The contrast is astounding.

Two contrasting videos for your edification and education. The first is Bryan Fischer the new head of the American Family Association, a fundamentalist Christian front-group. Comments to follow.



This sort of thing leaves me speechless. It is not only bad history but clearly inspired by irrational hatred. Having gone to a fundamentalist high school, church and seminary, I know that when you prick a fundamentalist you scratch a hate-filled bigot. My journey away from fundamentalism started because of the hatred I see from these people. Sure today they pretty much concentrate on hating gays but when I was involved they hated blacks, Jews and just about every other religion on the planet. It always surprised me to hear them preach that "God so loved the world" followed by their list of favored groups to hate in the name of that same deity.

I thank them, however, since that sort of viciousness was what gave me permission to consider that which was totally forbidden: whether a deity existed or not. Seeing precisely how their belief in a deity turned them in cruel people inspired me to challenge every belief I had about religion and a god. And I rationally concluded that none of it made sense.

In contrast we have this powerful scene from Glee, one of the most subversive shows on television—in you are one of the people who take the above video rant seriously. This is one of my current favorite shows on television. And apparently it one of the top shows with the youth crowd as well. Here is some set up for those who don't follow the show.

Kurt and Finn are both members of the Glee club. Finn was a big jock on campus and Kurt was openly gay. When Kurt's father and Finn's mother decide to move in together. Kurt decorates the room they will share in a fashion that Finn found a bit over-the-top and he says some things to Kurt.

Kurt's father, is just a working single father who has been trying to cope with having a gay son and he found he could relate with Finn in ways he couldn't with Kurt. When he walks in and hears what Finn says he offers one of the most powerful dialogues in the series. And I think it a perfect reply to the hatred you hear above.



And, I should note, that the Finn character is a decent guy who used a word he shouldn't have and realized the pain he caused by it. Holly Robinson, at Huffington Post, said "Glee is changing the world, one 12-year-old at a time." She wrote:

I'm so glad to watch Glee with my 12 year-old. Or rather, so pleased to be in the living room with him as he is prompted to talk about the different characters and issues paraded before us on Glee in ways he never could if it were just Mom lecturing him about acceptance.

Not only are the stories you get from Glee far more moral and enlightening than what you find given by people like Mr. Fischer, but the music's better as well. And that is one reason of many why the Fischers of the world are thankfully a dying breed. They are not just losing a political battle but they are losing their own kids as well. Young Christians today strongly disagree with their parents and many of them are taking the same journey I did, just at a younger age. They are embracing reason, tolerance and liberty and rejecting faith-driven, hate-filled theocracy.