YouTube removes movie trailer 'because of religion'
Ray Comfort charges Internet giant censoring his view of homosexuality
Published: 6 hours ago
YouTube has removed a trailer for an upcoming movie, and the filmmaker is charging it’s “because of our religion.”
The trailer promotes Christian apologist Ray Comfort’s film “Audacity,” which challenges the belief that homosexuality is unchangeable.
According to Comfort’s Facebook page, YouTube explained in a message: “This video has been removed as a violation of YouTube’s policy against spam, scams, and commercially deceptive content.”
Comfort has invited the public to view the trailer on the movie’s website and “see if it’s spam, a scam or has commercially deceptive content.”
The trailer is also available here:
The trailer already had collected more than 130,000 views in less than three weeks.
“This is such an irony,” Comfort said. “Last year YouTube sent us a trophy which said ‘Congratulations for Surpassing 100,000 Subscribers.’ So I suspect that someone within their company with a differing worldview watched it, and didn’t like what they saw.”
Comfort said the “foundation for the gay argument is that they (like people of color) are born that way, and like someone’s race, should never be discriminated against.”
“The trailer shows a number of people changing their minds about homosexuals being born that way, because I asked them two simple questions. It’s pretty unnerving for the ‘I can’t help being gay argument,’ and so they decided to censor us. Or to put it another way, they discriminated against us because of our religion.”
Comfort described the trailer as a “John the Baptist,” a “voice in the wilderness preparing the way for the movie.”
“YouTube played Herod and brought down the axe,” he said. “It’s interesting to note that John’s end came because he also spoke up about Herod’s illicit sex.”
In response to WND’s request for a comment, the “Google Press Team” said, “While we don’t comment on individual videos, YouTube does have strict spam and metadata policies. If a video is flagged by our community that violates these policies it is removed.”
Comfort is asking supporters to contact YouTube at Press@Youtube.com or Copyright@Youtube.com and ask that the trailer be restored.
Comfort, founder of Living Waters Publications and the author of books such as “How to Know God Exists,” previously created the controversial smash-hit movie “180.”
“Audacity,” he said, is “a scripted movie containing unscripted interviews showing pro-gay people changing their minds on whether or not homosexuals are born that way, because they were asked two simple questions.”
In the movie, Peter (Travis Owens), is an aspiring comedian who confronts stage fright and a challenge to his moral convictions. Peter must decide whether he will stand up for what he believes, even if it means losing a friendship. And he faces a harrowing life-or-death experience.
Comfort acknowledged the topic of homosexuality is controversial.
“I didn’t want to make this. After making films about abortion and evolution, people kept asking for one that addressed the issue of homosexuality – because most Christians were very uncomfortable about how to deal with it and not sound hateful. But I adamantly said that it wasn’t going to happen. Anyone who spoke against homosexuality was instantly vilified, and nobody wants that.”
But Comfort explained the concept for the film arose by pure chance.
“Around April 2014, I was with a friend in Huntington Beach in California, when I saw two girls walking towards us kissing each other. I asked if they would like to be on camera, and to my surprise they said that they would. These two ladies gave me an amazing 14-minute interview about gay marriage, the morality of homosexuality, and the gospel … and they ended up thanking me for not being judgmental. Yet I hadn’t compromised the gospel even slightly. It was as though God had dropped the foundation for a movie into my lap.”
That night he wrote a script and sent it to Mark Spence, the main editor and producer of “180,” which reveals how quickly people reverse their opinion about abortion once they are given the facts.
“He wrote back, ‘Wow, wow, wow!!!!’ I quickly called a meeting, and after just over a year later, we have what we believe is a very timely movie,” Comfort said.
Comfort understands he will be accused of “hating” homosexuals. But he believes the “frustrating” accusation provides an opening for “Audacity.”
“Someone wrote to me, ‘Please please please release ‘Audacity’ as soon as possible. Christians need to be equipped to handle the subject of homosexuality. I found an article on my Facebook newsfeed portraying Christians in an extremely negative way. … I have faith in the film, that it will help awaken people.’
“A Christian doesn’t hate anyone, and yet we are being painted with a wide and nasty brush by a sin-loving world. One of these people recently wrote to me and said that it was virtually impossible to be a Bible believing Christian and not be ‘homophobic.’ The frustration is there because I can understand his reasoning. Scripture is very clear on the issue.”
Comfort says Christians can communicate their beliefs effectively without being disrespectful.
Asked to respond to critics who call the film “intolerant,” Comfort countered: “I would say not to make that judgment until they see the movie. I think that even the LGBT community is going to be surprised, because it’s not what they’re expecting. They are going to see that we didn’t want to stereotype or vilify homosexuals.”
At the same time, Comfort urges Christians to remain true to Scripture.
“My opinion is irrelevant. What matters is what God’s Word says on the subject. This is another area covered in depth by ‘Audacity.’ The issue of homosexuality is putting a chasm between those who love God and those who don’t. You cannot separate God from His Word,” he said.
“But the movie goes even deeper using an opening scene that shows that those who speak the truth in love, speak the truth because they are motivated by love.”
Comfort said he believes the film “has the power to change this culture (through the gospel), and even bring healing between the church and the LGBT community.”
Read more at
http://www.wnd.com/2015/07/youtube-removes-movie-trailer-because-of-religion/#BXEBVAokR3pEmh7q.99
