This ‘ex-gay’ preacher believes that coronavirus was sent by God to cancel Pride parades

A Christian ‘ex-gay’ preacher is “giving thanks to God for coronavirus” because it caused the cancellation of Pride.

Rosaria Butterfield, who identified as a lesbian before converting to Christianity and marrying a man, suggests that the pandemic could be an “answered prayer” for action against the LGBT+ community.

In a blog post on Christian website, Desiring God, she called on Christians to “give thanks” to God for coronavirus, adding that after years of her church failing to convert the local LGBT+ community, “God answered our prayers by sending COVID-19.”

The preacher’s husband Kent Butterfield is pastor of the First Reformed Presbyterian Church in Durham, North Carolina.

She wrote: “Have you considered the ramifications that this June will be the first in decades without a public gay Pride march? Why is this big news?

“First, sexual identity depends on an affirming audience who can sway others to its side, using an ideology of personal freedom and victimhood. A virtual platform draws only the faithful, denying them the oxygen that this particular fire needs.

“Second, without an audience, sexual identity cannot be normalised.

“Here is the heart question for us. Are you praising God for this disruption? Or is it your preference to complain about gay Pride (and other sins) from the air-conditioned comfort of your home, in the midst of an economy that benefits from all kinds of sin?”

Coronavirus has killed more than 350,000 people around the world, of whom 100,000 – more than one in four – were in the United States.

Sadly, Butterfield is not the only person to have made a stupid point about the cancellation of Pride events due to the pandemic.

Fox News commentator Tomi Lahren suggested earlier this month that the LGBT+ community would revolt against the lockdown when Pride events are cancelled. She wrote: “To the pro-eternal shutdown cheerleaders, when your favourite government pals start canceling pride parades, we better not hear a peep out of you!”

In fact, nearly all of the world’s major Pride events had already been cancelled by organisers at the time she sent the message – leading to exactly zero tantrums.