Part I

Pastor Scott Lively greets me with a skeptical smile, though we’ve talked several times by phone. I don’t blame him for his reluctance to meet in person – there aren’t many news stories that shed a favorable light on his work. But, on a warm, sunny day, he has granted me an interview in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. He is taking a hit for God, to Whose will – or, at least, Lively’s interpretation thereof – Lively has dedicated the past 20 years of his life.

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Part II

Dictators, warlords and crooked politicians get accused of persecution and conspiracy, not ministers. But Pastor Scott Lively of Springfield, Massachusetts stands accused of conspiring to persecute gay Ugandans. Lively’s anti-gay activism is particularly inflammatory, as described in Part I of this story. But conspiracy? Persecution? Since 2009, when Uganda’s infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill was proposed, an anti-gay fervor has overtaken Uganda. Is Lively to blame?

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