What do GLBT people hear from Evangelicals?

I stumbled across the evangelical blog InternetMonk and this post, on what GLBT people hear when Evangelicals speak. I have excerpted the Big Points. I don't agree with a lot of it, especially the focus on "repentant homosexuals", but I recommend going to see what he has to say. Author Michael Spencer is quite measured, unlike most on his side, and I think is actively trying to figure out how to make sense of sexuality and also how to get away from a "Them vs. Us" dynamic. He's trying to keep his brand of faith from being subsumed by culture wars, and for that I'll give him credit. Remember his target audience is other Evangelicals amidst the din of politics.

What do gays and lesbians hear when they listen to evangelicals?

1. They aren’t there.
Many evangelicals speak about gays and lesbians as if they are not present in church or ministry gatherings.....The important fact is this: There are no places in evangelicalism–whether over coffee in a university setting or in church in a small southern town–where we can afford to act or speak as if homosexuals are not present. They are, and most of us know this.....

2. Their sexual orientation is entirely chosen.
Despite the fact that no intelligent person would make the case that heterosexuality is entirely chosen, it is common to say this about homosexuality......

3. Gays and lesbians are the political enemies of Christians.
......What are the chances that gays and lesbians hearing this threat announced are involved in the political actions described or even are sympathetic to them in any way at all? Very small, especially in most places......

4. Gays and lesbians must change (and want to change) their sexual orientation, not just pursue chastity.
... The goal of purity and chastity is hardly achieved by any of us, and it is unfair and unbiblical to assign special conditions to the repentant homosexual....

5. Gays and lesbians do not consider themselves to be Christians, and those that do are not really Christians.
Many evangelicals, apparently operating on the stereotype that all gays and lesbians are hostile to Christianity, consistently say that gays and lesbians cannot be Christians.....
Unrepentant gays and lesbians who confess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior present a dilemma for evangelicals. Most evangelicals, like myself, believe the teaching of scripture is clear in regard to the subjects of marriage and sexuality. Most of us do not believe these teachings are culturally conditioned, but reflect basic Trinitarian sacredness in the entire area of sexual relationships.....
On the other hand, evangelicals like myself also understand that many gay and lesbian Christians read the scriptures differently than we do, and have a serious and sincere personal faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior. It is nothing less than heart-breaking and painful when these values come into conflict in regard to our relationships with individuals for whom we have personal respect and affection. ....

6. The reporting of sexual scandals involving gays and lesbians is done with an unmistakable agenda.
.....What this says to the gay community is simple: evangelicals aren’t interested in the truth as much as they are interested in an emotional response. ....

7. We don’t get how hard it is to be gay among evangelicals.

8. The culture war more than the Gospel.
....
One last note that is very important.
Many evangelical young people no longer share the attitudes of their parents and grandparents toward this issue. If you don’t know that, you aren’t paying attention......

Author Spencer also is a critic of the Evangelical connection with the hard right in politics, what he describes as "believing in a cause more than a faith". Needless to say, he's not too popular with the right.

But as I said, I'll give him credit for this post. Any conservative should think hard about what he says. And if they do, and are honest about it....I think they become more reachable on issues of civil rights.

One big problem with the marriage equality and other gay rights arguments is that we've got a relatively small potential group of swing votes, the malleable middle, to try to convince of our views. We have to build alliances which by their nature are not going to be perfect. But if we don't find a way to reach people where they are, we will be long gone before we earn equality. So I liked the internet monk's comments, because frankly it's one of the most "hopeful" things from an Evangelical that I've read ever.