Paul Cohen's Correspondence with Brad Fitzpatrick

We received this note in response to Paul’s request to remove The Joy of Gay Sex from the Lewis & Clark Library’s shelves (see Notice Board – September 2008):

I am curious. How is it you can call yourself a Christian, yet you judge others for their life choices? You prey on the weak of spirit, and pull them into your skewed teachings? God’s love is unconditional, and he is the ONE TRUE JUDGE. Each person living and breathing on this planet is a sinner, we sin every day of our life. I sin. I believe in God, and I believe that if I confess my sins to God, he will forgive me all my sins. His son, Jesus Christ, was sent from Heaven, to teach His ways, and to die for our sins, so we would not have to suffer as He (Jesus) suffered. I would like to know how and where in the book The Joy of Gay Sex, does it censor God? Where does it teach a person to commit incest or beastiality? You state ‘God says it is a sin to falsely accuse your neighbor.’ Don’t you accuse Jessica Fitzpatrick of providing pornography to children? You do not say it outright, but you imply it. I would say that is an accusation against a neighbor on this earth, in this town. You also say, ‘Why should people support an agenda that leads to destruction?’ In your response to Wendy Wheeler, you ask, ‘Are you ready to let rapists and robbers violate you and your home?’ Are you implying homosexuals are rapists and robbers? Do they seek out the weak, the vulnerable, to violate? There you go again, falsely accusing your neighbor. I would like to be able to answer some of these questions myself, regarding the book and your animosity, yet I am not able to look at the book, as you continue to have this book you despise? Why is that?

Brad.

Paul’s reply:

Brad,

The Joy of Gay Sex censors God by banning and condemning His words. It does this in many ways. The very title of the book denies God’s injunction against sodomy:

“And you shall not lie with a male as one lies with a woman; it is a perversion” (Leviticus 18:22 LITV).

From there, God’s indisputable injunctions, as outlined in the Ten Commandments, against adultery, bearing false witness, and dishonoring of parents, to name but a few, are all flatly contradicted by this presumptuous and vile book. Such authors and books have come and gone over the millennia, while the Bible remains the First and Prime Book of all human history.

A practical example of the effect of The Joy of Gay Sex would be if you worked in a factory where the owner gave his managers certain guidelines to maintain amongst the workers under their supervision, and one manager taught his team to do things in a way that directly contradicted the rules of his boss, many of which were for their safety. This manager would be acting as a censor of his boss.

You ask specifically where the book condones incest and bestiality. On page 58 there is an entry on “Daddy/Son Fantasies,” which goes on to describe how to enact such perversions. On page 250 there is another entry on “Sex with Animals,” in which the authors state: “Moralists condemn sex with animals as disgusting, immoral, and generally horrible.... We disagree with the moralists.”

For those who question why I have the book, my answer is that I want to know what I am talking about when I criticize it, along with its proponents, unlike you with your insinuation that I have an unsavory or hypocritical motive, along with other unfounded accusations that prove you don’t know what you are talking about.

For example, you ask: “Don’t you accuse Jessica Fitzpatrick of providing pornography to children?” No, she is the one who suggested this book is necessary for sex education for children. I only said that if she wants such a book for her daughter, she should buy it herself. What is wrong with that?

You also write:

“In your response to Wendy Wheeler, you ask, ‘Are you ready to let rapists and robbers violate you and your home?’ Are you implying homosexuals are rapists and robbers?”

Wendy said that the content of books is not important. I said that, on the contrary, content is the issue. The point is there are boundaries for public literature. Would she approve of a book that advocated rape and robbery, for example? I said and implied nothing there about homosexuals, but it is interesting that you would see it that way. In a way you are right because, according to the Bible, if you commit one sin, you are guilty of them all:

“For whoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10 MKJV).

You know nothing of what is in the Bible, Brad. Where are you getting your ideas about God, and who is teaching you the lies you write in your letter? If from teachers, they are also wholly ignorant with you. It could be you are simply grasping at phantom thoughts out of thin air, which thoughts are from demons and which have no sure foundation whatsoever. The Bible clearly differentiates between right and wrong, and truth and error. Know this: Truth brings life, healing, and victory, while lies and error lead to destruction, as sure as the sun rises and sets each day.

While God is love (not the love you are describing), He does not love everyone unconditionally. Here is what Jesus says against that idea:

“He who has My Commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him” (John 14:21 MKJV).

You miss the vital element of confession of sin, and that is repentance:

“He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13 KJV).

Without obedience, your confession is without fruit. The Lord expects fruit:

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away” (John 15:2 MKJV).

If you profess the Name of the Lord and Savior, then it is up to you to avail yourself of His power to walk in what He commands and what is right in His sight. Otherwise you are taking His Name in vain, thus breaking the Third Commandment, for which the penalty is death. For the breaking of that Commandment, God says, He will not hold you guiltless. You are held to the Standard to which you give lip service, and you are judged more severely than those who make no profession.

The Lord died to deliver us from hell, but He did not die so that you could do as you please and escape responsibility for what you do. You had better believe you will be judged for the things you do:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, in accordance with the things which he did, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10 EMTV).

Only those who deny themselves and identify and suffer with Him will reign with Him:

“It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us” (2 Timothy 2:11-12 KJV).

