Thread by @StephenHerreid

On the first day of so-called #PrideMonth, many Christians are wondering why so many of their coreligionists--including many (most?) prominent conservative Christians--celebrate #pride.
Here's an explanation.
Read on. 1/?

The Church has strong teachings against both sexual deviancy and racism.
Generally, the educated Christians I know condemn the latter with little hesitation, but not the former.
Why is that?
The answer:
2/?

For the same reason many Christians in the early-mid 1900's did NOT readily condemn racism, but DID (at times over-zealously) persecute sexual deviancy:
They fear and obey the powerful (not Christ), and attack their easy targets; usually weak sinners (whom He came to save).
3/?

In that period a brand of white supremacism prevailed, and jealously opposed miscegenation as well as, say, Jewish migration to the U.S.
Educated Christians just like today's said little to nothing against this, because it was the position of the powerful and the influential.
4/?

In the same period when racism was prevalent in polite and powerful circles, sexual deviancy (at least overt) was condemned by that crowd.
High society and media even seemed to relish mercilessly destroying the lives of people caught in bad sexual habits.
(Sound familiar?) :)
5/?

What do the racists of today and sexual deviants of yesterday have in common?

Two things:
Sin, and political/cultural infamy.

What do promoters of #Pride2019 have in common with racists circa 1919-1930?

Two things:
Sin, and political/cultural power.

But wait there's more!
6/?

Great news! Christ came to save sinners! All of us.

Bad news for Christians who fear and obey the powerful: He came to SAVE sinners. As in, from their sin.

That means two different hard-to-swallow things...
7/?

1 We're not allowed to celebrate the sinners whom the powerful happen to embrace in our brief time on earth.
2 We're not allowed to mercilessly condemn the sinners whom the powerful happen to scapegoat during our brief time on earth (much as I know y'all like easy targets!).
8/?

There's a heavy weight over all of this when we think of Our Lord's Sacrifice.
He didn't just die for sinners.
In His preaching, He chose to especially lift up the LOWLIEST sinners and identified Himself with them more than with the haughty, comfortable, powerful sinner.
9/?

But in a way, you could put it like this:
If there's a sinner in most need of our Christian ministry--not our mercy, but our urgent words of admonition to turn from sin--it's the sinner with the least earthly reason to repent.
10/?

In early 1900's? That would be the American racist with incredible social influence, no naysayers, but also living with unholy racialist hatred festering in his soul.
In 2019? That'd be the American with all those same worldly "advantages," but also living with ... #Pride.
11
END