Perhaps some friends and fellow Christians wonder why, as a pastor, I came out not fully supporting Phil Robertson’s statements.
As a female pastor – I know how harmful quoting scripture to further your personal viewpoint that targets a particular group of people can be at times. It gets dangerous. It gets violent.
Lately, I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that even here in America, to be a woman pastor is not just frowned upon by some Christians, but it can be life-threatening. The extremes some Christians have gone to against some of my fellow female friends and colleagues in the ministry is more than disturbing. It’s downright frightening.
Female colleagues and friends of mine have had their mailboxes bombed, both at church and at home, had their pets poisoned and purposely run over by those who disagree with their calling and interpretation of scripture. They’ve received numerous death threats and dealt with open hostility day in and day out from other Christians and pastors. They have suffered enormous mental and emotional, if not physical, abuse. Even here in Kearney, terms like “whore of Babylon” and “abomination” get directed at female clergy who would dare to take on a leadership role that involves spreading the hope of Jesus Christ to others.
All because of a few verses of scripture that get taken out of context, and when applied to the whole church in all times and places, directly contradict other parts of the Bible.
But you can find those anti-women passages in scripture. No doubt about it. They can be quoted.
So whether I agree or disagree with Mr. Robertson’s interpretation and stance regarding scripture’s view on homosexuality is frankly irrelevant. Because I find myself feeling a bit of the LGBT pain and their struggle. Of what it’s like being a target and on the receiving end of harmful comments and controversial scriptural quotes.
The arguments and scriptural evidence may not be a direct correlation between homosexuality and female clergy, but people’s responses to them definitely can be. And I certainly disagree with Robertson’s statements regarding how happy African Americans were prior to the Civil Rights movement. Movements like that don’t occur because people are content and happy with their situation or how they’re being treated.
It may have been what he witnessed, but most people who know me and witness how I act and behave would never know the horrible things that get said to me by other Christians. By other pastors. The pain and sorrow that comes with not just walking with people in their struggles, but navigating my own battles of faith. Thankfully – I’ve never been the recipient of death threats – but given many of those friends and colleagues who have been threatened come from a state I have lived in, my situation could have easily been vastly different.
I know many see Mr. Robertson as a stalwart defender of the faith, but I also see how his comments could be used to justify great harm against another human being. And Jesus never condoned that. For that reason , no, I can’t support, as a Christian, what he said. Whether A&E fires him or not is, well, up to them. I know if I were his boss, I would at the very least be having a very, very long conversation with him about ways to talk about these subjects that are less derogatory and inflammatory. Christianity teaches us that Christ stands for the opposite of oppression and tyranny. Thus we need to be careful that our own expressions of faith do not in turn cause oppression and harm to someone else or another group of people with whom we differ. For when that happens, we become just as guilty as those we condemn. So we need to be careful that in our fight against persecution, we do not, in turn, become persecutors. African Americans, LGBT's, etc. are not upset by the fact that Mr. Robertson shared his faith or shared his opinions and experiences. It's the way in which he shared them and the danger his remarks pose potentially to their lives as a result.
For it is possible, as Satan proved when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, to quote scripture while at the same time distorting it. I’m not saying he did – many, many Christians will argue and uphold Mr. Robertson’s stance and can make sound theological arguments that agree with his overall viewpoint.
I’m just saying that the fact that you quote the Bible and state you believe what the Bible says doesn’t give you an automatic license or pass for how you witness to what scripture says. Because the Bible says a lot of things. And how you approach those topics can mean life or death for some people.
I applaud the fact that Mr. Robertson turned his life around, and did so on account of his faith in Jesus Christ, and that he stood up to the production company and insisted on praying at the end of each episode.
Those facts still don’t make what he said right. Or any less harmful.
He’s entitled to his beliefs. But when you are given a public platform, you also have a responsibility to think about what your words can do. The harm they can directly or indirectly cause.
The fact that my life, should I ever choose to move from the security of my current situation, could be in danger, in this country, on account of my fellow brother’s and sister’s in Christ does not just sadden me, but appalls me. You don’t have to agree with what I do. You don’t have to agree with my interpretation of scripture. You don’t have to come to my church. You don’t have to accept my life. Just like you don’t have to agree with or accept LGBT lifestyles.
But please, please, think about how voicing your opinions and beliefs that condemn a group of people with whom you disagree might cause harm to them. How those words and thoughts might fuel the fires of bigotry, racism and sexism.
