Scott Lively's Oblivious Response to the Orlando Shooting

Scott Lively, president of Abiding Truth Ministries and infamous anti-LGBTQ activist, penned a commentary piece for World Net Daily after the Orlando massacre. In his piece, "A Time for War: Take the Pledge to Protect America", Lively claims that he would have shot Omar Mateen if he were at the Pulse nightclub during the shooting. He refuses to admit that his homophobic activism played any role in the Orlando shooting.

"I have received some hate mail to the effect that my biblical stance against homosexuality is somehow responsible for “gay” Muslim Omar Mateen’s campaign of slaughter at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. It’s absurd on its face, but it affords me the opportunity to tell you this: If I had been present and armed when Mateen opened fire, I would have shot and if necessary killed him to protect the people in that bar, including the homosexuals. Not because I have in any way changed my mind about homosexuality – the Bible is crystal clear that it is an abomination before God that He (not me) will judge – but because the Bible also tells me to “rescue those being led to slaughter” (Proverbs 24:10-12).

While in Christ I may choose to turn the other cheek regarding an offense against ME, I have no right to stand idly by when someone attacks YOU right in front of me. I have a biblical duty to defend anyone, regardless of their sexual proclivities, from murder if it is within my power to do so. I stand firmly against the sin of homosexuality and against the sin of violence toward homosexuals."

Lively called the shooting a "spiritual turning point in the Islamic war against the West", warning his readers about the growth of "global Islamist jihad". He contrasted Christian homophobia, which allegedly wants gays "saved and healed", with Islamic homophobia, which wants gays to be murdered. Lively never countenances the idea that homophobia itself is wrong, or that all homophobia contributes to a cultural atmosphere of homophobic violence.

Lively vows to use force to stop terrorists, should he find himself in the midst of a terrorist attack, and urges Christian men to take the same pledge. Considering how unlikely he is to find himself in such a situation, I doubt he'll ever need to act on his vow. Furthermore, a bystander would be powerless against a bomb blast or assault rifle in an actual terrorist attack, so his pledge is moot.

"Furthermore, I think the Orlando Massacre is a spiritual turning point in the Islamic war against the West that represents a literal call to arms for Christians – not because the victims were or weren’t homosexuals (though this is a wonderful opportunity to contrast our Christian love for “gays” – we want them saved and healed – with the demonic hatred of the Muslims who want them dead) but because the incident proves that the global Islamist jihad has metastasized beyond the reach of conventional warfare. I think all Americans, including Christians, should from this day forward be ready to personally respond to any terrorist incident with force. I hereby make a pledge that if I ever find myself in a situation where a terrorist begins killing people around me, I will take whatever action is necessary to stop him, even at the risk of my own life. I urge every Christian reading this column – especially the men – to take this pledge as well."

Lively suggested that the Orlando attack was merely the latest example of Islamic violence against westerners. In his usual livid fashion, he made sure to point out that the Ottoman Turkish sultan "demanded as part of his tribute from Christian Europe 500 boys per year to submit to homosexual sodomy as sexual slaves". After reflecting on the "barbarously cruel and relentless Muslim hordes" that threatened Europe in centuries past, he defended the Crusades as a legitimate response to "this centuries-long campaign of Muslim aggression".

Ever the homophobe and misogynist, Lively claimed that American children are being "brainwashed" with both "pro-Islam propaganda" and pro-LGBTQ messages. Instead, he argues, America should return to "masculine Christianity" and patriarchal families.

"These same schoolchildren that are being brainwashed with pro-Islam propaganda are also the subject of culture-wide radical LGBT social experimentation, turning our boys into girls, and girls into lesbians, just when the nation needs a return to a more masculine Christianity and the patriarchal family structure. That must end!"

Let's be honest. For all his talk of wanting to protect the Pulse patrons, Lively still feels contempt for LGBTQ people. He is using the Orlando shooting as an opportunity to to slam Muslims and champion his worldview, not to cultivate real empathy for the shooting victims.

Lively couldn't be more oblivious to the root causes of extremist violence. He encourages male dominance and toxic masculinity while ignoring the relationship between toxic masculinity, patriarchy, and mass killings. He promotes homophobia in the wake of a homophobic attack. He proposes a hateful, us-versus-them interpretation of religion in response to the crimes of a man infected by hateful, us-versus-them religion. His hypocrisy would be funny in less tragic circumstances.

We can't fight homophobia, patriarchy, and religious extremism with more of the same. We can't cure a case of poisoning with more poison.