Yes, He will deny you if you deny Him. How do you deny Him? By denying His Commandments and opposing those who teach Them.

You ask how it is that I call myself a Christian and teach the Word of God that comes against sin. That is the true definition of a Christian:

“And have no partnership with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of those things being done by them in secret” (Ephesians 5:11-12 EMTV).

You have a false definition for what it means to be a Christian, directly opposed to the true one. You speak of a false Christ. There is much teaching on our site that illuminates the contrast between the true Lord and Christ and those in error. You need to repent of your sins, Brad, and not just confess them. Then if you read our site and seek the Lord He will be found of you.

What are the sins you are confessing every day? Are you engaging in homosexuality? Why should you remain in, and be destroyed by, your sins? It is the proud of spirit and defiant who resist the Holy Spirit. God opposes such. That is why you perceive me as you do:

“For we are the fragrance of Christ to God among those being saved, and among those perishing. To some we are the fragrance of death leading to death, but to others the fragrance of life leading to life” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16 EMTV).

No, Brad, you are rejecting the one element you need most, which is righteous judgment. That is a hallmark of the life of the saints of God, as attested to in Holy Scripture:

“LORD, who shall abide in Your tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Your holy hill? He that walks uprightly, and works righteousness, and speaks the truth in his heart. He that backbites not with his tongue, nor does evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honors them that fear the LORD. He that swears to his own hurt, and changes not. He that does not put his money to usury, or takes reward against the innocent. He that does these things shall never be moved” (Psalms 15:1-5).

Paul Cohen

Brad’s reply:

Paul,

I was shocked and hurt when you said I do not know the Bible. You also said the people who taught me the Bible are wholly ignorant. I do not know the Bible as you do, and I do not take the words from the Bible and twist them to support my thoughts and urge others to question their faith. Are you familiar with Marva Dawn? She is one of my teachers. She and I have talked at great length about the Bible and my faith.

You say God is love and not the love I am describing. I know God’s love. Agape. My church has taught me from the time I was a small child that God’s love IS unconditional, and I will not allow an extremist like you to break my faith and understanding of my one true God, and his love for his children. Jesus loves me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones, to Him belong. They are weak, but he is strong.

Paul, I plan on speaking with my pastor who has taught me the things I know about God, Jesus and the Bible. I will ask for his guidance, but I will not read from your website, which I feel is filled with hatred and twists the word of God.

I had spent a long time tonight, writing an email to respond to your personal attacks on me and my faith. I will not let myself and my faith and love of God be questioned by you. God’s love is unconditional, and he even loves you.

Brad

Paul’s reply:

Brad,

Where have we twisted God’s Words? Show us. You accuse us of something very serious, but you do not give one single example to prove what you charge. We have given you proofs of what we teach, and you have not shown these to be wrong (how can you deny the Word of God?).

You need to know that God expects you to back your accusations with evidence. Even a judge in Helena would require some proof if you were to claim that we stole from you or harmed you in some way. Otherwise, your case has no merit, and no judge on earth or in Heaven will pay attention to you. In fact, God in Heaven will hold you accountable for sinning against your neighbor and Him, because you bear false witness.

You say that God even loves us. How does God show His love? By accusing us of things we don’t know or see and therefore cannot repent of them? The Bible says that Satan is the one doing that, calling him “the accuser of the brethren.” You have God and Satan mixed up.

If you knew God, you would not be shocked and hurt when I told you that you do not know the Bible. That is just more evidence that your faith is not in God, but is in religion, the Bible as you have been falsely taught it by men, false teachers, and, essentially, yourself. Yours is a manufactured faith, and not the faith of Jesus Christ. We can destroy your faith because it is a man-made one, but nothing can touch the faith of Christ.

Your faith must be destroyed, and, even now, it is in the process of being burnt up by the Word of Truth that God has sent us to speak to you. When the false is gone, then the True may come.

Marva Dawn is one of the multitudes of false teachers of false Christianity, having the same kind of faith you do, which does not stand in this day of fire and judgment. She has filled your head with religious rubbish, which has nothing whatsoever to do with the Lord Jesus Christ. She has never known Him. Her fruit proves it. We will make certain that she hears about it.

As for your pastor, let him explain himself against what we teach after reading these:

Is Your Profession of Faith Vain, Christian?
The True Marks of a Cult

Your reply proves you are in fear and error, running away from the Truth Who has confronted you. You are strong in sin, though weak in power against the Light. You cannot hide in darkness from God, and He will not be impressed or convinced by your sincere words or works. He holds you accountable for what you have heard and have said to us.

Paul

Brad’s reply:

My pastor, Marva and I will pray for you and hope that you will soon learn the true love of God, and may you one day be able to spread His love and care to others, not the hatred and falsehoods you teach now.

This is the last communication I will send to you, and I ask that you not contact me with your hatred or personal attacks.

Brad.

Take time to laugh; It’s the music of the soul.

Paul’s reply:

Brad, who is your pastor? We would like to be in touch with him so we can hear what he has to say.

Paul

Brad’s response:

Please stop. If I hear from you again, I will report you for harassment.

Brad.

Click HERE to go back to our correspondence with Marva Dawn.