Gay-ism and the responsibility of peace loving Namibians
By Henk Mudge
President of the Republican Party (RP) of Namibia.
The ruling by the Supreme Court of Namibia regarding foreign same-sex marriages to be recognized in Namibia has sparked serious and lively debates from all walks of life. Maybe an open discussion about gay-ism is long overdue because proponents thereof, in the past, went about their business fairly quietly and those in opposition were never really provoked to the point where it became the hot topic that it is now.
Whether you agree with gay-ism, same-sex marriages, and everything that goes with it or not, the fact remains that we are living in the same country and the one thing that we must strive to do is to deal with sensitive issues like these respectfully.
Allow me as the President of the Republican Party of Namibia to inform the Nation about our response to the above-mentioned and to start an introduction that will leave no uncertainty of what form the basis of my statement.
Firstly, allow me to refer you to our Namibian Constitution with specific reference to Chapter 3 which deals with fundamental ‘Human Rights and Freedoms’, which includes Respect and Human Dignity, Equality and Freedom from Discrimination, Privacy, the Family, Children’s Rights, Culture and especial Article 21 which deals with Fundamental Freedoms.
In addition to that allow me also to refer you to the Constitution of the Republican Party where it says in our ‘Founding Statement’ (Article 1) and I quote: “The Republican Party acknowledges God, the Trinity, as the sovereign creator of the universe, who has entrusted to humanity the right and responsibility to rule over the affairs of the world”.
Also, Article 3 (Program of Principles) of the RP Constitution reads as follows and I quote: “The Republican Party will strive to mobilize all Namibian citizens, regardless of race and ethnic origin, bound by common democratic values, to exercise their fundamental right of participation to guard against any derogation or suspension of the fundamental rights and freedoms as provided for in Chapter 3 of the Constitution with special reference to personal liberty, respect for human dignity, privacy children’s rights, the right to culture, language, tradition or religion and education, freedom of speech and press, freedom of thought, conscience, and belief freedom of religion, freedom of residence, association, movement, and assembly and to promote improved human relations and national reconciliation”.
We acknowledge the Bible as the sovereign Word of God and would like to encourage all citizens to live so accordingly. For me to be clear about our view on the subject of Gay-ism, same-sex marriage, I would like to state the following: Our departure point is the first and most important commandment from the Word of God and that is that
(a) we must love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind, and (b) that we must love others as much as we love ourselves.
This love is not defined by the measure we agree or disagree with one another we can still love one another even though we do not always agree or think alike. Love put us on trial, it disarms the plans and strategies of the enemy and we are most effective when we are pure in heart and love unconditionally.
Another very important point is where God said it is not for us to judge, but that is the sovereign prerogative of Good. Let us refrain from acting like fools who despise wisdom and instructions, simply because we regard the same as judgment. We should rather encourage one another to operate in Fear of the Lord which is the foundation of true knowledge and freedom. Without any judgment or condemnation, the Bible is very clear when it comes to homosexuality and clearly states that it is not only considered a sin against God’s will but an abomination in His eyes (i.e. a very serious and punishable sin).
By God’s grace, He gave us the freedom to make our own choices, and at the same time, He encourages us to choose wisely, apply Godly wisdom and understanding when exercising our freedom of choice, and not rely on our knowledge and understanding. Remember that our freedom to make choices remains limited in obedience to the World of God.
The Word and the Spirit of the Lord is the standard of purity and holiness. Enjoying freedom of choice also comes with accepting responsibility and the consequences of those choices. Our choices are yesterday’s teacher and tomorrow’s opportunity. We must execute our choices wisely.
I know many gay people and I also have friends that are gay. What always strikes me is that the vast majority of them are wonderful, well-behaved, law-abiding, and peace-loving people. They are easily loved and respected by fellow Namibian citizens. Even though gay-ism is not new to the Namibian society, in principle it is clear that it remains unacceptable to various multi-cultural and ethnic groups in Namibia.
Previously the LGBTQ community conducted and kept their lifestyle fairly private and therefore the rest of the population was never challenged to publicly express themselves in a manner that would cause that community any harm. This, however, all changed with public protests, putting their once private lifestyle in the spotlight and center stage, whilst demanding acceptance of their lifestyles, which according to the view of the majority of the population and the Namibian constitution, is not only unacceptable but unlawful
I honestly fail to understand why the LGBTQ community is making all these demands lately. They are equally and a fundamental part of the Namibian society, enjoying all the rights and privileges stipulated in our constitution, amongst others, the freedom of association. What do we say about same-sex marriages? When God created us, he created us men and women, and His clear institution for us to multiply and create a family, obviously meaning to have children.
Naturally, it is impossible for two men to conceive or birth a child with one another and vice versa, and for two women to conceive or birth a child with one another. This is an indisputable fact. The next issue is the adoption of children by same-sex partners. As a father who has raised 4 children with my wife, I am convinced an adopted child who grew up in a home where he or she has two fathers or two mothers will become problematic as the child grows older, simply because no one can guarantee that such adopted children will have the same sexual orientation as their fathers or mothers when they are grown up.
This in itself places a target on the back of such adopted children and opens the door to rejection, discrimination, and bullying by fellow children. Let me come to the issue of the ‘Critical Race Theory’ that has become a hot topic in many countries in the world. This theory is aimed at providing young children with the choice relating to their preferred gender, whether they want to be a boy or a girl. According to the so-called Theory, children at a young age should be allowed to decide whether they want to be a boy or a girl. This issue is driven by the radical left and as far as I am concerned is nothing but evil.
Should any confusion arise about your gender, resolving such confusion is very simple. When born with a penis, you are a boy. When born with a vagina, you are a girl. God created us either male or female and nobody has the right to change that. Nor should anybody especially a minor, be given the authority to choose or change their gender. The RP will never support it.
Supporting these radicals pushing this evil Critical Race Theory is the pre-mature exposure, availability, and distribution of books and resources, with explicit sex drawings, to the eyes of children as young as pre-primary and primary schools. I want to urge the Government and school boards to look into this as a matter of urgency and ensure that such literature is banned from schools and that it does not form part of any curriculum for pre-primary and primary schools.
The Word urges us to train our children in the way they should go so that even when they are old they will not depart from it. It starts with what we allow and feed, figurative speech, our children at home and in school. Lastly and whilst we are on these topics, let me also comment on the extremely important issue of abortion.
I want to make it very clear that the RP will fight against any attempt to legalize abortion by demand. We will only support abortion when the mother’s life is in danger. Abortion under any other circumstances is nothing but murder. A fetus is alive when conception has taken place and when it is removed by whatever means, then those involved must accept that they are guilty of committing murder. Remove this issue by the root, not only treating the symptoms thereof using enforcing and passing laws legalizing abortion, because should we allow this, then citizens will be allowed to continue with a promiscuous and or criminal lifestyle.
Allow me to come back to what I said in the beginning as far as the LGBTQ community is concerned. We as the RP will always respect and love our fellow Namibians irrespective of their choices, and we encourage all Namibians to do the same. Please understand that loving and respecting individuals, under NO circumstances mean we condone or support their choices, actions, and or behaviour.
Let us not conform to the ways and standards of the world, or become a godless nation simply because we allow any form of lawlessness, we are set apart to do good and lead by example.
