Behind the homosexual tsunami in Brazil
Until
The social and moral structure of
The largest threat to the society came from radical leftist movements. Communists almost took control in
The Catholic Church was a driving force against the communist threat, but after the Vatican II many Catholic leaders began surrendering to the Theology of Liberation. In the decades of
Liberation Theology can boast an important victory in
After the military left the government in
With such leftism, abortion and homosexuality began to be promoted as rights in the decade of
Less conservative in the heart and more in the image: the current political ethics in Brazil
In
However, that religious influence, both Catholic and evangelical, is increasingly less conservative and more liberal, even though the most of the population does not understand the gradual change.
Nevertheless, the best way to popular appeal in
Presently,
So persuaded, these leaders became signers of the public document Manifesto de Evangélicos (Evangelical Manifesto), proclaiming to the evangelical population their stand for Lula. Among the great number of signatories were Rev. Nilson Fanni, former president of the World Baptist Alliance, and Rev. Gilherminho Cunha, a high-ranking Presbyterian minister and president of the Bible Society of Brazil. In the paper which was amply distributed by PT, all of those leaders state:
We support Lula for President because we recognize that several proposals of his Government Program are similar to the prophetic calling of the
We express our public support to Lula’s candidacy in order to oppose the wicked and insignificant rumors leading some to an understanding that his election to the Presidency of Republic will obstruct the walk of the Evangelical Churches.
This public document was prepared with the assistance of MEP (Movimento Evangélico Progressista, or Progressive Evangelical Movement). Individual denominations also expressed their support, especially mainline liberal Protestant churches. For the first time Pentecostal and charismatic churches copied their example. Comunidade Evangélica Sara Nossa Terra (Heal Our Land Evangelical Community), a large national denomination, said on its website in
Evangelical Manifesto In Support To Lula’s Candidacy For President of
We manifest our support to the Lula candidacy because of an established commitment between an eventual Lula government and the evangelicals here represented.
We support Lula because:
He has been demonstrating that he believes in a balanced and democratic Socialism, respecting the highest tenets of the democracy;
He has been affirming that his beliefs in the highest values of the Holy Scriptures: God, family, moral, ethics, religious freedom, and democracy;
He has made a commitment to develop our society, having the Church as a partner with his government;
He understands and believes in the existence and in the historical role of the Church as an instrument for the formation of the fundamental values for human life, both in individual and social aspects;
His greatest motivation for his government project is to help the poor and less favored people, according to the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures.
MESSAGE TO THE
WHY WE SUPPORT LUIZ INACIO LULA DA SILVA AS PRESIDENT OF REPUBLIC:
Lula deserves a vote of trust from our society… Lula today is one of the more trusted leaders of our nation.
Lula has made a partnership commitment with the evangelical churches for social construction, removing the stigma that evangelicals are only sought in election times. He has also been declaring that he believes in the highest values of the Holy Scriptures, as “God, Family, Morality, Ethics, Religious Freedom, Democracy, and the Option for the Poor”.
Thus, we see that the rumors saying that Lula and PT are noxious to the Gospel are now refuted, demonstrating that radical attitudes that were taken by other PT local administrations were isolated initiatives.
For all of those reasons the Sara Nossa Terra Bishop Council is confident to vote for and support the Lula candidacy for president of
Robson Rodovalho
Bishop President
on behalf of the Sara Nossa Terra Bishop Council
Comunidade Sara Nossa Terra was, until late
Even though most of the Christian denominations supporting Lula and PT do not approve of homosexuality and abortion, their shift to the role of evangélicos progressistas has left them in a strange and paradoxical position politically.
Homosexuality in Brazil
No official statistics are gathered in
There may be a religious factor in Brazilian homosexuality. A minority of the Brazilian population adheres to Candomblé and other Afro-Brazilian religions (similar to Santeria), where homosexuality is common. For a comparison, there are some
Luiz Mott, the leader of the homosexual movement in
Many famous Brazilians turn to Afro-Brazilian religions in search of miracles to solve personal or family problems. Even former President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, though a Marxist and an atheist, had sympathy for and sometimes visited Candomblé rituals.
Homosexuals were always a very small group in the society, and the current impressive homosexual growth in
Thus, surrounded by the artillery of the homosexual favoritism on the media, an increasingly large number of curious youths demonstrate interest in homosexuality.
Behind the tsunami
Capitulation to the homosexual movement on TV has been practically total, where many shows use strategies that distort reality, presenting to the public a false world where gays and lesbians are glad, happy, fulfilled, and, usually, more intelligent and sensitive individuals than normal men and women. The “dark side is properly hidden, so that nobody will see that their behavior is linked to an indisputable reality of suffering, where gays live, oppressed by serious mental, emotional, and social dysfunctions.
