Some years ago, a senior figure in the Democratic Unionist Party expessed his distaste for homosexuality, and was savaged by the liberal media. I remember thinking at the time that he was being unfairly treated (for that particular remark) because I didn’t see the problem. If a gay man had expressed his distaste for the heterosexual lifestyle, would we be outraged? Should we be? Of course not, because there is a line here that needs to be recognised. People should be free to say “that’s not for me” as opposed to the more extreme “that’s not for me, and I’m not going to let it be for you either!”

That’s the debate that American Christians need to be having. I have no time for those who say that churches should be forced to recognise same-sex marriages, because being a member of a religion is a free choice, whereas being bound by US law is not, if you live in the US. As a result, Christians should have a right to say that homosexuality is not their thing, but respect that their religious beliefs are their own and should not be forced on others. These are what I call “Freedom Christian” and they should be respected. The problem is that in the US Christian opinion seems to be dominated by what I call “Bin Laden Christians” who believe, like the terrorist leader, that they have the right to force their beliefs on others. Not only do they not want the right of same-sex marriage, they don’t want anyone else to have it either, which is the exact same position Bin Laden takes.

Bin Laden Christians are unAmerican Christians, and it’s time that Freedom Christians stand up to them.