Pastor Roger Jimenez (Photo: Screen capture)
The Sacramento, California pastor of Verity Baptist Church went viral yesterday, after news of his sermon after the Orlando shooting spread.
“As a Christian, we shouldn’t be mourning the death of 50 sodomites. Let me go ahead and start right there. As a Christian, we shouldn’t be sad or upset,” Roger Jimenez said in his sermon.
YouTube has since removed the video of the sermon deeming it “hate speech,” but Pastor Jimenez is doubling down on his message, according to an interview with ABC10 News.
[…]
He wants people to understand, however, that his comments are not encouraging people to kill LGBT people.
“I’m not calling people to arms. And I’m not telling people they should go do this… What I’m saying is that if the government followed the laws of God, that’s what they would be doing. And if the government did that, I’d be fine with that,” Jimenez said.
“I would be fine,” he said if the government was the one who sentenced LGBT people to die. “I would be totally okay with that, if the government did that. That’s what they would do, if we lived in a righteous nation.”
The full story is here. Raw Story also has a summary of 7 Christian leaders also expressing the depth of their Christian love.
Once again, I have to ask, where are all you progressive Christians? What are doing, to police your own? You don’t get to say “oh, those people aren’t mine!” Yes, they are. They believe in the same god you do, the same holy book you do, the same tenets you do. When are there going to be legions of Christians denouncing these evil clowns?
For all those steeped in this smug, judgmental hatred, one of your favourite things is this, yes?: Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13, out of your very own book of stories. You know one person who did that? Edward Sotomayor, Jr. A 34 year old man, out for a night of fun with his boyfriend. Edward put his boyfriend in front of him, and pushed him out the door, saving his life, as he was cut down by bullets. There’s love. No greater love, according to you christian lot.
Here is the face of love, no greater love than his:
Edward Sotomayor, Jr.
Look well, all you Christians, at a person you condemn, a person you’re happy is dead, a person who was more of ‘Christian’ than any of you could be in 3 lifetimes. Edward wasn’t alone, either. The other people there were also most concerned with their loved ones, and all you have hate. Is it now okay for all of us who are utterly disgusted by your revelry in death to start talking about how good and righteous it would be to round up all Christians, and have the government sanction them being shot in the head? No? Have you asked yourselves why not?
Those same christians are the first ones who criticize the Muslim community for not condemning an Islamic terrorist, even when there are Muslims who in fact do condemn such things. Hypocrisy at its finest.
His eyes are so very green.
Thank you Caine. This is a very powerful bit or writing.
Edward has been on my mind since I first read about him days ago. I broke down into a mess of tears when I read that he was known for wearing top hats. I finally got a top hat this year, haven’t worn it yet, and if I ever manage to wear it without crying, it will forever be in remembrance of Edward and his act of love.
Not just Edward, of course. All the others too. Two young men who died had been planning their wedding. Now they are going to have a joint funeral.
Fuck.
Yeah, them.
And it’s funny because I keep thinking about my friends who are out who are in Canada… but here, I don’t even know who they are, these people I want to comfort and show support to. I know they’re out there, but most of them stay invisible… I wish I could do more for them.
rq:
Reach out wherever you can. Online, too. A lot of us need that, like Siobhan wrote in TNET.