Pride Month 2019 is nearly finished, and this year’s festivities have continued the tradition of stretching cultural boundaries while seeking to capitalizing on shifting national values:
- Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren re-introduced the Refund Equality Act—a gay reparations bill designed to help same-sex couples reclaim an estimated $50 million[1] in lost tax benefits from a discriminatory tax code that failed to recognize same-sex marriages.[2]
- Budweiser joined such companies as Skittles, Apple, and Converse in celebration of Pride Month[3] by unveiling an array of “pride cups” featuring a diversity of colored flags, each matched to a sexual preference.[4]
- Intersectional academics[5] and writers[6] supported a Yale professor’s “Heterosexuality without Women” article[7] which argued that Mayor Pete Buttigieg and his husband are tangentially heterosexual because their lifestyles are not sufficiently queer.[8]
- Wrapped in a rainbow feathered boa, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) boisterously danced in the Boston pride parade,[9] posting, “I don’t March in the Boston Pride Parade. I dance.”[10]
- U.S. embassies flew the rainbow flag in defiance of State Department policy[11][12]
As “Queen of Pop” Madonna prepares to conclude the month-long celebration of pride at the WorldPride finale on Pride Island, it is worth asking the question, “When did pride become a virtue?”[13] Addressing this question in his podcast at The Daily Wire, Michael Knowles reminds us, “According to Thomas Aquinas, pride is the queen of all sin. It’s not just a regular sin, it is the worst sin. It is the beginning of all sin.”[14]
God uses the strongest words to express His feelings toward pride in Proverbs 8:13, “The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.” Likewise, Proverbs 16:18 teaches, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” How then have we found ourselves devoting an entire month to the national celebration of pride? How is it that we have priests such as James Martin who tweets, “To all my many #LGBTQ friends, Catholic and otherwise: Happy #PrideMonth [rainbow flag graphic] Be proud of your God-given dignity, of the gifts God has given you, of your place in the world, and of your many contributions to the church. For you are ‘wonderfully made’ by God (Ps 139). #PrideMonth2019”?[15]
Today it is difficult to speak against any of the practices associated with Pride Month, but there remain some willing to challenge our national acquiescence to the morality of the LGBTQ+ community. Fox News host Laura Ingraham drew the ire of the LGBTQ+ community because of “extreme anti-LGBTQ rhetoric” used by she and her guests.[16] Ingraham dedicated her entire June 12 podcast to transgender issues and gender identity.[17] Her guest, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League, referred to trans youth and the education of youth about gender identity as “an assault on nature and on nature’s God.”[18] The next day, California Director for MassResistance Matt Schaper spoke on The Ingraham Angle about drag queen story hour times at public libraries. He told Ingraham, “We’re not talking about diversity here, we’re talking about deviance. We’re talking about perverse and destructive lifestyles being advertised to children as if it’s normal.”[19]
Such insensitive and intolerant declarations may no longer be culturally acceptable, but they are biblically accurate. God stands opposed to the celebration of pride and the defiance of His created design for human sexuality. It is something for which he has judged nations, and it is something that can lead to the destruction of one’s soul (Lev. 18:22–26; 20:13).
The Bible presents homosexuality as abominable acts of rebellion against God’s commandments and moral law. It is described as “dishonorable passions” that are “contrary to nature” and “shameless acts” that result from a “debased mind” (Rom. 1:18–28). The Bible lumps together men who practice homosexuality with the lawless and disobedient, the ungodly and sinners, the unholy and profane, those who strike their parents, murderers, sexual immorality, enslavers, liars, and perjurers (1 Tim. 1:8–10). And those who practice homosexuality will not enter the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6:9–10).
Certainly, we as a nation should not celebrate such behavior! If God feels this strongly about the morality of the LGBTQ+ community, then surely we as Christians ought also to be grieved in our spirits by our nation’s eagerness to affirm and embrace such practices. This is not something we can afford to assimilate into our worldview. We must protect our minds from accepting the celebration of pride and sexual deviancy as a “new normal.”
To learn more about God’s perspective of homosexuality and how to use common LGBTQ+ issues to share the gospel, read Timothy Zebell’s books:
Laid Bare: Uncovering the Relationship Between Homosexuality and the Gospel
Free Downloads
Share...
1. Warren, Elizabeth (@SenWarren). “It wasn’t until marriage equality became law that gay & lesbian couples could jointly file tax returns—so they paid more in taxes. Our government owes them more than $50M for the years our discriminatory tax code left them out. We must right these wrongs.” Twitter, June 22, 2019, 5:57 p.m. https://twitter.com/ewarren/status/1142597507018579968.
2. Fitzsimons, Tim. “Warren Introduces Bill to Unlock Millions in Tax Refunds Denied to Gay Couples.” NBC News, June 20, 2019, 10:17 a.m., EDT. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/warren-introduces-bill-unlock-millions-tax-refunds-denied-gay-couples-n1019531?fbclid=IwAR3tmNz6hr7RAzLBNGwfFVpvsOWXZSfE_9XlSnxxbHFeJjBkzeLVcvZo6cs.
