned and where government moves aggressively to end such discrimination…” (COPE Policy Documents). Homosexuality is a violation of the 7th Commandment, "Do not commit adultery." In an interview with News24.com Dandala "reassure(d) homosexual communities". "The priority is the Constitution of the country for any minority and this is what we as Cope would seek to protect." What about the racial discrimination of Affirmative Action? It was the Constitution which in fact opened the way for the legalisation of abortion and homosexual "marriages". Just because someone claims to be a Christian, even a pastor or a minister, it does not necessarily mean that they have a Biblical Worldview. We would be happy to send any COPE leaders a copy of Biblical Principles for Africa, which expounds on the Biblical Worldview.")
  • 20081102 - Bible may sanction gay unions ("A British church leader’s suggestion that the Bible might endorse gay relationships has raised fresh questions about the scriptural basis for Christian homophobia -- and prompted a strong denial from some local churches.The Guardian reported this week that the Anglican Bishop of Liverpool, James Jones, had apologised for objecting, with eight other bishops, to the appointment of gay cleric Jeffrey John as Bishop of Reading. In the essay, Making Space for Truth and Grace, in A Fallible Church, Jones urges Anglicans to “acknowledge the authoritative biblical examples of love between two people of the same gender, most notably in the relationship of Jesus and his beloved [John] and David and Jonathan”. The Guardian describes Jones as a “conservative evangelical”. Reacting, the international coordinator of evangelical umbrella group Christian Action Network, Taryn Hodgson, said: “Clear passages of scripture show that all forms of homosexuality are wrong and against God’s will.” Hodgson referred the Mail & Guardian to NGK minister and North West University lecturer Peet Botha, who said “the Bible consistently forbids romantic, sexual and marital same-sex relationships in explicit and implicit sanctions from Genesis through Revelation”. There was not one example in the Bible or Jewish commentaries of a homoerotic relationship, he said. The Vicar-General of the Anglican Church, Bishop David Beetge, was more cautious, saying his church was “still in the process of study and reflection on this issue”. The story of Jonathan and (later king) David in the Old Testament book of Samuel hints in a different direction, recounting that they “made a covenant, because he [David] loved him as his own soul”. The word for “covenant” is used elsewhere in the Bible (Proverbs 2:17; Malachi 2:14) for a marriage covenant. Later King Saul, Jonathan’s father, also offers David his daughter saying: “Thou shalt this day be my son-in-law a second time.” When Jonathan dies, David laments: “Thy love to me was wonderful, surpassing the love of women.” In Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, historian John Boswell documents widespread same-sex marriages in classical times and during the first Christian millennium. Ceremonies and prayers for such unions were given in church prayer books alongside heterosexual marriage ceremonies, called “Prayers for Union” and “The Order for Uniting Two Men”.By the 9th century the opposition of church legislators to such unions was becoming more insistent -- indicating their frequency. Yet they persisted into the 17th century and, in the Balkans, into the 19th century. David and Jonathan were often invoked in such ceremonies as epitomising a loving male pair, as were the paired saints Serge and Bacchus. In the stories of the latter and their martyrdom in about 300AD, they are presented as “undivided from each other” and are referred to as “the beautiful pair” in a 6th-century Greek hymn. The apostles Philip and Bartholomew had a similar role.In the New Testament John is referred to consistently as “the beloved disciple”, while other disciples are not given this distinction. Christian iconography frequently showed John resting his head on Jesus’s shoulder or chest, in a pose of physical intimacy and mutual comfort. [formerly at http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx...ght__national/]")
  • 2006 - "Protesting perversion in parliament" (CAN website - "The ANC has been railroading through Parliament the legalisation of homosexual “marriages” in South Africa. The betrayal of this country into the hands of Marxist mass murderers has led to the paganisation of this once strongly Christian nation. Once babies were protected from abortion, all foul language, sex scenes and blasphemy were censored out of Hollywood films before they could be shown in our country, Sundays were honoured with no commercial activity or cinemas open, in honour of the Lord’s Day, schools started with Bible reading, hymn singing and prayer in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, today, we have legalised gambling, legalised prostitution, legalised abortion, and now even legalised homosexual“marriages.”The National Co-ordinator of the Christian Action Network, Taryn Hodgson, went to Parliament to present a written and oral submission at the public hearings concerning this Bill. Later, on 23 November, I joined Taryn to present the Christian Action Network’s objections to the Civil Unions Bill at the Select Committee on Social Services of the National Council of Provinces (the old Senate) at Parliament." - A copy of their submission to Parliament counter marriage equality is visible here signed "Yours Sincerely, Taryn Hodgson National Co-ordinator CharI van Wyk Executive Member") 
Charl van Wyk:
This man is described by Christianists as a "hero of the 1993 Cape Town church bombing" and is the author of several books about the evils of gun control. He appears to be Peter Hammond's right hand man at CAN (make of that what you will). He has a network of his own websites promoting and glorifying gun-ownership and the pro-gun lobby around the world, and is something of a darling of the right-wing "gun-nut" and survivalist homesteader groups in the USA, whom he has visited and encouraged. His sites indulge in his own self-glorification of his "courage under fire". Oddly enough, though much is made about his "shooting back", I've never seen any remarks to show that he actually hit any of the attackers, or independent forensic confirmation that his wearing a Mickey-mouse 38 Special into church like some kind of hooligan made any actual alleged difference in the 1993 attack by three men carrying AK47 assault rifles and hand grenades. His resulting "ministry" by all appearances is nothing more than an advocacy syncretic right-wing "Christianity" tainted by promotion of armed violence reeking of "liberation theology".  
  • 20130725 - 20 years later St James horror endures ("“One of the men was shooting people on the ground. He turned the gun on me. I thought it would all end there, lying between the pews. Time seemed to stand still. But that was when someone started shooting back at them, and the man started running.” The man shooting back was Charl van Wyk. He had unstrapped the .38 special revolver from his ankle and, kneeling, was firing over the pew in the fourth row. The former salesman and now full-time missionary would later be lauded by police for retaliating. He was credited with being responsible for forcing the Azanian People’s Liberation Army soldiers into an early retreat, preventing them from carrying out orders to expend their ammunition and set off a petrol bomb. But for weeks after the massacre he was wracked with guilt. “I thought I could have done more. That I could have acted sooner… When they walked through the door I thought it was a play, it was only when I saw the bullets tearing through the wooden benches that I realised what was happening.”")
  • 20110217 - Voting for heaven or hell ("They introduced the un-Biblical legal tenant of persons being “guilty until proven innocent” in the new constitution and the Firearms Control Act." [An outstanding democratic and human rights value which is the standard in the civilized world - I shudder to think what his alternative would be? Line up the accused and shoot them all?] "Their stand against the death penalty for murder, but for the killing of the innocent unborn, defies Biblical principles." ['Yadda, yadda, abortion, blah, blah...'] "They have tried to close down Christian radio stations" [...an outright LIE since the government attempted to create a balance in the number of small community radio stations in the early 1990s - and almost ALL of these were already Christian], "promoted homosexuality in schools, where-from they expect God to be removed." [Just from public schools where non-Christians might object to having his religion forced down their throats. Private Christian schools were not included in this.] "One can go on and on." Yes, well, Charl certainly does. And on, and on, and on...)
  • 2006 - "Protesting perversion in parliament" (CAN website - "The ANC has been railroading through Parliament the legalisation of homosexual “marriages” in South Africa. The betrayal of this country into the hands of Marxist mass murderers has led to the paganisation of this once strongly Christian nation. Once babies were protected from abortion, all foul language, sex scenes and blasphemy were censored out of Hollywood films before they could be shown in our country, Sundays were honoured with no commercial activity or cinemas open, in honour of the Lord’s Day, schools started with Bible reading, hymn singing and prayer in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, today, we have legalised gambling, legalised prostitution, legalised abortion, and now even legalised homosexual“marriages.”The National Co-ordinator of the Christian Action Network, Taryn Hodgson, went to Parliament to present a written and oral submission at the public hearings concerning this Bill. Later, on 23 November, I [Peter Hammond] joined Taryn to present the Christian Action Network’s objections to the Civil Unions Bill at the Select Committee on Social Services of the National Council of Provinces (the old Senate) at Parliament." - A copy of their submission to Parliament counter marriage equality is visible here signed "Yours Sincerely, Taryn Hodgson National Co-ordinator CharI van Wyk Executive Member")
  • Armed churchgoer prevents slaughter ("“Charl Van Wyk, who carried a gun to a church service, shot back at terrorists bent on mass slaughter and ultimately was credited with saving hundreds of lives, says politicians should rise above the “politically correct” and do what’s right to save the lives of children and teachers... talk about gun nuts.”")
  • Shooting Back (I think this should read 'the paranoid right-wing Christian salesman who carried a gun with him to a paranoiac right-wing church service and made a name for himself using it... Now instead of being a mediocre salesman, he's a well-known right-wing evangelist with his own *cough* "ministry" who has toured the USA and is a firm favorite of right-wing survivalist and homesteading groups and gun-nuts watched closely by their governments...' Instead, it says: "Charl van Wyk was brought face to face with terrorists when they attacked a congregation during a worship service. Charl van Wyk was just an ordinary Christian man until the day that would become known for the St. James Massacre. It was on this day that Van Wyk shot back at the terrorists who were attacking an innocent congregation gathered in worship and prayer; many lives were saved in the process. Learn more about his incredible tale of courageous action and the ministry outreaches he conducts in America, as well as some of the most dangerous regions of Africa." Naturally the massacre was a tragedy that should have been prevented - but what sort of message does this man promote by mobilizing Christians to carry guns everywhere - even into their sanctuaries? Are Christians supposed to be peace makers - or to carry Peacemakers? My hero. No wonder this lunatic um, crusader for gun-owner's rights states on his blog that" Gun-free churches – vulnerable to attack") 
Erroll Naidoo:
This man has for years worked hard to persecute all kinds of people, but most ferociously the LGBT community in South Africa. He is an anti-human rights agitator with strong connections in the American Christian extremist right wing, so tied up in the religious right lunatic-fringe hate-groups he resembles the Untieable Knot - and has done his worst to create a network of festering ChristianIST hatred the likes of which this country has never seen before. Conservative media and church groups occasionally lend him and his nutjobbery exposure in order to further their mutual aims of depriving people of their civil and human rights, and occasionally regret it when his unhinged state becomes revealed in the kind of statements that made Fred Phelps and his hate-church infamous in the US. His recent foot-in-mouth comments about Marikana are a prime example. The JOY! magazine website states of Errol Naidoo: "Errol Naidoo is the director for Family Policy Institute South Africa. F.P.I. acts as the Christian voice in government and the media, lobbying on current issues that concern each and every Christian. Errol is a regular contributor to JOY! Magazine, and his exclusive articles are regularly published in our magazine on this website." - All I can say is, if that is true, then Christians and Christianity are being woefully misrepresented at the nation's highest levels by a man who misleads and misrepresents Christians and Christianity with hatred and vitriol of the worst degree.
  • Website of the Family Policy Institute, Cape town
  • 20130424 - Watchmen on the Wall looks at SA Human Rights Commission ruling on Creare (A video from Unca Errol's very own Youtube channel: "SA Human Rights Commission ruling finding a Christian ministry guilty of discrimination because of its Biblical view of homosexuality. The SAHRC found the Creare Training Centre in Bloemfontein guilty of unfair discrimination based primarily on liberal media misrepresentations, distortions and outright fabrications..." yadda, yadda - I think you get the idea.)
  • 20130513 - Religious hate speech is still hate speech ("Fundamentalist Christians, and the slippery money-making pastors who stir up their prejudices and passions, often say outrageously hateful things about gay men and lesbians under the pretext of promoting their own extremist version of Christianity. But in a recent judgment, the Canadian Supreme Court affirmed that such statements will often constitute impermissible hate speech. The same principles will probably also apply in South Africa." "for example, if I were to say that pastor Errol Naidoo is a smarmy homophobe, somebody will inevitably claim that I am making myself guilty of hate speech, when all I am doing is expressing my opinion about the behaviour and attitudes of a public figure whose obsession with sodomy and sex I find rather queer." "...it would be easy to report pastor Errol Naidoo to the Equality Court for regularly indulging in hate speech against gay men and lesbians. It would take a bit more work to develop an argument pointing out the inherent contradiction between his expressed fear and hatred of consensual same-sex love and his purported endorsement of Christian doctrine regarding the all-encompassing and healing love of God. An effective challenge to the good pastor’s reasoning would require some engagement with the perverted morality that underlies the promotion of discrimination and hatred under the guise of spreading love and compassion. You would have to show that it is not very rational to say: I love you so much that I would like to ensure that you continue to be vilified and discriminated against. I would also have to show that, psychologically, the pastor’s obsession with anal sex would suggest that he is fascinated, maybe even entranced – rather than repelled – by the notion of sodomy. That would take some intellectual work. It would also be more fun than making legal arguments before a magistrate.")
  • 20130123 - Church’s right to promote Biblical worldview under fire? ("A misleading report in the Sunday Times on January 13 sparked outraged media coverage that has prompted the Government to request the SA Human Rights Commission to investigate whether the centre discriminates against homosexuals." [NOTE: There was NO "mistake" as reported by this religious news agent] "Writing in his weekly newsletter, Family Policy Institute president Errol Naidoo says the proposed HRC investigation of Creare Training Centre is an example of the way that the “Bible believing Church is increasingly being singled out for slander, ridicule and blatant discrimination – simply because it upholds the Scriptural truth that homosexuality is a sin”. “Disturbingly, nowhere in the deputy minister’s statement does he mention or even acknowledge the constitutional rights of Christians to practice and express their religious beliefs and convictions, says Naidoo. “The South African Government appear to be joining forces with homosexual activists to threaten, bully and intimidate Christians into compromising God’s Word on human sexuality. “The Dept of Justice statement repeats the slanderous accusations from homosexual groups that the Church’s Biblical view on homosexuality is responsible for violence against homosexual citizens.” Naidoo calls on the Church to oppose growing attempts to force it to comply with the sexual rights agenda, to intercede on behalf of Pastor Cornelis and the Creare Training Centre, and to email them at admin@crearedream.com with messages of encouragement from God’s Word.")
  • 2012 - Creep of the Week Errol Naidoo (Well-deserved ignominy.)
  • 20120827 - ("South Africa's own outragous gay hating loony, Pastor Errol Naidoo of the American Far Right sponsored "South Africa’s Family Policy Institute" revealed that his church has secured a television slot, called Watchmen on the Wall. The first episode will be screened by Trinity Broadcasting Network Africa, a Christian television channel (available in South Africa on DSTV), on 4 September. Recently Errol Naidoo blamed the LGBT community for creating a “culture of death” that led, among other things, to the Marikana mine massacre. In his latest newsletter, the Cape Town-based Christian leader rails against feminists, gay men and lesbians for perpetuating a “culture of death” that he claims “is slowly killing off the human family in Western civilisation”. Pastor Naidoo wrote: ”Abortion-on-demand – driven by radical feminist activists – and the homosexual agenda, lie at the heart of the culture of death. These anti-family groups are responsible for population decline.” "Pastor Naidoo’s Family Policy Institute is an avowedly homophobic Christian fundamentalist lobby group mainly sponsored by a Nigerian Christian Group which in turn is being financed by several American far right organisations including the infamous American Family Association. In the past Naidoo has actively sought to repeal marriage equality rights in South Africa. He has said he believes that homosexuality can be cured through prayer and was quoted by a Nigerian newspaper as publicly saying: “I hate gays. It runs against God’s wishes.”")
  • 20120822 - Preacher blames gays for Marikana shooting (If this doesn't show how unhinged this man is, nothing will: "A conservative Christian minister has blamed feminists, homosexuals and abortion for last week's Marikana tragedy. Controversial pastor Errol Naidoo trended briefly on Twitter on Wednesday after publishing a newsletter from the Family Policy Institute, which claimed that "abortion-on-demand", driven by radical feminists and the "homosexual agenda" for a "culture of death" in South Africa." ""Today's Prayer: I know you don't make mistakes, but how do you explain Errol Naidoo?" said another Twitter user, while another blamed Naidoo for making "Christians seem like lunatics". " Amen to that.)
  • 20101208 - So Who Is Erroll Naidoo? (Via Sour Grapes: "Ok, so who is Erroll Naidoo? And why all the fuss? I'm glad you asked. So glad in fact, that I am going to post my email reply to him from Friday last week to help explain to you, as I did to him, who Erroll Naidoo is, and how I see him:" ""I have never in my life required Christians or anyone else to persecute and demonstrate hateful acts against other people." - What about all your email campaigns to foster intolerance and hostility towards our community and our continued equality? Such as your current CTT campaign, and your campaign against the Pink Loerie? I think urging other people to join you in them would fit the bill." ""Homosexuals claim they are born that way and cannot change. However, there is plenty of evidence to refute this." People's inborn sexuality and gender identity is as natural as eye color or race. Evidence to refute this? There is none. Not one iota, except the distorted work of people like Paul Cameron and his ilk, who are not credible sources. And neither are Masters & Johnsson's so-called "study" upon which the entire facetious "ex-gay" industry you appear to have so much faith in, was built. ")
  • 20091130 South Africa Tabloid: ‘Faggots Can Be Cured by Prayer’ ("Pastor Errol Naidoo, spokesman for the His People Church in Cape Town, is surely the nation’s biggest gay-basher. And the pastor does not mind to find that he is so labelled. “I hate gays. It runs against God’s wishes,” he said to *this newspaper* “I pray not for gays myself, but I know there are many ministries in the country who continue to pray for gays. And their success rate is very good. I know of many cases where men and women forsake their evil ways and now live in healthy, normal relationships. “Yes, and I believe that someone could be prayed straight. Anything can be managed with prayer. “")
