Here’s the news story: https://tv.yahoo.com/news/hgtv-cancels-pilot-anti-gay-hosts-following-fan-205000195.html. Of which scandalous misdeeds are these devout Christian brothers guilty?

They “have a history of supporting their Church’s views against gay rights and reproductive choice. In 2012, the Benhams [David and Jason] rallied in Charlotte, N.C. to support a constitutional amendment within the state to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman.”

They support their own church’s teachings? (That’s not what most Catholics do.) Aren’t Christians supposed to oppose Biblical teaching and work to remake Christianity in the image of sinful secular society? That’s the impression I have from the modern media.

And as if that offense were not enough, they are the sons of an Evangelical minister, Flip Benham. According to the Wikipedia article on Flip Benham:

“He has been active in the pro-life movement since the early 1980s, and founded Operation Rescue’s chapter in the Metroplex in 1988. He succeeded Randall Terry as national director of Operation Rescue in 1994, and renamed it Operation Save America in 1999.”

Oh no! How horrifying! How offensive! How dare these twin sons be born of a father who tries to save the lives of innocent unborn children! And then they had the nerve to point out the grave sins of modern society! Don’t they know that “the majority rules”?

Devout Christians who oppose abortion and gay marriage? Whoever heard of such a thing? Well, of course their HGTV show helping families improve their homes must be cancelled! We can’t help needy deserving families have a better life by improving their homes, if the persons helping them are devout Christians who believe what the Bible teaches!

Who should we blame for this unwritten rule in modern America, that devout Christians must be derided, denounced, and shunned in commercial and social endeavors? David Benham says: “87 percent of Americans are Christians and yet we have abortion on demand.” Yes, he’s right. In all seriousness now, I blame Christians for the persecution of Christians. Most Americans are at least nominally Christian, yet the Christian point of view is severely persecuted.

And the same is true within the Catholic Church. Most Catholics have decided to reject Catholic teaching on many issues. They no longer see the Church, the Magisterium, and the Pope as their teacher. They have decided to ignore Church teaching condemning pre-marital sex, masturbation, unnatural sexual acts in marriage, contraception, abortifacient contraception, abortion, same-sex marriage, pornography, and the interior sin of lust in heart and mind. In the realm of sexual sins, most Catholics adhere to the beliefs and practices of sinful secular society, not the teachings of Jesus Christ and His Church.

And this fact leads to the persecution of Catholics and other Christians who are pro-life and against gay marriage. In a society that is 75% or more Christian, this can only happen if most Christians reject Biblical teaching.

More from these Christian brothers, from a Foxnews story:

“As Christians we are called to love our fellow man,” they wrote. “Anyone who suggests that we hate homosexuals or people of other faiths is either misinformed or lying.”

“Over the last decade, we’ve sold thousands of homes with the guiding principle of producing value and breathing life into each family that has crossed our path, and we do not, nor will we ever discriminate against people who do not share our views,” they wrote.

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and
translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.

The Catechism of Catholic Ethics
available in print (paperback, 752 pp.) and in Kindle format.