Preach, Rev. Tweed!

This is a message faith based homophobes and transphobes here in the USA, Bermuda and the rest of the world definitely need to hear. 

Bermuda has recently tabled an amendment to its 1981 Human Rights Act that would add sexual orientation (but not gender identity) as a protected class against discrimination on the island. 

Predictably Bermuda's faith based haters let fly on Friday with a statement that is purported to express the position of the AME church about the pending legislation, but upon further review it was determined that the statement was unauthorized and does not represent their official position on the 2013 Human Rights Amendment.

“The AME Church opposes legislation that threatens the traditional family structure and erodes Bermuda society as a whole. This amendment does both.

“Since the Bible is clear that a relationship involving sexual intimacy is to be between a man and a woman within the bounds of marriage, legislation that endorses homosexuality violates God’s Word and gives up a Christian’s conscientious obligation to obey it.

“The AME Church believes that all people are made in God’s image, including those affected by same sex attraction. The Church will defend human dignity because of the Church’s commitment to godly principles. However, the AME Church unapologetically resists this amendment and appeals to those of like-mind to do the same.”

On Sunday Rev. Nicholas Tweed, the pastor of St. Paul AME Church in Hamilton blasted that statement from his pulpit and told his congregation in his sermon that it is unchristian to deny people their rights as human beings..

“The last time I checked, I don’t recall Jesus saying that some sin is better or more acceptable than other sin,” said Rev. Tweed. “I don’t recall Jesus saying it’s okay to lie but for heaven’s sake, don’t be lesbian.

“I don’t recall a text saying it’s okay to drink and be a whoremonger, just don’t be gay.”

The AME church also has a long history of social justice activism, and Rev. Tweed's father, the Rev. Dr. Kingsley Tweed was one of the leaders of a 1959 movie theater boycott that ended formal segregation in Bermuda 

According to the Bermuda Royal Gazette, Rev Tweed's sermon also contained some pointed criticisms of the May 16 national gathering for prayer.comments of Bishop Lloyd Duncan of the New Testament Church of God,   Duncan implored the Government “to exercise biblical caution, and spiritual restraint,” referring to its intention to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination as saying it would be a “lethal mistake.”

Rev. Tweed said: “We can see the irony of our discomfort. For example this past week, we saw celebrated a great gathering which declared to Bermuda that we were united in prayer. But the irony is that everybody wasn’t invited. I didn’t see no Muslims there, I didn’t see any Buddhists there or folks that may practice other religions that have an equal place in the social fabric of Bermuda

“In other words, it was a loose conglomerate of folk that at least in theory share the same point of view. And then the same folk that gathered together to declare the sins of their fragmentation and disunity were the same folk that used the opportunity designed to bring us together, to drive the nails and wedges of deeper fractures in our community by sending a message to say that we don’t believe that everybody ought to be included or protected by the Human Rights bill.

“The criteria for being protected is not really whether you are black, white, gay, straight, transgender, crossdresser; the criteria is if you are human, you ought to be protected and as folks that have been the victims of over 300 years of discrimination, it's a strange irony that we cannot get together even with the folks that was discriminating against us and talk about who shouldn’t be in.”

Preach Rev. Tweed, preach!