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May 31st, 2012
05:17 AM ET
Church videos with harsh words for gays go viral onlineBy Richard Allen Greene and Dan Gilgoff, CNN First it was a Christian pastor in North Carolina who told his congregation on Mother's Day that the way "to get rid of all the lesbians and queers" was to put them behind an electric fence and wait for them to die out. That video went viral, fetching more than a million views on YouTube. On Sunday, Pastor Curtis Knapp of Kansas preached that the government should kill homosexuals, in another videotaped sermon that drew lots of online attention. "They won't, but they should," Knapp said, according to a recording of his sermon posted online. Since that sermon, another church video with harsh words for gays has caught fire online. This one shows a young boy singing an anti-gay song while the congregation cheers him on in what appears to be a church in Indiana. "I know the Bible’s right, somebody’s wrong,” the boy sings near the pulpit of a church. “Ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven." As the boy repeats the line “Ain't no homos gonna make it to heaven," congregants from the pews rise and cheer. The video, which was anonymously posted online and has received more than 300,000 views on YouTube, appears to show a service at the Apostolic Truth Tabernacle Church in Greensburg, Indiana. Calls to the church this week went to voicemail, with an automatic message saying the mailbox is full. But a message posted on the church’s website on Wednesday appears to address the controversy, offering no apology for the video. “The Pastor and members of Apostolic Truth Tabernacle do not condone, teach, or practice hate of any person for any reason. We believe and hope that every person can find true Bible salvation and the mercy and grace of God in their lives,” the statement says. “We are a strong advocate of the family unit according to the teachings and precepts found in the Holy Bible,” said the statement, which did not explicitly refer to the video or mention homosexuality. “We believe the Holy Bible is the Divinely-inspired Word of God and we will continue to uphold and preach that which is found in scripture.” The viral videos have drawn criticism from gay and lesbian groups and their allies. Charles Worley’s sermon at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, North Carolina, sparked a protest that drew more than 1,500 people last weekend. In Kansas, Knapp's voicemail at the New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca was filled with messages saying "things you don't want your kids to hear," he told CNN affiliate KTKA. An official with the Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists issued a statement to CNN on Thursday saying that Knapp’s church had left the Southern Baptist fold in 2010. “Obviously, he has taken a radical and unbiblical stand in regards to homosexuality,” said Tim Boyd, communications director for the convention. “We look at homosexuals as we look at all sinners,” his statement said. “God loves them. Christ died for them. The Gospel calls them to repentance and salvation. Therefore, we as Christ-followers should hate the sin and love the sinner.” But Knapp is not backing away from his comments. "We punish pedophilia. We punish incest. We punish polygamy and various things. It's only homosexuality that is lifted out as an exemption," he said. He cited the Biblical verse Leviticus 20:13: "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act. They shall surely be put to death." But he said gay people had nothing to worry about from the government or from him. "I don't believe I should lay a finger against them," said Knapp, of New Hope Baptist Church in Seneca, Kansas. "My hope is for their salvation, not for their death." Preaching against homosexuality the same day, another pastor appeared to wrestle with how conservative Christians should respond to proposals that people should literally mete out biblical punishments. "What about this guy down in North Carolina said build a big prison, a big fence and put them all in there and let them die out?" Dennis Leatherman asked in a sermon at the Mountain Lake Independent Baptist Church in Maryland. "Listen, I don't know that fellow. As far as I can tell, he seems like a decent guy, but he is dead wrong on that. That is not the scriptural response," Leatherman said in his sermon "Homosexuality & the Bible," according to a cached version of the transcript posted online. The audio of the sermon does not appear on his church's website. In the sermon, he floats the idea of killing homosexuals, whom he refers to as sodomites, then backs away from it. "There is a danger of reacting in the flesh, of responding not in a scriptural, spiritual way, but in a fleshly way. Kill them all. Right? I will be very honest with you. My flesh kind of likes that idea," Leatherman said. "But it grieves the Holy Spirit. It violates Scripture. It is wrong," he added immediately. The Southern Baptist Convention distanced itself from Worley's remarks. The nation's largest Baptist group said Providence Road Baptist in Maiden is not affiliated with its 16 million-member denomination and condemned the comments. But the influential head of the giant movement's seminary does argue that homosexuality "is the most pressing moral question of our times." In a comment piece for the Belief Blog in the wake of Worley's sermon, R. Albert Mohler Jr. dismissed critics who say conservative Christians focus on homosexuality while ignoring other things the Bible prohibits. He contends that laws about keeping kosher, for example, do not apply to Christians, while commandments about homosexuality do. "When it comes to homosexuality, the Bible's teaching is consistent, pervasive, uniform and set within a larger context of law and Gospel," he wrote. "Christians who are seriously committed to the authority of the Bible have no choice but to affirm all that the Bible teaches, including its condemnation of homosexuality," he said. A member of Worley's 300-member church defended him in an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper. "Of course he would never want that to be done," Stacey Pritchard said of the proposal to put homosexuals behind a fence and leave them there to die out. "But I agree with what the sermon was and what it was about." CNN Belief Blog co-editor Eric Marrapodi contributed to this report. soundoff (4,073 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 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 Next »
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"We punish pedophilia, we punish incest. . ." But why did this pastor use the word "punish" with them, but used the word "kill" with gays? And what about all the inconsistencies in the bible. Things that we don't follow anymore. Seems to me the bible wonks either cherry pick from the great book, or reinterpret the text.