  • 2009 - Christian homophobes are spreading their hate in South Africa ("Closely associated to CAN and the ACDP, is the pastor Erroll Naidoo from "His People" Church in Greenpoint, Cape Town, and who is listed as an editor at the CAN's fundamentalist Christian magazine "Joy!" along with Hammond, and who now heads up a US religious right clone body called the "Family Policy Institute", which receives support from the Family Research Council in the USA. FPI's mission statement is "objective of making the restoration of marriage and the family the cornerstone of South African social policy". Naidoo has for years been advocating his "Christian" hatred of the pink community in speeches, sermons, newsletters and press releases - many made as a representative of CAN or one of its affiliates. His favorite target in the past decade have been Pride festivals and marches - most notably the Pink Loerie Mardi Gras in Knysna, about which he has spread numerous distortions such as claims of "exploitation of children" and "public sex-acts" and applied pressure to the town municipality to get the annual event banned. Indeed, Naidoo's rants and antics in the press have become an expected feature of the build-up to the event, with people in attendance waiting to see what will happen next. In his newsletters and even in the "Joy!" magazine, Naidoo reports on his travels to the USA to meet with his mentors at the Family Research Council (Sept 2008). He also sends out regular newsletters to his supporters to ask for funding and continue creating the impression that this country is under threat from "evil" and forces that seek to oppress the "persecuted church", along the lines of the liturgy expressed by Peter Hammond.")
  • 2002 - The Pink Agenda Part 1 (""enews" and "crux" have done reports on Afrca Christian Action's "The Pink Agenda" book where they interviewed Dr Peter Hammond and Christine Mc Cafferty" - also features an interview with gay-hater Errol Naidoo trying to sound like he knows what he's talking about.)
Collin Fibiger:
One half of a husband-and-wife team of real estate agents in Port Elizabeth, under the name "Property Network" and also the founder of a construction company, Collin Fiberger is one of the leaders of the nearly-extinct too-small-to-be-politically-significant Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA) in South Africa, and also a virulent homophobe who, in my personal experiences with him, would probably sooner die than to admit that gay people are NOT bad people who choose to be gay. As can be seen in the transcripts of debates between Collin and human rights advocates in 2009 available here, Collin doesn't like to be talked back to while he's busy persecuting those sinful gay folks in the name of Christ. It also goes to show you should be mindful of who you support in business. Formerly  a representative of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP), a hateful extremist Christian political body formed at the last gasp of Apartheid SA in 1993, he later left the party to form the CDA. Since the 2009 general elections, he has fallen largely silent.
  • Duratech ("The concept of Duratech was started by Colin Fibiger in 1999 when he began research into alternative building techniques and products. Working in close co-operation with engineers, builders and architects, with a team, researched various construction methods including straw bale, sand bags, and compressed waste, as well as constructed some of these to test their viability." "...Of these new emerging companies, is Duratech Trading, which arose out of the importation of cement and now has established offices worldwide.")
  • Property Network
  • Report on Moral Regeneration Movement (As can be seen from his own comments in a report on his attendance of a "Moral Regeneration Meeting" held in 1993, Collin deplores the viewpoints of people of other religions and even those of other Christians. It is laced with one-sided rhetorical prejudice crying about how "persecuted" the *cough* "true Christian" viewpoint was! "Interesting to note is the notion that a manifestation of morality lack is what is termed “perverted religious beliefs”. Upon attempting to ascertain the meaning of this I was initially answered that it dealt with issues such as the accepted racism in the Church. I then questioned whether ministers who condoned abortion, voted in favour of a Party that legalized pornography etc, would be categorized within this “perverted belief”. I still do not have a clear answer on this. From my present understanding it would on a whole apply to anyone fundamentalist and unwilling to compromise the truth. This I can only assume would include any committed Christian unwilling to compromise the Word of God." "This horribly biased and distorted view has to be condemned in the strongest possible terms. It is indeed government who continually criticizes the Church for their emphasis on morality. Has it been the Church who legalized pornography to it’s current extent? Has it been the Church who legitimized homosexual relationships? Is it the Church investigating legalizing “soft drugs”? Is it not the Church that has been lambasted for standing against current abortion murders? Is it the Church or government embarking on a condomise campaign amongst innocent children?" This of course speaks volumes of Fibiger's attitude.)
  • President of the Royal Guard Chess Club  
  • 2009 - Bricks & Mortar - Talking back to the bigots ("The essence of discrimination is treating people differently. It means I would treat a homosexual different to another and as Aimee so rightly said, we are all with fault. here are obviously double standards in certain churches - to claim otherwise would be foolish - but also to paint everyone with the same brush is equally wrong. The problem within the Church generally and also within the CDA is that homosexuals are demanding that we discriminate. They are asking us to ignore parts of scripture relating to homosexuality but to keep a firm eye on other scriptures regarding liars, gossipers, thieves and murders etc. They insist we discriminate and not hold all of us accountable by the same standard. This we will not do. Shout as loud as you wish, we WILL NOT DISCRIMINATE!" - This 'genius' is clearly confused - he is saying that "discrimination" is in interpreting his scriptures so as to NOT persecute LGBT people - and is not using the word "discriminate" to mean discriminating against LGBT people. "We also campaigned against homosexual marriage. And perhaps I should explain why.......... Marriage, is not something dreamt up by man. It is a Biblical insitution and is a union between a man and a woman. Homosexuals wanting to be "married" is therefore simply not possible in terms of what marraige is. It was in our opinion trying re-define what cannot be re-defined.")
Michael Cassidy:
Michael Cassidy led the "war" - literally, against marriage equality in South Africa during 2005-6 when the issue went to court. The leader of a network of multi-national conglomerate of evangelical and charismatic ChristianIST groups, he has worked against the equality of LGBT people for decades and assisted the perpetuation of false information and also supported and co-operated with human rights underminers like Peter Hammond and Errol Naidoo.
Over the years it has become apparent that Cassidy has marketed his homophobic vitriol via sound recordings, videos and seminars where he peddled his "pray away the gay" snake-oil.
He appears to have gradually wound down since his ultimate defeat in the Constitutional Court when the LGBT people won the case for marriage equality in 2006, even though they still marry under the separate and supposedly equal "Civil Unions Act".
Many of the older pages which preserved his statements and activities with groups like the "Marriage Alliance" (page deleted), SACLA (partially deleted) and others referred to previously where he made homophobic statements, have been removed. In fact, it's curious how "clean" his site is now, when in the past it was littered with cd's, books and references to homophobic vitriol and hysterical Chicken-Little propaganda about "the homosexual agenda".
  • African Enterprise ("Michael Cassidy is the Founder of African Enterprise (AE), and has been involved in evangelism, teaching and leadership ministries since 1962, the year he launched AE with a mission to Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.  Since then, he has led numerous missions to cities throughout Africa, as well as in other parts of the world, including Australia, Belgium, Costa Rica, Israel, Nicaragua and Panama.  To further the accomplishment of AE’s mission – Evangelizing the Cities of Africa through Word and Deed in Partnership with the Church – he has established evangelistic teams in Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe and support offices in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland/Northern Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland and the United States. Michael was named in 2012 as the Honorary Chairman of the global Lausanne Movement for world evangelization, succeeding the late Rev. Dr. John R.W. Stott in this position." "Most recently, he has been involved with the Marriage Alliance of South Africa, an interdenominational Christian concern seeking to keep marriage in South Africa heterosexual and monogamous.")
  • 2004-5 - SACLA ("The following was on the “SACLA Call To Prayer” page of the SA Christian Leadership Assembly website: "8.THE WAR AGAINST THE LEGALISATION OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGES:The battle in the Constitutional Court was lost on 1 December 2005. Parliament has been instructed to do the necessary legislative changes. So the war now shifts to Parliament and that is where our intercessory focus should be from now on. Pray for the Lord’s wisdom for our political authorities as the subject of same-sex marriages is debated in the parliamentary process on its way to becoming law. Pray for the Lord’s intervention on behalf of His Church. Pray for the Marriage Alliance of South Africa (MASA) under the Co-chairmanship of Dr Michael Cassidy, Cardinal Wilfrid Napier, and Rev Moss Nthla as they contemplate further action in their work to preserve the Biblical and traditional definition of marriage." Note the abundant use of the word "war". This website (and organization) fell into disuse soon after the end of the legal battle, being replaced by National Initiative for the Reformation of South Africa (NIRSA), which has also subsequently disappeared. This page on the SACLA site has since been modified and the above quote removed for reasons unknown. Perhaps it was too much of a bitter reminder?)
  • Michael Cassidy - 1-on-1 With A Global Leader ("However, after 1994, and with apartheid defeated and a new black majority government appropriately in power, the Church went to sleep in terms of its prophetic witness. It seemed unready or too weary to face and handle the new issues arising in the post-apartheid period such as poverty, housing, unemployment, economic liberation, sexual promiscuity producing a rampant HIV/Aids pandemic, as well as issues such as abortion, gay marriage, African Traditional Religion, and ancestor worship. " Judging by his image which accompanies this article on the Billy Graham Center, he is far too old to be as active in his missionary hatred as before, and will likely wink out of existence altogether sooner rather than later.)
Angus Buchan:
(The ding-bat darling of the Rapport and Die Burger, the ex-pat Zimbabwean potato preacher with his silly hat and right-wing chauvinist message of hate to "real men" who have their dilly wives permission to pretend to be the boss in the house and in the bedroom.)
  • Angus Buchan's Mighty Men Conference Coming to the U.S. ("At Mighty Men conferences in South Africa, Buchan used conservative Christian rhetoric to affirm retrograde gender roles and male "headship" over families. Buchan found a receptive audience for this message in South Africa, where thousands of men sought ostensible comfort and power in his message. In America, where Religious Right men eagerly consume such messages, the Mighty Men gathering might find a similarly receptive audience. But what about women, non-sexist men, and LGBTQs -- groups that are subordinate at best and invisible at worst in this kind of worldview? They should be concerned about the messages about to come out of Mighty Men. Knowing Angus Buchan's attitudes toward women, gays, and men who do not embrace stereotypical masculinity, observers should pay attention. Just as feminists were rightly concerned about the Promise Keepers rallies of the 1990s and 2000s, so too should enlightened observers keep an eye on the Mighty Men.")
  • 20080915 - 'God's hand on the Mother City' ("His brand of preaching is ultra-conservative and he has been known to say that prayer has cured homosexuality, illness and depression. Buchan is touring through South Africa to Windhoek in Namibia, dispensing his no-nonsense approach to Christianity and morality in a series of sold-out rallies." "In a press conference just after his talk, Buchan explained his stance, adding that many gay and lesbian people had become heterosexual through prayer. "I cannot ever agree that homosexuality is right, I cannot bless it. I love them though, but they need help. We have prayed for them and God has changed their hearts." He also explained that the reason for his male-only Mighty Men conferences was so that men could learn better how to protect their wives, and the meetings were not an indication that he thought less of women. Buchan, who comes across as down to earth and amiable, admitted that many of his opinions were not politically correct."I stick to the word (of God), and that's controversial. But I cannot compromise. That would mean tearing pages out of the Bible. I don't condemn people who do wrong. I was by no means an angel, but you repent, stop what you are doing and don't do it again."") 
Ray McCauley: 
The front-man of a charismatic mega-church based in Gauteng, with its own TV channel. The man behind "Zuma's God-squad", entering into negotiations with the ANC-led SA government to try to remove "immoral laws" preventing ChristianISTS from persecuting and ruining the lives of their victims from the SA Constitution. 
  • Ray McCauley - Wikipedia ("In 2009 McCauley caused waves politically when he invited the then unelected President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, to speak at a Sunday morning meeting. This led to accusations of political bias. When Zuma took office in 2009, McCauley formed a new interfaith organization called the National Interfaith Leadership Council (NILC) which subsequently merged with the National Religious Leaders Forum (NRLF) to form the National Interfaith Council of South Africa (NICSA) in 2011. McCauley and the interfaith organizations he represents have publicly defended Zuma and the ANC government on several highly controversial matters. McCauley has also been a strong opponent of gay rights.")
  • 20100621 - Inside the most powerful church in south Africa ("Jacob Zuma attends. So do many of the ANC's most senior figures. But suspicion of Rhema's materialist message has left outsiders worried at its growing influence. Daniel Howden reports from Johannesburg" ""We are not an ordinary church. The president comes to us to ask for advice," he says proudly. "We are very influential and very active on social issues." Those issues include abortion, the death penalty and gay marriages, he explains in a diplomatically roundabout fashion. The extent of Rhema's influence is worrying an increasing number of South African liberals, who are concerned that the evangelical outfit is intent on overturning some of the more progressive aspects of the country's constitution." "The strongest indication of Mr McCauley's status in South Africa's new order was his appointment to head up the newly created National Interfaith Leaders Council (NILC), a body meant to advise and aid the government on the delivery of social services – among other things. The leadership of the NILC, which abruptly displaced South Africa's Council of Churches, saw the former strongman dubbed the "high priest of South Africa". The accumulating power of the evangelist has caused deep concern in South Africa's intellectual community. Jacques Rousseau, an academic at the University of Cape Town and the director of the Free Society Institute, is among Mr McCauley's more eloquent critics. "It's a prosperity cult," he explains. "It teaches you that wealth is the same as happiness and that all this is possible if you give money to Ray McCauley."")
  • 20100219 - Ray McCauley's 2nd Wife Files for Divorce ("Pastor Ray McCauley’s wife Zelda is going to divorce him, the Rhema Bible Church said on Thursday, January 28, 2010. “The executive board of Rhema Bible Church and the International Federation of Christian Churches (IFCC) are sad to announce that Pastor Ray McCauley has received from Zelda notice of her intention to file for divorce,” church administrator Giet Khoza said in a statement.")
  • 20091025 - Pastor Ray's son pleads for money so dad can keep living the good life ("His megachurch collects tithes and offerings of around R70-million a year and he lives the life of a millionaire, but Pastor Ray McCauley needs his flock to bail him out financially. His son, Joshua, 26, has gone cap in hand to about 100 close friends and family to help get his dad, the leader of the Rhema Bible Church, out of debt. Joshua's impassioned plea was attached to an invitation to McCauley's surprise 60th birthday party at the Sandton Convention Centre on Thursday night in "Old Hollywood" style.")
  • 20090914 - Constitutionally Speaking - Just a jump to the right? ("When the same-sex marriage legislation was discussed in the ANC caucus before it was passed by Parliament, many ANC MP’s expressed vehement disapproval of the legislation, some doing so in the most ugly homophobic terms. During the public hearings in Parliament on the legislation some ANC MP’s expressed concern that the legislation would lead to the extension of adoption rights to gay couples, blissfully unaware that the Constitutional Court had already extended that right to same-sex couples several years ago." "Of course it will not be easy to take away the right of same-sex couples to get married. The Constitution will have to be changed first. And many good people inside the ANC are dead-set against changing the Constitution in order to reintroduce discrimination against gay men and lesbians, condemning us to second-class citizenship. Some would argue that the Constitution should be changed to allow for the reintroduction of discrimination against gay men and lesbians and the subjugation of woman living in rural areas because that is what the majority of South Africans want. Respect for the dignity of women and gay men and lesbians, so the argument goes, are not in accordance with “African values and traditions”, “Christian or other religious teaching”, “Afrikaner culture”, “public morality” etc." "The folks of NILC are a bit less tolerant, it seems, and want the law to reflect their own prejudices and to endorse their own bigotry. This is rather short-sighted as it assumes that one’s own view will always be the majority view. But societal views change and none of us can say with certainty that we would not find ourselves as part of a vulnerable and marginalised minority at some point during our lives. We may discover we are HIV positive or we may suddenly belong to the “wrong” faction in the ANC. It is then that a constitutional democracy will protect us from mob rule."")
  • 20090911 - Zuma's new God squad wants liberal laws to go ("The National Interfaith Leadership Council flew its conservative colours this week, saying that it wants revisit laws legalising abortion. The National Interfaith Leadership Council, formed by Rhema church leader Ray McCauley and closely associated with President Jacob Zuma, flew its conservative colours this week, saying that it wants to revisit laws legalising abortion and same-sex marriages." Interviewed this week McCauley, the council’s national convener, denied any formal links between the organisation and the ANC. But at least four members of the 20-odd group of religious leaders are ANC MPs, including heavyweights such as ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga and former Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool." "The M&G can also reveal that the NILC uses the ANC parliamentary caucus’s communication facilities to communicate with the media. The two NILC press statements were sent from the ANC’s offices in Parliament.")
Eugene Terreblanche:
The murdered former leader of the AWB, a right wing Afrikaner interpretation of the Nazi party in SA dating from the height (or pits of ) Apartheid in the 1980's, perhaps best remembered for prancing around in a khaki uniform, falling off his horse at a rally of right-wingers, and painting a gas-pump attendant silver.  
2013-10-18 Stephen Fry's New Documentary Kicks Anti-Gay Ass ("Stephen Fry's latest venture is a two-part BBC documentary called "Out There." It features two interviews - one with an ex-gay leader Dr. Joseph Nicolosi and the other with Russian lawmaker Vitaly Milonov, the author of the recent anti-gay "propaganda" law that's been soundly condemned worldwide. The documentary also covers other LGBT issues as Fry discovers what it's like to be gay in Uganda, India, Brazil and other countries. The clip from Fry's interview with the National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality's leader is below. The interview with Milonov, who has described Fry as a "bringer of evil," is after the break.")

