A few months ago I started to notice that many of my Christian friends were posting comments about this guy named Phil Robertson. I think the first one said something to the effect of “Phil Robertson for President” I mistakenly thought it said Pat Robertson. I had no idea who this Phil Robertson even was.  More posts came and went about him and Duck Dynasty so I Googled the show and discovered just where the two intersected.

My curiosity was aroused as to why the people I knew were continually expressing positive things about the show when they themselves were not necessarily known to be duck hunters. Then one day as I was looking for something to watch on television I came across an actual Duck Dynasty show and thought I’d satisfy my curiosity and watch an episode. It was one where the entire tribe of duck hunters and their families were going on a trip to Hawaii. Clearly scripted for the greatest possible impression of a redneck vacation, they got ready to go, flew to their destination and proceeded to vacate. It was clear to me that the show was meant to be goofy and entertaining, kind of a joke, if you will.  I get that. What I was still questioning is why these guys were so popular. Then something new came into view.

The Robertsons began to show up in other places. They were guests on Christian talk shows and articles were done in magazines where they talked about their faith and how they had found the right way to deal with sex through abstinence before marriage and as we have all heard in the last few days, Phil is clearly against homosexuality. What happened next was somewhat of a surprise to me as he was seen as a hero once again for “standing up for his beliefs” and “telling it like it is”.

Here is what he said.

“It seems like, to me, a vagina — as a man — would be more desirable than a man’s anus. That’s just me. I’m just thinking: There’s more there! She’s got more to offer. I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I’m saying? But hey, sin: It’s not logical, my man. It’s just not logical…Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.”

When did speaking up like this become a desirable way to stand up for one’s beliefs. First of all as a woman, the thought of someone reducing my sexuality down to just how desirable my vagina is to the opposite sex is a pretty disgusting way to talk about something that especially as a Christian, I believe is private and personal. To reduce sexuality to vaginas and anuses is also absolutely disgusting. If you understand sexuality in what I believe to be a healthy way, it is seen as the natural flow of an intimate relationship and only part of the whole of that relationship. How on earth did we as Christians learn to get almost giddy when a rich, celebrity, duck hunter talks about sex like this? Really, truly, do YOU talk like this? Did JESUS talk like this in the gospels?

What I see in Mr. Robertson’s comments have A LOT more to do with Mr. Robertson than they do with hetero vs. homosexual behavior. When I watched the episode with them going to Hawaii, I was astonished at how crude and rude they are in how they talked to each other. I realized very quickly that the dialog was clearly scripted and sensationalized by A&E because they want the family to appear as redneck and hick-like as possible. When I looked up Mr. Robertson on Wikipedia today I discovered that he’s a lot smarter than you would guess after watching the show. He has a Master’s Degree in Education and is a brilliant businessman.

I am really saddened that this is what Christian thinking has become in our culture. In terms of a response to LGBT individuals I think this example:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-l-windmeyer/dan-cathy-chick-fil-a_b_2564379.html

might prove to be better in terms of what Jesus would do.