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Head Of NC Baptists Wants Civil, Fact-Based Debate, But Not For Him

The battle over a marriage bigotry amendment in North Carolina is going to be heated, emotional, and problematic. For Reverend Mark Harris, the newly elected head of the state’s Baptist convention, this is not going to be easy. He has already had to field one call telling him to stop spewing hatred towards the LGBT Community and their families.

Harris is the senior minister at Charlotte’s First Baptist Church, and he now represents 4,300 NC Baptist churches and their 1.3million members.

The 45-year-old stated that “I hope we can express our positions — keep the conversation to the facts and our principles — and do it in a civil way. It doesn’t mean I’m going to change someone else’s position or they’re going to change mine. But in America, we all ought to be able to express ourselves without things getting out of hand.”

Here is part of the problem. The LGBT Community, by and large, does little in the way of demonization, and it is often the Christians who resort to the worst kinds of attacks. They often rely upon lies and not fact, and often it is they who are more than willing to ignore anything other than what can be twisted to support their religious dogma.

In one breath, Harris calls for the conversation to rely upon facts, but in the next…he says that same-sex marriages are not good for children. He stated “I just believe that marriage between a man and a woman is ideal. It is such a unique union, and it is absolutely essential to the future of humanity.” And that has been proven wrong time and time again. Evidence shows that children of same-sex couples are just as healthy and well adjusted as any raised by heterosexual couple. The facts are not on his side.

So much for relying upon facts.

He also stated that:

“Over the next several months, I am going to stress that this is an opportunity for the church to celebrate marriage and its biblical foundation — rather than talking about something we’re against,” he said.

“From a biblical position, all I can do is state my position: I believe that homosexuality is a sin … That said, I don’t believe that that position is at the heart of this amendment. If homosexuals choose to maintain a relationship and live together, that’s their business. I don’t believe people should be discriminated against.”

There is no choice here. Being gay or being bisexual or being lesbian is not a choice. The facts back that up as well.

Still, not all Christians or even all of those who are religious are supporting the bill. Reverend Nancy Kraft, the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, objects to the amendment, but not on religious grounds. She stated “I just think it’s inappropriate as a constitutional amendment. It’s political grandstanding on the part of people who are anti-gay.” She also noted that the amendment would discriminate against lesbians and gays saying “I hope people really look at this as a broader issue and don’t think they’re voting on gay marriage. There is no rational way you can justify putting discrimination into our constitution. It’d be an embarrassment for North Carolina — which I view as a progressive state.”

Via The News Record