Pastor claims he was just joking about child abuse! Sort of.

The pastor from yesterday’s post who advocated hitting male children who “act effeminately”, or female kids who “act butch”, has notpologized.

Via Good As You, via FayObserver.com:

A Fayetteville pastor says he was joking when he told parents in a sermon Sunday to hit children who show signs of being gay.

Sean Harris, pastor of Berean Baptist Church on Glensford Drive, said he does not advocate hitting children and wishes he could take back a remark encouraging fathers to punch boys who act effeminately.

But he defended his belief in the need to reinforce traditional gender roles in children.

“If I had to say it again, I would say it differently, no doubt,” Harris said Tuesday. “Those weren’t planned words, but what I do stand by is that the word of God makes it clear that effeminate behavior is ungodly. I’m not going to compromise on that.”

So if he had to say it again, he’d lose all the “beat the tar out of your kids” but not the “punish them for not conforming with traditional gender roles” bullshit. As though that’s anything approximating contrition for such a terrible sentiment — it’s apologizing for the violent rhetoric, but not for the complete douche move of demanding that males be “masculine” and females be “feminine” on penalty of punishment of some sort or another. Even if that punishment is of the imaginary sort, like “don’t do that or you’ll be sent to hell after you die”, that’s still applying societal pressure against whole swathes of people who just want to be themselves. So I guess that “special dispensation” to “man up” when your kids have been so sinful as to like things has been revoked, huh?

You are an insufferable, judgmental, sanctimonious asshole, Sean. And you claim to be a moral authority. Only religion could build into you such an immunity to empathy.

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Pastor claims he was just joking about child abuse! Sort of.
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11 thoughts on “Pastor claims he was just joking about child abuse! Sort of.

  1. 1

    “effeminate” behavior is ungodly.

    Note that there’s no qualifier as to whether this behavior is ungodly in men or women, boys or girls.

    It’s ungodly.

    Of course, women acting masculine is *more* ungodly, so we should give up on equality and just count ourselves lucky we’re allowed to have the TV on while we’re scrubbing the toilet and cooking dinner.

    For a man.

    And ‘his’ kids that ‘we’ raise. But they’re still his. And His. Don’t forget it.

  2. 3

    Well I suppose, never having spoken in public before and suddenly finding himself called upon, he might have gotten carried away with a few off the cuff remarks, what with the approval from the audience and all.

    Filthy lying suppurating turd. He said it. He knew damned well what he was saying. Anyone who believes it was unplanned or that he was kidding is as much of an idiot as Harris is an asshole.

    It reminds me of those lovely bible stories, where god’s chosen wipe out a bunch of other people, then come up with a post hoc rationalization about it being be jehovah’s (that’s an engineering j – means it’s imaginary) will.

  3. 4

    Didn’t Ed Brayton post something about some (iirc ex football player) preacher spewing similar shit just a little while ago? Fucking scumball hear, fucking scumball say??

  4. 5

    >”So if he had to say it again, he’d lose all the “beat the tar out of your kids” but not the “punish them for not conforming with traditional gender roles” bullshit.”

    That’s exactly what he means. He issued a “retraction” in which he reiterated all of his screwed up, sociopathic, anti-human views. The only thing he sorry for is that he got caught.

    I truly think that a great many of these megachurch pastors are sociopaths in the clinical sense. Look up the definition. The compulsory lying, the lack of empathy and real emotions, the lack of personal responsibility, the constant blaming of others, the need to control other people, etc. It fits them perfectly.

    What’s really scary is that his church runs a kindergarten and school.

  5. 6

    He spoke what he truly believes and would practice, if not watched. The man shuld never be put in charge of children. Studies are showing that the most vociferous homophobics are probably trying to hide those predispositions. 1500 species with homsexuals, only one with homophobics

  6. 7

    This is… actually giving me flashbacks. “Just a joke…” Isn’t it always? I remember those assholes back in high school, they thought it was all funny as hell. It took me years to stop flinching at the sound of strange laughter.

    We know it’s just a joke, pastor. We know you think it’s funny when we get our bones broken, we queers, we nonconformists, we anti-authoritarians. That doesn’t make us forgive you. That was the part that let us know you were evil.

  7. 8

    The Christians this asshole was preaching to don’t realize that the children they are beating half to death will one day put the abusers in a nursing home. Pay back is such a bitch.

  8. 9

    Not surprisingly, the “Contact Us” Link at the church’s website (http://www.bbcfnc.org/) is broken but the “Donate” link is working fine.
    I read his written retraction and “apology” but it is a crock of shit. Claiming his words were taken out of context is bullshit. How the hell can telling someone to punch their kid be taken out of context? He says the words were unscripted as if any sentient adult can’t immediately understand that recommending a parent “crack” their child’s wrist is a heinous statement.
    The guy is one of the most despicable creatures I have ever heard.

  9. 10

    “I apologise for killing your mum by shooting her in the head with a shotgun. If I had it to do over again, I’d have used poison”

    There, all better…

  10. 11

    Steve:

    I truly think that a great many of these megachurch pastors are sociopaths in the clinical sense.

    Corporate America is overrun at its top levels with sociopaths, so why not Corporate Religious America? Especially as Calvinism is the wellspring of that worldview.

    I noted from his Twitter feed that he’s whining about Dan Savage’s speech. Calling religion “bullshit” = bad. Hurting kids for not hewing to rigid gender roles = good.

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