WORD SPIN: HOMOPHOBIA

Homophobia – irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals – Merriam-Webster

We use the term “word spin” to describe the misuse or twisting of words in order to marginalize or vilify those with whom one disagrees. Homophobia is a word often used in the process of “word spin” to marginalize or vilify those who, based on biblical passages and teachings, do not view as God-ordained homosexual behaviors or same sex marriages. Generally, Christians who do not view those behaviors as godly, rather than forming their perspective on irrational fears or irrational aversions to them, instead base their outlook on numerous passages from the Bible, both in the Old Testament and New, which describe homosexual behaviors as sin, including the fact that both Testaments describe marriage as being exclusively between a man and a woman. Obviously, some do not recognize the validity of Christians to form their perspectives based on what the Bible says about homosexuality and same-sex marriages, which is not basing their views on irrational fears or irrational aversions to those topics. Instead, they often seek to marginalize and vilify those Christians doing so, some even going so far as to chide those Christians for not rejecting what the Bible says on the matter, indicating that the “word spinners” in many cases do recognize that the Bible does not support such behaviors. Clearly, those who use the word homophobia to marginalize and vilify such Christians are often guilty of “word spin.”