Section 7: Current persecution, by country


SOUTH AFRICA
General:
  • 20140226 "‘No special comment needed’ on Ugandan law criminalising homosexuality – Pandor" - ("South Africa’s position on gay and lesbian rights are unchanged, but government will not comment on Uganda’s new legislation criminalising homosexuality, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor has said. Answering questions from reporters on government’s work in Parliament this morning, Pandor said: “Countries pass many bills and we don’t really comment on them, so I don’t know why you need a special comment by the government on this.” She said Uganda’s new laws won’t change anything to  South Africa’s stance either. “The position of South Africa on sexual orientation and the rights to equality are very clear, both in the bill of rights and the legislation that has been passed in this country. Our position is very clear and it’s not changed by any policy adopted by any country.” She said South Africa allowed homosexual people to marry and promoted equality in employment and other areas. “I don’t think we have moved away as South Africa from these positions,” she said. Uganda President Yoweri Museveni this week signed into law a bill that made homosexual acts punishable by life in prison.")
Methodist Church of SA - Unfair Dismissal of Lesbian Minister:
Moreletta Park NGK Homophobia Discrimination Case (2008):
Jon Qwelane (2008):
  • 20130927 - Jon Qwelane is so proud of his hate - ("I recall the chilling effect of Jon Qwelane's homage to homophobia – "Call me names, gay's not okay" – published in the Sunday Sun in July 2008.  It came soon after a spate of brutal murders of black lesbians, around which there had been heightened media attention and political action for justice and state intervention. Against this backdrop, the article spurred hundreds of complaints to the South African Human Rights Commission and a public demonstration at Media24, the company that owns the Sunday Sun. The commission launched a court application against Qwelane for hate speech. In response, he recently launched a constitutional challenge to the Equality Act, arguing that section 10(1), the hate speech provision of the Act, places unconstitutional limitations on freedom of speech. The heart of the dispute is about who is free to say what. The intention implicit in Qwelane's article and his fervent defence of it must be publicly scrutinised. His intentions must also be read against the content and meaning of the very speech he seeks to defend. In his article, Qwelane says gays and lesbians go against "the natural order of things". He compares their relationships to bestiality. He also charges lesbians and gays with the "rapid degradation of values and traditions" and calls for the removal of their constitutional rights. Cocking a pre-emptive snook at the damage he knew his piece would cause, Qwelane refused to apologise: "And by the way," he wrote, "please tell the Human Rights Commission that I totally refuse to withdraw or apologise for my views. I will write no letters to the commission either, explaining my thoughts." Such is his contempt for human rights.Fundamental to the principle of freedom of speech as lived reality is "freedom" itself. For many lesbian and gay people, speaking out about their continued marginalisation and exclusion is not a right that they are able to safely exercise. They are unfree. The speech Qwelane defends has the effect of refusing gays and lesbians equal citizenship in our democracy. The Psychological Society of South Africa, which has been admitted as a friend of the court, will argue that the Equality Act's prohibition of hate speech should be understood in context: one in which those who don't conform to dominant sexual and gender roles are verbally and physically attacked and, in extreme cases, raped and murdered. Language that ridicules, assaults and denigrates certain identities creates the conditions for prejudice-motivated violence against those people. Qwelane's words undermine human dignity and contribute to an environment that makes it okay to otherise, marginalise, silence and eliminate certain people. Homophobic speech contracts democratic space and provides the language that legitimates prejudice. Some libertarians argue that, as a society, we should "let speech loose". But who bears the brunt? Jews, Boers and others are being discursively "shot". Such utterances do little to bring any of us closer to the prospect of freedom. The freedom of a young, black lesbian to speak back without fear of reprisal to those who might taunt her on the streets or at school is what makes freedom of speech real. Qwelane's challenge has nothing to do with expanding the possibilities of free speech for those who are least able to exercise the right. His beef with the queers signifies wider cultural contestations about who has the power to limit the constitutional principles of dignity, equality and freedom. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersexed (LGBTI) people across the globe are increasingly claiming their rights, so the Qwelanes of the world are in backlash mode. On this score, Qwelane will be happy in Uganda, where he is now South Africa's ambassador. Uganda is caught in the grip of a new form of colonisation: the concerted efforts of American evangelical Christians to export homophobia to Africa has directly fuelled that country's "anti-homosexuality bill", which would legally sanction the hounding and killing of LGBTI people. Qwelane's challenge to the Equality Act is not about equality at all. It is a reassertion of his power to propagate speech of a profoundly unequal kind, speech that is harmful and dangerous, that fuels and legitimises existing homo-prejudice, and that labels gay and lesbian people as unworthy of the protection of the law. South Africans will not achieve freedom through shooting down – metaphorically or not – those whose identities we find offensive. Neither will we do so by advancing the bellowing of bigotry and its violent consequences. – Melanie Judge is a feminist activist.")
  • 20130904 - Qwelane May Win Hate Speech Challenge ("Constitutional law expert Pierre De Vos argues that disgraced former journalist Jon Qwelane may be successful in his bid to overturn his 2011 hate speech conviction for his notoriously homophobic 2008 article “Call me names, but gay is NOT okay…” Jon Qwelane, South Africa’s Ambassador to Uganda (that bastion of respect for the human dignity of all), is a self-confessed homophobe. He also used to be a spectacularly unaccomplished columnist. His Sunday missives often read like the first draft of a stag party speech written in a bar on the back of a cigarette box. But he must have a talent for constitutional law, because his contention that the hate speech clause in the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA) is unconstitutional, is sound. In 2011, former Sunday Sun columnist, Jon Qwelane, was found guilty of hate speech for contravening section 10 of PEPUDA. The Court found that an article he wrote (as well as an accompanying cartoon) propagated hatred and harm against gay men and lesbians and ordered him to apologise unconditionally and to pay a R100,000 fine to the Human Rights Commission. In the article Qwelane fumed against “gays” and “lesbians”, stating in apparent horror: “nowadays; (sic) you regularly see men kissing other men in public, walking holding hands and shamelessly flaunting what are misleadingly termed their ‘lifestyle’ and ‘sexual preferences’”. He concluded: “I do pray that some day (sic) a bunch of politicians with their heads affixed firmly to their necks will muster the balls to rewrite the constitution of this country, to excise those sections which give licence to men ‘marrying’ other men, and ditto women. Otherwise, at this rate, how soon before some idiot demands to ‘marry’ an animal, and argues that this constitution ‘allows’ it?” I assume when Qwelane referred to men kissing other men in public he was not referring to Premier League Football players regularly celebrating the scoring of a goal by hugging, kissing each other and flaunting their joy at “scoring” with such gay abandon. Neither am I sure why flaunting one’s love for another adult human being in public would horrify anybody – unless it stimulates delightful longings in them that they would rather like to repress. I regularly see heterosexual couples kissing and holding hands in public and shamelessly flaunting their so called heterosexual “lifestyles” and it does not bother me at all. Really, it does not. (I may have issues with the way in which some heterosexual suburban couples decorate their houses – I mean, really, a braai inside the house – but after serious soul searching I have concluded that this horror I have of suburban kitsch is not enough to warrant support for discrimination against all heterosexuals.) I assume my broad-mindedness stems at least partly from the fact that I have no secret yearnings (suppressed by religiously instilled self-hatred) to engage in a so called heterosexual lifestyle myself. I am relatively ambitious, so I obviously do not aspire to the heterosexual lifestyle (I tend to aim a bit higher) but I firmly support equal rights for all heterosexuals. Neither do I believe just because the constitution prohibits the law from discriminating against heterosexuals and allows them to marry that one of these days an idiot heterosexual would demand to marry an animal (of a different sex, I would assume). This is because – unlike Qwelane – I do not associate sexual intimacy with having my way with a goat. Call me old fashioned or unadventurous, but usually when I think of sex I imagine this to be between two human beings. Qwelane must have a more fertile imagination. Qwelane has been stalling ever since he was found guilty of hate speech, but last week he announced that he was challenging the constitutionality of the relevant PEPUDA provisions. Contrary to popular belief, the Constitution does not prohibit hate speech. Section 16(1) of the Constitution allows “everyone” (even homophobes like Qwelane) the right to enjoy freedom of expression. However, section 16(2) excludes certain forms of speech from protection and thus allows the legislature to limit these excluded forms of speech. Section 16(2)(c) – sometimes referred to as the hate speech exclusion – thus states that advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion, and that constitutes incitement to cause harm, is not protected by section 16(1). It would therefore be impossible to challenge the constitutionality of any legislative provision that mirrors the wording of section 16(2)(c). But PEPUDA goes much further than section 16(2)(c) and imposes a far more drastic limitation on freedom of expression than that allowed by section 16(2)(c). Section 10 of PEPUDA states that a person may not “publish, propagate, advocate or communicate” words against any person based on prohibited grounds such as race, sex, gender, disability, sexual orientation and religion “that could reasonably be construed to demonstrate a clear intention to be hurtful; be harmful or to incite harm; promote or propagate hatred”. Although bona fide engagement in artistic creativity, academic and scientific inquiry and fair and accurate reporting in the public interest are excluded from this prohibition, it would still include many forms of expression, including much of what is written in opinion pieces in newspapers and on blogs as well as much of what is preached in religious institutions. The provision may well therefore be overbroad and unconstitutional – just as Qwelane argues. Unlike the exclusionary provision in the Constitution, section 10 does not require the speech to constitute “incitement to cause harm”. All that is required is that a reasonable person must believe that the speech had the intention to be hurtful to a designated group. Unlike the exclusionary provision in the Constitution, section 10 does not only deal with speech based on race, gender, ethnicity or gender. It limits potentially hurtful speech based on all 16 grounds listed in section 9 of the Constitution, as well as all similar grounds. These include sexual orientation, age, marital status and disability. Section 10 does not require the aggrieved party actually to show that the person who engaged in the speech had the intention to be hurtful or to harm anyone. Neither that the speech actually incited or caused harm. All he or she will have to show is that a reasonable person, looking at the context within which the words were spoken, would have construed the person who uttered the words as having such an intention. Of course, the age-old problem about how we decide what a reasonable person would have thought when it seems impossible in a diverse society like ours to postulate a single universal standard of reasonableness, will raise its head in each case. Are we going to rely, yet again, on the view of the so-called reasonable, middle-class, white, heterosexual man when we must decide what a reasonable person would have thought – as the courts explicitly did until recently and often still do implicitly? A criticism levelled against the judgment in the Julius Malema hate speech case in which he was found guilty of hate speech on the basis of race when he sang “Awudubula (i) bhulu… Dubula amabhunu baya raypha”, is exactly that the judge used such a reasonable white man standard in concluding the words constituted hate speech. But even if we could overcome this problem and could, miraculously, conjure up a completely neutral standard against which to judge what is reasonable, section 10 of PEPUDA would still potentially have a severe chilling effect on freedom of expression (as well as on freedom of religion). Much of the teaching of mainstream religious groups on homosexuality, for example, would almost certainly fall foul of the hate speech provision. When a priest or imam targets “practicing” gay men and lesbians (as if we need any practice) in a talk and brands us as “sinners”, many so called reasonable people will surely assume that they had the intention to be hurtful to gay men and lesbians. After all, people who are hurting are more vulnerable and more likely to believe what you have to sell to them. Much of the less sophisticated rhetoric of (some, but not all) religious leaders are aimed at putting the fear of God into people and at making them feel bad about who they are and how they live their lives in order to present some sort of Messiah as the alternative that would cure you of your fear and your (religiously-instilled) self-disgust. How can this simplistic rhetoric so often employed by religious groups not be aimed at hurting gay men and lesbians? But should such speech be banned? I am far from certain that it should. After all, when someone peddles his or her sad and petty hatred of others because who they love, I pity the person and feel slightly embarrassed on his or her behalf. Why ban certain forms of speech just because it reveals that those who engage in it are wretched (and often lost and unthinking) fools? Of course, some speech may pose a threat to the constitutionally mandated objective of building the non-racial and non-sexist society based on human dignity and the achievement of equality. Such speech can and should be limited in a constitutionally permissible manner – even if it falls outside the exceptions carved out in section 16(2). But such a limitation on freedom of speech cannot be overbroad. Given the fact that section 10 clearly limits the right to free expression, that the reach of the section is extremely broad and that a more narrowly tailored provision would probably be able to serve the same important purpose of protecting our democracy against speech that hatefully incite harm against others, I suspect that Qwelane might just have gotten lucky and that his constitutional challenge will be successful. First published on Constitutionally Speaking.")
  • 20130828 - Qwelane back in court for hate speech - ("The directions hearing in the hate speech case instituted by the SA Human Rights Commission [SAHRC] against Jon Qwelane is expected to take place in the South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg on Wednesday. On 1 September 2011, the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court granted an application for a rescission of judgement to South Africa's ambassador to Uganda, Jon Qwelane. SAHRC brought the hate speech case against the ambassador and was ordered to pay the costs of his legal counsel. In April 2011, he was found guilty of hate speech, but was not present at the default judgement due to his job abroad. Qwelane's counsel argued that the default judgement was not allowed and that an enquiry needed to be convened before such a judgement could be handed down. While still practising as a journalist in 2008, Qwelane wrote a column published by the Sunday Sun in which he expressed his opinion about homosexuals. The column was headlined "Call me names, but gay is NOT okay". Qwelane was ordered to apologise through the Sunday Sun and to pay R100 000 to the commission. The money was to be used to promote gay rights. - SAPA")
  • 20130828 - Qwelane To Use Constitution To Defend Himself ("The hate speech case against homophobic journalist Jon Qwelane is set to continue to drag on into its sixth year without finality. In addition, Qwelane will be challenging the constitutionality of the Equality Act, under which he was convicted, in an effort to avoid facing up to the consequences of his actions. Qwelane was found guilty of hate speech in May 2011 for his notorious 2008 article Call me names, but gay is NOT okay... While an Equality Court ruled that the article "propagates hatred and harm against homosexuals" and ordered Qwelane to apologise to the gay community and to pay damages of R100,000 towards an LGBT rights group, he has continued to challenge the ruling. On Wednesday, Qwelane's legal representative and the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) appeared in the High Court in Johannesburg in order to finalise the procedures for another trial on the matter. Qwelane's lawyer, Andrew Boerner, told Sapa that his client will challenge sections of the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act that deal with hate speech and harassment. It is expected that the challenge will argue that these sections of the law infringe on Qwelane's right to free speech.")
  • 20100406 - Jon Qwelane sneaks into Uganda ("Jon Qwelane who was appointed South African ambassador to Uganda sneaked into the country during Jacob Zuma’s recent visit. Qwelane was appointed ambassador despite facing charges in the SA Equality Court for an article in the Sun written in July 2008 – “Call me Names But Gay Is Not OK”. In the article Qwelane praises President Mugabe for his “unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals” and no doubt is cheering the recent endorsement by MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai. Incidentally the statement by Tsvangirai contradicts the official MDC party statement so it is not clear what his motives were in making that statement. Under the Bill of Rights section, the MDC position paper states that: “In addition, the right to freedom from discrimination, given our history of discrimination and intolerance, must be broad to include the protection of personal preferences, that is gays and lesbians should be protected by the constitution.” Qwelane’s article — which includes a despicable cartoon equating same sex relationships with bestiality, calls for a rewriting of the SA constitution and the criminalisation of same-sex relationships. Qwelane and his publishers Media 24 have been sued for his statements by the South African Human Rights Commission for hate speech. Given the increasing number of attacks — murder, rape, beatings — against lesbians this article is outrageous and irresponsible and does nothing but incite even more hate crimes against the LGBTI community in Africa. As well as being a direct attack against the rights of all, enshrined in the SA constitution, the appointment is an unequivocal support of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill presently under discussion in Uganda. It’s also a terrible setback to LGBTI activists across the continent and especially Ugandans. The election of Jacob Zuma has seen SA turning away from the principles of rights for all towards bigotry, xenophobia and Christian fundamentalists such as Rhema leader Ray Mc Caulley. Recently the Culture and Information Minister Lulu Xingwana described the work of photographer and culural activist , Zanele Muholi’s exhibited work as “pornographic” and “Immoral, offensive and going against nation-building.” On reflection should we be really so surprised as homophobia has always been just below the surface and at odds with the Constitutional position. Zuma is known for his homophobic language in the past and this appointment simply reinforces his true feelings. It’s not hard to begin to think there is some sort of conspiracy taking place between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Uganda. For Ugandan LGBTI the entry of Qwelane at this time is alarming particularly the way he has been smuggled into the country and kept quiet. Uganda’s programmes co-ordinator of sexual minorities – [SMUG] Julian Pepe Onziema, told Independent Newspapers that they were working on a strategy to challenge Qwelane’s posting. “We are definitely talking about that with our allies, but at this stage we can’t reveal anything. (We are being secretive) about our plans because they are also being secretive about (Qwelane’s) presence in this country,” Onziema said. “The campaign (against him) is going to go ahead. “Because we haven’t heard from him we haven’t heard from the government.”")
  • 20100404 - Gay-bashing Qwelane goes to Kampala ("South Africa's controversial gay-bashing High Commissioner to Uganda, Jon Qwelane - who is supposed to be the face of South Africa - quietly sneaked into Kampala during President Jacob Zuma's state visit amid protests by gay groups for his recall. Qwelane's presence has angered Ugandan gay groups, who feel his presence would reverse their fight against homophobia - given the country's own repressive anti-gay laws. It is understood that interest groups had previously written to International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, requesting that the South African government reconsider Qwelane's posting. It appears Zuma's decision to post Qwelane was not reversed even when it was clear that it would cause diplomatic embarrassment for Pretoria. Qwelane publicly supported Zuma during the ANC's ugly succession battle, including during the rape trial. To the shock of Uganda gay groups, they found out during Zuma's visit that Qwelane was already in the country. Independent Newspapers has learnt that the authorities kept Qwelane's presence in Uganda a low-key event - fearing a media storm that would overshadow Zuma's visit. The usually outspoken Qwelane also kept a low profile during the state visit. When Zuma was in London last month, South Africa's high commissioner to the UK, Zola Skweyiya, was at the forefront, briefing the media and diplomats and introducing the president to the host government. It is understood that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation has gagged Qwelane from commenting about homosexuality. Under Uganda's penal code, homosexuality is criminalised. Uganda's programmes co-ordinator of sexual minorities, Julian Pepe Onziema, told Independent Newspapers that they were working on a strategy to challenge Qwelane's posting. "We are definitely talking about that with our allies, but at this stage we can't reveal anything. (We are being secretive) about our plans because they are also being secretive about (Qwelane's) presence in this country," Onziema said. "The campaign (against him) is going to go ahead. "Because we haven't heard from him we haven't heard from the government." It is understood that the groups also wanted to protest outside the South African High Commission - but Onziema denied this. Onziema said it was hypocritical for South Africa - with its gay-friendly laws - to post someone like Qwelane to the central African country. "How do you bring a very homophobic person to lead a diplomatic institution in a place where there is a lot of violation and discrimination of (gay and lesbian) people?" she asked. Onziema confirmed that they had lobbied local, regional and international interest groups to oppose Qwelane's posting. But Qwelane said it was "news to me" that gay and lesbian groups in Uganda were against his posting. He denied that his arrival had been kept secret. "I don't know what they are talking about. I was with (government) ministers the whole of last week," he said, adding that he had arrived in the country on March 23. Zuma landed a day later. Qwelane refused to comment further. Meanwhile, the Ugandan parliament is sitting with the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill - which sent out shockwaves across the world with a clause which proposed that homosexuality should be punishable by death. Following international uproar, including a diplomatic protest from the US and UK governments, the offensive clause was removed. However, the bill is still considered to be harsh as it seeks to compel citizens to report anyone involved in homosexual activities. Qwelane has been quite open about his anti-gay views, and once wrote a homophobic column titled "Call me names, but Gay is not ok" in the Sunday Sun in 2008.The article compared homosexuality to bestiality. Qwelane even commended Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for his "unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals". The column also prayed for politicians to have "the balls" to rewrite the South African constitution to outlaw homosexuality. South African interest groups complained to the Equality Court about Qwelane's column, arguing that it promoted hate speech. The outcome is still pending. South Africa is the only country on the African continent that recognises the rights of homosexuals, which legally acknowledges their matrimonial contract through the civil union bill. Department of International Relations spokesman Saul Molobi could not confirm Qwelane's diplomatic posting. "The reason I can neither confirm nor deny Mr Jon Qwelane's alleged appointment is that according to diplomatic protocol you can't confirm an appointment until the head of state of the receiving country has accepted the credentials of such a high commissioner/ambassador designate," said Molobi. "Any deviation from this norm is interpreted as disrespect to the head of the receiving country, as he or she reserves the right to accept or decline the approval of the appointment of the nominated candidate. "This means I can't comment beyond this on the matter at this stage".")
  • 20100120 - Qwelane ‘the wrong man’ ("President Jacob Zuma’s appointment of veteran journalist Jon Qwelane as South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda, with the Democratic Alliance saying Qwelane is a self-confessed homophobe. Qwelane, who spoke out against the persecution of Zuma by the media and National Prosecuting Authority when Zuma was being investigated for fraud and corruption, is also seen as a Zuma loyalist. DA spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko said the appointment would “damage South Africa’s credibility internationally as a... READ FULL NEWS AT SOWETAN")
  • 20100119 - Qwelane considered as SA's Uganda envoy - ("The Democratic Alliance on Tuesday urged President Jacob Zuma not to appoint outspoken columnist Jon Qwelane as South Africa's ambassador to Uganda because it would seem to endorse that country's persecution of gays. "Jon Qwelane is a committed homophobe and his appointment could be seen as a tacit endorsement of the repressive stance Uganda is taking on homosexuality," DA spokeswoman Lindiwe Mazibuko said. Uganda is under international pressure to withdraw a bill that would impose the death penalty for homosexual acts. "The DA is of the opinion that the appointment of Mr Qwelane would not take into account the serious nature of this," said Mazibuko. In his column in the Sunday Sun, Qwelane has stated that same sex marriage is "illogical" and that if any of his children had been gay, he would have disowned them. The veteran journalist was a vocal supporter of Zuma when the ANC leader battled fraud and corruption charges and it has been widely reported that he would soon be named ambassador to Kampala. The Sunday Times reported that the government was waiting for Uganda to approve the appointment. Mazibuko said Pretoria ought to be lobbying Uganda to drop plans to execute gays but instead "the president appears to be moving to appoint a man whose record for promoting intolerance, homophobia and prejudice in South Africa is well established and largely unparalleled". Several rights groups have also signalled their opposition to Qwelane's mooted appointment. - Sapa")
ZIMBABWE
IRAQ
IRAN
UGANDA
RWANDA