Because persecution in this country is indeed alive and well - sadly, Christians are at times the ones doing the persecuting...against their fellow Christians with whom they disagree.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8
As a female pastor – I know how harmful quoting scripture to further your personal viewpoint that targets a particular group of people can be at times. It gets dangerous. It gets violent.
Lately, I’ve been coming to terms with the fact that even here in America, to be a woman pastor is not just frowned upon by some Christians, but it can be life-threatening. The extremes some Christians have gone to against some of my fellow female friends and colleagues in the ministry is more than disturbing. It’s downright frightening.
Female colleagues and friends of mine have had their mailboxes bombed, both at church and at home, had their pets poisoned and purposely run over by those who disagree with their calling and interpretation of scripture. They’ve received numerous death threats and dealt with open hostility day in and day out from other Christians and pastors. They have suffered enormous mental and emotional, if not physical, abuse. Even here in Kearney, terms like “whore of Babylon” and “abomination” get directed at female clergy who would dare to take on a leadership role that involves spreading the hope of Jesus Christ to others.
All because of a few verses of scripture that get taken out of context, and when applied to the whole church in all times and places, directly contradict other parts of the Bible.
But you can find those anti-women passages in scripture. No doubt about it. They can be quoted.
So whether I agree or disagree with Mr. Robertson’s interpretation and stance regarding scripture’s view on homosexuality is frankly irrelevant. Because I find myself feeling a bit of the LGBT pain and their struggle. Of what it’s like being a target and on the receiving end of harmful comments and controversial scriptural quotes.
The arguments and scriptural evidence may not be a direct correlation between homosexuality and female clergy, but people’s responses to them definitely can be. And I certainly disagree with Robertson’s statements regarding how happy African Americans were prior to the Civil Rights movement. Movements like that don’t occur because people are content and happy with their situation or how they’re being treated.
It may have been what he witnessed, but most people who know me and witness how I act and behave would never know the horrible things that get said to me by other Christians. By other pastors. The pain and sorrow that comes with not just walking with people in their struggles, but navigating my own battles of faith. Thankfully – I’ve never been the recipient of death threats – but given many of those friends and colleagues who have been threatened come from a state I have lived in, my situation could have easily been vastly different.
I know many see Mr. Robertson as a stalwart defender of the faith, but I also see how his comments could be used to justify great harm against another human being. And Jesus never condoned that. For that reason , no, I can’t support, as a Christian, what he said. Whether A&E fires him or not is, well, up to them. I know if I were his boss, I would at the very least be having a very, very long conversation with him about ways to talk about these subjects that are less derogatory and inflammatory. Christianity teaches us that Christ stands for the opposite of oppression and tyranny. Thus we need to be careful that our own expressions of faith do not in turn cause oppression and harm to someone else or another group of people with whom we differ. For when that happens, we become just as guilty as those we condemn. So we need to be careful that in our fight against persecution, we do not, in turn, become persecutors. African Americans, LGBT's, etc. are not upset by the fact that Mr. Robertson shared his faith or shared his opinions and experiences. It's the way in which he shared them and the danger his remarks pose potentially to their lives as a result.
For it is possible, as Satan proved when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness, to quote scripture while at the same time distorting it. I’m not saying he did – many, many Christians will argue and uphold Mr. Robertson’s stance and can make sound theological arguments that agree with his overall viewpoint.
I’m just saying that the fact that you quote the Bible and state you believe what the Bible says doesn’t give you an automatic license or pass for how you witness to what scripture says. Because the Bible says a lot of things. And how you approach those topics can mean life or death for some people.
I applaud the fact that Mr. Robertson turned his life around, and did so on account of his faith in Jesus Christ, and that he stood up to the production company and insisted on praying at the end of each episode.
Those facts still don’t make what he said right. Or any less harmful.
He’s entitled to his beliefs. But when you are given a public platform, you also have a responsibility to think about what your words can do. The harm they can directly or indirectly cause.
The fact that my life, should I ever choose to move from the security of my current situation, could be in danger, in this country, on account of my fellow brother’s and sister’s in Christ does not just sadden me, but appalls me. You don’t have to agree with what I do. You don’t have to agree with my interpretation of scripture. You don’t have to come to my church. You don’t have to accept my life. Just like you don’t have to agree with or accept LGBT lifestyles.
But please, please, think about how voicing your opinions and beliefs that condemn a group of people with whom you disagree might cause harm to them. How those words and thoughts might fuel the fires of bigotry, racism and sexism.
Because persecution in this country is indeed alive and well - sadly, Christians are at times the ones doing the persecuting...against their fellow Christians with whom they disagree.
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” – 1 Peter 4:8
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