Southern Baptist leader condemns North Carolina preacher who called for gay concentration camps
By now, you may have seen this disgusting display all over the media (e.g., here and here).
Charles Worley, “pastor” of the Providence Road Baptist Church in
Maiden, N.C., called for a concentration camp for gays and lesbians.
Worley said:
I figured a way out, a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers but I couldn’t get it past the Congress – build a great big large fence, 50 or a hundred mile long. Put all the lesbians in there, fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals. And have that fence electrified so they can’t get out. And you know what? In a few years they will die out. You know why? They can’t reproduce. If a man ever has a young’un, praise God he will be the first.
I asked Bob Stith, National Strategist for Gender Issues at the
Southern Baptist Convention, for his reaction and he said Worley’s words
were “a vile outburst” and said,
I think it is important to say in the strongest terms how disgusting and unchristian his comments are.
He added that the church is not in the Southern Baptist Convention.
The church website is down, but the Google cache indicates that it is
an independent Baptist Church which believes the King James Version of
the Bible is inspired.
The “KJV only” churches are almost always in the extreme right wing of
the church world. This church is a part of something called “The Only Hope” network. The church is also on this list of fundamentalist Baptist churches and this website seems to support Worley.
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Anthea Butler, associate professor of Religious Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, joins The Last Word to discuss the violent rhetoric coming from churches on marriage equality.
Catawba pastor's anti-gay sermon sets off a firestorm
Screen grab taken from YouTube video of Rev. Charles Worley's May 13 sermon.
More Information
MAIDEN -- It started in a small-town church pulpit on Mother’s
Day: a preacher calling for gays and lesbians to be placed in a type of
concentration camp.
But since a video of the sermon by the Rev. Charles Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church hit the Internet, his words have stirred a social media firestorm and visits to the quiet Catawba County town from CNN.
Worley, 71, suggested building a large fence, 100 or 150 miles long, so lesbians would be put in one area “and the queers and the homosexuals in another, and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out.”
The 300-member church originally placed the video on its website, but it was removed over the weekend. But the video is still posted on YouTube, where it has drawn more than 165,000 views.
On Tuesday, a grass-roots group announced plans for a protest march Sunday near the church, which is outside the city limits of Maiden.
“I was shocked, horrified and hurt,” said organizer Laura Tipton, 24, of Hickory, a student at Appalachian State University.
Worley’s sermon came five days after more than 60 percent of N.C. voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as a civil union between a man and a woman – outlawing gay marriages.
The May 13 sermon was critical of President Barack Obama’s announcement, days earlier, that he supports same-sex marriage. Worley told his congregation that he couldn’t vote for a “baby-killer and a homosexual lover.”
After using Biblical passages that he said supported his argument, Worley outlined a plan to put gays and lesbians in confinement behind an electrified fence.
“Feed ’em, and you know what?” Worley said. “In a few years, they’ll die. Do you know why? They can’t reproduce.”
Some members of the congregation can be heard saying “Amen” in response to the pastor’s remarks.
Maiden, a rural town of about 3,500 people about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte, landed Apple’s new $1 billion data center in 2009. Authorities recently granted to Apple a permit for a 20-megawatt solar farm in Maiden, and Apple now says it will build a second farm a few miles away.
Maiden Town Attorney Kent Crowe said the town doesn’t discriminate based on race, gender, creed or sexual orientation. Also, he said the town rejects any expression or demonstration of hate against any group or individual.
On Tuesday, Joe Heafner, a member of the congregation at Providence Road Baptist, said Worley’s comments were taken out of context.
Worley “takes a strong stand on the Bible and what it says, but he loves people,” Heafner said. “I’ve never seen a man who cared more for his people, cares for all people, whether they were members here or not, he would go beyond what would be expected of him.”
Worley himself could not be reached for comment, but his comments continued to attract attention.
At least one national news crew was in the Maiden area Tuesday. Business owners were reluctant to talk to media representatives, expressing regret about the negative publicity the small community was receiving.
Brent Childers, executive director of Hickory-based Faith in America, a group that aims to end religion-based bigotry against gays, said the media focus shouldn’t be on one church but a problem that’s widespread.
