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05/01/2014
U.S. Senate candidate Mark Harris praises pastor who implied gay people are worse than maggots
Pastor Mark Harris, who is running for the U.S. Senate out of North Carolina (contesting for Kay Hagan's seat), recently shared these words from the pulpit of a church at which he was guest preaching:
"Thank you so much, Brother Ron. I’ll tell you, it is a real pleasure for me and a humbling experience, to be able to be here this morning and to share in this great church. I have grown up in Winston-Salem and pastoring my first church out of Center Grove Baptist Church in Clemens. I have known of Dr. Ron Baity for a long time and I have known the heart and the passion and the vision that this man has had to stand. So, for him to invite me to come today, I just want to thank you, my brother, because he has been that man of courage, he’s been that man of character, he’s been that man of consistency for a long time in this community and I praise God for him and I hope you never take for granted the blessing that you have of having a man of that courage to serve and to lead you as a congregation. Having been a pastor in ministry now for 27 years and 25 of that as a Senior Pastor, I recognize that not all pastors get it. Not all of them seem to understand where we are and understand the moment that we’re living in and I’m grateful when we do find one such as Dr. Ron Baity. So, thank you again for the pleasure of being here."
[Mark Harris Sermon at Calvary Memorial Church; March 9, 2014]
So who is this Ron Baity whose heart, passion, vision, character, consistency, and courage Pastor Harris is figuratively and literally embracing? Well, he just so happens to be one of the most anti-LGBT pastors I've ever come across in any of the states. Back when I was covering North Carolina's push to write discrimination into its constitution, I suffer daily jaw-drops over the things Pastor Baity said about us. Here is just some of it:
- Directly compares gay people to murderers:
- Wants to "save" gay people so they will "quit being homos":
- Claims gay people are embracing a "learned lifestyle," regardless of what science says:
- Claims gay people are promoting "perversion" in schools; says kids who join pro-LGBT clubs should "set down in the middle of next week":
- Says the LGBT community wants to use their "lifestyles" to "recruit" others towards the "urban renewal program" experienced by Sodom & Gomorrah, since gay peoples' "pleasure in doing evil" is "the one sin in the Bible that causes God to act swiftly":
- Says gays and gay marriage are signing America's "death warrant":
- Says pedophilia and bestiality are next:
- Suggests we were smarter when homosexuality was prosecuted:
-Warns of the "depraved gray matter" of the gay community:
- Says of LGBT activists: "Since they cannot produce they must recruit young people to their perverted, warped agenda. One cannot think of anything more nauseating, debased, lewd and immoral than recruiting precious young people into such shameful conduct."
- Claims that if "a generation endorses same-sex marriage, a generation will be the last generation on the face of the Earth" (see at :25)
- Implies that gay people are worse than maggots:
- Claims gay people are not "normal":
Hard to get nastier than this. Yet to Harris, it's just the mark of someone who seems "to understand where we are and understand the moment that we’re living in." The U.S. Senate hopeful says he is "grateful" for this kind of leadership. Grateful for Ron Baity's "courage"
And lest you think this appearance was an anomaly, consider this: Harris recently spoke to Baity's Return America organization as the guest of an intimate lunch meeting:
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[SOURCE]
And Pastor Harris also says he and his wife travelled to D.C. to watch the Family Research Council give Baity an award:
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[Mark Harris Sermon at Calvary Memorial Church; March 9, 2014]
Bosom buddies, these two. Which actually makes sense, since Harris himself goes after people like NBA player Jason Collins for "engaging in the sin of sodomy":
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[Mark Harris Sermon at Calvary Memorial Church; March 9, 2014]
And Harris also himself admits that he doesn't want gay people to be seen as "fine and dandy":
SOURCE: Marriage Sunday–4/29/12 [FBC Charlotte]
The question for North Carolinians: do you want Mark Harris to be seen as your "fine and dandy" choice for the U.S. Senate?