When is this stuff going to end? I’m absolutely convinced that anti-gay bigotry is attributable almost entirely to religion, mainly because those who practice it often explicitly cite their “religious beliefs.” It’s one of those things, like opposition to stem-cell research, that there hardly seems to be a secular justification for.

So, here are two brief bits of bigotry called to my attention by reader Ginger K; both are reported by GayStarNews.

First, a preacher in New York City, of all places, has advocated the stoning of gays, and in no uncertain terms.

James David Manning, a pastor from New York City, is calling for Christians to stone gays. Manning’s ATLAH World Missionary Church has a new announcement: ‘Jesus would stone homos. Stoning is still the law.’ According to the site Joe My God Manning said in a YouTube video that Christians who do not attack gays are ‘advocating lawlessness. Stoning of the homos is now in order. Stoning is still the law.’ The video clip has been pulled down from YouTube because it violates the site’s hate speech codes. The pastor, whose church is located in the Manhattan neighborhood Harlem, proudly preaches anti-gay bigotry. At the end of February he railed against ‘homo demons.’

To be fair, the preacher is only following God’s dictates in the Old Testament, in particular Leviticus 20:13:

If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

I wonder how literalists deal with that passage, as well as the many other odious orders of God outlined in Leviticus. And I wonder how William Lane Craig, who accepts “divine command theory,” would react.

Here’s the sign for the ATLAH church: it’s scary! And you can see the remnants of the original video (now taken down) on the church’s website:

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Meanwhile, in Indiana (what’s with that state?), owners Randy and Trish McGath of the 111 Cakery have refused to bake a wedding cake for a gay couple. But of course they harbor no hate—they’re just following God’s orders.

The couple, owners of 111 Cakery in Indianapolis, posted a lengthy Facebook message on Thursday (13 March) explaining they have ‘zero hate’ but that their Christian beliefs led them to decline to make a cake for Mike Stephens and Shane Laney. . . . In their Facebook post, the couple stresses that as Christians they have ‘sincere love’ for people and a ‘commitment to treat every person that walks through the door with respect and kindness.’ The trouble was, they would not be able to ‘find the inspiration’ to make a cake for such an occasion. ‘It was not that we wanted to deny them a cake, it’s just tough to create something that goes against your beliefs,’ they wrote. ‘Was this the right thing to say? Maybe not. But this phone call caused us to do a lot of soul searching because we want to be right with our God as well as respect others.’

Well, maybe they should reexamine their beliefs! Is that unheard of, or do they have to slavishly follow what they see as the will of God? Here’s their Facebook post:

It’s pretty bad to hear these people try to rationalize their decision as having no hate content, and simply the result of a “lack of inspiration.” But one admission is telling: they see that there’s a big conflict between being “right with their God” and “respecting others.” Clearly, God doesn’t want them to respect others (see Leviticus above).

What’s almost as bad is what follows this comment:

I’m not sure whether this refusal to provide service is illegal, but—based on the proposed Arizona law that would have allowed such discrimination, but was deep-sixed on constitutional grounds—I suspect it is.

The bakery owners are, as reported in the article, getting a lot of pushback on Facebook (I haven’t read the comments), and Mike and Shane are having their cake made elsewhere. In the meantime, I suspect they’ll soon have more cause to reexamine their beliefs.