Black Community News News and Commentary for Christians
Actress Meryl Streep’s political diatribe at the Golden Globes awards isn’t the only surprise attention-getting provocation from the event. Nominee film “Hidden Figures,” a box-office hit about the true story of three black women mathematicians who played important roles at NASA in the early days of the space program, is also generating unexpected controversy.
The controversy surrounds Kim Burrell, the black gospel singer whose song “I See A Victory” appears on the soundtrack of the film.
Burrell, in addition to being a gospel singer is a pastor, and, with the release of “Hidden Figures,” a video emerged on the internet of her passionately preaching in her church against homosexuality.
Burrell was scheduled, as part of the film’s promotion, to appear and perform, along with the film’s soundtrack producer, Pharrell Williams, on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” But DeGeneres, an open lesbian, canceled Burrell’s appearance as a result of the video.
Next, Burrell’s radio show, which is produced at Texas Southern University, was canceled. Then she was disinvited from the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards, where she was a co-honoree.
Williams, appearing on DeGeneres’s show, said Burrell is a “fantastic singer,” but “there’s no room for any kind of prejudice in 2017.”
Wait a second. It’s prejudice when a pastor condemns, in her church, behavior that the Bible, as understood by hundreds of millions of Christians around the world, prohibits, yet it’s not prejudice when others make every effort to purge that person from the public space because of her faith?
As far as I know, Burrell just intended to sing on the DeGeneres show. I don’t think she planned to preach a sermon about homosexuality.
Ellen DeGeneres, and the many sympathetic to her point of view, believe it is just fine to crush Kim Burrell and destroy her career because of her Christian beliefs, but they are all for using the law to force a Christian baker to make a cake for a same-sex wedding or to force a Christian photographer to work at one.
It should be clear that what motivates the pro-homosexual movement is not advancing a free and tolerant society. It is promoting a society that legitimizes their point of view and punishes, as severely as possible, those that reject it. This is fascism, not freedom.
It behooves us to point out that rejection of homosexual behavior does not come from some crank that woke up in the night and decided it’s not OK.
We are talking about Biblical scripture that has been guiding Christians for a few thousand years.
Religion, of course, is about faith, not about science. It is about what is true and false, right and wrong, and how to behave and live our lives.
But if we want to bring science into the picture, data supports, in a powerful way, the importance of these traditional values.
A 2015 study, for instance, published by the American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for Family Studies, showed that states with higher percentages of children living with their biological parents in a traditional family have the highest median incomes, the fastest income growth, the lowest rates of child poverty and the greatest upward mobility.
We can bring to bear all the beauty and power of the Christian faith, and the data and research showing that following these truths lead, in the long run, to healthier and wealthier lives. But we can’t make anyone follow the faith. That’s what freedom is about. Letting people choose.
But what we’re experiencing now is growing religious persecution in our country. Those with anti-Christian values have considerable power through the media and are using it to eradicate traditional Christian values and presence.
This cannot be tolerated. But how do we solve the problem? Do we have to go back to the bizarre state of “separate but equal” we experienced with race?
COPYRIGHT 2017 STAR PARKER
DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM
Photo credit: Pict-your (Creative Commons) – Some rights reserved
Star Parker is the founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education. Contact her at www.urbancure.org.
Great article, great points!
“Then she was disinvited from the BMI Trailblazers of Gospel Music Awards, where she was a co-honoree.”
Why did these people go after her? What did they expect from Gospel singers?
Thoughtful and moving essay, Star. Will help my family and me when/if we get lectured by the folks who want to promote this behavior. Thank you, and God bless you and CURE for all that you do.
Thank you Star. The perverts of progressive liberalism demand that Christians accept sodomy or be ostracized and labeled racists or homophobes.
And the truth shall set you free! We must choose who we serve -man or GOD. This incident is a test for those involved. Some will walk away like Balak -in the bible. Some will maintain a spirit like Balam -who would not accept the riches offered him- he chose GOD. A true follower will stand on the word and not compromise. The truth hurts some people because they are bound by the flesh and carnal desires. Thanks for your wisdom. When will the world recognize love from hate. When you love someone- you want to be truthful. So many people have riches and fame in this world- but they are miserable. It’s all vanity -like Solomon discovered. But true joy is from the Lord and when HE is your portion- you want to be holy and you are content with what HE blesses you with- not what the world offers! Be blessed.
This is not a shock to the Christian Faith we were warned that persecution would come. The Bible said that this world and those of it would call right behavior wrong and wrong behavior right. We are in our last days so Revelation will live it self out. I truly pray that K Burrell stand and stand firm on the word of God. When Ministers have been given a message to preach the power of the Holy Spirit will preach what is written. So let them take your worldly possessions they are temporary anyway. I know that God can restore above all we can ask or think. To be honest being honored by the world has always seemed suspect to me anything that this world has to offer please please please be prayerful. Romans 12:2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
It is laughable that anybody would compare the reaction to bigotry to persecution. And to use Christianity to defend that bigotry is sinful.