Four and a half months pregnant, Mariana van Zeller, a Peabody Award-winning Portuguese journalist and correspondent for the Vanguard documentary series on Current TV travelled to Uganda to investigate whether the growing influence of American religious groups has led to a movement to further criminalise homosexuality. Under the proposed bill, gay sex acts will be punishable by life imprisonment or death, and anyone who doesn't report a known homosexual within 24 hours will be subject to imprisonment.
Missionaries of Hate explores the impact American Evangelicals have had on the movement, and features exclusive video of American Evangelical Lou Engle's visit to Uganda on May 2 to support the major backers of the proposed legislation. Mariana van Zeller also interviews "kill the gays" bill author MP David Bahati, Pastor Martin Ssempa, one of the most famous religious leaders in Uganda and an anti-gay crusader, whose preaching methods include showing gay pornography in church. She also talks to Ugandan citizens (both gay and straight) about their feelings on homosexuality, the new proposed law, and the effect it will have on their lives.
On May 8, The New York Times quoted a senior government official as saying that that a special committee organised by the president of Uganda has recommended that the harsh anti-homosexuality bill that has drawn the ire of Western governments be withdrawn from Parliament. Boxturtlebulletin reported on May 24 that US evangelical Scott Lively is continuing the push for for the anti-gay bill to be passed with slight modifications.
"We Do Not Want This Sickness. Eat Da Poo Poo."
Pastor Martin Ssempa says as he demonstrates fisting and rimming,
and shows graphic images of gay sex on a computer
to a roomful of journalists and religious leaders:
Director Mariana van Zeller reflects:
Interview with American Evangelical crusader Scott Lively:
Interview with "kill the gays" bill author MP David Bahati:
Reader's Comments
Seems these blind hateful Africans are still slaves to their evangelical colonial masters once again and this time, no savior is in sight. Uganda needs to be brought to its knees with all foreign aid and tourism cut off.
With abject poverty all around, all this brand of x-tianity only focus on is again homosexuality. Seems being gay is more deadly than all human sins combined. I hope the bill will be stopped to protect all innocents from a tragic consequence.
Here you can see once again religion used to belittle and destroy the lives of those it finds not fitting.
I find this true of all religions. Although some are worse than others. But none are more horrid than the Christian religion in this poor country. Rather than help, it decides to attack those who God says he loves. It has the backing of some of the dumbest people in the world. American Christians!
It has been this way since we started worshiping trees. Now we worship invisible people who are as real as the Easter Bunny.
Yet these crazed religious people believe in their hearts, (or at least want us to believe) that they are doing it to follow the dictates of their God. Who comes across as a very sick, jealous, paranoid, and vengeful God. Who loves you, but is too insecure to just leave it there. If you do not follow the rules that he, or she, or it set up you should be destroyed.
You need to worship he, she or it or you must be scored and sent to Hell. What the hell is wrong wrong with this whole picture?
What is happening now is just as sick and stupid as what was happening in the dark ages, when we followed to the letter the dictates of the same crazy stupid ideology.
Religion often attracts stupidity, clueless thought, and those who are attracted to cults. I hope that we someday soon see how amazingly stupid this is and understand the foolishness and futility of religion.
Man and religion are incompatible. Man created religion, he can destroy this monster as well. It will not happen in my lifetime, but I do believe in time man will get smart enough to see this for what it truly is.
To the gays in Uganda, no matter how much you love your homeland get out and you will be much happier .. talking from my own experience !
I used to belong to an extremist religion that believed my homosexuality was a "curable disease". It's unbelievable how humans can still have such medieval thoughts in this modern age! These people who claim to be Christian are a disgrace to true Christianity.
I attended a vigil for Uganda last year and I was deeply moved by the horrific stories stories that were shared by our gay-Ugandan friends. I am absolutely appalled by the injustice that is taking place in that country now. I am doing my part to create awareness in my community.
Every time a god believer sick, I wonder they go pray to god or go see doctor. When a medicine cure them, they rather thank d doctor but said god cure help them, but if they die, then they said go back to lord's home. Gosh, y dont they just go back to lord's home rather than wondering on Earth and create mess.
I suppose go back origin phrase "thy god is a zealous god" - no others can exist only mine.
And the relationship of shepherd n sheep. Sheep are just too dumb to ask question, dumb sheep will just being exploited by shepherd, to a slaughter house or whatever.
Anyone got answer, y the last pope being one of the god-fearing leader got Parkinson's disease. God wanted to test his faith till end of his life?
God gives the powerless all the power they need to do wrong.
