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May 2nd, 2012
04:18 PM ET
North Carolina pastor retracts sermon remarks about punching gay kidsBy Stephen Walsh, CNN (CNN) - A Fayetteville, North Carolina, pastor has retracted controversial language used during a weekend sermon in which he instructed parents to hit children who exhibited behavior associated with homosexuality. “I apologize to anyone I have unintentionally offended,” Sean Harris, pastor of Berean Baptist Church wrote in a statement on his church’s website. “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,” the statement continued. “My words were not scripted. It is unfortunate I was not more careful and deliberate.”
Harris’s remarks at his church came a week before the state’s voters consider an amendment to North Carolina’s constitution limiting legal unions to marriage between a man and a woman. CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories "The second you see your son dropping that limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist," Harris said in the Sunday sermon. "Man up. Give him a good punch." "You’re not going to act like that," the pastor advised parents to tell their children. "You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male.” In an interview with the Fayetteville Observer, Harris said his comments were meant as a joke. In a video of the sermon posted online, laughter can be heard from some members of the congregation, as well as cries, of “Amen!” as the pastor spoke about responding to seemingly gay kids. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter Berean Baptist explains its stance on discipline of children on its website: “Remembering the love and forgiveness that God has shown them, parents in turn should train their children with the purpose of reflecting the Heavenly Father to their children. Parents should consider their responsibility to be the instrument of discipline in their child’s life (Prov. 19:18). At times this may include appropriate and reasonable physical means (Prov. 10:13) employed upon the fleshy portion of the child’s buttocks (Prov. 22:15; 23:13); that this method is to be viewed as correction rather than punishment (Prov. 23:13); and that this correction will result in the child’s physical and spiritual betterment.” Harris told the Observer that from within his church, "the response was, 'Pastor, we know you didn't mean that.'" What do you think? Watch the above video to hear Harris’s remark and leave your comments below. soundoff (2,325 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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This pastor is caught up in entertaining his congregation rather than shepherding them in grace and love. Sunday morning is about him and how he can parade around spewing opinion in front of the cameral without a spiritually lead sermon or notes. This kind of self-centered pandering preaching is one of the reasons I left the Baptist branch of the church years ago.
TO: "atheist fred: I’d like to see someone establish “The First Church of Atheism and Common Sense”, then apply for tax exempt status and see what happens. The wackos are always calling it a religion, so it’s about time we start cashing in on it."
YESSS!!!
As long as you make positive contributions to the community and are charitable, more power to you.
Every parent who cheered/clapped/amen'd during this cretin's sermon needs to investigated for child abuse. All their children need to have medical/psychological evaluations looking for signs of abuse. If there are instances of abuse, this pastor needs to be arrested for hate-crimes.
Violence against children, especially in the name of intolerance, is never appropriate to joke about. This man, as well as the parishioners that laughed or agreed with him, should be ashamed.
Someone needs to go hit him ...
Why is this stuff tax exempt again?
Tax exempt status is blatantly unconst-itutional.
I’d like to see someone establish “The First Church of Atheism and Common Sense”, then apply for tax exempt status and see what happens. The wackos are always calling it a religion, so it’s about time we start cashing in on it.
@ Atheist Fred – I call dibs on having our "communion be California Rolls and Tequila shots.
I also nominate atheist Natalie Portman to be the high Priestess we use for our Tequila body shots.
"The second you see your son dropping that limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist," Harris said in the Sunday sermon. "Man up. Give him a good punch."
-I have heard some STUUUPID things come out of mouths during the 10 years I've been living in the South, but none as jaw-droppingly ignorant as this. What is this, anyway? I've met some dudes who grew up with their mothers, were not exactly your John Wayne stereotype, but were hounds for the ladies and could probably kick this pastor's @$$ in a heartbeat. Maybe somebody should, if he thinks he can weigh and judge on another man's manhood like that.
People? More like sheeple.
Prayer changes things. .
@wwjd/prayer/athiesm/etc etc etc: T R O L L. DO NOT FEED THE TROLL. LMFAO
Prayer doesn’t not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.
An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.
The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs!`~
CASE CLOSED.
Your name and message have nothing to do with the story. For reference Hitler was an atheist.
@christian and eishman: hitler was jewish. his mother was jewish. regardless of hitler's beliefs he wasn't athiest, he understood how religion could be used to unite and rile the mas.ses. hitler, mao, etc etc etc did the samething as all the popes from the 1300's forward. they exterminated people for power, not for any god or lack there of......they murdered for power that is all.
He was neither Christian , atheist and definitely not Jewish. Publicly he promoted Christianity and tried to use it to justify the Holocaust. In private, he was highly critical of the Catholic Church, although this was based on their power more than their teachings. His own beliefs are up for debate, ranging from a warped kind of Christianity, Agnosticism, Occultism and Paganism.
I'm an atheist, yet it annoys me just as much to hear atheists refer to Hitler as a Christian as vice versa. If you have to misrepresent to put forward an argument, you have automatically lost.