NIGERIA
  • 20130730 Nigerian Christians Threaten To Throw Out Gay Diplomats ("The Nigerian government has since claimed that Ashiru was misquoted and denied that it would accredit spouses of gay diplomats. "Nigeria and majority of Nigerians are against gay rights and marriages as it is not part of our customs, religion or law,” Ogbole Amedu Ode, Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told The Guardian Nigeria. Nigeria recently passed a bill that will not only jail same-sex couples who attempt to marry for up to 14 years but will also imprison anyone who was aware of or was involved in a same-sex marriage without reporting it. The bill will also ban any gay clubs and organisations and any public displays of same-sex affection.")
  • Nigeria Approves Bill Criminalizing gay Marriage
MALAWI
JAMAICA
RUSSIA 
  • 20131021 - Putin's anti-gay propaganda is costing innocent lives! Yet ANOTHER case in point that Scott Lively is a murdering hater that deserves to be tried CRIMINALLY (and not civilly as is currently the case for Uganda) for crimes against humanity!
  • 20131004 - Globalizing Homophobia, Part 4: The World Congress of Families and Russia's 'Christian Saviors' - "Last week, Serbian authorities abruptly cancelled a planned gay pride parade in Belgrade, citing “serious security concerns” about right-wing groups opposing the event. A few days later, an American group stood up to claim credit: the Rockford, Illinois-based World Congress of Families." "It’s no coincidence that the WCF was able to pull such a delegation to Belgrade: For the past several years, the organization has built  an organization in Russia to advocate for anti-gay policies there and throughout Eastern Europe. WCF staff in Russia actively advocated for recent anti-gay laws, including a ban on gay “propaganda” – essentially a gag rule on gay rights advocacy – and the curtailing of international adoptions to gay couples and single people in countries that allow marriage equality. Through WCF, American Religious Right groups are able to provide support to anti-gay movements in Russia and throughout the world. The World Congress of Families was founded in 1997 by Religious Right activist (and former Reagan National Commission on Children appointee) Allan Carlson as a project of the Rockford, Illinois-based Howard Center for Family, Religion & Society. WCF’s purpose is to be a multi-faith, multi-national coalition of social conservative groups working to push its vision in the United Nations and in governments around the world. But it draws its most prominent support from the American Religious Right."
  • 20131004 - Globalizing Homophobia, Part 3: A New Life for Discredited Research - "When Russian lawmaker Alexei Zhuravlyov introduced a bill that would allow the state to remove children from openly gay parents – classifying homosexuality along with drug abuse and child abuse as offenses that merit the loss of custody – gay rights activists noticed something interesting in the text of the bill.Zhuravlyov, who insisted, “In the case when a parent has sexual contact with people of their own gender, the damage that can be inflicted on the psyche of a child is enormous,” had in the text of his bill quoted extensively from a 2012 study conducted by University of Texas researcher Mark Regnerus that purports to show that having LGBT parents harms kids.New evidence shows that the Regnerus study also influenced the architects of Russia’s ban on gay “propaganda” and its ban on the adoption of Russian orphans by gay couples and single people living in countries that allow marriage equality.In the June 13 joint Duma committee hearing on the proposed gay adoption ban and a related “traditional values” roundtable discussion – attended by National Organization for Marriage’s Brian Brown and a number of far-right French activists – Regnerus’ research played a central role.
    In her speech at the committee hearing, Yelena Mizulina, the chairwoman of the Duma’s committee on family, women and children and the sponsor of the “propaganda” bill, cited Regnerus to advocate for the adoption measure, claiming that Regnerus had provided the only “reliable” research on same-sex parents:
    At the same time, the American scholar Mark Regnerus, who carried out an extensive study over the course of one and a half years of 3,000 people who had been raised in same-sex families, showed the opposite, and the data are absolutely stunning, they are published. They called for him to be fired from the university in Texas [where he worked]. An independent assessment was ordered, an independent commission, who totally confirmed the scientific validity of the study’s representativeness and the reliability of its conclusions.
    Mizulina went on to hypothesize that gay parents would teach their children to be gay just as alcoholics would likely have children who drink, and compared the “social experiment” of marriage equality to the experiment of communism in Russia:
    It is established that if the parents in a family smoke, their child will likely smoke. And in these families the share of children who smoke when they become adults is higher. If parents drink, the probability that children in these families will drink is much higher than in families where parents do not drink.
    Why and on what basis is there an exception regarding imitation of the behavior of parents when we’re talking about homosexuality? Why? Where do they get that children will not imitate this particular behavior? It’s untenable, even without scientific studies. But scientific studies would of course be important here, too.
    But this type of experiment, this sexual revolution as they call what is happening in Europe today, is a social experiment that the West is conducting on its own children.  Russia has had enough of social experiments.
    Last century we had social experiments where the family was destroyed. It was argued that there would be no more families, that this institution would die out, and many others. And the West watched and did the opposite.
    Mikhail Zoplev, a member of the Duma’s foreign affairs committee, had his own take, claiming that gay couples “renounce the ability to have their own children, so they say, ‘Give us those of others.’”"
  • 20131003 - Globalizing Homophobia, Part 2: 'Today the Whole World Is Looking At Russia' - "On June 13, 2013, just days after the Russian Duma passed laws banning on gay “propaganda” and actions that “offend religious feelings,” a delegation of five French Catholic anti-gay activists --at least one with ties to the far-right Front National party -- traveled to Moscow at the invitation of the Duma committee on family, women and children to discuss, among other issues, Russia’s plans to tighten its ban on adoption by same-sex couples abroad. Joining them was one of the most well-known figures in the American anti-gay movement, National Organization For Marriage president Brian Brown . Brown had worked closely with the French anti-gay movement in its protests of the country’s marriage equality law, traveling to Paris to demonstrate against the law and signing onto an email to members of the Collectif Famille Mariage, one of the most prominent groups working to oppose marriage equality in France. (Excerpt: "You are the people who invented Gothic art and built these wonderful cathedrals soaring toward the sky, inspiring the entire civilized world…The new cathedral that you are building right before our eyes is composed of living stones: you, dear Resistance fighters, young people and adults, men and women, boys and girls!” ) The French activists joining Brown were far-right thinker Aymeric Chauprade; activist Odile Téqui; François Legrier, president of the Mouvement Catholique des Familles; and Hugues Revel, president of Cahtoliques en Campagne. The French delegation was led by Fabrice Sorlin, head of the far-right nationalist group Dies Irae, which is named after a liturgical poemabout the Day of Judgment and has been accused of racist and anti-Semitic behavior and, according to Box Turtle Bulletin, “had been working to create autonomous militias in France under the inspiration of American white nationalist Luther Pierce’s conspiracy-laden novel The Turner Diaries.” (The group has denied the charges .) Sorlin is also a former candidate for the far-right Front National party, and chair of a group called Alliance France-Europe Russia, which is dedicated to forging a “strong connection between Europe and Russia” and uniting “the Anglo-Saxon world” against the emerging economies of China and India based, in part, on shared “Christian values.” The project of building a stronger alliance with Russia is a project held dear by the French far-right."
  • 20131003 - Globalizing Homophobia, Part 1: How The American Right Came to Embrace Russia’s Anti-Gay Crackdown - "This summer, as part of a larger effort to channel political dissatisfaction by scapegoating minorities, the Russian government escalated its crackdown on the rights of gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual citizens. President Vladimir Putin and his allies found support and guidance in their anti-gay efforts from a group eager for an opportunity to notch some victories in the battle against LGBT freedom and equality: the American right. On June 11, the Russian Duma passed a law banning “propaganda” about homosexuality to minors, essentially a gag rule criminalizing any advocacy for LGBT equality. (Moscow had already instituted a 100-year ban on gay pride parades.) Weeks later, on July 3, Putin signed a bill banning the adoption of Russian children by same-sex couples abroad and by single people in countries that allow marriage equality. Shortly afterward, a member of the Duma proposed a law that would revoke gay people’s custody of their biological children. The bill’s sponsor said in an interview that children would be better off in orphanages than with a gay mother or father. Throughout this process, Russian gay rights groups reported a surge in anti-gay hate crimes. Journalist Julia Ioffe has documented some individual stories."
GENERAL

Section 8: Harmful anti-human rights sites & resources

ANTI FEMINISM
ANTI LGBTI
INTER-LGBTI HATE/INTOLERANCE
  • Julie Bindel (A journalist/columnist who is a lesbian but who deliberately targets and persecutes transgender people as well as lesbians or gay males who dare to blur conservative traditional gender stereotypes, particularly in terms of appearance and dress or behavior. Her articles are often marked by argument which incites intolerance and exclusion and which mocks and denigrates transgender and gays and lesbians who don't conform to her ideal stereotype. She panders to pseudo-science which she believes supports her prejudice and advocates conversion therapy for transgender people.)
  • Stonewall UK (An advocacy group in UK only for GLB rights only. Despite over a decade of pleas to mend their ways, they deliberately and vocally exclude, marginalize and deny the Transgender component of the Pink Community equal treatment and in some cases purposefully act against the Transgender component. The irony that their group is named after the ground-breaking protest in the USA, traditionally attributed to a transgender activist, completely eludes them.)

Section 9: Political Parties To Support/Not Support In SA Elections?

This page will be updated progressively as time allows.

The ANC (African National Congress)

