"Salvation Army says 'Gays Need to Be Put to Death'”

[AOII Angel]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Eh, I don't know. Sounds to me like an individual said things that the leadership had to backtrack from. Granted, that individual was a (regional?) media relations director, but still, while a media director can speak on behalf of an organization, he's not the pope—what he says doesn't automatically equal what the Sally Army teaches.

And I can't help feeling the questions have a bit of a when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife vibe. I have to quibble with the claim that the the Romans passage cited says gays "need to be put to death." What Paul says is that wicked people—among whom he counts not only those who are "given over" to "unnatural desires," but also gossips, idolaters and a variety of others—continue in their wickedness even though they know that under the Law they "deserve death." Of course, before it's over with, Paul will go on to say everyone is a sinner who deserves death, which is why he says the Gospel is good news.

I'm not trying to defend the Sally Army—I don't agree with their position on this subject, and I completely understand the feelings of pshsx1 and Sen. But when I see an "interview" like this one, I can't help feeling that the interviewers weren't really trying to understand the Army's position, but were instead trying to set it up. Either that or they were just couldn't be bothered to understand the Scripture references at issue. Either way, at no time did anyone say gays "need to be put to death, nor did the Army "[go] on record recently" saying so.

My feeling is that if you're going to disagree with a position taken by a group, do so honestly. Don't mischaracterize or caricature their position, much less slander them by saying something like they support people being put to death for being gay. All that does, in my opinion, is undermine opposition to the position by undermining credibility.

Alright, I'll amend that to a highly placed representative of the Salvation Army was caught making a highly inflammatory statement and they are now trying to walk it back. Whether or not the interviewers were trying to understand the Salvation Army's position is neither here nor there. If the representatives of the organization are unable to articulate their position in order to counter that they do NOT believe homosexuals should be put to death, they have issues.