@Rational Libertarian
I couldn't agree more. It's like its a contest to see which side has the worst boogey man, and like you said, he was neither xtian, atheist, and certainly not jewish (seriously WASP?).
to all i owe an apology for my mistake. i went off what i was taught in school.....mind you quite some years ago. i just researched hitler again and i stand corrected, again i'm human and prone to mistakes. my apologies.
Hitler was a psychopath. In general, a psychopath is unable to understand abstract concepts like empathy, let alone something as complex as a god/lack of a god. Pol Pot was also a psychopath. Stalin was a psychopath. They are nonreligious as a default because they are incapable of the concept. Instead, they will use whatever tools available to them to gain power over others. Hitler used Christianity, Stalin and Pol Pot made themselves and their state gods.
Hitler was the ultimate atheist as well. Hitler was the"god" of national socialism.
Evil Christian hate monger
Top ten signs you're a fundamentalist christian
10.You vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.
9. You feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the Biblical claim that we were created from dirt.
8. You laugh at polytheists, but have no problem believing in a Triune God.
7. Your face turns purple when you hear of the "atrocities" attributed to Allah, but you don't even flinch when hearing about how God/Jehovah slaughtered all the babies of Egypt in "Exodus" and ordered the elimination of entire ethnic groups in "Joshua," including women, children, and trees!
6. You laugh at Hindu beliefs that deify humans, and Greek claims about gods sleeping with women, but you have no problem believing that the Holy Spirit impregnated Mary, who then gave birth to a man-god who got killed, came back to life, and then ascended into the sky.
5. You are willing to spend your life looking for little loopholes in the scientifically established age of Earth (a few billion years), but you find nothing wrong with believing dates recorded by Bronze Age tribesmen sitting in their tents and guessing that Earth is a few generations old.
4. You believe that the entire population of this planet, with the exception of those who share your beliefs (but excluding those in rival sects), will spend Eternity in an infinite Hell of Suffering, yet you consider your religion the most "tolerant" and "loving."
3. While modern science, history, geology, biology, and physics have failed to convince you otherwise, some idiot rolling around on the floor speaking in "tongues" may be all the evidence you need to "prove" Christianity.
2.You define 0.01% as a "high success rate" when it comes to answered prayers – evidence that prayer works – and you're fine with attributing the remaining 99.99% FAILURE to simply being the will of God.
1. You actually know a lot less than many atheists and agnostics do about the Bible, Christianity, and church history – but still call yourself a Christian.
It is unfortunate that over 2000 years have past since the start of Christianity and Christians are still locked in a death grip to the past and out dated ways of living.
I know that not all Christians are bigots and hate mongers, my own mother is a Jehovah witness but believes whole heartedly that God made me gay, and thanks God for teaching her tolerance and love. my aunt and uncle are also Jehovah witnesses, they do not agree with my being gay but love me and accept me as a human being and do not force they're views upon me.
Ok so now u want to revise your ridiculous post to read Fundamentalist Christian. I don't have a problem with u being gay. Its for u and your God but its always best not to antagonise people unecessarily. The Pastor apologised maybe u cud retract and a apologise too. I deal with JWs a lot.
Nice post, Alexander. I enjoyed reading it.
By the way, Nii, he did say at the top of his post that he was referring to fundamentalist Christians.
We are a Christian Nation. Majority are Christians. Clearly Christians contribute to at least 80% of our crime and problems. Christians are clearly unhealthy and bad for our government and way of life.
Christians want to claim majority when it involves power and decisions in our society. However, they don't accept responsibility for majority of the negative in society and use the minority as the scapegoat to the the problems. I find this interesting but not surprising.
This is a great example of the church teaching hatred and bigotry to their sheep (I mean, their 'followers').
I guess North Carolina will prove once and for all who they really are: the bigots of 1955 OR a state that will speak clearly for freedom and equality for all Americans. We will find out soon enough.
I also live in Phoenix, AZ...AZ is turning into one heck of a bigoted hostile state.
I do not live in Phoenix AZ. God bless
Likewise pastor. God made you a raving mad, violent bigot and you're gonna act like a raving mad, violent bigot.
This pastor is yet another example of small-minded bigots hiding behind a thin veil of mean-spirited and misguided biblical drivel.
Prayer changes things*
Prayer doesn’t not; you are such a LIAR. You have NO proof it changes anything! A great example of prayer proven not to work is the Christians in jail because prayer didn't work and their children died. For example: Susan Grady, who relied on prayer to heal her son. Nine-year-old Aaron Grady died and Susan Grady was arrested.
An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children, who died under the care of faith healers or being left to prayer only, would most likely have survived if they had received medical care.
The statistical studies from the nineteenth century and the three CCU studies on prayer are quite consistent with the fact that humanity is wasting a huge amount of time on a procedure that simply doesn’t work. Nonetheless, faith in prayer is so pervasive and deeply rooted, you can be sure believers will continue to devise future studies in a desperate effort to confirm their beliefs!