- people who want to do good dont need any God
Many many many Americans share these "kooky" views - but very few of them are "brave" or foolhardy enough to publically EXPRESS them.
If you believe that the right wing American (and otherwise) evangelicals do not envy the impuntiy their African brethern seem to have...you are living in a very deluded world.
If only they could...they would!
The only difference between these "kooks" in Africa and the "kooks" in right wing America is that the former are open about their homophobia. And it COULD be argued that the hidden homophobia of America is fare more dangerous.
We're hardly the world's 'best' country for gay men and women, but it's not an issue here at all, any more, and there's anti-hate speech legislation here for stuff like this. It's crazy what, well, crazy people in other countries say about gay people.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to polish my horns, boil and eat some children, push old people in front of a bus, and buy a Lottery ticket...
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?
I can only imagine what the first lady has to say
You've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine
How do you sleep while the rest of us cry?
How do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbye?
How do you walk with your head held high?
Can you even look me in the eye?"
- Dear Mr. President, P!ink
First of all I am agnostic. And I never go to church. Ever. I find organized religion personally a complete waste of time. I do however know many Christians simply because, well.. that's where I live. That said, many if not most believe in non violence of any kind. Catholics, Methodists, Unitarian, Baptists, They are opposed to the death penalty, abortion... really death of any kind. You suggest that if one is conservative, one harbors the same belief as those in this article. Isn't that faulty logic? Im about as liberal as one can get, I fight conservatives on many issues. And I fight them about being narrow-minded and not making sweeping generalizations about people. I shouldn't, though I do at times, and neither should you. Most Christians are not kooks like these awful people. But every religious group or politcal faction will have its share of nut-bags. Left and right.
All the best to you. BTW. Im originally from Wales so a big hello to you too.
"Eat da poo poo"? Seriously? Get an education. I'm gon' think twice the next time I donate to Uganda or Africa in general. Clearly, people over there aren't receiving proper education, & obviously - brainwashed.
HE CAN EAT MY POO POO. HELL YES.
"What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights away?
And what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gay?"
The kind of father that surrounds you every day of your life, the kind of father who adheres to feudalistic standards for raising his children, the kind of father who sacrifices his right to bring up his own children to the demands of a psychotic religion
The kind of father who is so repressed by the hate, fear and guilt that religions of all persuasions use to demoralise and manipulate their followers
That's the sort of father
The American evangelical, Scott Lively, hesitated in the second last interview video when asked if he supported the death bill. He then coyly smiled and recanted his thoughts to enthusiastically comparing choosing the lesser of 2 evils in challenging situations. Essentially , if he had his way, he would support the death bill. The main difference in Uganda and the US is the system. One is supposedly steeped in feudalistic traditions and the other, a supposedly progressive modern 1st world nation with checks and balances when it comes down to publicly known life and death issues.
Religion is almost always about power and control. Fear mongering shores up the numbers. It happens in elections, it happens in religion, it happens when the perpetrators need to rally a base for misdeeds fast!
See the audacity of them in the videos proclaiming that Obama, Oprah and all the Hollywood stars would bow before their god and that they are chosen by god to shake the world out of sin. Amazing how insanity can be mass marketed in Africa and in the hands of corrupted, power hungry and evil man of the cloth, regardless of their color.
This is really an example of true prejudice- Contempt and hatred prior to any investigation....my spirit weeps....
The only way to stop this nonsense is to withdraw any foreign aid uncluding United Nations to this country, World Vision should not get involved in any sponsorships in Uganda, after all .. 1/3 of the country's money come from foreign aid. Hit them where it hurts the most ... entire nation will start singing to the different tune then.
they should be watching straight porn to see if theres a difference.
absolute moron!
Often the person who complains the loudest, "IS" what he complains about!
Some evil does come in the name of God to claim on good for a greater evil to come.
For all have sins, so do not judge and as your ways are not His, neither are your thoughts His, let Him do as is in His time.
Religion is organised evil
The bible is a book of unmitigated horrors
And if Maximilian thinks most evangelical christians do not take the bible word for word..then he doesnt know any. By the way, Catholics, Methodists, Unitarian, Baptists et al are NOT "evangelical", so your comparison does not apply. However, the only difference is those groups let people die naturally before their freaking god sends them to an unending lake of fire (for fucking an ass? Fuck an ass, endless torture? Nice guy huh?), while evangelicals would like to kill them and send them to hell sooner. Thats the only difference.
That African Pastor really painted a gross picture of homosexuals. I highly doubt the majority of homosexuals eat faeces, loves fisting, or enjoys sex with the underage. Just google online and I'm sure it's not that hard to find porn of heterosexuals doing that. For that matter, I think the heterosexuals started the concept of bestiary sex.
