David Benson-Pope has been branded a "fundamentalist leftie" using "dirty politics" for his publicly-expressed concern over the Destiny Church hate marches by NZ Herald columnist Garth George. In a speech made to the Mosgiel Rotary Club, Benson-Pope said the Destiny Church was spreading "fear, hatred and intolerance", but Garth George thinks Benson-Pope's comments are an "assault on freedom of speech." "Poor Mr Benson-Pope. If he sees the Destiny Church as sowing fear, hatred and intolerance, that says a lot more about him than it does about the church leaders and membership. Such paranoia is rare, even in a politician who is extreme left-wing," says George. However, Benson-Pope's speech did not condemn anti-civil union opinions, but merely the methods used by some in expressing them. “I am not asserting for a moment that people must agree with this legislation. From the outset I welcomed an open and informed debate,” he said. “However, I am concerned about how some people are expressing their views and the fear, hatred and intolerance that lie at their heart." Benson-Pope's concerns are well backed up by fact. TV2 last year broadcast six half-hour episodes of Destiny Television entitled “Homosexuality, Religion and God”. On these shows, Tamaki said that homosexuals hate God and that a “spirit of homosexuality” had created a spirit of public tolerance that was reforming society backwards. Also during that broadcast, Tamaki said that God had raised up the Destiny Church at this point in time to get to political power. Destiny New Zealand, the political arm of Destiny Church, have publicly declared their intention to revisit homosexual law reform. Garth George continued to say that Destiny Church should be allowed to promote fear, hatred and intolerance, provided its activities and pronouncements remain within the law, because “in a democracy it is entitled to do so”.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Thursday, 19th August 2004 - 12:00pm