Those Southern Baptists Doing What They Do Best
Of course this happened in Texas, where men are men and Baptists are hateful.
The Olton Enterprise newspaper is owned by Phillip Hamilton, who is a Baptist minister. I glanced over a few copies of it online and my goodness, that is the whitest town I’ve ever seen. The closest big town is Amarillo, which means that Olton is in Texas and not Oklahoma only by geographic accident.
This issue lists a lovely lady named Brenda Light in the obituary section. Brenda’s son, Barry Giles, placed the obituary in the newspaper. Here’s the problem:
The obituary submitted to the Olton Enterprise included the line “Those left to cherish her memory include her son, Barry Giles, and his husband, John Gambill of Dallas”. But there was no mention of Gambill or the union in the published version.
“It wiped John completely off the picture like he didn’t exist,” Giles told local news.
It was not a mistake. The aforementioned Publisher Phillip Hamilton would not abide such mortifying sin and iniquity as same sex marriage. The Publisher/Pastor explains:
“It is my religious conviction that a male cannot have a husband. It is also my belief that to publish anything contrary to God’s Word on this issue would be to publish something in the newspaper that is not true.
“The newspaper respects the first amendment rights of those who express such opinions. The newspaper’s decision to edit the obituary is both ethical and lawful. It would be unethical to publish a news item that is known by the editor to be false. Based on the truth found in the Word of God, I could not in good conscience identify Mr Gambill as the husband of Mr Giles.”
That statement about the First Amendment is so twisted that Chubby Checkers could sing it.
I can’t understand why the newspaper isn’t renamed The Baptist Church Sunday Morning Bulletin.
I also can’t understand why Baptists are so damn hateful and so damn certain how everyone should behave.
Thanks to Sam and Kary for the heads up.
If he took money to print that obituary, then he committed fraud-which is a form of theft.
1I believe stealing is one of the Top 10 No-Nos.
And, once again, a “sanctified” person is simply sanctimonious and speaks not a whiff of Christianity.
2I hope someone will sue their britches off on this.
3I gave up on Christianity 70 years ago, when I was 8. Our Baptist church had a bring-a-friend-to-church Sunday. So I did take my friend. I was taken aside and it was explained to me that what they meant was a white friend.
I never went back. And am especially glad these days to be an atheist, a Humanist, and a UU.
4As with most buybull thumping pseudo-Christians, this guy missed the passage about “render unto Caesar…” These guys really hate the USA and our laws. Memo to him and other idjits: marriage equality is the law in all 50 states. Also check out the 14th Amendment to our Constitution which clearly offers equal protection under the law to ALL people.
5He dares to speak of the First Amendment while trampling someone eles’s First Amendment rights. Hypocrite.
6I’m kind of surprised they left the son in, since he’s a homo-sexual who oughta be shunned [sarcasm meter in red zone].
7Molly Ivins got it right. When Baptist baptise they just don’t hold them under long enough
8I haven’t lived surrounded by Baptists since 1976. I see they haven’t changed any
9I just ordered “A Day on the life of Marlon Bunny” it is a children’s book about two male bunnies who marry. Check it out, I think it was written because pence has written a book about his pet rabbit.
10Worth a look: reason to doubt the Bible is all that down on the gays: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/steve-chalke-pompeii-ancient-roman-porn_us_596fb1fee4b0110cb3cb542a
One wonders why fundamentalists are such sticklers for textual precision. The Bible clearly forbids usury. Where are the pickets outside the banks and credit card companies? For that matter, where are the debt jubilees?
Also covetousness is forbidden in the 10 Commandments. We have a covetousness *industry* in the U.S. Where are the pickets on Madison Avenue?
Anyway, these poor people are so beat up they are easily manipulated. Pity, rather than censure, is the correct response.
11“It is also my belief that to publish anything contrary to God’s Word on this issue would be to publish something in the newspaper that is not true.”
Has he ever read the Bible?