It would be unreasonable to blame the average africans though. Given that they are simple people who live in an environment surrounded by such hatred especially when further reinforced by faith/religion, it's not hard to believe in it wholeheartedly.
Humans by nature take comfort in believing and acting with the majority, without doing enough research 1st on what others told them.
Another thing is that most rabid homophobes are in fact closet gays. We see this all the time these days. So, out Scott Lively and Pastor Martin Ssempa. After all, showing this fisting and "poo poo" porn on and on is a bit suspicious.
But they are strong, and people in Uganda will probably not believe it (assuming these pastors are really closet gays). And, as the documentary says, the level of hate is already so high that I fear it is too late to avoid the worst. Remember that Uganda is the country of Idi Amin Dada, and has a history of violence.
If we have religious or spiritual beliefs, we can pray or make wishes for the protection of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Uganda, and other countries of Africa.
17Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who hath known a man by lying with him.
18But all the women children, who have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
So, even though Moses has 10 comandments, one of which says shall not kill, he kills left and right. And what exactly do you think was done with these remaining virgins? Perhaps a little orgy hmmm?
Examples of the death penalty. The Bible prescribes the death penalty for the following activities, among others:Sex crimes, including adultery, male homosexual sex, bestiality (Leviticus 20) and rape (Deuteronomy 22) GUESS WHAT YOU BIBLE LOVING HOMO'S: THAT US! DELIGHTFULL, YOU READ AND BELIEVE A TEXT THAT COMMANDS DEATH TO YOURSELF
A betrothed woman who does not cry out while being raped (Deuteronomy 22:23-4) SO WHAT GOD MEANS TO SAY, IF IF THE RAPIST IS HOLDING A KNIFE TO HER THROAT AND SAYING "KEEP QUITE" THATS DEATH TO THE WOMAN? VERY NICE
A woman who is found not to have been a virgin on the night of her wedding (Deuteronomy 22:13-22) YUP, BUT THOSE VIRGINS MOSES SAVED SURE WERE SOME SWEET TAIL
Worshiping other gods (Deuteronomy 13:6-13:10, Exodus 22:20) BECAUSE OF COURSE ONLY CHRISTIAN GOD EXISTS. ANYONE ELSE, OFF WITH THEIR HEAD.
Witchcraft (Exodus 22:18) WITCHES. BAD BAD WITCHES!
Taking God's name in vain or cursing God's name (Leviticus 24:16) UP YOURS GOD, IS THAT VAIN ENOUGH?
Cursing a parent (Exodus 21:15, 21:17, Leviticus 20:9, and in the New Testament Mark 7:10) WOW 4 PLACES! DONT GET ANGRY WITH MOMMA!
Kidnapping (Exodus 21:16) CURSE A PARENT WORTH 4 MENTIONS, BUT KIDNAPPING ONLY 1?
Do I know the bible yet recluse82? Jeasus loves you...so long as your dead.
stainless: is that clear enough in Leviticus 20 that male homosexuality is capital offence? But do notice, lesbians are safe. God likes that girl on girl stuff.
Organized monotheistic religions do NOTHING except spread fear, hate, and keep people enslaved to the corrupt church leadership.
I am an American and I am ashamed that these isolated fractions of people/churches are even allowed out of the USA to spread this horrific misinformation and destruction.
Christianity is suppose to be a healthy/positive support system for humans to live their life to the fullest, but it has, unfortunately, been distorted/ twisted, money grabbing, and become a controlling cult force in certain groups hands. And don't even get me started on their brainwashing techniques that are despicable and beyond belief.
I just hope that some wiser/cooler heads prevail and stop this nonsense and get rid of these "alien invaders" once and for all.
That is my vent. Grrrrrrr
Religious are meant to be guidance in life, not on controlling the people...
Man misuse the Bible for their own beliefs. Man is evil.
It is so unjust. Gay prides parade for acceptance are prosecuted in many countries. Whereas spreading of hates and violence in name of god is allowed to prevail nationally, also in many countries. Yet they are called 'loving' people. Such misleading accusations and claim practices in the commentary on gays really make me sick.
Uganda accept foreign aids but turn around to accuse them of gay idealism reminds me of my country. My country welcome foreign talent including gays. You can even declare gay but our government still repent 377a. Which means talent is welcome but act of gay can be prosecuted. Im dismay to read here at time that some believe its alright as long as authority does not deploy the ruling. Not forgoting there are also many anti-gay around us including those like pastor Martin with poison tongue ever ready for condemnation. Should one day anti-homo prevail in my country like Uganda, there is no time wasted appealing an anti-gay law which is existing.
