photo via screengrab
Gospel singer and “Sunday Best” host Kirk Frankin is speaking out and voicing his thoughts on homophobia in the church and revealed that he wants to do away with the “gay shaming” that the black church has traditionally done to the LGBT community.
While doing promo for his new album, “Losing My Religion” the industry vet opened up to The Grio on his views of the gay community and talks straying from the judgement that we typically see happen within the church and embracing bringing the gay community closer to the church and the word of GOD.
“More than anything, I’m trying to peel back those layers [that] keep people away from God and keep people away from experiencing the love of God and knowing God’s love as a father,”
“I’m trying through this album to erase the dogma and the ideology that gets in the way of the true essence of one of the most simplest things we could ever say to somebody: ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.’
Franklin continued and even offered an apology on behalf of the church and gospel community.
“I want to apologize for all of the hurtful and painful things that have been said about people in the church that have been talented and gifted and musical, that we’ve used and we’ve embarrassed… and all this other horrible crap that we’ve done,” Franklin said. “We have not treated them like people. We’re talking about human beings, men and women that God has created.”
“The Bible is not a book that’s an attack on gay people,” he added. “It’s not a book written to attack gay people.”
“It is horrible that we have made it where the Bible is a homophobic manual,” Franklin said. “That’s not what the Bible is. I mean you want to talk about things that God gets at… pride and jealousy and envy and arrogance. But what we also see is God sending his son to save us all, because we were all… straight, gay or whatever, lost and in need of a savior, and there’s room at the cross for all of us.”
Get into the interview below.
