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Faith they claim their right to persecute. They will tell you point blank that they do not have an agenda, they have a "Faith". That is more powerful and more dangerous than having an Agenda.
I would rather they had an agenda, a real agenda than a "faith".
A few Christians; Phelps, Robertson, Falwell (Ministers and "leaders" of churches)
may have an Agenda, the rest are followers who, based on their Faith, follow... these men. Yes mostly blindly and not just on the gay scriptures, but on a wide variety of others which in many cases are the sure path to hell

.
Thus by their faith they must save us from "sin" They must save societies from "sin" and promote the facade of morality. This is their faith, and it will not be shaken or retrained - and if we dare to shake it or dare to even suggest retraining they we are persecuting their Faith - not their agenda. It is a self supporting structure which no amount of logic or reasoning or science can shake or change.
Agenda's can be changed, can be shook up. Here in the USA the political "agenda" of Conservatives stands upon the backs of certain "moral" issues, Gays, Abortion and now Stem Cell Research. Even though faced with other more pressing topics, War in Iraq, the War on Terrorism, the Economy, the $4.00 price tag on Gasoline, the Conservatives fall back to gaining votes by pressing their moral position on Abortion, Gays and Stem Cell Research.
They are very much like Islamic extremist. Granted they are not strapping on bombs and walking into gay clubs to self detonate (
yet), but the same drives of "faith" are there, the same "illogical, faith based" reasoning that governs the Islamic Suicide bomber governs the persecution of the Gays.
When it comes to the persecution of the gays by the churches, it is done without thought, it is committed on a visceral level where their faith that they are doing 'God's work' is the driving force.
Unlike the GLBT "agenda" to politically and socially gain acceptance and tolerance which is not so much "faith driven" but driven by a sense of equality. The GLBT "agenda" is most often rationally thought out and argued, re-argued, and argued again. The old Arguments of the GLBT side to not reach a point where "God said so" as the ultimate argument - that is purely a faith-based argument. Argue with the 'religious' and no matter how logical, rational, scripture based or factually based the argument that God love Gays is, you reach a point where the religious will argue "Because God said so".
To give credit to those who earned it, there are a growing number of denominations which are adopting a more tolerant stance on the "gay question". In as much as the arguments against the old interpretations of the bible are being heard. Although the more "traditional" churches will turn around and call them the Church of the False Prophet, which is based loosely on an interpretation of End Day Prophecies. Again faith rears its ugly little head as an "argument" against in this case GLBT.
To understand the differences I put the definitions of both Faith and Agenda below.
Finally, being in the U.S. as you are, how can you keep a straight face when you say the Christians in the U.S., whether pseudo-neo-Bushian Christians, or the more "traditional, faith-based" ones are not operating on the basis of a cruel, despicable agenda? Their agenda is simple: "Drive them all back into their closet. Once they're all in there, let's throw away the key and say we did it for God."
The problem is that they do believe that they are doing these things for God - not based on rational reasoning of an agenda, but based on faith.
Agenda:
1 : a list or outline of things to be considered or done <agendas of faculty meetings>
2 : an underlying often ideological plan or program <a political agenda>
- agen·da·less /-d&-l&s/ adjective
Faith:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs <the Protestant faith>