As famed Christian writer, speaker and personality Jonathan Merritt was speaking about LGBT people being sinners, and how their lives needed to change, Azariah Southworth was looking back on a romantically-charged friendship and make-out session he had with Merritt and he wondering what was best—keeping quiet and allowing the charade to continue, to the detriment of the LGBT community, or out Merritt with the aim to help him live a truer life, and expose the hypocrisy of those who condemn LGBT folks a sinners.
In an awesome Salon.com article, Southworth defends his decision to speak publicly about his “more than friendship” relationship with Merritt:
I was tired of the lies. I was tired of hearing Jonathan say that being gay is not “God’s best.” Meanwhile he enjoys the company of men. Jonathan’s approach to LGBT people and issues may be less extreme than that of the late Jerry Falwell, but in the end the results and message are the same: Your sexual orientation is a sin and you need to change with God’s help. It’s all lies — and the conversation not only needs to change but the leaders as well.
I’m tired of my humanity as a gay man being invalidated by hypocritical leaders like Jonathan, who then expect my support in return.
What do you think? Did Southworth do the right thing, outing Merritt, or was he playing with someone else’s life?
Read more about the outing of Jonathan Merritt in a moving piece by Brian Ammons called Chick-fil-A, Jonathan Merritt, and the Conservative Politics of Outing
What do you think? Did Southworth do the right thing, outing Merritt, or was he playing with someone else’s life? Lies, Damned Lies and Scriptures. Who has been playing with other people’s lives? I’ve been reading the mixed up messages, and it’s bizzare, amazing and worthy of comment! It seems to me that Mr Merritt has been mixing things up for some time, from his self chosen position as Youth Bible Thumper, Blogista and Voice of a supposed god that no-one has heard from in Millennia. I keep wondering when God went Green, cos I have yet to find any… Read more »
(I’m going to assume for the moment that everything Southworth said is true.) The most responsible thing, though maybe impossible, would have been to approach Merritt individually first and give him a chance to change his message before saying anything publicly. Let Merritt know that his former make-out partner does not intend to keep his secret for him. Give Merritt a chance to make a deal in the interest of both people getting what they want. Then, if Merritt refuses, he’s made his own decision. (He made his own bed, as it were…..) I think there’s a difference between coming… Read more »
“or was he playing with someone else’s life?”
It’s an absurd frame. Merritt plays with others lives when he encourages animosity and shaming of gay people. Bigots think because they’re told God doesn’t love gay people it’s fine to beat them up, bully them and treat them like second class citizens.
He certainly shouldn’t be surprised he got outed.
If closet case gays want to attack other gays, they’d be well-served to stay celibate.
Mr. Southworth’s personal guilt that he should have done things differently is water under the bridge. Sure it would have been more ethical to have confronted Mr. Merritt ahead of the outing. No matter what side your are on this culture war divide, it was right that Mr. Southworth outed Jonathan Merritt. And he has both LGBT supports and conservative evangelical supporters.
Oops. Apologies for mistaking Mr. Southworth’s real name in my post. Forgive me, sir.
Well the personal choice moment Mr. Southwork pondered about outing Mr. Merrit, or not, would sort of highlight or underline the large relevant context, supposing we had known also that he chose not to out Mr. Merritt by naming him specifically. That larger context that is the basic point? Simple, after all. The conservative/legacy Christian narrative about LGBT folks is, not, contrary to its own claims … offered in deep, genuine, passionate human and spiritual support of our otherwise LGBT unavoidable, God-given ‘human thriving.” It’s repeated, major impacts on real, live LGBT people are not uplifting, challenging in all the… Read more »
Every action we take has an impact on others. Including staying silent when one feels called to speak out. Though I do not support outing another person in general, I do support the outing of public figures who make a platform of hate or bigotry. Then it is a call for the person to hold himself accountable for his own behavior. It is his choice to deny or admit his own actions – that is never taken away from him.