In churches across America, words are being spoken about gays that “may not be as ugly as this pastor (but) they are the same message of rejection and condemnation.”
While Worley’s sermon “doesn’t surprise me,” Childers said what saddened him most was that “more North Carolinians do not see the stigma and hostility that is driving harm toward gay and lesbian individuals.”
Childers said polls indicate younger people have a more sympathetic view of gays and lesbians. Anti-gay rhetoric may “grow coarse” Childers said, “but in the end it will flicker into silence.”
According to Tipton, more than 400 protesters are expected to meet at 9 a.m. Sunday at Maiden Elementary School, and be shuttled about five miles to the church. They will march peacefully, she said, along the street outside the church. Their message will be one of “love and acceptance instead of hate and intolerance,” Tipton said.
She’s already met with Worley, and although “he said he made a bad choice of words, he didn’t apologize. … We would like him to apologize.”
Charlotte church: It’s not us
The controversy over a preacher’s sermon at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden is proving to be confusing.
Charlotte’s Providence Baptist Church, at 4921 Randolph Road, said Tuesday that senior pastor Al Cadenhead and other church members have received angry emails, calls and messages from people confusing the two churches.
“… Jesus is our model for living and His presence is our source of strength for life,” the Charlotte church’s statement said. “Jesus preached a Gospel of love. So do we. Jesus preached that we love our neighbor, whether that neighbor is like us or not.”
Gay-rights supporters and others were quick to denounce Worley.
"I am not part of LGBT community. I am an ally, a heterosexual," said Tipton, a social work student at Appalachian State University. "Whether you are straight or gay, people need to stand up against these messages of hate."
An online petition started by Adam Eyster of Los Angeles called for Worley to step down as pastor.
“This is hands down one of the MOST offensive things I have heard in my time of the LGBT rights movement,” Eyster wrote.
Miss. lawmaker denies endorsing killing of gays
Another petition started by Robert Hare of Jacksonville, Fla., urged state and federal prosecutors to charge Worley with “inciting to commit mass murder”:
But since a video of the sermon by the Rev. Charles Worley of Providence Road Baptist Church hit the Internet, his words have stirred a social media firestorm and visits to the quiet Catawba County town from CNN.
Worley, 71, suggested building a large fence, 100 or 150 miles long, so lesbians would be put in one area “and the queers and the homosexuals in another, and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out.”
The 300-member church originally placed the video on its website, but it was removed over the weekend. But the video is still posted on YouTube, where it has drawn more than 165,000 views.
On Tuesday, a grass-roots group announced plans for a protest march Sunday near the church, which is outside the city limits of Maiden.
“I was shocked, horrified and hurt,” said organizer Laura Tipton, 24, of Hickory, a student at Appalachian State University.
Worley’s sermon came five days after more than 60 percent of N.C. voters approved a constitutional amendment that defined marriage as a civil union between a man and a woman – outlawing gay marriages.
The May 13 sermon was critical of President Barack Obama’s announcement, days earlier, that he supports same-sex marriage. Worley told his congregation that he couldn’t vote for a “baby-killer and a homosexual lover.”
After using Biblical passages that he said supported his argument, Worley outlined a plan to put gays and lesbians in confinement behind an electrified fence.
“Feed ’em, and you know what?” Worley said. “In a few years, they’ll die. Do you know why? They can’t reproduce.”
Some members of the congregation can be heard saying “Amen” in response to the pastor’s remarks.
Maiden, a rural town of about 3,500 people about 40 miles northwest of Charlotte, landed Apple’s new $1 billion data center in 2009. Authorities recently granted to Apple a permit for a 20-megawatt solar farm in Maiden, and Apple now says it will build a second farm a few miles away.
Maiden Town Attorney Kent Crowe said the town doesn’t discriminate based on race, gender, creed or sexual orientation. Also, he said the town rejects any expression or demonstration of hate against any group or individual.
On Tuesday, Joe Heafner, a member of the congregation at Providence Road Baptist, said Worley’s comments were taken out of context.