Once the purported champion of human rights concerns in South Africa, the ANC has descended into first neglect of human rights for various minorities, and then outright selective opposition and obstruction of equality and human rights for some minorities.
  • 20161109 - ANC Government votes against LGBTI people's human rights in UN. In November 2016, the SA government representatives in the UN announce their intention to vote against the creation of a watch dog, set up to create awareness of and improve the rights of LGBTI people across the world. The ANC fails its Constitutional obligation to protect and promote the principles of equality and human rights in the Constitution. The intention to vote to remove this watch dog sends a clear signal that South Africa's government (ANC) does not support the promotion of and protection of LGBTI rights.
  • 20140314 "Satanic panic: God votes ANC – the rest can go to hell" Since 2008 the ANC has worked to align the ANC with Christian extremists in this country, starting with the Rhema cult's mega-church when President Zuma made a controversial speech in the church during the run-up to the 2009  elections. It seems that since then - and increasingly so in the run-up to the 2014 elections, the ANC and Zuma are working to enforce the reality that the ANC (and with it the SA government) no longer represent the principles of the SA Constitution. The ANC now represents a Christian extremist minority view, and not the culturally diverse nation that is South Africa. Using religious minorities as strawmen and constructed enemies to attack in order to make their points. If they can use a polemic of warning people that "racism is Satanism", what is stopping them from saying "racism is the same as Witchcraft, racism is Paganism". As it is the general public (even in the more educated statistic group) finds it hard if not impossible to see these as separate from Satanism - and is wholly ignorant of the existence and definition of Satanic Ritual Abuse Hysteria. Now the ANC makes inflammatory statements to the equivalent that "not voting for the ANC is Satanism". They really shouldn't use and abuse the names of minority beliefs in this manner. It incites intolerance and even violence that would result from witch hunts. This article explores this practice by the ANC, delivering sensible critique. "Satanic panic: God votes ANC – the rest can go to hell" - Mail & Guardian "President Jacob Zuma appealed to Christian fundamentalists in his forecasts of power for the ANC, in a semantic shift in the way the party speaks of itself and its opposition.
ANC Juma like Jesus
Empires throughout history have set impressive time periods for their planned longevity, and the ANC has gone biblical with its own forecast, saying that it will rule until Jesus comes back.
This is part of a semantic shift in the way the party talks about itself and those who oppose it. "Even God expects us to rule this country because we are the only organisation which was blessed by pastors when it was formed," said President Jacob Zuma at a rally in January. "This is why we will rule until Jesus comes back." Previously, he said that by voting for the party, people would secure their place in heaven. ANC secretary general Gwede Mantashe has likened the tripartite alliance to the Holy Trinity. Last week Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said those who oppose his party or its leader are forces for evil. In this case, it was football fans at the FNB Stadium who had booed Zuma following Bafana Bafana's 5-0 drubbing by Brazil.
Evil plans: An agitated Mbalula, speaking the next day, said: "All of their plans, infused by Satanism at best, will never succeed in the future because their plans are nothing else but filled with evil." This type of language has started appearing in communiqués from the ANC, a party that once prided itself on being secular. In a response to the alleged racism at the North-West University campus in Potchefstroom, the party this week sent out an email titled "Racism is Satanism".
Last year, Nono Maloyi, the MEC for human settlements and public safety in North West, blamed the devil for violence in the province. "Satanism is the only wicked force that leads wives to kill their husbands and their children, and for men to rape their own children." Angie Motshekga, minister of basic education, asked for prayers for matric students in Mpumalanga last year. "We believe nothing can defeat prayer," she said. "We will make sure that the kids are delivered from evil spirits and believe we will get the best results this year."
Thanks be to God: Mcebisi Skwatsha, a member of the ANC's national executive committee, told delegates at a list conference in the Northern Cape last year that, thanks to God, the party would win the elections: "We will not fear any weapons formed against us ahead of the 2014 general elections because God is with us." At the same conference, Sindiso Mfenya, a provincial ANC member, went further and said former leader OR Tambo had told him that "the ANC had its own God" – that was why those who attack the party would be destroyed. Piet Naudé, professor of ethics at the Nelson Mandela University, said politicians using God to gain political credibility was as old as humanity itself. "We should not be surprised or even shocked when ANC leaders resort to Christian imagery to promote their cause." But people should be wary of this kind of association, he said. "As a rule of thumb, one should rarely trust a politicians using God for election purposes. It is a transgression of the second commandment."
National Party flavour: The language and iconography used is not unlike that of the Nat­ional Party. Apartheid was the will of God – a narrative reinforced by the Dutch Reformed Church. Afrikaners were chosen by God to bring light to what was they saw as the "dark continent". When the apartheid regime came under pressure, the association was cranked up. In its darkest hours of the 1980s, the apartheid government used its favourite bogeyman, the communist rooi gevaar (red danger), as the embodiment of the devil. The ultimate expression of evil became a pervasive image in white culture, said Nicky Falkof. A lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand, she has written extensively about South Africa's "satanic panic" and the race element that underpins it. "The belief in satanic conspiracy maintained apartheid's work of racial separation and kept black and white youth in their place," she said. The devil was seen as a "legitimate and real threat to white South Africa", she said.
The fearmongering also led to the foundation of the police's occult crimes unit. Its founder, Kobus Jonker, gained a fearful reputation. Known as "Donker Jonker", he is a hard man to track down these days but, in a 2010 interview with the American magazine Vice, he said the devil was often used as an easy excuse by people. 'Devil behind every bush' "People jump on bandwagons and see the devil behind every bush," he said. "It can be very dangerous." But, he said, he had encountered many cases of "people being possessed" by the devil. He gave an example of a "girl who had ants crawling out of her breasts".
The police say there has been a steady increase in the number of crimes related to satanic rituals in recent times. But South African courts try people according to the crimes committed and do not accept evidence based on the supernatural: claiming that your opponents are possessed by a satanic force holds no sway, except in the court of public or political opinion."
  • 20140226 "‘No special comment needed’ on Ugandan law criminalising homosexuality – Pandor" - ("South Africa’s position on gay and lesbian rights are unchanged, but government will not comment on Uganda’s new legislation criminalising homosexuality, Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor has said.Answering questions from reporters on government’s work in Parliament this morning, Pandor said: “Countries pass many bills and we don’t really comment on them, so I don’t know why you need a special comment by the government on this.”She said Uganda’s new laws won’t change anything to South Africa’s stance either. “The position of South Africa on sexual orientation and the rights to equality are very clear, both in the bill of rights and the legislation that has been passed in this country. Our position is very clear and it’s not changed by any policy adopted by any country.”She said South Africa allowed homosexual people to marry and promoted equality in employment and other areas. “I don’t think we have moved away as South Africa from these positions,” she said.Uganda President Yoweri Museveni this week signed into law a bill that made homosexual acts punishable by life in prison.")
  • 20140225 "Zuma’s ANC rejects DA motion to condemn Uganda’s anti-gay bill" - Sandy Kalyan, DA Deputy Chief Whip - ("The DA is deeply concerned and unspeakably disappointed that the ANC today blocked a DA motion without notice condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill signed into law by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, yesterday. It is also highly revealing that ANC MPs heckled me today when I raised this issue in the House, illustrating their brazen insensitivity if not support for this shocking measure. Our motion would have ensured that South Africa continues with the human rights-based foreign policy established by President Nelson Mandela and that we re-gain our moral standing in the international arena. It would have also made it clear to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, that her failure to act decisively on this issue - as made clear in her department's press release today - must be brought to an end. The ANC in Parliament did not seek to propose any amendments to the motion. It was merely rejected “in its entirety”. This continues the shameful failure by President Zuma’s administration to act on this matter. We must indeed ask why it is that South Africa always resorts to silent diplomacy when it instead should be providing leadership on the continent. With our proud history of fighting injustice, and with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, our government should have been first to publically object to the barbaric laws of a state right on our doorstep. As the DA, we strongly condemn the passing of this Bill and the criminalisation of homosexuality anywhere on the continent and the world. The South African government, and the African Union, which is being chaired by, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, must be urged to act to ensure that Uganda’s suppression of human rights does not go without censure. The DA will continue to push for this to happen without delay.")
  • 20100404 - Gay-bashing Qwelane goes to Kampala (“South Africa’s controversial gay-bashing High Commissioner to Uganda, Jon Qwelane – who is supposed to be the face of South Africa – quietly sneaked into Kampala during President Jacob Zuma’s state visit amid protests by gay groups for his recall. Qwelane’s presence has angered Ugandan gay groups, who feel his presence would reverse their fight against homophobia – given the country’s own repressive anti-gay laws. It is understood that interest groups had previously written to International Relations and Co-operation Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, requesting that the South African government reconsider Qwelane’s posting. It appears Zuma’s decision to post Qwelane was not reversed even when it was clear that it would cause diplomatic embarrassment for Pretoria. Qwelane publicly supported Zuma during the ANC’s ugly succession battle, including during the rape trial. To the shock of Uganda gay groups, they found out during Zuma’s visit that Qwelane was already in the country. Independent Newspapers has learnt that the authorities kept Qwelane’s presence in Uganda a low-key event – fearing a media storm that would overshadow Zuma’s visit. The usually outspoken Qwelane also kept a low profile during the state visit. When Zuma was in London last month, South Africa’s high commissioner to the UK, Zola Skweyiya, was at the forefront, briefing the media and diplomats and introducing the president to the host government. It is understood that the Department of International Relations and Co-operation has gagged Qwelane from commenting about homosexuality. Under Uganda’s penal code, homosexuality is criminalised. Uganda’s programmes co-ordinator of sexual minorities, Julian Pepe Onziema, told Independent Newspapers that they were working on a strategy to challenge Qwelane’s posting. “We are definitely talking about that with our allies, but at this stage we can’t reveal anything. (We are being secretive) about our plans because they are also being secretive about (Qwelane’s) presence in this country,” Onziema said. “The campaign (against him) is going to go ahead. “Because we haven’t heard from him we haven’t heard from the government.” It is understood that the groups also wanted to protest outside the South African High Commission – but Onziema denied this. Onziema said it was hypocritical for South Africa – with its gay-friendly laws – to post someone like Qwelane to the central African country. “How do you bring a very homophobic person to lead a diplomatic institution in a place where there is a lot of violation and discrimination of (gay and lesbian) people?” she asked. Onziema confirmed that they had lobbied local, regional and international interest groups to oppose Qwelane’s posting. But Qwelane said it was “news to me” that gay and lesbian groups in Uganda were against his posting. He denied that his arrival had been kept secret. “I don’t know what they are talking about. I was with (government) ministers the whole of last week,” he said, adding that he had arrived in the country on March 23. Zuma landed a day later. Qwelane refused to comment further. Meanwhile, the Ugandan parliament is sitting with the controversial Anti-Homosexuality Bill – which sent out shockwaves across the world with a clause which proposed that homosexuality should be punishable by death. Following international uproar, including a diplomatic protest from the US and UK governments, the offensive clause was removed. However, the bill is still considered to be harsh as it seeks to compel citizens to report anyone involved in homosexual activities. Qwelane has been quite open about his anti-gay views, and once wrote a homophobic column titled “Call me names, but Gay is not ok” in the Sunday Sun in 2008.The article compared homosexuality to bestiality. Qwelane even commended Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe for his “unflinching and unapologetic stance over homosexuals”. The column also prayed for politicians to have “the balls” to rewrite the South African constitution to outlaw homosexuality. South African interest groups complained to the Equality Court about Qwelane’s column, arguing that it promoted hate speech. The outcome is still pending. South Africa is the only country on the African continent that recognises the rights of homosexuals, which legally acknowledges their matrimonial contract through the civil union bill. Department of International Relations spokesman Saul Molobi could not confirm Qwelane’s diplomatic posting. “The reason I can neither confirm nor deny Mr Jon Qwelane’s alleged appointment is that according to diplomatic protocol you can’t confirm an appointment until the head of state of the receiving country has accepted the credentials of such a high commissioner/ambassador designate,” said Molobi. “Any deviation from this norm is interpreted as disrespect to the head of the receiving country, as he or she reserves the right to accept or decline the approval of the appointment of the nominated candidate. “This means I can’t comment beyond this on the matter at this stage”.”)
  • 20100120 - Qwelane ‘the wrong man’ (“President Jacob Zuma’s appointment of veteran journalist Jon Qwelane as South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda, with the Democratic Alliance saying Qwelane is a self-confessed homophobe. Qwelane, who spoke out against the persecution of Zuma by the media and National Prosecuting Authority when Zuma was being investigated for fraud and corruption, is also seen as a Zuma loyalist. DA spokesperson Lindiwe Mazibuko said the appointment would “damage South Africa’s credibility internationally as a… READ FULL NEWS AT SOWETAN”)
  • 20100119 - Qwelane considered as SA’s Uganda envoy - (“The Democratic Alliance on Tuesday urged President Jacob Zuma not to appoint outspoken columnist Jon Qwelane as South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda because it would seem to endorse that country’s persecution of gays. ”Jon Qwelane is a committed homophobe and his appointment could be seen as a tacit endorsement of the repressive stance Uganda is taking on homosexuality,” DA spokeswoman Lindiwe Mazibuko said. Uganda is under international pressure to withdraw a bill that would impose the death penalty for homosexual acts. ”The DA is of the opinion that the appointment of Mr Qwelane would not take into account the serious nature of this,” said Mazibuko. In his column in the Sunday Sun, Qwelane has stated that same sex marriage is “illogical” and that if any of his children had been gay, he would have disowned them. The veteran journalist was a vocal supporter of Zuma when the ANC leader battled fraud and corruption charges and it has been widely reported that he would soon be named ambassador to Kampala. The Sunday Times reported that the government was waiting for Uganda to approve the appointment. Mazibuko said Pretoria ought to be lobbying Uganda to drop plans to execute gays but instead “the president appears to be moving to appoint a man whose record for promoting intolerance, homophobia and prejudice in South Africa is well established and largely unparalleled”. Several rights groups have also signalled their opposition to Qwelane’s mooted appointment. - Sapa”)
  • 20091004 - "Gay Marriage Abortion Rights Not Under Threat" Mail & Guardian - ("he presidency has dismissed suggestions by conservative groups that President Jacob Zuma will change legislation on abortion and same-sex marriages. The presidency has poured cold water over suggestions by conservative Christian lobby groups that President Jacob Zuma will change legislation on abortion and same-sex marriages. Zuma’s spokesperson, Vusi Mona, told the Mail & Guardian this week that while the president has invited Christian groups to “come and debate” these issues, Zuma would nevertheless “uphold the Constitution”. But Zuma had promised worshippers at Rhema Church during his election campaign that he would consider requests to change legislation permitting abortion and same-sex marriages, Family Policy Institute (FPI) director Errol Naidoo has told the M&G. A Rhema statement issued after Zuma’s visit to the church in March confirms that Zuma “encouraged faith-based bodies to engage the government on such legislation as termination of pregnancy and same-sex marriage”.Naidoo recently posted a message on the FPI’s Facebook page, stating: “This is a crucial time to speak up for the right to life of pre-born babies. President Zuma has indicated that he is open to scrapping the abortion legislation.” The FPI is a Christian lobby group based in Cape Town that campaigns for Parliament to change laws that it says are inconsistent with Christian dogma. The organisation believes a minority grouping in the ANC and the government is responsible for pushing through laws that do not have the support of the majority of the country’s citizens. “We are actively engaging people on these issues; we are speaking to government and building consensus. We see that Jacob Zuma is more open to the church and we’re stepping up our efforts,” Naidoo said.The FPI has scheduled a meeting with Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba about pornography, and wants to meet National Police Commissioner Bheki Cele to discuss the Sexual Offences Act, which the FPI argues needs to be more rigorously implemented and enforced. “Our strategy is fourfold,” the FPI’s website states. “First, we begin with policy research, using the most up-to-date social science data available to demonstrate the vital link between the family and a healthy society. Second, we promote family-friendly policies and ideas in the public [sphere], framing arguments in a variety of publications. “Third, we advance these ideas within our national Parliament, provincial legislatures, city councils and the general public.” The FPI’s fourth strategy is to “nurture” in young people “a calling to public service”. Mona said Zuma’s comments at Rhema should not be seen as indicating his support for changes in legislation. “The president was saying: Let’s discuss and see who wins the day. The liberal interpretation of the Constitution may win the day, or the conservative interpretation may win the day. This is an opportunity to educate the conservatives and say that this is not a Christian state.”As a member of the ruling party Zuma cannot deviate from ANC policy, so assumptions that these laws can be changed “may be a bit misplaced”, said Mona. Zuma accepts that some feel the laws are incorrect and is of the view that South Africa cannot be an absolute state because that would be “fundamentalist”, he said, adding: “Everything is up for debate.”")
  • 20090914 - Concern Over Zuma's God Squad - ("A report that a President Zuma sanctioned religious body will work to reverse gay marriage rights in South Africa has been slammed by activists. An article in last Friday's issue of the Mail & Guardian, headlined "Zuma’s New God Squad Wants Liberal Laws To Go", claimed that: "The National Interfaith Leadership Council (NILC), formed by Rhema church leader Ray McCauley and closely associated with President Jacob Zuma, flew its conservative colours this week, saying that it wants to revisit laws legalising abortion and same-sex marriages." According to the newspaper, Nthabiseng Khunou, an ANC MP and member of the NILC, confirmed that the organisation would “play a role” in reviewing legislation legalising abortion and gay marriage. “I know most churches want them abolished, so the reason for NILC is to give a voice to people who don’t have it,” he was quoted as saying. The article raised concerns that the NILC was closely connected to the ANC, including using the ruling party's offices and facilities in Parliament to disseminate its communications. The newspaper further said that at least four of the Council’s 20-member secretariat are ANC MPs. McCauley, however, told the newspaper that there were no formal links between the organisation and the ANC.In March, ahead of the April 22 elections, Zuma, in a controversial visit to Rhema's headquarters, urged religious bodies to engage the government on the issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage. SA GLAAD, which described the NILC as "not only hostile to gay rights and women's rights - but at its core - human rights as well," was the first activist organisation to express its dismay at the report: "...Mr Zuma put the hard-won rights of the gay community to marry their partners on the bargaining table to secure more votes from the discerning Christian right", said SA GLAAD in a statement. The organisation went on to add: "If Mr Zuma was bluffing when he made his offer to win their votes, then this promise has come back to haunt him. One has to question Mr Zuma's intentions towards the pink community when he himself has made homophobic remarks which made headlines a few years ago. If his offer was a bluff at all, then Rhema and Ray Mccauley and fundamentalists in SA have just called it." SA GLAAD noted that South Africa was a secular democracy and that religion had no place in governing the country.")
  • 20090911 - "Zuma’s new God squad wants liberal laws to go – Mail & Guardian" - ("The National Interfaith Leadership Council flew its conservative colours this week, saying that it wants revisit laws legalising abortion. The National Interfaith Leadership Council, formed by Rhema church leader Ray McCauley and closely associated with President Jacob Zuma, flew its conservative colours this week, saying that it wants to revisit laws legalising abortion and same-sex marriages. Last week the council (NILC) entered the debate about the ­Judicial Service Commission’s decision to drop its investigation into Western Cape Judge President John ­Hlophe. It attacked the challenge to the JSC by Freedom Under Law, chaired by former Constitutional Court judge Johann Kriegler, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s support for it, saying it could ‘only serve to further erode the integrity of the judiciary and undermine the confidence of the people in it”. ‘For us, the ruling signified closure on this sad chapter and paved the way for the judiciary to heal and move forward,” the NILC said. Nthabiseng Khunou, an ANC MP and member of the NILC secretariat, told the Mail & Guardian that the council would ‘play a role” in revisiting legislation legalising abortion and gay marriage. Khunou, a pastor, said the laws were very unpopular in South Africa’s churches: ‘I know most churches want them abolished, so the reason for NILC is to give a voice to people who don’t have it.” Khunou revealed that the NILC had recently discussed the possibility that South Africa might legalise prostitution, ‘saying: why has the church been so quiet about it? We must play our role here.” Interviewed this week McCauley, the council’s national convener, denied any formal links between the organisation and the ANC. But at least four members of the 20-odd group of religious leaders are ANC MPs, including heavyweights such as ANC chief whip Mathole Motshekga and former Western Cape premier Ebrahim Rasool. McCauley insisted the group was open to other political parties. But no religious leaders who support opposition parties have joined. ‘The NILC does not consult with the ANC, although there are people there who are part of the ANC,” he said. Motshekga said the ANC insisted that the party accorded the NILC no special treatment. ‘We’re on record as supporting [the] council and noted what it said about Judge Hlophe, but it is not for us to approve or disapprove.” McCauley was not speaking for the ANC, but for his own constituency. The M&G can also reveal that the NILC uses the ANC parliamentary caucus’s communication facilities to communicate with the media. The two NILC press statements were sent from the ANC’s offices in Parliament. Motshekga claimed to be unaware of this, while McCauley said the statements ‘should not have been sent from the ANC”. Khunou said ANC MPs are free to use party email facilities for any purpose they saw fit. Other ANC sources point to the close relationship between Motshekga and McCauley through which the idea for a new religious formation was hatched. McCauley controversially gave Zuma an exclusive platform to speak in his Johannesburg church during the ANC’s election campaign this year. Vusi Mona, at that time the Rhema spokesperson, defended the church’s decision to invite Zuma to address the congregation, and not leaders from other parties. Mona quit Rhema shortly after the elections to join Zuma’s presidential communications team. Self-confessed frand convict Carl ­Niehaus was also a Rhema spokesperson before his stint as ANC spindoctor during the election campaign. In August the NILC met Zuma and pledged its support in helping the government deal with service ­delivery protests. Other religious leaders have been caught off guard by the decision to launch the NILC. McCauley is a leader of the National Religious Leaders’ Forum (NRLF), which includes representatives of all the major faiths practised in South Africa. He did not attend an NRLF meeting on Wednesday. The general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, Eddie Makue, said the purpose of the NILC was unclear to the religious fraternity. The SACC is set to meet NILC leaders before the end of September to clarify matters, he said. He added that the Dutch Reformed Church, formerly linked to the apartheid government, was also considering joining the NILC. Makue said the SACC decided in 1995 to embark on ‘critical engagement” with the government: ‘We took the view that governments come and go, but the church will always remain.”")
The Democratic Alliance (DA)
The largest Opposition party since it weathered the first national elections, the DA has a consistent record of championing human rights issues, including freedom of religion (although vocal condemnation of religious persecution of religious minorities has mostly been absent) LGBT equality and so forth.
The DA has remained silent on issues such as Christianity being forced into public (state-run) schools which should according to the Constitution, remain secular and has repeatedly failed to speak out against media hysteria painting Pagans and occultists as 'Satanists', and further, has remained aloof on matters such as the Occult Crimes Unit (SA Police) which conflates all occult religions with its own fantasy version of legend tripping 'satanism' and operates with the blessing of the government.
Regardless of their shortcomings, the DA is still the only large opposition party standing a chance of forcing a coalition government, and even winning an election, which demonstrates open support for LGBT equality and human rights in general. It has consistently demonstrated open membership policies, with many members and public reps of this party being from backgrounds generally shunned or condemned by other parties (especially the right-wing religious fundamentalist parties) for example LGBT and non-Christians and even Pagans.
  • 20140225 "Press release: Zuma’s ANC rejects DA motion to condemn Uganda’s anti-gay bill" - ("The DA is deeply concerned and unspeakably disappointed that the ANC today blocked a DA motion without notice condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill signed into law by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, yesterday. It is also highly revealing that ANC MPs heckled me today when I raised this issue in the House, illustrating their brazen insensitivity if not support for this shocking measure. Our motion would have ensured that South Africa continues with the human rights-based foreign policy established by President Nelson Mandela and that we re-gain our moral standing in the international arena. It would have also made it clear to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, that her failure to act decisively on this issue - as made clear in her department's press release today - must be brought to an end. The ANC in Parliament did not seek to propose any amendments to the motion. It was merely rejected “in its entirety”. This continues the shameful failure by President Zuma’s administration to act on this matter. We must indeed ask why it is that South Africa always resorts to silent diplomacy when it instead should be providing leadership on the continent. With our proud history of fighting injustice, and with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, our government should have been first to publically object to the barbaric laws of a state right on our doorstep. As the DA, we strongly condemn the passing of this Bill and the criminalisation of homosexuality anywhere on the continent and the world. The South African government, and the African Union, which is being chaired by, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, must be urged to act to ensure that Uganda’s suppression of human rights does not go without censure. The DA will continue to push for this to happen without delay.")
  • 20140225 "Zuma’s ANC rejects DA motion to condemn Uganda’s anti-gay bill" - Sandy Kalyan, DA Deputy Chief Whip - ("The DA is deeply concerned and unspeakably disappointed that the ANC today blocked a DA motion without notice condemning the Anti-Homosexuality Bill signed into law by Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni, yesterday. It is also highly revealing that ANC MPs heckled me today when I raised this issue in the House, illustrating their brazen insensitivity if not support for this shocking measure. Our motion would have ensured that South Africa continues with the human rights-based foreign policy established by President Nelson Mandela and that we re-gain our moral standing in the international arena. It would have also made it clear to the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Maite Nkoana-Mashabane, that her failure to act decisively on this issue - as made clear in her department's press release today - must be brought to an end. The ANC in Parliament did not seek to propose any amendments to the motion. It was merely rejected “in its entirety”. This continues the shameful failure by President Zuma’s administration to act on this matter. We must indeed ask why it is that South Africa always resorts to silent diplomacy when it instead should be providing leadership on the continent. With our proud history of fighting injustice, and with one of the most progressive constitutions in the world, our government should have been first to publically object to the barbaric laws of a state right on our doorstep. As the DA, we strongly condemn the passing of this Bill and the criminalisation of homosexuality anywhere on the continent and the world. The South African government, and the African Union, which is being chaired by, Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, must be urged to act to ensure that Uganda’s suppression of human rights does not go without censure. The DA will continue to push for this to happen without delay.")

Congress of the People (COPE)

The COPE party, while being very supportive of gay and lesbian rights, does not specifically address transgender interests, most likely because it does not understand that 'gay' does not cover the whole LGBTI spectrum. Regardless, the COPE party, founded in 2008 when the ANC split, once stood a chance of sinking the ANC in the 2009 elections, but has since grown smaller and smaller to be virtually insignificant on the South African political scene, to the extent where given the option of voting DA, a vote for the COPE party would be a wasted vote in favor of the ANC.

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF)

An overtly racist anti-white political party built on an 'African revolutionary' theme. Their repertoire includes rioting in Parliament, inciting racial hatred and violence in speeches and statements, up to and including threatening the white minority with violent extermination. Their leader Julius Malema, a long-time fan of Robert Mugabe's land-grabs and autocratic leadership style, has little to no knowledge about LGBT people or their issues, and has at times demonstrated this lack of understanding in his statements.

