Coming Down From

Brokeback Mountain

By Pastor Talbert W. Swan, II, Pastor of Solid Rock Church of God In Christ

At the risk of being called intolerant and hateful, I must respond to the Oscar nominated movie, Brokeback Mountain, which opened in theaters in mid-December 2005. The movie details a long-term relationship between two cowboys who fall in love, marry women and start families of their own. Over the years, the two homosexuals carry on a relationship and use camping and fishing trips to carry out sexual relations.

The movie’s message is in unison with what the gay lobby in America has espoused for years: that society forces men into “down low” behavior because of their prejudice against gays. The inference is that the cowboys could have lived an openly gay life if America had accepted the behavior.

I neither agree with the content nor the intent of the movie. This is another attempt by homosexual activists, with assistance from Hollywood, to portray gays as victims and to silence anyone opposed to their behavior by gaining the empathy of moviegoers.

The question is not whether or not gay men can be masculine or rugged like cowboys or if their so-called love should be accepted, but whether or not homosexuality is normal, natural or morally wrong. This movie cleverly attempts to justify homosexual practice by presenting likeable characters with whom viewers sympathize and to bring about gay advocacy through a tragic movie ending brought about by what gay activists and sympathizers call homophobia.

In spite of the fact that AIDS is the number one cause of death among African American women between the ages of 25 and 34 and that most Black women infected with HIV contracted the disease from men on the “down-low,” the media continues the “homosexualization of America” by giving us a steady diet of television programs depicting settings tolerant of homosexuality. Such shows, as Friends, and Will & Grace, attempt to desensitize us to the sin of deviant sexual behavior.

Many will read this article and contend that I am preaching hate; however, homosexuality is about sexual relations between people of the same gender, not the character or circumstance of homosexuals themselves. Christians condemn the behavior, not the person.

Too often our condemnation of homosexual practice is labeled as right wing bigotry or religious fanaticism. However, the Christian community can no longer afford to be ambivalent and unconcerned about what is going on around us or about what it means.

Unfortunately, the gay lobby has many Bible-believing Christians afraid to stand up and speak the truth concerning the sin of homosexuality. Men and women of faith must rise up against the sweeping tide of deception and speak the truth, even if it is politically incorrect.

Brokeback Mountain does a masterful job in evoking empathy for homosexuals while using the power of the media to gain converts for the homosexual agenda. However, the film makes no good argument for homosexual behavior being normal, natural or Biblically acceptable.

Touting a film about two men on the “down-low” deceiving their wives and families as a love story is indicative of a society that has lost its moral compass. Unfortunately, telling this sick story through the power of the big screen will rally support to the homosexual cause. Christians, however, should not allow their opposition to the homosexual agenda to be broken by Brokeback Mountain. n