12There’s a whole lot reported in there contrary to God’s Word.
I grew up in the Southern Baptist Church and once even thought that god wanted me to be a missionary. Believe it or not, they haven’t always been this bad. They even endorsed the Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade. (It’s true. You can look it up.) Then the conservatives took over, and they got political, contrary to everything Baptists ever stood for. I eventually left religion completely, for other reasons, but I do occasionally wonder what would have happened if they had just minded their own business.
13Gay is bad but they’ll support a president like Trump, a governor like Abbott, and a dbag like Dan Patrick. If hypocrisy were an art, Southern Baptists would all be master artists.
14BFSMan, I think I remember the far right takeover of the SBC. In the 70s? I do recall considerable concern by more Christian-minded Baptists that it was going to be bad for their church. They were certainly right. It’s gotten to the point now that Christian evangelicals are finding ways to separate themselves from the politicians who run the church/denomination/PAC/GOP now.
15As a not Texan I have to ask, why do they insist that they are Christian? They so clearly aren’t.
16Maymoon,
The book is very much trolling Mike Pence. And I’m just fine with that. I bought the hardcover & audiobook. All proceeds go to The Trevor Project to provide 24/7 help for LGBTQ youth.
https://www.thetrevorproject.org
17When a newspaper publisher starts his explanation with, “It is my religious conviction…”, the Bill of Rights goes out the window.
18I just bought one for Ben!
19As to the sanctimonious SOB’s reason for doing it, let me quote Amarosa:
“Jesus Ain’t Say That”
20I wonder how often the Southern Baptists preach on 2 Samuel 1:26?
“I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.”
David and Jonathan were apparently quite good friends.
21Hey, you can’t be holier than thou unless there’s a thou to disparage, condemn and de-humanize.
What’cha wanna bet the pastor/publisher has some kinky stuff in his closet…
22Like others here I was baptized in a Baptist Church at age 12.
Grew away, attended many Churches over the years. Started going to a Southern Baptist about 5 years ago.
Had many friends, became active.
I began to notice the old Pastor becoming more and more angry,preaching abortion, gays and love of guns.
Then he told us we had to vote against Obama. By that time half the Parisioners were gone.
They were investigating Churches involved in Politics at that time. The Catholic Church was the worst. Big expose in the Dayton Daily News. Stopped them cold.
Then I received an email in the Prayer Chain by a Preacher at the Convention comparing Trump to Winston Churchill. I exploded,told the writer what I thought.
Left,now attend a Church right across the street from me, brethren Church,where the 2 young Pastors have changed the direction of the Church. Following the words of Jesus,inclusion of all. No hate here!
23@slipstream
24My now Reverend and forever babiest daughter sez classic Jewish view is Jonathan was Dave’s bro-in-law and therefore they were platonically close. More recently seminary academicians counter argue that the relationship was likely prolly sexual. Ymmv.
Born and raised Southern Baptist. And like BFSMan, was very serious and devout when young. But by my mid-teens was completely disillusioned with all organized religion for many reasons. But looking back, the most disturbing thing I came to feel, was the tendency to feel superior, and more pious than other Christian religions.
25On Sunday.
Having said that, there were some fantastic folks in that church. And my experience is just that. My own.
No offense, Ms JJ, but in yer headline I beklieve you intentionally misspelled Bastards Ds baptists.
26No offense, Onion, but yer keyboard has no room to talk about misspellings of other people. Bad keyboard, bad!
Dully noted, Onion. 🙂
27Correction: You mean The Twist by Chubby Checker, not “Checkers”.
28Thank you. We will refund your subscription.
29Auto correct on IPad makes my mistakes. Except the ones I make!:)
30I think it was Susan B. Anthony who said, “I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do, because I notice it always coincides with their own desires.”
Yep, ol’ Susan knew her onions.
31Jesus said the worst sin was self-righteousness.
32I say most folks are doing about the best they can do.