GAY pride events are to god-prodders what picnics are to cockroaches. Whenever such a celebration is staged, they come scurrying out of their vile nests in droves to unfurl their pathetic banners, and hand out their hateful tracts.
But the presence at today’s Sidney Mardi Gras of a team of Christians from the 100Revs organisation heralded a new tactic: they were there not to picket, but to actually take part in the 30th anniversary parade - and to APOLOGISE for all the nastinesses visited on homosexuals by Christian organisations over the centuries.
Yes, APOLOGISE!
And they prayed that this action:
Will have the intended outcome of bringing reconciliation and healing to people in the GLBTI community who have been hurt by the church, and encourage churches to be welcoming in their attitude to gay people.
When we learned of their participation, all sorts of alarm bells sounded. Were they there to signal genuine contrition, or was this a cynical attempt to infiltrate the ranks of the participants in a bid to wheedle them into the Christian fold?
The 100Revs website gives the game away - in spades!
A couple of people [a lot, actually] have raised their concern that involvement in the Mardi Gras may be seen (by church members and perhaps by the Mardi Gras organisers) as an affirmation of the promiscuity and lewdness that are part of the parade.
This is certainly not our intention. The Mardi Gras remains the iconic Gay and Lesbian event and as such is the best way of communicating with the GLBT community as a whole. So while there is much of the Mardi Gras which disturbs us, it is the best place to communicate with those who we are trying to reach - a strategy that was familiar to Jesus (Matt 11:19; Luke 5:27; John 8:3-11).
So there you have it. The Mardi Gras is still regarded by 100Revs as ‘promiscuous’ and ‘lewd’ and ‘disturbing’, but - hey - what a great place to recruit ’sinners’!
Commenting on the initiative on the 100Rev website, Nathan Keen - a Christian who deplored the involvement of the group in the parade - offered up this hogwash:
If we loved them [homosexuals], we would denounce their practice, but show them the right way to live. We might actually read or listen to people’s conversions out of homosexuality and act on their advice. We might actually expose the lies that people believe that it is normal, or that it is genetic, or that you can’t get out of it - but rather it is a choice, and people have gotten out of it.
Angry letters too were written to the Sydney Star Observer by homosexuals equally opposed to 100Revs’ involvement.
The following two letters encapsulate the sentiments of many furious gays:
Letter 1:
There is no place in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade for any group or organisation which does not adhere to the aims and objectives of the New Mardi Gras constitution.
100 Revs is one such group. The board of New Mardi Gras needs to exercise due diligence, investigate this group urgently and (I recommend) ban them from the parade.
100 Revs may wish to apologise for being nasty to homosexuals in the past. Fine, if that makes them sleep easier at night. But many of the 100 Revs do not support same-sex relationships in any context, and their own website refers to ‘much of Mardi Gras which disturbs us’. Why should they be in our parade?
Letter 2:
It always amazes me why gay folks feel the need for religion. Why embrace organisations that have for centuries persecuted and murdered us simply because of a lifestyle that we have been born into?
Why compromise that lifestyle by adhering to dogma that is its antithesis and, consequently, live with lifelong guilt that you are ‘unworthy’ or ‘living in sin’ according to that dogma.
Religion is nothing but self-deluding comfort, something that thrives on our prehistoric fear of the afterlife. Or as the churches peddle it, ’salvation from eternal damnation’.
These reverends who want to march in our parade need us a hell of a lot more than we need them.
The Freethinker was founded in 1881 by GW Foote, an outspoken critic of religion. After the publication of 
March 1st, 2008 at 10:51 pm
Instead of marching in the parade under the guise of apologizing, but with an ulterior motive, how about the 100 Revs simply apologize and leave it at that? Oh, that’s right. Simply apologizing would be too simple and give them neither the attention nor the potential converts they crave.
March 12th, 2008 at 11:55 am
This article has only sourced its evidence from a quick read of the website. I would reccomend a more thorough look at what they were doing & the positive impact their self sacrificing step to march in mardigras has made to many glbtqi christians. The organisers were genuinely apologising for how the “CHURCH” has treated queer people and opening dialogue.