Uganda’s strict new Anti-Homosexuality Law, which reportedly stipulates life imprisonment and the death penalty in “aggravated” cases, continues to spark heated debates. Among those sparring about the issue are Florida Pastor Tom Ascol and U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
On May 29, Cruz tweeted that the new law was “horrific & wrong,” “grotesque & an abomination,” and a “human rights abuse.” That led to a callout from Ascol, the Founders Ministries president, who champions a return to conservatism in the Southern Baptist Convention. He tweeted, “Tell it to God, Ted” and quoted Leviticus 20:13, an Old Testament verse that condemns homosexuality and calls for the death penalty.
Ascol asked Cruz, “Was this law God gave to His old covenant people ‘horrific and wrong’?”
Sen. Ted Cruz to Tom Ascol: ‘Your Biblical Analysis Is in Error’
On June 5, Cruz replied to Ascol. “Pastor, I don’t know you, but I honor your ministry,” the senator began. “Your biblical analysis is in error. Jesus told us to ‘render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.’ We are talking the laws of man, not the Old Testament laws of God. Do you really believe that the US govt should execute every person who is gay??”
The senator continued:
Leviticus also tells us: “For anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death.” Should the govt execute every child who’s disrespectful to his parents? That ignores Grace & the New Testament. As our Savior taught us, “Let he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.”
In a response to Cruz, Ascol tweeted:
Senator, Thank you for responding. I asked a question that reveals my point. GOD gave Israel Lev. 20:13. Do you think GOD is guilty of giving a law that is “wrong,” “horrific,” “grotesque,” & “an abomination”? That is my concern. I will answer your questions. No. I do not think the US should execute everyone who is gay. No. I do not believe the govt should execute every child who’s disrespectful to his parents. But not for the reasons that you give. The principles by which you make your argument lead to great confusion & harm if followed consistently. This is an important conversation for both church & state.
Ascol invited the senator to appear on his podcast to further discuss the issue.
Tom Ascol: It’s Problematic If Bible Verses Embarrass You
On the May 31 episode of his podcast “The Sword and the Trowel,” Ascol emphasized that he’s “not advocating the death penalty for homosexuality.” Instead, he said, he’s pointing out that “Ted Cruz’s judgment is a judgment of God.”
“He’s calling what God gave as a statute to his old covenant people Israel…an abomination,” Ascol said of the senator. “He says that this is grotesque, that this is horrific and wrong. So the problem I have, here is Ted Cruz, a professed Christian, saying that what God did was an abomination, horrific and wrong. It can’t be those things if God proscribed it for his old covenant people.”
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