Right Wing Religious "Political Parties":

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)

The largest right wing Christianist "political party" in South Africa, which isn't saying much. Their rhetoric and policy is pure dominionism (Kingdom Now Theology) which literally means they set out to turn South Africa into a Christian extremist theocracy. They oppose human rights, viewing the concept as an 'opposing religion' which they refer to as 'secular humanism'. The marking characteristic of this group is the tangible hatred they hold for LGBT people, and you will find that the removal of LGBTI human rights protections, hate crimes laws or anti-discrimination laws will always come under fire from them. The ACDP also draws on distorted Christian bible tracts - and the fake "science" of discredited American former psychologist Paul Cameron to try to justify their hatred. This party is little more than a homophobic Christian terrorist hate group masquerading as a respectable, serious political party. Although its support grew among fanatical Christianists between its founding in 1991 and the 2009 elections, its support has waned since, with the ACDP all but disappearing from Parliament by 2016. Hopefully by the next election, they will vanish altogether.

The Christian Democratic Alliance (CDA)

Another dominionist "Christian" "political party" smaller than the ACDP, having broke away from that party, the once arrogant cluster of minute smaller "Christian nationalist" party is no more.
First coming onto the scene in time for the 2009 Presidential election, the CDA bellowed intolerance and conquest of the country using terms like "the Great Commission" to justify its attack on human rights - specifically on the grounds of religious fundamentalist values and the destruction of LGBT rights and LGBT people. This small alliance of even smaller religious political parties (whose supporters vocally expressed wishes to have LGBT people executed back in 2009) no longer appears on the list of registered political parties in South Africa. It seems that by 2014 the core of the CDA, that is, the Christian Democratic Party (CDP) has all but imploded. Nothing has been heard of the other alliance member groups or leaders since the 2009 elections.
  • 20140312 - Christian Democratic Party pulls out of elections - ("The Christian Democratic Party will not take part in the upcoming general elections.“[We] decided not to take part in the 2014 May election,” party leader Theunis Botha said in a statement.“In 2012, the CDP began to question the IEC on the punitive manner in which it confiscates deposit funds from parties that do not gain a seat in elections.”Botha said the Independnet Electoral Commission (IEC) had failed to address the issue of confiscating deposits.“The CDP will not continue to waste its members’ hard-earned money on the gamble of trying to gain a seat, without the resources, to market its unique policies.”The IEC’s commitment to a free and fair election was not being met “as it cannot be considered free” if a deposit has to be paid and can be confiscated from a party.This made it hard for the party to continue promoting its policies, he said.“It is not fair when parties like the ANC and the Democratic Alliance between them receive close to R1 hundred million of taxpayers’ money a year to promote their policies,” he said. Botha said since its inception in 1999, his party had taken part in every election at national and local level and had lost hundreds of thousands of rands in confiscated deposits that could have been used to market and grow the party. A comment from IEC spokesperson Kate Bapela could not be obtained.") Secondary source.

 People’s Revolutionary Movement (PRM)

New kid on the block, announced in November 2016, this party - also based on distorted Christianity, has made destroying LGBT human rights protections and equality laws its first order of business.  Basically, they espouse the same deplorable fascist and racist values as Donald Trump and his neo-Nazi followers, vowing to overturn LGBTI human rights, to deport all foreigners, and to continue the efforts of the terrorist 'Fees Must Fall' student movement that burns universities, stones cars and has injured or killed innocent people in the name of 'decolonization' - which essentially means the targeting and removal of white people and traces of European culture in South Africa.
  • NEWLY launched political party People’s Revolutionary Movement (PRM) is calling on the Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba to provide a platform for discussion of same sex marriages.PRM national spokesman Nhlanhla Mhlongo told Daily Sun that the issue of same-sex relationships was a serious one that needed careful consideration. “As a movement we are 100 percent against same-sex marriages. The movement stands for a normal society that consists of men and women.”He said they saluted all the church leaders who observed God’s commandments. “We denounce those leaders who promote Sodom and Gomorrah in the land of our kings and queens.” Speaking to party members at the official launch in Durban on Sunday, PRM president Nhlanhla Buthelezi said they valued the historic role played by the African kings, queens and all the traditional leaders. “We will campaign for aggressive, vigorous and visible results of Operation Pakisa, so all illegal foreign nationals are repatriated to their countries.” He called for free, quality education and a decolonised education system at all levels. He added that they also supported the move for South Africa to resign from the International Criminal Court. Sbongiseni Khumalo, programmes manager at the Durban Gay and Lesbian Community Health Centre said: “We are all guided by the Constitution. We understand that everyone has their own opinions. But people should be careful in what they say because things like this can lead to hate crimes. It is only our sexual orientation that makes us different.” Javu Baloyi, Commission for Gender Equality spokesman said that everyone had a right to their sexual preferences. Mayihlome Tshwete, spokesman for Home Affairs, said it was not the mandate of the department to create a platform for discussions. “If they want to discuss the issue they can do it on their own.”

Religious Tolerance Advocacy Resources

This material is presented under specific sections in order to make such a large body of information easier to navigate.

Religious Tolerance Advocacy Resources
  • Section 1: What Is It?
  • Section 2: Exposing Abrahmic Majority Religions
[The internet is fluid and new sites and material appears and older sites and pages sometimes disappear. Links may be broken, and so periodically these resources will need to be reviewed and updated. If you discover any broken links, please inform us so corrections can be made. Thank you.]

Section 1: What Is It?

What Is?
  • Occult (Wikipedia definition) - ("The occult (from the Latin word occultus "clandestine, hidden, secret") is "knowledge of the hidden".[1] In common English usage, occult refers to "knowledge of the paranormal", as opposed to "knowledge of the measurable",[2][3] usually referred to as science. The term is sometimes taken to mean knowledge that "is meant only for certain people" or that "must be kept hidden", but for most practising occultists it is simply the study of a deeper spiritual reality that extends beyond pure reason and the physical sciences.[4] The terms esoteric and arcane have very similar meanings, and the three terms are interchangeable.[5][6] It also describes a number of magical organizations or orders, the teachings and practices taught by them, and to a large body of current and historical literature and spiritual philosophy related to this subject. Occultism is the study of occult practices, including (but not limited to) magic, alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology, spiritualism, and divination. Interpretation of occultism and its concepts can be found in the belief structures of philosophies and religions such as Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Theosophy, Wicca, Thelema, Satanism, and neopaganism.[7] A broad definition is offered by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke: "OCCULTISM has its basis in a religious way of thinking, the roots of which stretch back into antiquity and which may be described as the Western esoteric tradition. Its principal ingredients have been identified as Gnosticism, the Hermetic treatises on alchemy and magic, Neo-Platonism, and the Kabbalah, all originating in the eastern Mediterranean area during the first few centuries AD.[8]"")
  • Occult (Oxford English Dictionary definition) - ("noun
    (the occult)
    • mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena:a secret society to study alchemy and the occult
    adjective
    • 1involving or relating to mystical, supernatural, or magical powers, practices, or phenomena:an occult ceremonya weird occult sensation of having experienced the identical situation before
    •  communicated only to the initiated; esoteric:the typically occult language of the time
    • 2 Medicine (of a disease or process) not accompanied by readily discernible signs or symptoms:careful palpation sometimes discloses occult spina bifida
    •  (of blood) abnormally present, e.g. in faeces, but detectable only chemically or microscopically.
    verb
    Pronunciation: /ɒˈkʌlt/
    [with object]
    • cut off from view by interposing something:a wooden screen designed to occult the competitors
    •  Astronomy (of a celestial body) conceal (an apparently smaller body) from view by passing or being in front of it:the Moon occults Mars during daylight on March 22")
  • Paganism (Wikipedia definition) - ("Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism, and neopaganism,[1] is a group of contemporary religious movements influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various historical pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe.[2][3] Although they do share commonalities, contemporary Pagan religious movements are diverse and no single set of beliefs, practices, or texts are shared by them all.[4] Contemporary paganism is a synthesis of historical practice and modern innovation,[5] drawing influences from pre-Christian, folkloric andethnographic sources. The extent to which contemporary Pagans use these sources differs. Many follow a spirituality which they accept as entirely modern, whilst others attempt to reconstruct or revive indigenous, ethnic religions as found in historical and folkloric sources as accurately as possible.[6] Polytheism, animism, and pantheism are common features in Pagan theology. Of the various days for celebration among Pagans, the most common are seasonally based festivals of the Wheel of the Year.[7]")
  • Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) (Wikipedia definition) - ("Satanic ritual abuse (SRA, sometimes known as ritual abuse, ritualistic abuse, organised abuse, sadistic ritual abuse and other variants) was a moral panic that originated in the United States in the 1980s, spreading throughout the country and eventually to many parts of the world, before subsiding in the late 1990s. Allegations of SRA involved reports of physical and sexual abuse of individuals in the context of occult or Satanic rituals. At its most extreme definition, SRA involved a worldwide conspiracy involving the wealthy and powerful of the world elite in which children were abducted or bred for sacrifices, pornography and prostitution. Nearly every aspect of SRA was controversial, including its definition, the source of the allegations and proof thereof, testimonials of alleged victims, and court cases involving the allegations and criminal investigations. The panic affected lawyers', therapists', and social workers' handling of allegations of child sexual abuse. Allegations initially brought together widely dissimilar groups, including religious fundamentalists, police investigators, child advocates, therapists and clients in psychotherapy. The movement gradually secularized, dropping or deprecating the "satanic" aspects of the allegations in favor of names that were less overtly religious such as "sadistic" or simply "ritual abuse" and becoming more associated with dissociative identity disorder and government conspiracy theories. The panic was influenced to a large extent by testimony of children and adults that were obtained using therapeutic and interrogation techniques now considered discredited. Initial publicity generated was by the now-discredited autobiography Michelle Remembers(1980), and sustained and popularized throughout the decade by the McMartin preschool trial. Testimonials, symptom lists, rumors and techniques to investigate or uncover memories of SRA were disseminated through professional, popular and religious conferences, as well as through the attention of talk shows, sustaining and spreading the moral panic further throughout the United States and beyond. In some cases allegations resulted in criminal trials with varying results; after seven years in court, the McMartin trial resulted in no convictions for any of the accused, while other cases resulted in lengthy sentences. Scholarly interest in the topic slowly built, eventually resulting in the conclusion that the phenomenon was a moral panic. Official investigations produced no evidence of widespread conspiracies or of the slaughter of thousands; only a small number of verified crimes have even remote similarities to tales of SRA. In the latter half of the 1990s interest in SRA declined and skepticism became the default position, with only a minority of believers giving any credence to the existence of SRA.")
  • Satanism (theistic and atheistic) (Wikipedia definition) ("Satanism is a broad term referring to a group of Western religions comprising diverse ideological and philosophical beliefs. Their shared features include symbolic association with, or admiration for the character of, Satan, or similar rebellious, promethean, and, in their view, liberating figures. There were an estimated 50,000 members in 1990. There may be as few as a few thousand in the world.[1] Particularly after the European Enlightenment, some works, such as Paradise Lost, were taken up by Romantics and described as presenting the biblical Satan as an allegory representing a crisis of faith, individualism, free will,wisdom and enlightenment. Those works actually featuring Satan as a heroic character are fewer in number, but do exist; George Bernard Shaw, and Mark Twain (cf. Letters from the Earth) included such characterizations in their works long before religious Satanists took up the pen. From then on, Satan and Satanism started to gain a new meaning outside of Christianity.[2] Although the public practice of Satanism began in 1966 with the founding of the Church of Satan, some historical precedents exist: a group called the Ophite Cultus Satanas was founded in Ohio by Herbert Arthur Sloane in 1948.[citation needed] Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s are widely diverse, but two major trends are theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity. In contrast, atheistic Satanists[3]consider themselves atheists, agnostics, ignostics or apatheists and regard Satan as merely symbolic of certain human traits. Despite criticism from other religious groups, there are signs that Satanistic beliefs have become more socially tolerated. Satanism is now allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces, despite opposition from Christians,[4][5][6] and in 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States debated over protecting the religious rights of prison inmates after a lawsuit challenging the issue was filed to them.[7][8] Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon, the ideas spreading with the effects of globalization and the Internet.[2] The Internet promotes awareness of other Satanists, and is also the main battleground for the definitions of Satanism today.[2] Satanism started to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s, in time with the fall of the Soviet Union, and most noticeably in Poland and Lithuania, predominantly Roman Catholic countries.[9][10] Satanism developed in the context of the Christian faith, as an ideological backlash to certain tenets promoted in Christianity. The character of Satan revered by Satanists, therefore, is mainly regarded as the prototypical anti-Christian figure. There have been some Satanists, however, who have shown reverence for the similar, albeit differently-characterized Islamic concept of Satan(Arabic: شيطان Shayṭān), also known as Iblis (Arabic: إبليس ʾIblīs) although this is much more uncommon as Satanist philosophy has primarily flourished in the Occident, and has likely not reached any Muslim-majority countries. As he is an antagonist in all of the major Abrahamic traditions, Satan is also mentioned in certain Jewish literature.")
  • Wicca (Wikipedia definition) - ("Wicca (English pronunciation: /ˈwɪkə/) is a modern pagan, witchcraft religion. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and it was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. It draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th century hermetic motifs for its theological structure and ritual practice. Wicca is a diverse religion with no central authority or figure defining it. It is divided into various lineages and denominations, referred to as traditions, each with its own organisational structure and level of centralisation. Due to its decentralized nature, there is some disagreement over what actually constitutes Wicca. Some traditions, collectively referred to as British Traditional Wicca, strictly follow the initiatory lineage of Gardner and consider the term Wicca to apply only to such lineaged traditions, while other eclectic traditions do not. Wicca is typically duotheistic, worshipping a god and goddess traditionally viewed as a mother goddess and horned god. These two deities are often viewed as facets of a greater pantheistic godhead[disambiguation needed]. However, beliefs range from hard polytheism to even monotheism. Wiccan celebration follows approximately eight seasonally based festivals known as Sabbats. An unattributed statement known as the Wiccan Rede is the traditional basis of Wiccan morality. Wicca often involves the ritual practice of magic, though it is not always necessary.")
  • What is witchcraft? (Alternative Religions Forum Definition) There is no universally accepted definition of witchcraft and the term means different things to different people in different places. In many places, superstition has caused people to view witchcraft primarily as a negative, malevolent force which is used by people – witches – in the spirit realm to bring about harm in the physical realm. They understand the term “witchcraft” as being the art of doing harm to others. However, there are some people, primarily in Europe and the United States, who call themselves ‘Witches’, many of whom follow a reconstructed neo-pagan religion, an example of which is called Wicca, although there are also self-identifying Witches who do not consider themselves to be theistic in terms of following any deities in their practice of their religion. Most Witches follow a system of ethics such as the Wiccan Rede or the Law of Three which sets forth the consequences of the Witches actions for the Witch using magic toward any end.
  • What is a witch? (Alternative Religions Forum Definition) Many people hold the understanding that a witch is an evil person who has the ability to bring about all manner of harm and uses this power almost exclusively to cause this harm. Most of the characteristics of the witch as understood by these people are the result of generations of misinformation, a powerful stereotype presented in fiction, and misunderstanding through lack of interaction with real practicing Witches. These include: psychic cannibalism, being able to fly and being able to take animal form in order to bring about harm. It is often believed that the soul of the suspected witch leaves the physical body during the night and enters into the spirit or “witchcraft” world. Here, along with other witches, they cause all manner of harm such as road accidents, spreading illness, eat human flesh, joblessness, inability to save money, impotence, infertility, mental health problems etc. These are superstitions fostered by ignorance and often fueled by religious zealotry or hostility, and have little or no basis in fact. Most Witches in fact practice herbology, divination and assist people and animals with health issues and healing using herbs and other materials found in nature, counselling and advice, and cause no harm to others.
Where can I read information about these topics from the perspective of those being persecuted?
Satanism: The Acid Test (STAT) - The ULTIMATE resource for understanding Satanic Panic Hysteria, Satanic Ritual Abuse Hysteria, Occult religions such as Paganism, Theistic or Atheistic Satanism and Luciferianism, the Vampi(y)re subculture, and Gothic subculture.
“Satanism: The Acid Test” – a tome over 500 pages long – discusses various forms of Neo-Pagan religion, at least 5 different forms of Satanist and Luciferian spirituality, and the modern Goth and Vampyre subcultures, while also focusing on the inaccuracies of material circulated by the media which inflame what is called “satanic ritual abuse hysteria” by providing unique viewpoints from each of these communities in the context of material which defames them.
The document also discusses the conflation of religious Satanism and Pagan religions by evangelicalist elements who often work via Media and law enforcement (often while also influencing these elements) with ‘legend tripping’ or ‘mythical satanism’, which results in a hysterical and woefully inaccurate portrayal of alternative religions, identities and subcultures, and goes on to examine why this unfortunate process of stereotyping happens, both unintentionally – and intentionally. “Satanism: The Acid Test” presents clear reasons why the public should not simply accept the statements of self-proclaimed ‘occult experts’ at face value, encourages the public to question, to evaluate, and to discover the facts for themselves. It suggests powerful solutions to the problems discussed, chiefly of which is the cancellation of the main factor in the equation – that of ignorance – by means of education.
Further, to make it even more interesting, it has formal recognition and approval from several academics, as well as from several occult, Satanist, Pagan, Goth and even Vampyre groups around the world.

“It’s a unique piece. Nothing else like it has ever been done before.”

