…warm welcome?

Wait—that’s not how these posts are supposed to work! These posts are supposed to draw attention to the hypocrisy of American fundies and evangelicals. They so often say one thing (“Love thy neighbor…”) while doing another (attacking their neighbors) that these posts practically write themselves.

I guess we have to add inconsistency to their long list of sins. Because Mike Jones showed up at New Life Church this weekend—Jones is the male escort that outed Ted “Meth & Cock” Haggard, New Life’s disgraced founding pastor—and the New Lifers were nice to Jones!

The former male prostitute whose accusations against New Life Church founder Ted Haggard led to Haggard’s dismissal as pastor visited the megachurch Sunday. Mike Jones, who has a forthcoming book, told The Denver Post that several people shook his hand and told him, “God bless you.”…

Associate pastor Rob Brendle saw Jones in the foyer.

“I told Mike, ‘I don’t want to impose my religious beliefs on you, but I believe God used you to correct us, and I appreciate that,’” Brendle said. “The church’s response to him was overwhelmingly warm.”

It’s great news that Rob Brendle and the rest of the New Lifers don’t want to impose their religious beliefs on Jones or anyone else. Which means that New Life is, I presume, about to come out in support of full civil equality for gays and lesbians—including civil marriage rights. If they’re not, then Rob Brendle is a lying sack of shit and this “O, They Will Know We Are Christians By Our…” post is drawing attention to lies and hypocrisy after all.

Because when religious conservatives use strictly religious arguments in their fight to ban full marriage equality for gays and lesbians—something they’ve done with great success, in Colorado and elsewhere—they are imposing their religious beliefs on others. That Rob Brendle’s God frowns on same-sex marriage is a great reason for Rob Brendle to refrain from marrying a dude and getting his saved-for-marriage ass plowed on his Key West honeymoon.

But the low opinion of Brendle’s God is not a legitimate reason to bar me or Mike Jones from marrying a dude.

And what of religions that bless same-sex unions? What of their free practice of religion? I’m actually surprised that the Unitarians haven’t already filed a lawsuit arguing that a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutionally interferes with their right to practice their religion. Come on, Units!