There is an immense effort to show that those natural consequences don’t have any connection with the abnormality of their sexual acts. That effort also tries, with the assistance of fraudulent research and studies, to prove “scientifically” that the abnormal is as normal as what is really normal. In fact, the document Brazil without Homophobia says: “In the same way that heterosexuality (attraction for a person of the opposite sex) does not have any explanation, so homosexuality does not too. It depends on each person’s sexual orientation.” This document was published by the Lula administration to support its nationwide Brasil sem Homofobia (Brazil Without Homophobia) campaign, which was launched on May
This federal effort is producing fruits. In
Homophobia, according to the Lula administration, can be obvious or veiled, involving discrimination in selection for employment, rental of housing, entry into the armed forces, medical school, dental school, a theological college, a Christian school...Whatever its manifestation, the Brazilian government believes that so called homophobia inevitably involves injustice and social exclusion.
It wants to eliminate such “homophobia” throughout Brazilian society. To achieve such a wide goal, the Brazil Without Homophobia campaign involves twenty ministries and special secretariats: the Ministries of Foreign Relations, Justice, Education, Health, Labor, and Culture, and the Special Secretariat on Policies for Women, the Special Secretariat on Policies for the Promotion of Racial Equality, the Special Secretariat on Human Rights, and the National Secretariat on Public Safety. It also involves a series of other governmental organizations, such as the National Council on Combating Discrimination, State and Municipal Councils on Human Rights, State and Municipal Secretariats on Public Safety, universities, the Office of the Federal Prosecutor for Citizens’ Rights, the Public Ministry of Labor, in addition to the Brazilian Parliament itself.
This massive effort leaves no part of society untouched. The coming generations are also of special government concern. So the Brazilian government for the first time in its history, on April
In the official curriculum of the Ministry of Education, there is the demand that every school fight prejudice against differences. The partnership with Arco-Íris is seen as a way to effectively train teachers to implement the official curriculum itself and to handle issues as human rights (for homosexuals, not Christians), homophobia, gender identity, sexual orientation and diversity. Arco-Íris has received a government grant to accomplish such goals.
Through such a partnership and other efforts from the Brazil Without Homophobia program, children are being indoctrinated systematically in the “Gospel of Sodomy.”[
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva likes to portray his administration as a Socialist government favoring interests of less developed nations and not accepting American and European influences. Nevertheless, he has imitated their worst examples. His Workers’ Party has employed actions no past government of
His actions are not original to
There should be no doubt that the current Brazilian president has a gay agenda. Twice, Lula expressed his support of the homosexual movement. In June
Fellows,
It is with satisfaction that I answer the kind invitation to address the participants of the
Our government was established with the firm purpose of combating the threats to the people’s rights based on any kind of prejudice: of origin, race, ethnicity, age, religious belief, political conviction, or sexual orientation.
With that purpose, we have strengthened the Special Secretariat for the Human Rights, which instituted, during our administration,
Human rights education encourages people in a formal and informal way to contribute for the citizenship construction, for the knowledge of those rights, and for the consequent respect to plurality and diversity, not only sexual, but ethnic, racial, cultural, sporting, and religious.
However, schools should not be the only source promoting those ideas: the media should also get involved in this effort, for they have an enormous power for penetrating the society. The media and information outlets, through their programs and images, assume a fundamental role in the human rights education as they are committed to the propagation of ethical and citizenship values.
Because of their role as public opinion shapers, the press, radio, and TV professionals should be a source of production and broadcasting of contents related to tolerance and acceptance of multiple differences, and ultimately, the respect to the human person with a view to establish a culture of peace and love toward the neighbor and build a fairer, kinder, and more solid society.
Our government is firmly determined to defend those values and it wants to continue, especially counting on the cooperative action from the organizations that bring together gays, lesbians, and transgender people to achieve that objective, and it will remain open to welcome other contributions, as in the area of STD prevention.
I want all to know that we remain at your side in this fight. A few days ago, in the Third High Authorities Human Rights Meeting of Mercosur, in
I want this parade to result, as has been happening with other similar events, in peace and happiness, with a view to being an important sign of the increasing visibility of the homosexual movement and a sign of consequent gathering of forces in the fight against resistance and prejudice.
Receive my fraternal hug.
