Why Canyon Ridge Christian Church Defends Its Financial Support of Anti-Gay Ugandan Pastor

Despite pressure to get them to denounce efforts in Uganda to pass legislation criminalizing homosexuality and HIV, Canyon Ridge Christian Church in Las Vegas continues to support a leading anti-gay Ugandan pastor, Martin Ssempa. They give him money. The feature him on their website as a strategic partner. And they say that Martin Ssempa is leading a new generation of leaders in Africa, and that he's a bold, prophetic person of faith.

Here's how Canyon Ridge Christian Church must define prophetic: "I will not call them gays any more, these are sodomites. And I ask you please, in the media, stop misusing the word gay, which means happy people. These are not happy people ... I want to say homosexuals eat each other's poop. Homosexuals stick their hands into their rectum. Homosexuals stick all sorts of deviant sexual things into their rectum."

That's a direct quote from Martin Ssempa from earlier this year. And shockingly enough, it's a bit tame compared to some of his other lines about homosexuality. And to this day, though Martin Ssempa has tried to distance himself from some of the language in the proposed Uganda bill, he's still a diehard supporter of passing this legislation. As written, the bill still includes (a) death sentences for those with HIV who engage in same-sex sexual relations; (b) life imprisonment for anyone who has sex with someone of the same gender; (c) jail time for straight folks who do not out their LGBT friends, neighbors and relatives.

But don't tell Canyon Ridge Christian Church that. They'd rather put on their spin hats, and try to say that western media just doesn't really understand Pastor Martin Ssempa.

Here's what Canyon Ridge Christian Church said in a recent statement put on their website regarding their support of Martin Ssempa.

"We have worked with Martin for several years, making trips to Uganda to see his ministry first hand. He has welcomed and ministered to homosexual people in his church. He has championed the cause of abstinence, sexual purity and faithfulness in marriage that has been instrumental in pushing back the scourge of HIV/AIDS in Uganda," the statement says.

Now if you can pull your mouth off of the floor for a second, it's important to note that yes, Ssempa has "ministered" to LGBT people in his church. By condemning their sexual orientation and forcing them to change. Read his letter, available on Canyon Ridge's own website.

"We actualy (sic) have in our Church individuals who have come out of the homosexual lifestyle including members who were key leaders of the homosexual movement," Ssempa says in his letter, from March 2010.

That's what it's about for Martin Ssempa. Change your sexual orientation, or go to jail. And that's what Canyon Ridge Christian Church is supporting with their money, their public relations, their ministry, and their energy.

For whatever reason, Canyon Ridge Christian Church can't find it within their mission to condemn the anti-gay legislation in Uganda. They consistently say that it's not their role to comment on laws in Uganda, and they continue to deflect and defend Martin Ssempa, despite his demonizing rhetoric.

I'm reminded of the words of German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil ... Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

Though he said that more than six decades ago, the folks at Canyon Ridge Christian Church fit Bonhoeffer's sentiments to a T.

Photo credit: Meyer Sound