With or without religion any prudent person knows it's a non functionable union. It wasn't meant to be and no matter how much you argue it will still be the same disfunctional relationship.
I didn't know you were the authority on what is prudent and what is not. I also didn't know that you were also the authority on what unions will work and what will not. May I have an autograph, because clearly you, kind sir, must be God.
Just because this man says he's a Christian, doesn't make him a Christian in the sense that Christ wants us to love and respect each other. This man is a bigot, an advocate of hatred and murder.
Throughout the ages, religious extremists have murdered and tortured people believed be sinful. We've moved past killing people because they didn't believe the sun orbits the earth. We've gotten past burning women at the stake because some believed they were witches and caused a a dry season.
We've got to keep fighting with reason and love, and we'll move past this idiocy as well.
If Christian leaders are against the legalisation of gay marriage, are they pro-criminalization of adultry?
Double standard?
But not a word about payouts to abusive priests? How could anyone with even a passing familiarity with the teachings of Jesus possibly sympathize with this lunatic? He is an absolute disgrace! It's a shame that the news media make such a point of giving a national soapbox to every hate-monger masquerading as a pastor.
Well, at least THIS one's not from NC. We've had enough embarrassment for one month. :-/
This preacher is the perfect example of IGNORANCE!
Yes he is but according to the Bible he is right. In Matthew 5:17-19 Christ makes it very clear that all Mosaic Law is to be upheld.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Not everyone in the United States is Christian/Catholic. There are plenty of us who would very much appreciate it if you kept your religion to yourself. To you, he is right. To me, he is an ignorant fool.
"In Matthew 5:17-19 Christ makes it very clear that all Mosaic Law is to be upheld."
No it's not it is a ritual manual for Israel's priests.. So are you going to tell women now they have to marry their rapists and all the other sins listed in that particular scriptures? Duh!
Let's not forget about the book of 2 Kings, in which the godly prophet Elisha has a group of children ripped apart and torn to ribbons by wild animals because one of them teased him about being bald.
OBVIOUSLY the government should go out with attack dogs and have every little child who has ever made fun of something torn apart.
(2 Kings 2:23-25 if you think I'm making this up)
2 Kings 2:23-25
New International Version (NIV)
Elisha Is Jeered
23 From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some boys came out of the town and jeered at him. “Get out of here, baldy!” they said. “Get out of here, baldy!” 24 He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys. 25 And he went on to Mount Carmel and from there returned to Samaria.
Cross references:
2 Kings 2:23 : S Ex 22:28; 2Ch 30:10; 36:16; Job 19:18; Ps 31:18
2 Kings 2:24 : S Ge 4:11
2 Kings 2:24 : S Dt 18:19
2 Kings 2:25 : S 1Ki 18:20
These southern, inbred, pigf ucking subhuman animals are really outdoing themselves so far this year.
you're right, lets hope they don't get in in November
Christians are inherently evil, corrupt, and dangerous beings. The world would be a more peaceful place without Christianity.
You havent been to China or Russia lately have you?
He beeps on the old gaydar!
crazy crazy country you got down there...absolutely mad bunch of nutcases!!!!!!!!
Science will take you to the moon and stars, Religion flys you into buildings....Remember the bible was written by men who wanted power and control over others at a time people knew no better. I had hoped we had out grown this need...
Oh and I am Bi and a transgendered, so I guess I should just shoot myself...
And people wonder why I moved from the South to the Northwest...is because of people like this. Up here, tolerance is the word of the day. Live and let live, I say.
I think we should all listen to people who believe in invisible men in the sky.
BILLW...if you're a man and you put another male in your body then you ARE gay. It doesn't matter what age they are it still makes you gay.
Not that there's anything wrong with that
You could also be BI. What is your point? Are you suggesting it is bad to be gay?