President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva [
Of course, the Lula support is not limited to words only. The Brazil Without Homophobia program counts on a federal budget of
Such support has produced striking results. In
However, the Lula administration has not been aggressive only in its pro-homosexuality domestic push. It also has an international agenda, and it has shown its domestic policies to other nations. Before the United Nations General Assembly, Brazilian Ambassador Frederico Duque Estrada Meyer said Brazil had the program entitled Brazil Without Homophobia, which outlined actions to strengthen public and non-governmental institutions for combating homophobia; capacity-building for professionals involved in promoting the rights of homosexuals; disseminating information of rights and promoting homosexual self-esteem; and stimulating complaints on violations of rights”.[
In the Organization of the American States,
During the April
The resolution was a surprise to the Brazilian Congress in
Representative Dr. Elimar Damasceno requested directly from the Brazilian government an explanation for its resolution in the UN. He noted that it “deals with a subject where there are no approved laws in our country and where there is no consensus in our society, because of its religious and cultural consequences”.[
...in response to your last question on “who has authorized the [Brazilian] representatives [in the UN] to present the mentioned Proposal of Resolution,” it is proper to point that... the politics of
So according to the Brazilian government’s view, those practicing homosexuality are a minority deprived of protection. According to the draft of the resolution:
…human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all human beings, that the universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question and that the enjoyment of such rights and freedoms should not be hindered in any way on the grounds of sexual orientation.
Brazilian Minister Samuel Guimarães, from the Foreign Affairs Ministry, affirmed, “So the main aim of the [resolution] is to guarantee the principle of non-discrimination — the cornerstone of the building of promotion and protection of human rights since its beginning in the United Nations system — regarding groups discriminated against around the world because of their sexual orientation. This position is based on the notion that advancement in the subject of human rights benefiting a discriminated minority represents gain to other groups suffering discrimination…” [
Fortunately, the Lula resolution was not successful in
In the Lula’s strategic socialistic agenda, homosexuality may be sacrificed for Muslim interests, but not for the Bible or moral interests. It sacrifices
Gay strategies for visibility
The main pushes from the homosexual movement are its efforts for visibility, especially through gay parades and public kisses, where gay couples kiss one another challenging social mores. Through such actions, gay militants publicize themselves and their cause. When challenging laws restricting or prohibiting their public kisses, their maneuvers appeal for laws for their protection and against prejudice. So a mere kiss in a busy shopping mall may seem to them a significant legal achievement.
Their major visibility strategy is parades. In
The
The march came two days after police said about
“The traditional church doesn’t want us,” said Pastor Justino Luis,
Waving a banner with the words, “I’m Happy, Gay and Christian,” Luis said, “I know (God) loves me the way I am, and I know when he made me he planned for me to be the way I am.” [
This visibility strategy is very effective, for two days before the gay parade, evangelicals had their March for Jesus, yet the great media outlets focused their attention on the gay rally. The March for Jesus was largely ignored, except for a few gays participating and trying to show that they were also evangelical.
The political actions are very intense too. Through the assistance of gay lobby groups and leftist politicians, a Parliamentary Front for Free Sexual Expression was founded, consisting of many members of the Chamber of the Deputies. It seeks to introduce bills favoring the interests of the gay lobby.
As for the gay lobby, it seeks:
Gay and PT activist Beto de Jesus, who traveled to the U.S. some years ago to be trained by his American counterparts and who has participated in the Brazilian delegation to the UN, said: “We have a Parliamentary Front for the Free Sexual Expression comprising almost
Even though the National Congress has not given its approval to the same-sex civil partnership bill, gay activists are successfully conquering the sympathy of activist judges. In
Facing the tsunami
Liberal mainline denominations in
There is among specialists, no absolute consensus nor in the science in regard to the nature of homosexuality, nor in the biblical interpretation of those passages referring to homosexuality. Neither there is such a consensus in the
The Roman Catholic Church has an official
However, many Brazilians, especially the poor and the less intellectual, are protected from the electronic media, and they represent a serious hindrance to the establishment of amoral liberalism, where homosexuality is just an item of a larger, sinister agenda.
Among evangelicals, there are some campaigns to reach out to men and women in homosexuality. Movimento pela Sexualidade Sadia (Movement for a Healthy Sexuality), an evangelical group headed by an ex-homosexual, leads efforts to evangelize in gay parades, talking about Jesus to participants and delivering leaflets featuring the testimonials of ex-gays and lesbians.
