@BereanBaptistCh
Luis V. just posted this video to Facebook, and if I weren’t livid right now, I might actually make more commentary.
This vile bullshit comes from the mouths of men who claim to be the good guys.
Christians, this guy is on your team. Speak the fuck up.
About the video:
Published on May 2, 2012 by TheYoungTurks
Via Good As You/The Huffington Post: “Sean Harris, senior pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, spoke at length in support of North Carolina’s proposed Amendment 1, which would define marriage in the state constitution as between one man and one woman and would outlaw civil unions and domestic partnerships, during an hour-long sermon on Sunday. In this clip, provided by Jeremy Hooper of the blog Good as You, a man identified as Harris is heard urging his congregation to attack their children if they appear to be exhibiting behavior outside of gender norms…”.* Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur break it down on The Young Turks.
I also found the pastor’s retraction from the church’s web site which I will reprint below the fold.
Hey, Pastor Sean Harris, there’s no need for a retraction, only resignation and mental health therapy. You’ve got a problem, and your loved ones deserve a non-violent, loving leader. Reflect Jesus or get out from behind the pulpit!
Official Statement of Retraction
The purpose of this document is to issue an official statement of retraction of any and all words that suggest that child abuse is appropriate for any and all types of behaviors including (but not limited to) effeminacy and sexual immorality of all types. I should not have said what I said about “cracking,” “punching,” and particular bias toward outward attraction of girls. Nor should I have used the words “special dispensation.” I did not say that children should be squashed. I have never suggested children or those in the LGBT lifestyle should be beaten, punched, abused (physically or psychologically) in any form or fashion. The gospel is the only source of power sufficient to deliver anyone from the power, penalty, and presence of all forms of sin including, but not limited to, all forms of sexual immorality including homosexuality.I apologize to anyone I have unintentionally offended. I did not say anything to intentionally offend anyone in the LGBT community. My intent was to communicate the truth of the Word of God concerning marriage. My words were not scripted. It is unfortunate I was not more careful and deliberate. I can understand how these words could be misunderstood without the context of years of ministering to the people of God at Berean Baptist Church. I have received nothing but notes of appreciation and support from the people within the church. To those in the greater body of Christ in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the world–I seek your forgiveness if I have offended or hurt the cause of Christ. I have learned from this and will seek to be more articulate and deliberate with my words in the future.However, I do not apologize for the manner in which the Word of God articulates sexual immorality, including homosexuality and effeminacy, as a behavior that is an abomination to God. Nothing in this official statement of retraction should be perceived as an apology for the overarching intent and message of the sermon and the need to define marriage as one man and one woman and to maintain the gender distinctions that God created from the beginning when He made them male and female (Genesis 1). I recognize that there are those in the LGBT community who believe that their sexual behavior is not sin. I do not agree with them and this official retraction should not be misunderstood as an apology for the gospel of Jesus Christ or the Word of God.I do not apologize for the manner in which I emphasized the importance of one man and one woman getting married and staying married for the benefit of their children and society.
I am confident that if the state of North Carolina was not in a state constitutional battle to define marriage as one man and one woman, this sermon would not have received the media attention it has through the intentional framing of my words without the context of the entire sermon on various blogs.
I have already sought to clarify my words in a previous statement that can be found at http://pastorseansblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/important-clarification-to-sundays.html. The church has an official statement on discipline of child that can be found at http://www.bereanbaptistchurch.org/contemporary-issues.php under the heading “Discipline of Children.”
I’ll copy and paste what I said about his “apology” over on my fb page.
First he says; ” I have never suggested children or those in the LGBT lifestyle should be beaten, punched, abused (physically or psychologically) in any form or fashion.” – But he did.
Then he says; ” I can understand how these words could be misunderstood without the context of years of ministering to the people of God at Berean Baptist Church.” Followed by the cherry on the whipped cream;”However, I do not apologize for the manner in which the Word of God articulates sexual immorality, including homosexuality and effeminacy, as a behavior that is an abomination to God.”
In other words, it’s a notpology.
Um, the last time I checked, sermons were pre-mediated, pre-written, planned speeches.
And the out-of-context card is hardly worth a red cent in this stupid situation.
Seriously, this really pisses me off and, oddly enough, validates my perspective as an atheist.
What was even more sickening was how the flock kept agreeing with him and amen-ing every one of his sadistic remedies.
The whole thing was sickening.