Section 2: Exposing Abrahmic Majority Religions

Articles exposing the secret truths about majority religions that makes modern adherents uncomfortable:
Christianity
  • 20141224 - My Horrible Right Wing Past - Confessions Of A One-Time Religious Right Icon - ("I was a religious fanatic appealing to political leaders. Today, the fanatics are the political leaders - FRANK SCHAEFFER. I am a white, privileged, well-off, 61-year-old former Republican religious right-wing activist who changed his mind about religion and politics long ago. The New York Times profiled my change of heart saying that to my former friends I’m considered a “traitorous prince” since my religious-right family was once thought of as “evangelical royalty.”You see, only in the Mafia, the British Royal family and big time American religion is a nepotistic rise to power seen as normal. And I was good at it. And I hated it while hypocritically profiting from it — until, that is, in the mid-1980s, I quit. These days I describe myself as an atheist who believes in God.
    Ironically I helped my father become famous in the religion sector. In the 1970s I directed and produced two film series featuring Dad with book companions that became evangelical bestsellers: “How Should We Then Live?” and “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” By the time Dad and I completed two nationwide seminar tours launching those projects, I was being invited to speak at the biggest religious gatherings, including the Southern Baptist Convention and the annual meeting of the National Religious Broadcasters.
    The leaders of the new religious right were gleefully betting on American failure. If secular, democratic, diverse and pluralistic America survived, then wouldn’t that prove that we were wrong about God only wanting to bless “Christian America?” If, for instance, crime went down dramatically in New York City, for any other reason than a reformation and revival, wouldn’t that make the prophets of doom look silly? And if the economy was booming without anyone repenting, what did that mean?
    What began to bother me was that so many of our new “friends” on the religious right seemed to be rooting for one form of apocalypse or another. In the crudest form this was part of the evangelical fascination with the so-called end times. The worse things got, the sooner Jesus would come back. But there was another component. The worse everything got, the more it proved that America needed saving, by us! Plus, it was good for fundraising.
    Some 30 years later, what we helped start — I am sorry! — continues. With the Republicans in control of the House and Senate the question arises — again — Where does the American far right find the energy to oppose everything and everyone again and again?
    The short answer is that the American right is not about politics as most people understand it but about religious absolutes. As the New York Times noted on the single-minded desire to subvert President Obama’s overhaul of the broken immigration system, “And in their most audacious plans, Tea Party groups are preparing to recruit challengers to run against high-profile Republicans they accuse of betraying them — as they did when they toppled Eric Cantor, the former House majority leader.”
    This zealous negativity has a long history. I was part of it as the nepotistic sidekick to my religious-right evangelist father. The 1970s Evangelical anti-abortion movement that Dad (Evangelical leader Francis Schaeffer), C. Everett Koop (who would be Ronald Reagan’s surgeon general) and I helped create seduced the Republican Party. We turned it into an extremist far-right party that is fundamentally anti-American. There would have been no Tea Party without the foundation we built.
    The difference between now and then is that back then we were religious fanatics knocking on the doors of normal political leaders. Today the fanatics are the political leaders.
    You can’t understand why the GOP was so successful in winning back both houses of congress in 2014, and wrecking most of what Obama has tried to do, unless you understand what we did back then.
    You see, in the late 1960s Dad published the first of many best-selling evangelical books. When Dad toured evangelical colleges and churches all over North America, I often accompanied him while Mom and Dad — unbeknownst to them at the time — were gradually being elevated to Evangelical Protestant sainthood. This meant that a few years later when Dad took a “stand” on the issue of abortion, a powerful movement formed almost instantly, inspired by his leadership, and the evangelical-led “pro-life” movement (and the religious right) was born.
    My father is still a hero to many religious right leaders, such as Dave Andrusko (editor of the National Right to Life News). In his review of two books on the history of the anti-abortion movement, Andrusko notes that the anti-abortion movement “attracted people by building on the foundation established by theologian Francis Schaeffer. It is difficult to exaggerate the importance of [Schaeffer’s] book “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” and [the 1970s] twenty-city film and lecture tour [undertaken] to awaken the evangelical community.”
    By the early 1980s the Republicans were laboring under the weight of a single-issue religious test for heresy: abortion. As I describe in my new book “Why I am an Atheist Who Believes in God: How to give love, create beauty and find peace” (and I hope offer an alternative to the harm we did), I was there — and/or Dad was.
    We were leaders participating in various meetings with Congressman Jack Kemp, Presidents Ford, Reagan and Bush, Sr., when the unholy marriage between the Republican Party and the Evangelical Reconstructionist-infected “pro-life” community was gradually consummated. Dad and I — as did many other evangelical leaders like Jerry Falwell — met one on one or in groups with key members of the Republican leadership quite regularly to develop a “pro-life strategy” for rolling back Roe v. Wade. (Senator Jesse Helms named Dad as his favorite author when asked by the American Spectator magazine to name his favorite books.)
    And that strategy was simple: Republican leaders would affirm their anti-abortion commitment to evangelicals, and in turn we’d vote for them — by the tens of millions. Once Republicans controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency, “we” would reverse Roe, through a constitutional amendment and/or through the appointment of anti-abortion judges to the Supreme Court or, if need be, through civil disobedience and even violence, though this was only hinted at at first. In 2016, the dream we had will become a reality unless America wakes up. The Republicans are poised to destroy women’s rights. They have a majority on the Court to back them up.
    When evangelical and Republican leaders sat together, we discussed “the issue,” but we would soon move on to the practical particulars, such as “Will blue-collar Catholic voters join us now?” (They did.) Soon evangelical leaders were helping political leaders to send their message to the “pro-life community” that they — the Republican leaders — were on board.
    For instance, I organized the 1984 publication of President Ronald Reagan’s anti-abortion book with Evangelical Bible publisher Thomas Nelson. Reagan’s book had first appeared as an essay in the Human Life Review (Spring 1983). I was friends with the Human Life Review founder and editor: brilliant Roman Catholic anti-abortion crusader Jim McFadden. He and I cooked up the presidential project over the phone.
    The president’s book expressed his anti-abortion “views” as ghostwritten by McFadden in order to cement the Reagan “deal” with the anti-abortion movement. We called the book “Abortion and the Conscience of the Nation.” I suggested to Reagan’s people that two Schaeffer family friends — C. Everett Koop and Malcolm Muggeridge (a famous British writer/social critic and convert from far-left politics to rabid far-right Roman Catholicism with whom my father once led a huge pro-life demonstration in Hyde Park, London) — provide us with afterwords to “bulk out” an otherwise too brief book, which they did within a week or two after I called them.
    Once they were “on board,” Republican leaders like Senator Jesse Helms and Congressmen Jack Kemp and Henry Hyde (to name but three whom I met with often, in Jack’s case in his home, where I stayed as a guest) worked closely with my father and me, and we (along with a lot of other religious leaders) began to deliver large blocs of voters. We even managed “our” voters for the Republican Party by incessantly reminding our followers of “the issue” through newsletters, TV and radio broadcasts. For instance, I worked closely with James Dobson in the early days of his “Focus on the Family” radio program, and I was on his show several times. He offered my “pro-life” book “A Time for Anger” as a fundraising fulfillment and distributed more than 150,000 copies. The book eventually sold over half a million copies.
    No one seemed to notice (or mind) that the Republicans weren’t really doing anything about abortion other than talking about it to voters. And by the mid- to late 1980s the cause shifted: We Evangelicals paid lip-service to “stopping abortion,” but the real issue was keeping Republicans in power and keeping evangelical leaders in the ego-stroking loop of having access to power.
    Fast-forward 30 years to the early 21st century: The messengers, leaders and day-to-day “issues” changed. For instance, we were into taking away a woman’s right to choose. Today it’s about gay bashing and denying climate change — and now the nakedly racist anti-immigrant movement threat is part of the reaction to the black man in the White House.
    But the volume and tone of the anti-government “debate” and the anger in reaction to the Obama presidency originated with the anti-abortion movement. To understand where that anger came from and who first gave voice to it and why it has a level of religious fervor to it, consider a few prescient passages from my father’s immensely influential book (influential within the evangelical ghetto, that is) “A Christian Manifesto,” which was published in 1981.
    As you read these excerpts, bear in mind what would take place in the “health care debates” over what came to be disparaged as “Obamacare” 30 years or so after my father’s book was read by hundreds of thousands of evangelicals. Anti-health-care-reform rhetoric — ”Death Panels!” “Government Takeover!” “Obama is Hitler!” — that the far right spewed in the policy debates of 2009 and beyond seemed to be ripped from the pages of Dad’s and my writings. Note the ominous rhetorical shadow Dad’s book cast over a benighted and divided American future, a future that produced the climate of hate that eventually spawned the murder of abortion providers such as Dr. George Tiller in Wichita in 2009. Here’s a bit from Dad’s writing on how the government was “taking away” our country and turning it over to liberals, codenamed by Dad as “this total humanistic way of thinking”:
    The law, and especially the courts, is the vehicle to force this total humanistic way of thinking upon the entire population.
    And this:
    Simply put, the Declaration of Independence states that the people, if they find that their basic rights are being systematically attacked by the state, have a duty to try and change that government, and if they cannot do so, to abolish it.
    Then this:
    There does come a time when force, even physical force, is appropriate. A true Christian in Hitler’s Germany and in the occupied countries should have defied the false and counterfeit state. This brings us to a current issue that is crucial for the future of the church in the United States, the issue of abortion. It is time we consciously realize that when any office commands what is contrary to God’s law it abrogates its authority. And our loyalty to the God who gave this law then requires that we make the appropriate response in that situation.
    In other words, Dad’s followers were told that (1) force is a legitimate weapon to use against an evil government; (2) America was like Hitler’s Germany — because of legal abortion and of the forcing of “humanism” on the population — and thus intrinsically evil; and (3) whatever would have been the “appropriate response” to stop Hitler was now appropriate to do here in America to stop our government, which Dad had just branded a “counterfeit state.”
    Is it any wonder that the (mostly) evangelicals running the far-right Republican Party these days see themselves as the children of a revolution? This is ISIS minus the beheadings, but the vibe is the same. Shutting down the government was nothing to these people. They see our government as the enemy, and they are running it.
    As I said, in the 1970s we were outsiders asking for change. The change came and now people as demented as I was are running the show.
    Dad’s books sailed under the radar of the major media, which weren’t paying much attention to religious books despite the powerful influence they were having on the direction of American politics. “Manifesto” sold more than 1 million copies in evangelical bookstores.
    Dad and I were rewarded by the Republican leadership — admittedly before some of Dad’s fans were killing doctors but after we were spreading anti-government and anti-American venom — for our “stand.” By the end of the 1970s the Republicans depended on agitators (or “prophetic voices”) like us to energize their rank and file.
    They still do.
    Mark my words, the subtext to the GOP assault on us in 2016 will be religious extremism — again. And now it has a racist twist. Look at the right’s reaction to the events in Ferguson. Look at the continuing anti-Obama ugliness far past mere political difference. For the Republicans the next election won’t be about politics. it will be a holy war — again.
    ")
  • 20131020 - The Threat of the Religious Right is as Old as Christianity - ("Third century the proto-Orthodox Christian scholar Origen went to a lot of effort to argue away second century Pagan critic Celsus’ portrayal of Christians and Christianity as one of anti-social seditionists bent on the destruction society, as a caricature of his movement. Celsus’ book was called The True Doctrine (‘alethès logos). Celsus himself was a Pagan Roman intellectual and Platonist, and he was very concerned about the threat posed to his world, to his culture and society and to its families, by Christianity. Little is known of Celsus otherwise, and Origen, who produced his counter-polemic Contra Celsum (Against Celsus) in CE 248, or some 50-70 years after Celsus wrote, was able to learn little about him. We know only that Celsus’ book was important enough and influential enough to pose a real threat in turn to the Christian movement. Celsus painted a bleak picture of his era’s Christians, saying that they suffer from the “disease of sedition.” They refuse to serve in the military, he says, and also to hold political office, and when Celsus talks of sedition and revolution, he is not talking about a violent coup but a political coup, something far more sinister, something much more along the lines we have seen since the Religious Right began to infiltrate and take control of the Republican Party following Goldwater’s defeat. Two other symptoms of Christianity as Celsus identifies them are still readily apparent today in the Religious Right: xenophobia and separatism. Celsus was also troubled by another element very familiar to us today: the idea that the earth was made for Christians alone. “He has made us entirely like God,” they proclaim, “and all things have been put under us, earth, water, air, and stars; and all things exist for our benefit, and have been appointed to serve us…” With thinking like this, it was perhaps no surprise that the Christians felt that the Church was above the state, yet another cry we are familiar with today as we see the Bible put above the Constitution time and again. A low intellectual bar was something else noted by Celsus. “Let the stupid draw near!” was their appeal, he says. Their favorite expression are, he says, “Do not ask questions, just believe!” and “Your faith will save you!” More, he relates, the Christians teach nothing new: “There is nothing new or impressive about their ethical teaching; indeed, when one compares it to other philosophies, their simplemindedness becomes apparent.” They are simpleminded, he says, because they will believe anything (again, one is reminded of the Religious Right and the many bizarre claims they make on a daily basis). Today’s Teabangelicals (I am thinking of Rand Paul, Rick Santorum, Ted Cruz, Sarah Palin and others) sound very much like Celsus’ Christians: “Now I would not want to say,” Celsus writes, that a man who got into trouble because of some eccentric belief should have to renounce his belief, or pretend that he has renounced it. But the point is this, and the Christians would do well to heed it: One ought first to follow reason as a guide before accepting any belief, since anyone who believes without testing a doctrine is sure to be deceived. “If only they would undertake to answer my question,” Celsus laments, which I do not ask as one trying to understand their beliefs (there being little to understand!). But they refuse to answer, and indeed, discourage asking questions of any sort.” Instead, they prey on the ignorant and shy away from debate with the educated: “Make sure none of you obtains knowledge, for too much learning is a dangerous thing: knowledge is a disease of the soul, and the soul that acquires knowledge will perish. Nor were early Christians seen as embracing anything like family values; rather, they were family wreckers, said Celsus, infiltrating families and destroying them by turning children against fathers and luring away daughters. Christianity is thus, believes Celsus, a rebellion against the state but against the very fabric of society and culture, and thus “harmful to the life of mankind.” They also attack the day’s education system, just as they attack today’s, calling it “corrupt” just as they call it corrupt today, because it does not teach those things Christians want it to teach. Celsus explains that “religious innovation stems from social causes,” which, as one modern scholar says, is “a perhaps surprisingly ‘modern’ and rationalist view’” and “quite common in classical religious, philosophical, and political thought.” We have certainly seen this with the Religious Right and their manufactured culture war. Celsus, writes this scholar, “depicts the Christians as genuine enemies of humanity, a conscious conspiracy (at least on the part of its leaders) of the intellectually doltish, the socially inferior, and the morally bankrupt. The success of such a movement would spell the end of his civilization.” Far from saving it, what Celsus believed is true today as well. The Religious Right will not save our civilization but will destroy it, and for the same reasons. One wonders what Origen would say were he alive today to see what had become of his movement. The Religious Right seems determined to make a mockery of Origen’s defense and make true Celsus’ accusations. Origen said all Christians should not be judged by the examples of a few, and this is certainly as true of Christians as of any other group, a lesson the Religious Right has forgotten in its xenophobic reactions to the religious Other, Muslims especially, but also Pagans and historically, Jews. It is, perhaps, no surprise that Origen himself became the Other after his death, when he was declared by the later orthodox church to be heretical. The Christians Celsus most feared were those who personal charismatic authority and prophecy and these Christians today are those we also should most fear, the dominionists who drive the Religious Right and the Sarah Palins and Ted Cruzes of the world. Celsus did not overstate the threat they represented to his world, for they did, in fact, destroy it, and we should not underestimate the threat they pose to ours. Sources: Celsus. Celsus on the True Doctrine: A Discourse Against the Christians, tr. by R. Joseph Hoffmann. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1987. James A. Francis. Subversive Virtue: Asceticism and Authority in the Second-Century Pagan World. University Park, PA: The Pennsylvania University Press, 1995.")
  • 20131008 - Ancient Confession Found: 'We Invented Jesus Christ' - ("Biblical scholars will be appearing at the 'Covert Messiah' Conference at Conway Hall in London on the 19th of October to present this controversial discovery to the British public. American Biblical scholar Joseph Atwill will be appearing before the British public for the first time in London on the 19th of October to present a controversial new discovery: ancient confessions recently uncovered now prove, according to Atwill, that the New Testament was written by first-century Roman aristocrats and that they fabricated the entire story of Jesus Christ. His presentation will be part of a one-day symposium entitled "Covert Messiah" at Conway Hall in Holborn (full details can be found at http://www.covertmessiah.com). Although to many scholars his theory seems outlandish, and is sure to upset some believers, Atwill regards his evidence as conclusive and is confident its acceptance is only a matter of time. "I present my work with some ambivalence, as I do not want to directly cause Christians any harm," he acknowledges, "but this is important for our culture. Alert citizens need to know the truth about our past so we can understand how and why governments create false histories and false gods. They often do it to obtain a social order that is against the best interests of the common people." Atwill asserts that Christianity did not really begin as a religion, but a sophisticated government project, a kind of propaganda exercise used to pacify the subjects of the Roman Empire. "Jewish sects in Palestine at the time, who were waiting for a prophesied warrior Messiah, were a constant source of violent insurrection during the first century," he explains. "When the Romans had exhausted conventional means of quashing rebellion, they switched to psychological warfare. They surmised that the way to stop the spread of zealous Jewish missionary activity was to create a competing belief system. That's when the 'peaceful' Messiah story was invented. Instead of inspiring warfare, this Messiah urged turn-the-other-cheek pacifism and encouraged Jews to 'give onto Caesar' and pay their taxes to Rome." Was Jesus based on a real person from history? "The short answer is no," Atwill insists, "in fact he may be the only fictional character in literature whose entire life story can be traced to other sources. Once those sources are all laid bare, there's simply nothing left." Atwill's most intriguing discovery came to him while he was studying "Wars of the Jews" by Josephus [the only surviving first-person historical account of first-century Judea] alongside the New Testament. "I started to notice a sequence of parallels between the two texts," he recounts. "Although it's been recognised by Christian scholars for centuries that the prophesies of Jesus appear to be fulfilled by what Josephus wrote about in the First Jewish-Roman war, I was seeing dozens more. What seems to have eluded many scholars is that the sequence of events and locations of Jesus ministry are more or less the same as the sequence of events and locations of the military campaign of [Emperor] Titus Flavius as described by Josephus. This is clear evidence of a deliberately constructed pattern. The biography of Jesus is actually constructed, tip to stern, on prior stories, but especially on the biography of a Roman Caesar." How could this go unnoticed in the most scrutinised books of all time? "Many of the parallels are conceptual or poetic, so they aren't all immediately obvious. After all, the authors did not want the average believer to see what they were doing, but they did want the alert reader to see it. An educated Roman in the ruling class would probably have recognised the literary game being played." Atwill maintains he can demonstrate that "the Roman Caesars left us a kind of puzzle literature that was meant to be solved by future generations, and the solution to that puzzle is 'We invented Jesus Christ, and we're proud of it.'" Is this the beginning of the end of Christianity? "Probably not," grants Atwill, "but what my work has done is give permission to many of those ready to leave the religion to make a clean break. We've got the evidence now to show exactly where the story of Jesus came from. Although Christianity can be a comfort to some, it can also be very damaging and repressive, an insidious form of mind control that has led to blind acceptance of serfdom, poverty, and war throughout history. To this day, especially in the United States, it is used to create support for war in the Middle East." Atwill encourages skeptics to challenge him at Conway Hall, where after the presentations there is likely to be a lively Q&A session. Joining Mr.Atwill will be fellow scholar Kenneth Humphreys, author of the book "Jesus Never Existed." Further information can be found at http://www.covertmessiah.com.vAbout Joseph Atwill: Joseph Atwill is the author of the best-selling book "Caesar's Messiah" and its upcoming sequel "The Single Strand."")