Worley “takes a strong stand on the Bible and what it says, but he loves people,” Heafner said. “I’ve never seen a man who cared more for his people, cares for all people, whether they were members here or not, he would go beyond what would be expected of him.”
Worley himself could not be reached for comment, but his comments continued to attract attention.
At least one national news crew was in the Maiden area Tuesday. Business owners were reluctant to talk to media representatives, expressing regret about the negative publicity the small community was receiving.
Brent Childers, executive director of Hickory-based Faith in America, a group that aims to end religion-based bigotry against gays, said the media focus shouldn’t be on one church but a problem that’s widespread.
In churches across America, words are being spoken about gays that “may not be as ugly as this pastor (but) they are the same message of rejection and condemnation.”
While Worley’s sermon “doesn’t surprise me,” Childers said what saddened him most was that “more North Carolinians do not see the stigma and hostility that is driving harm toward gay and lesbian individuals.”
Childers said polls indicate younger people have a more sympathetic view of gays and lesbians. Anti-gay rhetoric may “grow coarse” Childers said, “but in the end it will flicker into silence.”
According to Tipton, more than 400 protesters are expected to meet at 9 a.m. Sunday at Maiden Elementary School, and be shuttled about five miles to the church. They will march peacefully, she said, along the street outside the church. Their message will be one of “love and acceptance instead of hate and intolerance,” Tipton said.
She’s already met with Worley, and although “he said he made a bad choice of words, he didn’t apologize. … We would like him to apologize.”
Charlotte church: It’s not us
The controversy over a preacher’s sermon at Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden is proving to be confusing.
Charlotte’s Providence Baptist Church, at 4921 Randolph Road, said Tuesday that senior pastor Al Cadenhead and other church members have received angry emails, calls and messages from people confusing the two churches.
“… Jesus is our model for living and His presence is our source of strength for life,” the Charlotte church’s statement said. “Jesus preached a Gospel of love. So do we. Jesus preached that we love our neighbor, whether that neighbor is like us or not.”
Gay-rights supporters and others were quick to denounce Worley.
"I am not part of LGBT community. I am an ally, a heterosexual," said Tipton, a social work student at Appalachian State University. "Whether you are straight or gay, people need to stand up against these messages of hate."
An online petition started by Adam Eyster of Los Angeles called for Worley to step down as pastor.
“This is hands down one of the MOST offensive things I have heard in my time of the LGBT rights movement,” Eyster wrote.
Miss. lawmaker denies endorsing killing of gays
Another petition started by Robert Hare of Jacksonville, Fla., urged state and federal prosecutors to charge Worley with “inciting to commit mass murder”:
"Freedom of speech or religion is one thing, but when you are exhorting people to 'help in the effort to find the best way of killing every gay person on the planet' you have clearly taken a giant step across the line."And in a post on MadMikesAmerica, blogger Erin Nanasi wrote:
“Pastor Charles Worley is yet another argument for the abolishment of religion. The evil that pervades the minds and hearts of some of the holiest of the holy, the preachers, priests, reverends and pastors will sicken the most hardy among us and the evil that is Charles Worley stains Christians everywhere, but particularly the congregation of the Providence Road Baptist Church, who applaud the venom that spews from the mouth of this monstrous man."
I
am saved through the blood of Christ. And I am ashamed to call myself a
Christian, pastors think they are above doing no wrong.Christ died on
the cross for all humanity, not for certain chosen ones. I have family
members who are gay and lesbian, and I love them with Christ's love. I
think the right needs to go back and study Christ words a little more.
He did give us 'love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and
mind' and 'Love your neighbor as you love yourself' If you spew such
vile, nasty, bigoted words, you do not love yourself as God loves you.
And Gods love is perfect. SHAME ON YOU. Preachers who preach crack
their wrist, punch the gay out. This one with concentration camps. And
those who gets involved with politics. I thought as Christians we were
not suppose to mix church and state. But it seems there are more
congresspersons who throw out wrong passages and swear by them. And I
try to call them out on it when I hear it. I do not go to church
because to me they don't teach gospel, they do not witness to home
bound, most do not preach revelation, and the second coming, or get
involved with their community. I miss going to church, but I do not know
what to do or how to choose. Any suggestions.
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