A pastor in the Southern Baptist Convention has sparked backlash after stating he doesn’t believe Obergerfel, the 2015 case that said same-sex marriage was a constitutional right, should not be overturned.
Joel Rainey, pastor of Covenant Church in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, made his comments in response to a Dec. 2 post on X by William Wolfe proposing measures to restore the traditional American family.
Wolfe’s suggestions included ending no-fault divorce, abortion and access to contraceptives, as well as abolishing sex education in public schools and surrogacy. He also called for the reversal of the 2015 Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right.
Want to restore the American family?
—End no-fault divorce
—End abortion
—Reduce access to contraceptives
—Require men to provide for their children as soon as it’s determined the child is theirs
—End “sex education” in public schools
—End surrogacy
—Overturn Obergefell— William Wolfe ???????? (@William_E_Wolfe) December 2, 2023
Rainey, who identifies himself as a “Member of Reasonable Twitter” in his bio, pushed back on the latter point, saying that he does not believe Obergerfel should be overturned.
In a since-deleted tweet, the pastor said he believes doing so would “invalidate” all the “economic supports” built into “same-sex marriage” and would “bring harm to already established unions” that the courts have already “legitimized,” according to Protestia, which first reported the pastor’s response.
“Given the choice between: 1. A nation that outlaws something sinful, but millions still do in secret. 2. A nation that leaves something legal that people choose not to do because they love Jesus more … I’ll take #2. Every. Single. Time. If that’s “heresy” to some, so be it,” he wrote.
“In the past, I wouldn’t have agreed. But given that culture is moving toward an ever-widening view of what constitutes marriage, its endorsement no longer promotes the common good. May as well just get them out of it altogether.”
He later clarified: “I don’t believe in gay marriage. But I also don’t believe in using the courts to bring harm to already established unions. Asking for genuine repentance is far different from a court forcing the dissolution of a union that same court legitimized.”
Given the choice between: 1. A nation that outlaws something sinful, but millions still do in secret. 2.A nation that leaves something legal that people choose not to do because they love Jesus more….
I’ll take #2. Every. Single. Time. If that’s “heresy” to some, so be it.
— Joel Rainey. ? (@joelrainey) December 5, 2023
The backlash was swift, with some making analogies to slavery and asking how his logic would apply if the government legalized marriage between an adult and a 9-year-old.
Rainey’s comments come amid an ongoing debate within the SBC about its direction and stance on social issues.
Over the years, the SBC has passed numerous resolutions reaffirming its opposition to homosexuality and same-sex marriage. These resolutions often emphasize the belief that marriage should be exclusively between a man and a woman and condemn practices and policies that deviate from this standard.
SBC churches, which operate independently, are not directly subject to denominational control. However, the SBC leadership has effectively removed congregations from its fold if they do not align with the denomination’s positions on certain issues.
In 1992, the SBC amended its constitution to exclude churches that implied acceptance of homosexuality. The amendment to Article III of the SBC Constitution stated, “Among churches not in cooperation with the Convention are churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.” Final approval came at the 1993 meeting in Houston, Texas.
In 2021, two churches, Towne View Baptist Church in Kennesaw, Georgia, and St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, were disfellowshipped for “affirming homosexual behavior” in their standards for members and leaders.
In May, two churches were expelled from the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT) for allegedly operating “outside of harmonious cooperation with the churches of the convention due to their public affirmation of same-sex sexuality.”
The convention had previously removed Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, First Baptist Church of Austin and Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco. In 1998, the BGCT Executive Board withdrew fellowship from University Baptist Church in Austin because the church ordained a gay deacon, BNG notes.
In a 2021 podcast, Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Summary, weighed in on President Joe Biden’s nomination of Rachel (Richard) Levine — a trans-identifying man — to serve as his assistant secretary of health.
At the time, Mohler warned that Levine’s appointment would “bring the power of coercion” and “bring about the process of further normalization.”
“Normalization means that something that had been considered sometimes unthinkable but abnormal becomes normalized in this society,” he said.
Citing same-sex marriage as a previous example of something that has become normalized, he contended that “when it comes to transgender[ism], the same effort is now very much underway, and it comes with coercion.”
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