  • Documentary video: "Caesar's Messiah" - ("The official trailer for Caesar's Messiah: "Christianity was invented by a little known family of Roman Caesars, the Flavians; and they left us documents to prove it." When we were first introduced to the book Caesar’s Messiah, our response to the idea that the Romans wrote the New Testament in order to control the masses of the day was equal parts belief and disbelief. The thesis made a lot of sense, and yet it seemed too outrageous in the face of the gigantic numbers of people who hold Christianity sacred and Jesus as a historic figure. After a three-year journey of studying this subject more deeply and becoming familiar with the works of many scholars on the origins of Christianity, we feel that the thesis has much merit and deserves to be seriously considered as a likely possibility of what actually occurred in history 2000 years ago. Though we didn’t wish to dismiss the positive teachings of Christianity, it is the history and politics of the way the religion came about that we feel are the real issue. The challenge then became how to approach such a scholarly and academic topic as the analysis of ancient texts, in a visual format in order to keep the attention of the audience. Thanks to the artistic cinematography of Fritz Heede and Marisa Maldonado, and the inclusion of classic paintings to illustrate scenes from the time period, we were able to avoid the pitfalls of re-enactments, which can tend to feel too concrete and forced of an interpretation of an ancient era. We were also blessed with interesting and passionate scholars who are a far cry from dry academics, being on the cutting edge of scholarship and in many instances challenging to the academic world. As production progressed, we couldn’t help notice the immediate relevancy of the Caesar’s Messiah thesis to the unfolding of current day political affairs. It is our hope that audiences will open up to the possibility that the history written in official books is not always actual fact, and that religion is often used as a political tool to control the populace, even to this day.  The origin of the Christian religion has been a subject steeped in mystery for nearly 2000 years. Who was Jesus? Is he an historical character? Who wrote the Gospels? Why are they written in Greek? Why did they have a pro-Roman and anti-semitic perspective? Why was the religion headquartered in Rome? Caesar’s Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus is a documentary based on the best‐selling religious studies book by Joseph Atwill. Atwill is one of a number of scholars today from all around the world, who are questioning the historic facts behind these mysterious origins of Christianity. When examining the actual history of this era, many of the answers provided by the Church do not hold up to rigorous scrutiny. No doubt, Christianity has done a lot of good for the world, but a lot of bad has come from its most dogmatic believers, who create wars, hatred, and other harm under the disguise of religion. In studying how Christianity emerged, the seven controversial Bible scholars featured in this film agree that it was used as a political tool to control the masses of the day, and is still being used this way today. For example, support for the wars in the Middle East is preached to Evangelical Christians as a way to speed up the coming of the End of Days. Maybe we need to expand the possible answers about how Christianity originated, and deeper questions need to be asked. Maybe we need to examine what political motives were behind the formation of the Christian religion? The documentary begins with a brief history of the political and religious climate of Judea in the first century CE – the era during which Christianity emerged. Judea was occupied by the Roman Empire, which required them to worship Caesar as a god. The Jews found this blasphemous, and they waged constant rebellions against the Empire. Their religious scriptures prophesied that a militaristic warrior Messiah would defeat the Romans and lead the Jews to liberation. A string of numerous Messiahs presented themselves to lead the people in war against Rome, only to be defeated and crucified – a customary Roman punishment for insurgents of the day. However, the Roman government was growing weaker from over a century of increasingly corrupt rule by the Julio‐Claudian dynasty — the last emperor of this lineage being Nero, who was bankrupting the Empire with his self‐indulgence. In their greatest victory, the messianic Jews finally succeeded in burning Rome and driving the Romans out of Judea. This caused Nero to call upon his best military men, the Flavians – Vespasian and his son Titus — to crush the rebellion for good. The Flavians succeeded not only in destroying the Jewish towns of Galilee and their temple in Jerusalem, but after Nero was deposed and committed suicide, they seized the throne through a military coup and took over reign of the Roman Empire itself. Under the Flavians, the Empire flourished, and many great monuments were built including the famous Coliseum. In order to pacify the Jewish rebellion, they captured and burned all the Jews’ scriptures. It is around this time that a new literature emerged with the story of a very different Jewish Messiah – one who preached “give to Caesar what is Caesar’s”, “turn the other cheek”, and “love your enemy”. Kenneth Humphreys on the historicity of Jesus: "[It's] a dilemma for those who believe in him. Because on the one hand he supposedly overturned the world, it turned the world upside-down and triggered off this massive movement, but on the other hand he leaves no trace in historical record." The second half of the documentary focuses on the documents the Flavians left behind which prove their authorship of the Gospels. The Bible scholars deconstruct the Gospels and the character Jesus, showing that they are based on archetypes found in the ancient pagan mystery schools and in earlier Jewish literature. Much of the teachings of Christianity are traced back to the writings of Philo of Alexandria — who was combining Jewish scripture with Greek pagan beliefs — and Stoicism, a philosophy promoted by the Flavians. When the Flavians seized control of the Roman Empire, they needed to legitimise their rule, so they had their Jewish court historian Josephus (originally Yosef ben Matityahu who adopted the name Titus Flavius Josephus) create a large body of work which became the only official history we have of the Jewish-Roman War. Bible scholar Joseph Atwill noticed many parallels between this historic account of the war and the events in the life of Jesus in the Gospels. Through his study of the ancient Greek texts and his discovery of an antiquated Hebrew literary genre, he found dozens of parallels between the Jesus story and the war history that occurred in the exact same sequence. This shows that the events of Jesus’ life which supposedly took place forty years earlier, were actually all dependent on the events in the military campaign of the Roman Caesar Titus Flavius. Ancient texts were much more allegorical, multi-layered and complex than today’s writing, and when you read the Gospels and the histories of Josephus side by side, a new meaning arises which reveals the authors of the Gospels to be the Roman Flavian Caesars, their co-conspirators, and their literary team. Along the way, the Bible scholars show how the Roman Imperial Cult — set up to worship Caesar as a god — formed the basis for the Roman Catholic Church, and that some of the Church’s first saints were members of the Flavian court. Atwill also shows how the “second coming of the Christ” referred to a historical event that already occurred. Featuring scholars Joseph Atwill, Robert Eisenman, John Hudson, Ken Humphreys, Rod Blackhirst, Acharya S / D.M. Murdock, and Timothy Freke, this ground-breaking documentary not only gives us a revolutionary new understanding of the origins of Christianity, but shows how the political use of religion is still affecting our personal lives today. We currently live on the brink of an immense paradigm shift, and this modern time is very parallel to the era in which Christianity emerged. Studying this ancient era can give us the much-needed perspective for coming up with solutions to today’s problems, so we can create the better world that we envision.")
  • Jesus Never Existed -
    Jesus Never Existed Says New Report That Finds No Mention Of Christ In 126 Historical Texts. "Jesus never existed. That is the conclusion of a researcher who says he has combed 126 texts written during or shortly after the time Jesus is supposed to have lived — and found no mention of Jesus whatsoever.The claim that Jesus, the messianic figure at the center of the world’s largest religion, Christianity, was simply a fictional character is not a new one. Advocates of the “Mythical Jesus” theory have been around for years, arguing that the story of Jesus bears a close resemblance to numerous other mythological stories of ancient gods who were born of virgin mothers and performed miracles.In a new article entitled “The Fable of the Christ,” Michael Paulkovich summarizes his findings, or lack of findings, which lead him to believe that Jesus never actually existed, but is instead a fictional character, made up to give followers of the religion founded in his name a central icon worthy of their worship.
Paulkovich says that only one of the 126 texts he combed through contains any mention of Jesus — and that, he says, is a forgery. That text is the first-century history book The Jewish Wars by the Roman historian Josephus Flavius, who wrote his work in the year 95 CE.
But, despite making his home just one mile from Jesus’s supposed hometown of Nazareth, Josephus appears totally unaware of the famous miracle worker who later went to Jerusalem where he became such a political threat that the Romans found it necessary to execute him by crucifixion.
The few mentions of Jesus in The Jewish Wars, Paulkovich argues, were added by later editors, not by Josephus himself.
Otherwise, says the author, despite the remarkable feats Jesus is alleged to have performed and the great deal of political unrest caused by his arrival in Jerusalem, not a single writer from the time and place of Jesus’s life finds that Jesus so much as rates a footnote." "“When I consider those 126 writers, all of whom should have heard of Jesus but did not — and Paul and Marcion and Athenagoras and Matthew with a tetralogy of opposing Christs, the silence from Qumran and Nazareth and Bethlehem, conflicting Bible stories, and so many other mysteries and omissions,” Paulkovich writes, “I must conclude that Christ is a mythical character.”"
  • Truth be known - an account of Christian atrocities since the start of the religion. (""WONDERFUL EVENTS THAT TESTIFY TO GOD'S DIVINE GLORY" Listed are only events that solely occurred on command of church authorities or were committed in the name of Christianity. (List incomplete - the rest visible on the source website) Ancient Pagans:
    • As soon as Christianity was legal (315), more and more pagan temples were destroyed by Christian mob. Pagan priests were killed.
    • Between 315 and 6th century thousands of pagan believers were slain.
    • Examples of destroyed Temples: the Sanctuary of Aesculap in Aegaea, the Temple of Aphrodite in Golgatha, Aphaka in Lebanon, the Heliopolis.
    • Christian priests such as Mark of Arethusa or Cyrill of Heliopolis were famous as "temple destroyer." [DA468]
    • Pagan services became punishable by death in 356. [DA468]
    • Christian Emperor Theodosius (408-450) even had children executed, because they had been playing with remains of pagan statues. [DA469] According to Christian chroniclers he "followed meticulously all Christian teachings..."
    • In 6th century pagans were declared void of all rights.
    • In the early fourth century the philosopher Sopatros was executed on demand of Christian authorities. [DA466]
    • The world famous female philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria was torn to pieces with glass fragments by a hysterical Christian mob led by a Christian minister named Peter, in a church, in 415. [DO19-25]")
  • 20130225 - Were Early Christians Really Persecuted? Historian Reveals the Surprising Truth. ("A new book says under the Roman empire, "Christians were never the victims of sustained, targeted persecution." In the immediate aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre, a modern myth was born. A story went around that one of the two killers asked one of the victims, Cassie Bernall, if she believed in God. Bernall reportedly said “Yes” just before he shot her. Bernall’s mother wrote a memoir, titled “She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall,” a tribute to her daughter’s courageous Christian faith. Then, just as the book was being published, a student who was hiding near Bernall told journalist Dave Cullen that the exchange never happened. Although Candida Moss’ new book, “The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom,” is about the three centuries following the death of Jesus, she makes a point of citing this modern-day parallel. What Bernall truly said and did in the moments before her death absolutely matters, Moss asserts, if we are going to hold her up as a “martyr.” Yet misconceptions and misrepresentations can creep in so soon. The public can get the story wrong even in this highly mediated and thoroughly reported age — and do so despite the presence among us of living eyewitnesses. So what, then, to make of the third-hand, heavily revised, agenda-laden and anachronistic accounts of Christianity’s originalmartyrs? Moss, professor of New Testament and early Christianity at the University of Notre Dame, challenges some of the most hallowed legends of the religion when she questions what she calls “the Sunday school narrative of a church of martyrs, of Christians huddled in catacombs out of fear, meeting in secret to avoid arrest and mercilessly thrown to lions merely for their religious beliefs.” None of that, she maintains, is true. In the 300 years between the death of Jesus and the conversion of the Emperor Constantine, there were maybe 10 or 12 scattered years during which Christians were singled out for supression by Rome’s imperial authorities, and even then the enforcement of such initiatives was haphazard — lackadaisical in many regions, although harsh in others. “Christians were never,” Moss writes, “the victims of sustained, targeted persecution.” Much of the middle section of “The Myth of Persecution” is taken up with a close reading of the six “so-called authentic accounts” of the church’s first martyrs. They include Polycarp, a bishop in Smyrna during the second century who was burned at the stake, and Saint Perpetua, a well-born young mother executed in the arena at Carthage with her slave, Felicity, at the beginning of the third century. Moss carefully points out the inconsistencies between these tales and what we know about Roman society, the digs at heresies that didn’t even exist when the martyrs were killed and the references to martyrdom traditions that had yet to be established. There’s surely some kernel of truth to these stories, she explains, as well as to the first substantive history of the church written in 311 by a Palestinian named Eusebius. It’s just that it’s impossible to sort the truth from the colorful inventions, the ax-grinding and the attempts to reinforce the orthodoxies of a later age. Moss also examines surviving Roman records. She notes that during the only concerted anti-Christian Roman campaign, under the emperor Diocletian between 303 and 306, Christians were expelled from public offices. Their churches, such as the one in Nicomedia, across the street from the imperial palace, were destroyed. Yet, as Moss points out, if the Christians were holding high offices in the first place and had built their church “in the emperor’s own front yard,” they could hardly have been in hiding away in catacombs before Diocletian issued his edicts against them....")
Individuals Credited With Fuelling "Satanic Panic" Or "Satanic Ritual Abuse" (SRA) Propaganda:
Christianity 
  • Don Rimer (Deceased 21/01/2012)  
Don Rimer presented seminars and “training” sessions to law enforcement officers in the USA on “occult crimes”. Much of his information and many of his claims were founded on cherry-picked facts and on misrepresentation. He added to the “Satanic Ritual Abuse” or SRA “Satanic Panic” of the late 1980’s and 1990’s. Though he died in 2012, much of his material is still in circulation and still inaccurate, continues to perpetuate his legacy of flawed research and tainted “expertise” which continues to show dividends.
  • Don Rimer: Occult Expert or Merchant of Fear? "Don Rimer is a retired police officer, who now presents seminars through the Oklahoma Gang Investigators Unit. His views on "ritual crime and the occult" can be found in a document on the OGIU website titled "Ritual Crime and the Occult (the New Youth Subculture)" from 2009. This document casts quite a wide net of concern, and in so doing, I detected several problematic areas, troubling in that it comes from a self-described expert, and someone providing guidance to law enforcement and thereby impacting lives in significant fashion. Problematic terminology and definitions - Rimer uses the term "occult" not only in a pejorative manner for various expressions of Western esotericism, but also as a blanket term for a diverse group of unrelated religions, spiritualities, and identity subcultures. Imagined connections - Rimer makes inappropriate connections between various elements to alleged "ritual crime." Of course there are crimes, sometimes very grisly, but isolated cases of crime are not necessarily connected appropriately, nor do they flow out of, the groups he describes as dangerous. Unfamiliarity with scholarship - Rimer is unfamiliar with the good body of academic materials on this subject matter, as well as the related to topic of satanic panics. In fact, in comments made to me he seems to hold academics at a distance and privileges his lay approach at "expertise." He doesn't have to be a scholar, but he should be familiar with the academic material related to the subjects he's instructing others on. Counter-cult influences - Rimer also appears to be influenced by Protestant evangelical counter-cult approaches to the subjects he lectures on, which tends to lump diverse phenomena together with a primary concern that whatever religion or spirituality that is non-Christian is somehow connected to the demonic." - John W. Morehead
  • William (Bill) Schnoebelen
Bill Schnoebelen is an enigmatic American who today claims to be a born-again Christian, who conducts seminars and presentations and sells videos on the sum of his life experiences, in which he claims to have been everything from a Catholic, to a Free Mason, Mormon, Satanist, Wiccan – and also a vampire. For years, this man has fueled Satanic Ritual Abuse (“Satanic panic”) due to his misinformation and cherry-picking of facts, misrepresentation of facts, and his work to undermine tolerance of religious diversity by agitating religious fundamentalists and inciting action against other religious groups. The problem with his claims are many, including how 1 person could have attained so many positions in so many religious bodies in the short time specified.
  • Wikipedia Bio 
  • Bill Schnoebelen "former Illuminati member" is a fraud: "His claims of having sex with a demon are actually quite tame compared to what he says in another video titled Interview with an Ex-Vampire, where he states that within in the vampire subculture, human vampires exist and indeed grow fangs to feed off of human blood. A small subculture of “vampires” actually does exist, but they are not walking dead who turn into bats and sleep in coffins. They are a small minority of the gothic subculture who do drink animal or human blood as part of their lifestyle. Usually they do not kill people for this blood, but they have friends and fellow “vampires” willingly give up a pint of blood for consumption, or they purchase animal blood from butcher shops and consume it. But Schnoebelen takes this idea to an absurd extreme, claiming that to become a “real” vampire, he drank the blood of a fallen angel and was then able to grow fangs which would retract when he was not “feeding.” He says as a result of “becoming a vampire” that he couldn’t go outside during the day because his skin would blister, and that he had to get a third shift job because he could only go outside at night." - Excerpt from Mark Dice's book, The Illuminati: Facts & Fiction.
  • Schnoebelen on Wicca: He repeatedly misrepresents and cherry-picks facts to suit his agenda. 
  • Kobus Jonker: 
Kobus Jonker was a Colonel in the South African Police who became a celebrity for his work in combating “occult related crime” in the 1980’s at the height of the “Satanic Panic” hysteria – a time when Pagan faiths were linked with “Satanism” and being in possession of anything Pagan could result in criminal prosecution. These days going by the title of "Doctor", Jonker headed the South African Police Force’s ‘Occult-Related Crime Unit’ from 1981 until 2001, when he retired from the force after suffering a heart attack. The unit was disbanded after human rights groups claimed that it was not constitutional in a country that guaranteed religious freedom - since religious freedom in the SA Constitution and the Bill of Rights allowed Pagan religion to come out of hiding. His career earned him several nicknames, including "Donker Jonker" (Dark Jonker), "The Hound of God" and "God's Detective". He has written two books on the subject of Satanism inSouth Africa. He is currently acting as a so-called "occult expert" for the SA Police Service which is in the process of resuscitating the "occult related crime unit".
  • "Dr. Jonker headed the South African Police Force’s ‘Occult-Related Crime Unit’ until 2001 when he retired from the force after suffering a heart attack. It would appear that busting the devil’s chops takes its toll eventually. The unit has since been disbanded. Dr. Jonker is certain that it will be reinstated soon due to the large number of occult crimes that occur on a daily basis in South Africa. He now practices homeopathy and acts as a consultant to the police force on all things demon-related. I went to speak with Dr. Jonker about some of the cases he has been involved with and some of the crazy shit he has seen in his battle against the dark forces of evil." - Dr. Kobus Jonker: God’s Detective - by Henk Lustig.
  • South African Police Services Occult Related Crime Unit (Article,Witchvox, witch hunt series, 2005)
  • Exposing the Lies – Inside Servamus’ ‘Drugs & Occult-Related Crime’ Part 1(Article, Penton, 2012)
King James Version

Section 3: Current Persecution, by Country

Satanic Panic Hysteria - Political Parties:
The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)
  • 20140222 - ACDP Includes vampirism, Satanism in its election manifesto speech, mentioning "children drinking their mother's blood" and "friends receiving blood from friends", "satanism in schools". At the launch of its election manifesto, the ACDP leader used the threat of Satanism and Vampirism in schools to fear-monger attendees to vote for "change". He said these practices were occurring because of policies put in place by the ANC government. From 1730 minutes in the video.

If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.
If you’d like to send Christina Engela a question about her life as a writer or transactivist, please send an email to christinaengela@gmail.com or use the Contact form.
Show your appreciation for Christina's work!
All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019. 
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)