Bishop Budde, we didn't commit a crime, we don't need "mercy." Our rights are not a gift from others. Respect not mercy.
Episcopal Budde can take her paternalism and jump in the lake.
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Typical Christian paternalism.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Cathedral makes a “plea” “to have mercy” for the LGBTQ.
The LGBTQXYZ+ media is presenting Bishop Budde as a great hero. However, I think the whole episode reveals Christian paternalism towards Gays. Also, it is part of the Mutt and Jeff routine of Christianity. They will have two faces, so if one political faction brought into power by a faction of Christians fails, the other
The Guardian, Jan. 24, 2025, “‘Contempt’ is a dangerous way to lead a country’: here is the sermon that enraged Donald Trump.
This is the full quote in an article by Bishop Budde herself with her sermon. I don’t want people saying that I quoted out of context or misquoted.
Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Millions have put their trust in you. As you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families who fear for their lives. [Boldface added.]
These are two points to be made, but aren’t the major points of this newsletter post.
[1] Bishop Budde’s whole speech which is a lecture to Trump on how to run the nation is clearly not in keeping with the separation of church and state.
[2] The whole assertion that there are Gays who “fear for their lives” is just a lot of partisan drama. I am sure there are some Gays who like to be dramatic drama queens going on about Trump’s election, but in general Gays aren’t in “fear for their lives.” We are resilent and not generally drama queens.
The appeal for mercy is what I want to focus on because it is really demeaning to Gays and pernicious in that it isn’t readily recognized as demeaning to Gays.
You can watch a video of it here.
What is the meaning of Mercy?
So I looked up the meaning of Mercy in the Oxford English Dictionary.
https://www.oed.com/dictionary/mercy_n
It is a noun, and there is a listing of the “senses relating to clemency or compasion.” Clemency is when you are forgiven.
[I.1.a] Clemency and compassion shown to a person who is in a position of powerlessness or subjection, or to a person with no right or claim to receive kindness; kind and compassionate treatment in a case where severity is merited or expected, esp. in giving legal judgment or passing sentence.
[I.1.b.]spec. Forbearance, compassion, or forgiveness shown by God (or a god) to sinful humanity, or to a particular person or soul.
[1.1.c] explains that it is “to beg for pardon or forgiveness.”
[I.1.d] is listed as obsolete, “to receive pardon.”
[I.2.a] “Disposition to forgive or to show compassion (usually as a divine attribute);”
[1.4.a] “The clemency or forbearance which may be exercised by a conqueror or absolute ruler (or later, in extended use, by God), esp. to a prisoner or defeated enemy.”
[1.4.c] “to extend pardon to (a person who yields willingly); to give quarter to, receive the submission of.”
This is the more condensed Meriam-Webster definiiton.
1. a: compassion or forbearance (see forbearance sense 1) shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power also : lenient or compassionate treatment begged for mercy
b: imprisonment rather than death imposed as penalty for first-degree murder
2 a: a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion, May God have mercy on us. b: a fortunate circumstance it was a mercy they found her before she froze
3: compassionate treatment of those in distress. works of mercy among the poor
2.a. is about god forgiving us.
The meaning of mercy is forgiving and also treating people well as a gift to them.
Being Gay isn’t a crime needing “mercy”
Gays have rights as human beings. We have human rights. Our rights aren’t a gift given to us by someone else.
We haven’t committed crime needing “mercy.”
Bishop Budde should have said respect our rights or respect human rights, instead she asked for mercy. This is because the liberal Christian faiths are paternalitic towards Gays and think that tolerating us is some great accomplishment and extending to us mercy.
Also Gay rights are reduced to an appeal is a crying fest of emotion, not upon a logical foundation of human rights.
Budde does damage to the concept of Gay human rights by diminishing it to being a favor granted through mercy. We have rights because straights have paternalistic feelings.
Since the LGBTQXYZ+ establishment is an appendage of the Democratic Party this obvious paternalism wasn’t even recognized as such and Bishop Budde was passed off as a great hero.
LGBTXYZ+ media coverage approves appeal for “mercy.”
Some of the articles, largely they are of two types.
Advocate, Jan. 21, 2025, “Watch a bishop scold Donald Trump about attacks on LGBTQ+ and immigrants during inaugural prayer service.”
https://www.advocate.com/news/bishop-scolds-trump-inauguration
GLAAD, Jan. 23, 2025, “Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde Delivers Powerful Inauguration Sermon in Support of Immigrants and LGBTQ People.”
LGBTQNation, Jan. 21, 2023, “Bishop begs Donald Trump to his face to have “mercy” on LGBTQ+ people.”
Evidently we beg for Gay rights.
Some of the media are avoiding the issue of the use of the term “mercy” by focusing on Bishop Budde having had Matthew Shepard’s ashes interred at the National Cathedral. Also, cathedrals collect holy objects and special things an relics to make themselves special. It is good that Matthew Shepard’s ashes are given an elevated statues, but it is also a move to gain status for the cathedral. It is an exchange.
Pink News, Jan. 24, 2025, “Bishop Budde helped lay gay hate crime victim to rest: ‘His death was a wound on our nation’”
https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/01/24/bishop-mariann-edgar-budde-matthew-shepard/
them, Jan. 24, 2025, “Before Standing Up to Trump, Bishop Budde Helped Matthew Shepard's Parents Safely Lay Their Son to Rest.”
https://www.them.us/story/bishop-mariann-budde-matthew-shepard-washington-national-cathedral
Gay Christians are always begging for acceptance.
Gays are always begging for acceptance and the churches that “affirm” them of course have a paternalistic attitude that they are granting Gays sometype of mercy or charity.
The idea that Gays have human rights and it is not something we beg for, but demand, is something that isn’t in the thinking of Gay Christians.
The following is entirely outside the thinking of Gay Christians.
It is up to Christianity to figure out how Christianity can exist in a universe where Gays exist, NOT for Gays to figure out how they can fit into Christianity.
Liberal and conservative Christianity are a Mutt and Jeff routine.
If Trump’s administration is a disaster, it will be expected that a lot of people will be angry at movements, institutions, groups that got him elected. One of those movements that will get a lot of public anger directed a them will be Evangelical and other conservative Christian groups, which will include most of the homophobic Christian groups.
Polls show that Christianity is already declining rapidly due to its image being shaped by homophobic Christians. These two posts review some poll results.
So what will happen, if the Trump administration is a disaster and the reputation of Christianity is damaged, the liberal Christians will come out and start saying, “But that isn’t true Christianity,” despite the 20 centuries of the historical record that Christianity has negative and often catastrophic impacts.
Conclusions and actions
We need to realize that Bishop Budde sermon was representative of the paternalism of the liberal Christians to Gays.
We need to realize that she damaged Gay human rights.
We need to be prepared to not let Bishop Budde’s sermon be a means by which Christianity escapes responsibility for the Trump administration if it turns out to be a disaster.
In general we need to realize that most Gay Christians and the Christian churches which accept them don’t have a Gay rights agenda, but a Christian agenda that maybe very much damaging to Gay rights.