LeRoy Butler doesn't back down

Butler tweets support of Jason Collins, is told by a church where he's going to speak that his appearance will be cancelled unless he deletes the tweet and apologizes. Butler tells church to pretty much flake off.

http://www.thebiglead.com/index.php/2013/05/01/leroy-butler-tweeted-support-of-jason-collins-and-as-a-result-a-wisconsin-church-canceled-his-upcoming-speaking-appearance/

 

Journal Sentinel picks up story, Butler won't name church but does detail their conversation:

"This is a form of bullying, what you're doing. You're trying to get me to do something I don't want to do," Butler said. "He disagreed, and I said, 'We agree to disagree' and he said 'No, I'm right and you're wrong.' "

http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/church-cancels-leroy-butlers-speech-after-he-backs-gay-nba-player-rq9pjrt-205580231.html

Sounds like a very church-like response.

 

The church has every right, if indeed that's in the contract, to go pound sand.

The church should have the expectation, once its name is announced, to receive an email-box stuffed with congratulations and/or responses telling it to go pound sand.

Stuff like this is why my church is going through a process of making an open declaration (under a United Church of Christ) program that we would accept gay members, pastors and youth leaders. Because otherwise, people lump us into stuff like this church in Wisconsin. As we've learned from, oh, Islam, people who don't understand or are hostile to a religion are very quick to accept the worst of it as its standard-bearer.

 

Anyone who criticizes this church for sticking to its guns - while praising Butler - is an idiot and a fraud and a hypocrite.

The church has a belief.

You don't have to like it.

You don't have to agree with it.

You don't have to read the "1,000 year old book" it came from.

But that is what the church beliefs.

As such, why in the world would they allow Butler, someone who obviously does not believe the same thing, come to speak there?

That's the beauty of living in America - the church and state are separate and everybody is entitled to believe what they want to believe.

This church stuck by its principles and should be lauded for it, same as Butler.

But of course, it won't go down that way - church is bigots and intolerant, Butler is a hero.....

 

What's the church doing paying Leroy Butler $8500 to speak? What's Leroy Butler doing charging the church $8500 to speak?

If were a church member I would not be pleased with that use of my tithing.

 

Congratulations on remaining in the Stone Age, church. I laud you for it.

 

The church's principles are idiocy.

Same as when a school suspends a kid for popping an aspirin tablet -- do we praise the school for "sticking by its principles" because Rules Are Rules, or do we note what idiots the administrators are?

Is that the Official Zag Position? Anyone who sticks by a previous belief should always be lauded?

 

We are now in the "age of gaiety" . The church must not have gotten the memo.

 

Women are whores who should remain in the kitchen or laundry room except when lying on their backs in bed with legs in the air. Laud me for my beliefs!

 

Yahoo blogger Doug Farrar had a great closing line:

"Kudos to Butler for sticking to his own convictions. Maybe that church could get Chris Broussard to speak instead."

 

That's a letter from Paul to the Colossians, right?

 

I was wondering that too. What was the topic of his talk going to be?