Old Testament Christians

Boy, am I tired of so-called "Christians" who claim their values are based on the Bible when in reality, their values are based on the Old Testament, which has absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus as reported in the New Testament. 

Case in point: The Salvation Army. The SA espouses the Christian value of Charity unless of course, you are gay, in which case you can suffer. 

Founded in England in 1865, The Salvation Army claims to embrace all people in need, regardless of their sexuality. In reality, they oppose gay rights and fight against same-sex marriage. They don't hire LGBT people; encourage gays to "embrace celibacy" and tried during the GW Bush administration, to get themselves excluded from laws which prevent them discriminating against people because of their sexuality. As recently as 2010, the SA refused to accept donated toys based on the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" movies, because they thought such toys promoted 'witchcraft' and anti-Christian values. This, despite the fact that the "Twilight" series is actually a Mormon treatise which espouses celibacy until marriage.

If I remember correctly, Jesus never said "Hate the gays" or "Ignore thy neighbor." The SA uses a passage from Leviticus to support their anti-gay stance, but I don't imagine any of them espouses the stoning of women; the sale of one's daughters into slavery or the avoidance of shellfish, all of which Leviticus says we should do. 

Should you want to donate to worthy charities this Holiday Season (and I encourage you to do so), please direct your gifts towards organizations that so not discriminate against any particular people. There are may worthy causes out there, including, but not limited to: AmFar; The Trevor Project; The It Gets Better Project; The Red Cross; God's Love We Deliver; The James Tolin Memorial Fund; The Human Rights Campaign and hundreds of other NPO's that actually endeavor to make life better for all people.  

When I pass a Salvation Army red kettle, I drop a note that reads "Stop Discriminating Against LGBT People" and I urge you to do the same. LGBT activist Zinnia Jones has this to say about the Salvation Army:

Please... put your holiday donation towards a charity that doesn't promote hate and skip the bell-ringers this year.

More, anon.
Prospero