Jesus,
Absolutely uncalled for behavior! Prayer does change things. You may not "get what you're asking for", because God is not some anthropomorphized Santa Claus like figure. All of the studies done on healing percentages and different items are completely worthless as the entire assumption of the studies is wrong, and therefore thier conclusions are just as wrong. There are however multiple studies that show that prayer helps the person praying deal with thier own issues, which is predictable and repeatable and apart of Bible doctrine. Additionally, "faith healing" is not Bible doctrine and it is absolutely terrible that people would let harm befowl thier loved ones when they could have done something about it. Do not attack what you clearly do not understand!
It's also possible that you may not get what you're asking for because there is no god, and that prayer works as randomly as throwing a pair of dice.
explain why it isnt healthy? an atheist does good things because he wants to, a christian does good things to 'get into heaven and be more holy'.. as you see the atheist just does it out of kindness with no expectations of appeasing a 'god'. do you know how many people have died over region? do you know how many people have been killed in 'gods name', have you heard of the crusades? this is happening today still with most religions.. yeah really healthy. also whats healthy about brain washing a small child with religion? religion is dying, the world is 'growing up'. go to college and study science, you will see why.
EnjaySea,
That's a much more resonable argument that isn't framed to make people angry or pull them into an argument. Thank you for staying calm as I shouldn't have lost mine a minute ago. I very much respect Athiests, and I argue a lot more with Christians than I do with them. The hypocrisy and self righteous really get under my skin. Particularly if they are using the Bible to spread bigotry or prejudices.
John,
Once again I'm not arguing with you. Quote unquote religion is terrible in all forms. There's a difference between someone who believes something and an organization that does. We all know there is no intelligence in a mob. Yes religion killed and trampled, but people belonging to faiths liberated and enlightened. The world is growing up, and as it should. I have no qualms with you. I have engineering and physics degrees from a very prestigious private liberal arts university. I'm not an idiot here trying to tell you you're all fools and wrong. I'm someone who is intelligent, relies on science, and unfortunately lost his cool for a moment. I wish you all the absolute best.
n8263,
The punishments of the Old Testaments were nullified with Christ who bore our punishements past, present, and future. Secondly, I agree that voters will have the chance to do the right thing.
Christians,
We as Christians have no right what so ever to tell other people what they can or cannot do. I understand that you do not like it, and I understand that you do not agree with it. But it's not your place to decide what is write and wrong for others. God himself respects our right to decide for ourselves.
Half of your book you worship, ..'the holy bible' is "nullified with Christ who bore our punishements past, present, and future".... anything you say is invalid, half of book invalid in your christian commnunity. fully invalid to educated people who know science disproves your whole book.
John,
I don't care to debate you at all. I don't care to convince you to see my point of view. I was simply trying to convey a positive message to Christians that wasn't biggotted. My argument to n8263 is something any Christian would agree with. I wasn't picking some strange passage that denominations argue over. I wasn't looking to start a fight. I'm glad you've found something you believe in.
Jesus commanded his followers to continue to follow the laws of the god of Abraham.
@n8263 "Jesus commanded his followers to continue to follow the laws of the god of Abraham."
=>only up until His death, which ushered in the new covenant.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
Matthew 5
@ Chad.
You dolt. Jesus did not "die." A sacrifice is rendered useless if the host is magically "revived". Three days later he was walking 'n' talking, havin a good time!
I couldn't agree more with this! Christianity is all about tolerance and love and respect! I believe that God knows what He is doing when he creates LGBT individuals, but we 'mere humans' weren't meant to understand it....or question it.
Chad – you forgot that whole pesky "until heaven and earth disappear" qualifier. The earth is still here. The OT's rules and laws remain in effect. Now, be a good little christian warrior and go kill you some gay folks and stone some slûts.
@primewonk we are to model our lives on the commanments but the new law is to love God and our neighbors. "On these the whole law and the phophets hang". As far as the heavens and earth passing, this is not a literal passing, rather a new form of heavenly government in which those on earth will be subject to. This is the new heavens and earth the bible speaks of. Also true Christians do not bash or physically attack others. Those biblical events served a different purpose and I am strapped for time to explain. Regardless although many were killed during biblical days for the preservation of the chosen, still those that lost their lives would in fact live again. So their deaths served a purpose in those days but is not a permanent removal of them or their souls.
Your savior did not rescind old laws – and he explicitly stated that. If the old laws were rescinded, why did Peter, after Jesus had already died, need explicit divine revelation to tell him it was ok to eat certain foods?
Logic Fail.
@ Mema – no. Your god specifically stated that the OT laws remain in effect until heaven and earth disappear. You are attempting to spin it in order to justify not having to follow laws you find abhorent.
It's time for you fundiots to "man-up" yourselves and start following your god's commands.
This is why we need a separation of church and state. NC voters will get a chance do the right thing next week. Early voting has already started.
Typical Religeous nut.... Just like the rest of them.
It's never acceptable to punch your child or break his wrists, rather true Christians know parents are supposed to stone their disobedient children to death as in Deuteronomy 21:18-21.
Lol! Oh n8283!