3. McCauley, Jim. “8 Brands Celebrating Pride Month.” Creative Bloq (Blog), June 13, 2019. https://www.creativebloq.com/features/8-brands-celebrating-pride-month.
4. Budweiser UK (@BudweiserUK). “Excited to reveal we are now proud sponsors of Pride in London! We are working closely with them and our charity partners to celebrate the diversity within the LGBT+ community and Fly the Flag for everyone at the #PrideJubilee A taste of what’s to come….” Twitter, May 31, 2019, 8:47 a.m. https://twitter.com/BudweiserUK/status/1134486495790809088/photo/1.
5. Dowling, Sarah (@sarahmdowling). “‘If straight people can be queer—as so many of them seem so impatient to explain to me—can’t gay people also be straight?’ Read ‘Heterosexuality Without Women,’ by my brilliant pal @GretaLaFleur.” Twitter, May 20, 2019, 10:54 a.m. https://twitter.com/sarahmdowling/status/1130532351996567557.
6. Jemisin, J.K (@nkjemisin). “Interesting piece on the portability/performativity of the visuals of power — whiteness, heterosexuality, etc. — and what it means to deploy them.” Twitter, June 8, 2019, 8:39 a.m. https://twitter.com/nkjemisin/status/1137383681511833600.
7. LaFleur, Greta. “Heterosexuality Without Women.” Los Angeles Review of Books (Blog), May 20, 2019. https://blog.lareviewofbooks.org/essays/heterosexuality-without-women/.
8. Dunst, Charles. “No, the Buttigiegs Are Not Straight.” New Republic, June 18, 2019. https://newrepublic.com/article/154226/no-buttigiegs-not-straight.
9. Warren, Elizabeth (@SenWarren). “I love #Pride because it’s a time we all come together to celebrate love. I’ll never stop fighting for a world where everyone feels safe to be who they are & love who they love.” Twitter, June 6, 2019, 4:04 p.m. https://twitter.com/SenWarren/status/1136770795957555200.
10. Madani, Doha. “Elizabeth Warren Doesn’t March at the Pride Parade, She Dances.” Huffington Post, June 12, 2019, 4:13 p.m., ET. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/elizabeth-warren-pride-march-dances_n_593ed62ce4b0c5a35ca1f7a5.
11. Papenfuss, Mary. “Some U.S. Embassies, Diplomats Defy Trump Policy against Flying Rainbow Pride Flags.” Huffington Post, June 8, 2019. Last updated June 9, 2019. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rainbow-flag-us-embassies-trump-restrictions_n_5cfc621de4b04e90f1ca7636.
12. Axelrod, Tal. “Some US Embassies Fly Rainbow Flag Despite Rejected Requests from Trump Admin.” The Hill, June 8, 2019, 6:22 p.m., EDT. https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/447595-some-us-embassies-fly-rainbow-flag-despite-rejected-requests-from.
13. Aviles, Gwen. “Madonna to Perform at NYC Pride Month’s Big Finale Event.” NBC News, June 3, 2019, 10:06 a.m., EDT. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/madonna-headline-nyc-pride-month-s-big-finale-event-n1013151.
14. “How Did Pride Become a Virtue? | The Michael Knowles Show Ep. 357.” YouTube video, 46:10. Posted by “The Daily Wire,” June 3, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkKxKjMA64.
15. Martin, James (@JamesMartinSJ). “To all my many #LGBTQ friends, Catholic and otherwise: Happy #PrideMonth Be proud of your God-given dignity, of the gifts God has given you, of your place in the world, and of your many contributions to the church. For you are “wonderfully made” by God (Ps 139). #PrideMonth2019.” Twitter, June 1, 2019, 10:54 a.m. https://twitter.com/JamesMartinSJ/status/1134880877337546752.
16. January, Brianna. “Laura Ingraham Dedicated a Podcast Episode to Extreme Anti-trans Rhetoric and Misinformation.” Media Matters (Blog), June 13, 2019, 3:26 p.m., EDT. https://www.mediamatters.org/blog/2019/06/13/Laura-Ingraham-dedicated-a-podcast-episode-to-extreme-anti-trans-rhetoric-and-misinformati/223923.
17. Ingraham, Laura. “Gender Bending Our Kids into Submission – The Left’s New Cultural Warpath.” June 12, 2019. The Laura Ingraham Podcast. Podcast. MP3 audio, 1:03:00. https://www.podcastone.com/episode/Gender-bending-our-kids-into-submission—the-Lefts-new-cultural-warpath-.
18. Ingraham.
19. Assunção, Muri. “Media Watch Groups Are Sounding the Alarm on Laura Ingraham’s Anti-LGBTQ Guests: ‘We’re Talking about Perverse and Destructive Lifestyles.’” Daily News, June 14, 2019, 7:09 p.m. https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-laura-ingraham-anti-lgbtq-bigotry-20190614-cpk4dw6b4rc7jfyjq2qusdctbm-story.html.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.