Like the Roman Catholic Church, the Southern Baptist Convention ("SBC") is hemorrhaging members and as youth go off to college like so many Millennials they leave their Baptist parishes never to return. Despite the numerous surveys that show that anti-gay bigotry is a huge factor in the exodus of Millennials from organized religion, Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary,thinks it is time for the SBC to double down on it anti-gay animus. Mohler even goes so far as to state "even if scientists prove people are born gay, the “sinfulness of homosexuality” would not be eliminated." Of course, Mohler still clings to the myth of the existence of Adam and Eve despite the fact that the human genome project has proven that they never existed as historical persons because without them the entire Christian story line of "The Fall" and the need for a savior crumbles. If you want an example of the Christofascist embrace of ignorance, look no farther than Mohler. Huffington Post looks at Mohler's latest batshitery. Here are highlights:
Christians should not attend a same-sex wedding — even of their own child — because it signals “moral approval” of the union, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary said in a new book. . . . “At some point, attendance will involve congratulating the couple for their union,” he wrote. “If you can’t congratulate the couple, how can you attend?”
Even if scientists prove people are born gay, the “sinfulness of homosexuality” would not be eliminated because human sin taints the world, Mohler said in addressing other topics of sexual identity. He contended that transgender people who are “saved” should consult with their pastors about whether to have surgery to return to their original gender.
In the past he has said that delaying marriage and limiting family size are both sins, that the Roman Catholic Church teaches a “false gospel,” that the pope holds an “unbiblical office,” and that Christians who practice yoga “either deny the reality of what yoga represents or fail to see the contradictions between their Christian commitments and their embrace” of it.
He wrote his 213-page book, subtitled “Speaking truth to a culture redefining sex, marriage & the very meaning of right and wrong,” for what he called “intelligent evangelical readers,” pastors, other church leaders and the public, he said.
“Dr. Mohler’s self-righteous intractability on this issue — even banning followers from simply attending the weddings of their LGBT loved ones — can cause nothing but strife, heartache and hardship,” said director Chris Hartman of the Fairness Campaign, a Louisville-based non-profit advocacy organization that works to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Southern Baptists are the largest Protestant denomination in the USA, numbering a little less than 15.5 million members, down from a peak of 16.3 million in 2003.
While Jesus regularly ate with sinners, Mohler said that “his constant call was to repentance” and in no case did he endorse sin.
Mohler said he never has attended a same-sex wedding and wouldn’t even if one of his children or grandchildren were marrying. In an interview, he said he addressed the question in the book because students and grandparents had asked about it even before the June 26 Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.
“I don’t want to underestimate the difficulty of these questions, but I don’t think a faithful Christian can recognize or celebrate … what we don’t think is a marriage,” he said.
I have to laugh at Mohler's comment about "intelligent evangelical readers." Intelligent and evangelical are oxymoron. Moreover, studies have shown that the more evangelical and fundamentalist ones denomination is directly correlates to a lower level of education and intelligence. It's not an accident that Episcopalians and Lutherans are better educated and intelligent than sat Jehovah's Witness members. Sadly, individuals like Mohler celebrate the embrace of ignorance and the bigotry that often goes with it.
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