1) LGBT Rights by Country http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_by_country_or_territory
2) Quality of Life Ranking by The Economist http://www.economist.com/media/pdf/QUALITY_OF_LIFE.pdf
When we look at the Top 30 and the Bottom 30 on the QOL Rank, we can quickly notice that almost all of the Top 30 do not have anti-sodomy laws and some even have laws to protect against gay discrimination. On the other hand, almost all in the Bottom 30 (where Uganda is found) have poor gay rights records and many have anti-gay laws.
If this man whose mouth is full of poo poo is suggesting that countries that do not have anti-gay laws would suffer retribution, where's the empirical evidence? If there's any connection at all, then it's more convincing to suggest, with the above data sets, that countries that remove anti-gay laws enjoy better QOL.
That's why they circumvent this embarrassment by aligning with "one" of the "top" 30 countries like Singapore (highly debatable), for display and even electing a Singaporean as their global Anglican Church Head. The recent mass congregation of African nations in Singapore for their global meet was sufficient to convince these tribal fanatics that Singapore is an inspiration-straight to their poo poo "Hell-ven". And "Ambala !" is what they will leave home with for such misguided stupidity!
Open your mind.
That so many educated people in Singapore seem to fall for stuff like this is worrying, especially, as someone mentioned, with 377a still in place. The hatred of gays generated in Singapore by some of these people among some of their "believers" is almost as bad as in Africa.
According to Internet reports, what turned into the virulent internet and letter writing campaign against gays in Singapore was kicked off about 7 years ago by a meeting called by a certain pastor with 20 people from other churches. I'm not suggesting they wanted to kill gays, but I'm sure some of the young people that they influenced wouldn't have minded from the vitriol they posted. Some of them are still trolling this site.
Ted Haggard:
http://www.smh.com.au/world/sex-scandal-disgraced-pastor-forms-new-church-20100603-x0yy.html
Larry Craig:
http://tpmlivewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/06/john-oliver-asks-larry-craig-about-his-favorite-senate-perks-video.php
I never said what happened in the Old Testament did not happen. Any hate preacher can preach death and warth of God from it. But by that measure, one cannot pretend Jesus' love did not happen either. That would be akin quoting the first half of a novel and saying the 2nd half where the story concludes does not matter.
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:23. So easy to preach the first half, and so easy to ignore the 2nd.
The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek, not English. Again, any linguist will tell you that there will always be flaws when translating between languages, especially since both books were first translated into Latin before English. The original word in Hebrew "Qadesh" appearing in Deuteronomy 23:17 is more accurately translated as "male shrine prostitutes", who might have copulated with women in fertility rites rather than performing homosexual acts.". The Greek word "arsenokoites"which first appears in I Corinthians 6:9 and a further 55 times is NEVER once defined as homosexual acts.
I am not asking edsmale or anyone to believe it. I'm merely asking for an OBJECTIVE, liguistically accountable view of the Bible. There are enough stones being thrown on both sides of the fence out of ignorance, and an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
1) against corruption
2) promoting democracy and human rights
3) developing trade
4) upgrading skills
5) attracting foreign investors
6) training qualified teachers
7) subsidising Research & Development in universities and commercial enterprises.
They should wake up. Virtually all the countries in the Top 30 of the Ranking focus their efforts on the above whereas virtually all those in the Bottom 30 don't, and that's WHY Uganda and the other 29 countries in the Bottom 30 list remain at the bottom. Worse, even their leaders--the members of Parliament-- seem to be seriously misguided. Instead of legislating laws on the above 7 areas, they are campaigning for the Kill the Gays Bill.
Question 1: If killing gays would make their country better, can they substantiate why all (except Singapore which keeps the law but doesn't enforce it proactively) the countries in the Top 30 do not have anti-gay laws?
Question 2: If there's retribution for not having anti-gay laws, why haven't those countries in the Top 30 been hit?
to edsmale: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" - Matthew 11:15
What is most disturbing is this (very political) movement emerging from pentecostalism, that in some places has massive rallies that look like 1930s fascism. In some videos you will even see one arm raised, not with the palm upwards to receive the holy spirit, but downwards as in the Nazi salute, though they will be unaware that's what they are doing. People ARE being zombiefied, to borrow Recluse's reference, using tried and tested techniques. One of the most obvious signs of is when they are successfully persuaded to sign over a fixed percentage of their income to very rich churches. Even Africans in poverty are persuaded to part with a month's wages to pay to see an American pastor preach.
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