Catholic and evangelical politicians have also been trying to counter the gay tsunami through the introduction of bills. Among them are: Bill
State representative Édino Fonseca, an Assembly of God minister, introduced a bill in the
With the kind support of Focus on the Family of Dr. James Dobson, in
The recognition of sexual orientation as a human right will demolish the universal nature of human rights. If sexual orientation (homosexuality) is recognized as a human right, laws that protect family in every country will suffer grave assault and will be changed so that individuals practicing homosexuality will have the right to marriage, to adopt children, affirmative action and service in the military, among many other privileges. If the gay lifestyle receives protection as a human rights issue, then the universal meaning of the family will disappear. Such acceptance of homosexuality will violate the rights of family and the legal meaning of marriage of the overwhelming majority of people around the world. If human rights are recognized based on the sexual behavior of persons practicing homosexual acts, then what about the “rights” of pedophiles and other perverts? This kind of approach, extremely subjective, knocks down the universal essence of human rights. Homosexuality is not a human right, nor even a human need, but only a desire to live sexually against nature, and such desires and behaviors cannot be given protection and privileges.
The draft resolution of the Brazilian government also says: “Call upon all States to promote and protect the human rights of all persons regardless of their sexual orientation.” This action will be a serious menace to the right to religious freedom, a universally recognized fundamental human right. Christianity and other important world religions consider homosexual behavior to be a violation of God’s laws, and if the resolution is approved, it will endanger the right to religious freedom of millions of Christians around the world. They could be prosecuted merely for expressing their beliefs about homosexual conduct and for quoting texts from the Bible disapproving of same-sex acts. Even without the approval of this resolution, it is impossible to address the problem of propagation of homosexual behavior without suffering, especially from the liberal press, accusations of homophobia (a new word coined to discourage those wanting to discuss the problem seriously), intolerance and religious extremism. Yet, the promotion of homosexual behavior, especially among males, spreads atrocious diseases.[
The resolution also notes “the attention given to human rights violations on the grounds of sexual orientation by the special procedures in their reports to the UNCHR, as well as by the treaty monitoring bodies, and encourages all special procedures of the UNCHR, within their mandates, to give due attention to the subject…”
It is a strange paradox that a large country such as
Canada and the European countries have been systematically advancing agendas that are contrary to the legal, historical, and moral values of
In the document, I introduced all the names, addresses, email and phone contacts from the Brazilian ambassadors to the UN. This alert helped mobilize some Catholic and evangelical leaders. Later, international gay groups complained about the successful Brazilian grass-roots efforts to press the Lula administration to abandon its sexual orientation resolution in the UN.
The fight of an evangelical psychologist
Usually, medical literature in
For her attitude of showing compassion to homosexuals in need, Dr. Justino has been suffering threats and intimidations even from the Federal Council of Psychology in
According to Dr. Justino, “Most of the psychoanalysts consider homosexuality to be a perversion and in a general way psychologists understand homosexuality as immaturity in the psychosexual development. The World Health Organization classifies several behaviors linked to homosexuality as disturbances and directs people to seek treatment for change. From a spiritual perspective, it is a sin. Nevertheless, the Federal Council of Psychology (FCP) issued the resolution below. Because FCP issued this resolution, pro-homosexuality activists press the
Below are excerpts from
FEDERAL COUNCIL OF PSYCHOLOGY RESOLUTION NR.
“It establishes norms of conduct for psychologists in regard to the subject of Sexual Orientation.”
WHEREAS, homosexuality is not a disease, disturbance or perversion;
WHEREAS, Psychology can and should contribute through its knowledge to clarify the subjects of sexuality, helping to overcome prejudices and discriminations;
It determines:
Article
Article
Sole paragraph: Psychologists shall not collaborate with events and services proposing treatment and cures of homosexualities.
Article
What should Brazilian evangelicals do?
The homosexual expansion has been extraordinary in
Both Catholics and evangelicals need to be delivered from Liberation Theology and its Protestant versions, which keep them focused on many irrelevant and diverting issues. In order to face the social, political, and legal challenges from the gay activism, Christians in
Even though many evangelicals disagree with the abortion and homosexual position of the Lula administration, they are urged by “progressive” propaganda to divert their attention to many other issues: health, education, and job assistance to the poor, etc. Homosexuality and abortion are just minor items on a long list of leftist interests on the agenda of evangélicos progressistas. Sadly, evangelicals in
Therefore, to counter these evangelical misconceptions about social action, there is a need to launch efforts to educate the evangelical public that there is real social action other than the progressive approach. Thus they would be better prepared to face adequately major challenges, such as abortion and homosexuality. Of course the other issues would also be addressed, but not from a leftist perspective.
Brazilian people will choose their new president in
Published originally, before the Brazilian presidential election, in the printed version of The Religion & Society Report.
Julio Severo is the author of the book O Movimento Homossexual (The Homosexual Movement), published by the Brazilian branch of Bethany House Publishers. In November
Endnotes
Published originally in The Religion & Society Report: http://www.profam.org/pub/rs/rs.2305.htm#fn19
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