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September 09, 2005
Time for Michael Heath to Resign
Michael Heath's complete inability to control his mouth has gotten the Christian Civic League of Maine in trouble before. In the past, he's threatened to out homosexual legislators and suggested the governor had a 'gay gene.' After making some remarks on Hurricane Katrina and God's wrath, Heath once again finds himself in the very familiar position of having to perform damage control.
So what did he say? Here we go:
By an odd coincidence - and it was perhaps no more than a coincidence - an enormous gay rights celebration was scheduled for New Orleans just as the worst natural disaster ever to strike our nation was venting its full fury on that helpless city. Over 150,000 homosexuals were expected to attend the event this year, and as in past years, the French Quarter was to be filled with party-goers, many of them roaming the streets at night and committing lewd acts in public. Last year, a video tape of the drunken revelers committing sex acts in public was sent to Mayor Nagin and the City Council, but the city fathers of New Orleans, in their concern for the economic future of New Orleans and the tourist dollars that the event would bring in, once again issued official proclamations welcoming the organization. The event was scheduled for Wednesday August 31st, when the destructive force of the natural disaster was at its peak. The organization is called, appropriately enough, Southern Decadence.Here's what Heath has said about his remarks:
"The view that such events are caused by God is a matter of opinion - faith if you will - and are not capable of proof," Michael Heath, the executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine, wrote in Wednesday's edition of the group's online newsletter. "Every man must decide for himself whether or not Hurricane Katrina brought the wrath of God down on New Orleans.That has got to be the weakest attempt at an apology I've seen since, well, the last time Heath got himself into this type of mess."So we are not blaming the homosexuals for the disaster," continued Heath, whose group is spearheading the "people's veto" campaign aimed at repealing Maine's new gay rights law at the Nov. 8 referendum.
Heath is trying to step back from his remarks, but it's clear what he was trying to communicate - that the horrible storm that hit New Orleans was no coincidence, because it foiled the plans of the gays and lesbians that Heath has made it his personal mission to oppose.
Hurricane Katrina was a natural disaster. I don't know why God allowed it to happen, but I certainly don't think God wanted to punish the city of New Orleans. If He did, why take out so many other towns and cities in the Gulf Coast?
What Heath doesn't seem to understand is that all of us, not just homosexuals, deserve God's wrath. That's not just my opinion, by the way. I just thank God for His grace, and wish that Christian leaders like Heath were better communicators of that grace.
Which brings me to the point of this post. Michael Heath is a terrible spokesman for Christians. He doesn't speak for me, or many of the Christians I know. Christian civic action should never put obstacles in the way of the gospel. With his repeated verbal flubs, my fear is that Heath is guilty of doing just that.
Jesus did not come to earth to stop the 'homosexual agenda.' He didn't die and rise again so that we could 'preserve marriage' or defeat liberals. He had a specific purpose. If the League is serious about refocusing on that purpose, it needs to ask for Heath's resignation. Christian civic organizations serve an important purpose, but politics should always take second place to communicating the truth of the gospel - a truth that is too often obscured by the extreme political views and personal prejudices of those who presume to speak for Jesus.
Posted by slublog at September 9, 2005 12:00 AM
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