What if I am a cannibal? Do I have to be gay?
Since Leveticus is Old Testament, it is not of Christ's teachings which were told in the New Testament. I believe Jesus is reported to have stopped a stoning and said something to the effect that let he who was without sin cast the first stone. Now, as for the government, it is far from without sin so I guess they just cannot put LGBT people to death. I suspect these preachers aren't without sin as well.
In Matthew 5:17-19 Christ makes it very clear that Mosaic Law is to be upheld.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
You are absolutely correct. Jesus preached love...not murder. Christians choose: New Testament or Old Testament. These guys don't sound like Christians...they sound like Hitler. Let me sound like Hitler for a moment: WIPE OUT ALL ORGANIZED RELIGION AND WATCH PEACE AND LOVE PREVAIL. How dare this _______ declare that the government should kill my friends and family. I hope this jack-*ss gets a taste of his own medicine.
So correct me if I'm wrong but isn't your God a Triune God? If the OT is/was "God's" word, and Jesus is 1/3 of that God, then wouldn't the OT be his word too......
@n8362 "In Matthew 5:17-19 Christ makes it very clear that Mosaic Law is to be upheld."
=>no, and you've been told this multiple times before..
Does it not say that He came to fulfill the law?
Does it not say that the law would remain in place until everything is accomplished?
Isnt it crystal clear to you that He is identifying terminating conditions for the law?
So, has it been fulfilled? Has everything that He came to do accomplished?
answer: yes, Jesus Christ kept the law and fulfilled the requirements of it.
In doing so, He did away with the law.
Righteousness is now imputed to us as a result of the work He did, not in our keeping the law.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, 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. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Hitler was Catholic and did not want to wipe out organized religion.
@Chad
You choose to interpret it as "all being acomplished" means his death, and there are many denominations that interpret it as the end of time. So who's right? How do you know who's right? Even if you're right, why even say hom.ose.xuality is a sin at all, because your interpretation means the old law is invalid and pointless. Same with the 10 commandments.
@Chad, when Jesus talks about everything being accomplished he is talking about the final destruction of Earth which is why it says "until heaven and earth disappear." Why would Jesus say that the Law stays in place until the Earth is destroyed then contradict himself in the same sentence?
The word that fulfill was translated from is plerosai, and among its meanings are establish, confirm and validate. It does not make sense that someone "fulfilling a law" would mean to complete it, when the other meaning makes sense and is consistent with the rest of the passage.
@HawaiiGuest "You choose to interpret it as "all being acomplished" means his death, and there are many denominations that interpret it as the end of time. So who's right? How do you know who's right?
@Chad "No there arent, name one Christian denomination that keeps the Mosaic dietary laws and observes the sabbath"
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@HawaiiGuest "Even if you're right, why even say hom.ose.xuality is a sin at all, because your interpretation means the old law is invalid and pointless. Same with the 10 commandments."
@Chad "The law is not the same as the 10 commandments, they were given at different times for different reasons.
Hebrews 8:13
By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Jeremiah 31
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
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@n8362 "When Jesus talks about everything being accomplished he is talking about the final destruction of Earth which is why it says "until heaven and earth disappear." Why would Jesus say that the Law stays in place until the Earth is destroyed then contradict himself in the same sentence?"
@Chad "no.. by including "until heaven and earth disappear" along with the "not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen," Jesus is stating that NOTHING will EVER disappear from the law, UNTIL he finished/fulfilled it.
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@n8362 "The word that fulfill was translated from is plerosai, and among its meanings are establish, confirm and validate. It does not make sense that someone "fulfilling a law" would mean to complete it, when the other meaning makes sense and is consistent with the rest of the passage."
@Chad "sorry, no again, that word isnt even used in the NT. not sure where you are getting your definition from, but the real one is:
Strong's G4137 – plēroō (MT 5:17)
1) to make full, to fill up, i.e. to fill to the full
2) to render full, i.e. to complete
Muslims actually DO kill gays. Other religions today just talk about stupid things like this. They make me sick, but compared to Muslims, they are gay lovers.
They are getting so extreme that they sound like Muslims. They better tone it down before people start regarding them with the same suspi cion as muslims too
Nazis killed gays, and lots of others, and claimed to be Christians. A lot of evil has been done in the name of one god or other.
I smell CULT!!!!!!
two (2)
What if it was Christ's teaching? Is that supposed to change things? If he came back and said "FYI n00bs, kill the gays" would that suddenly change your mind? How can you claim to have any moral code at all if your beliefs are entirely dependent on what someone else tells you to do?
I don’t think God even exist! … But if he does then please GOD save me from your followers!