But now something has happened that makes me loathe her a little less. I'm not sure where or why she spoke out about gay folks. She basically said that she was a Christian who loves all people, gays included. She reminded people that God's greatest commandment is to love one another, and that includes loving gays as well as straights. That's pretty forward thinking for someone like her. And it's thinking that should be applauded and emulated.
Unless you're in Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association that is. They have condemned Miley Ray for being tolerant, loving, and inclusive. They've come out against a teenage girl for having the gall to remind folks that God is supposed to be love. They're hating it that Miley Ray has a better grasp on the Gospel and teachings of Jesus Christ than their bigoted hateful old asses do. I've read the entire New Testament, and most of the Old, and it says repeatedly that we are supposed to love one another and our enemies. To my mind that pretty much encompasses everyone on the planet including, gays, lesbians, blacks, browns, yellows, reds, Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, Jews, Zoroastrians, Muslims, atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Wiccans, and everyone else.
But somehow the good "Christians" at Rev. Donald Wildmon's American Family Association, which by the way does not represent me or any family I have ever been in, find Miley's love for her fellow men and women somehow wrong and worthy of their scorn. Here's what they had to say about Miley's pronouncement that we are supposed to love everyone whether they are straight or gay:
Such statements will send the wrong message to our children who are influenced by this teenage megastar. Parents need to realize that Cyrus is not the positive role model she was once thought to be.... Clearly she is confused and does not understand the Bible.
Crazy huh? Jesus said to love your neighbor as you love yourself. He said to love your enemies. He said the greatest commandment is love, above all love. And the young Miley gets it. She understands it and is trying to love her life according to the teachings of Jesus. I'm not sure what Bible the AFA is reading but they are the ones who don't understand the Bible most everyone else reads. Nowhere in the New Testament, which supersedes the Old testament if you are a Christian, does it say to hate or demonize or scapegoat gays for all the ills of the world. Nowhere does it say it's okay to hate someone if they love people of their own gender.
Clearly the AFA hates Miley's message of tolerance and inclusion. They must have assumed that because Miley is from the south that she'd be as small minded and hate filled towards gays as they are.
I'm glad Ms. Cyrus proved them wrong. But that doesn't mean I'm about to ever watch her TV show or see the Hannah Montana movie or listen to one of her CD's.
