When my sister was little she had a problem pronouncing the word “Baptist”. When she would mean to say “Baptist” she would actually say “Bastard”. I first discovered this when she was about three or four years old and she proudly told a group of guests in our home that she went to Sunday School at “The First Bastard Church”. What did not help that situation three decades ago was the fact that we were a single parent household. Our parents separated before my sister was born.
For years, we joked about my sister’s speech impediment. Only now that I know the behavior of many Baptists as an adult, I wonder if my sister had a vision.
I was born a Baptist (not a Bastard). I am not happy with the behavior of the Baptists. I really get sick of people who use their faith in a way that discriminates against any individual. Whether it is based on race, other religion or sexuality.
This week, the Georgia Baptist Convention voted to cut their ties to Mercer University in Macon, Georgia because of a Gay-Straight Student Group that met on campus. The group offered a safe and friendly group of their peers in a spirit of acceptance. They were not harming anyone. But Baptist extremists are so worried about the student group “promoting” immoral behavior, they choose to punish the entire school by cutting ties to the university. By punishing the entire school, this may include full Baptist scholarships for many students who had NOTHING to do with the Gay-Straight student group on campus. (NEWS ARTICLE)
The “final straw” for the Georgia Baptist Convention was when the Gay-Straight Alliance group of students held an event for “National Coming Out Day”. October 11th of every year is a designated day of “coming out” for gays and lesbians. And events are held around the country where people can meet others who share the same sexual orientation in a safe and welcoming environment. It is because of the blatant hatred for gays and lesbians that some people need to have these events. Many of these people face rejection on a daily basis. So having a group of your peers can be a great comfort to someone who feels alone and hated for nothing more than who they happen to be if that person happens to be gay or lesbian. But really, the very existence of gays and lesbians at the school offends the Baptists.
Sadly because of the “controversy” made public by the Georgia Baptist Convention, that student group formerly known as the "Mercer Triangle Symposium" on the campus of Mercer University has disbanded. Now there is no safe and friendly support on campus and little else to offer in town. There will be some students who will feel lonely and rejected simply because of who they are if they happen to be gay or lesbian. I want to applaud the people who were part of the Mercer Triangle Symposium over its three year existance for their great efforts. Having met some of the students, I know these were great people and that open minded christians could clearly see were an asset to the community, not the threat percieved by the Baptists and other people who call themselves christians.
Mercer University was founded by the Baptists and the school has been accused of straying away from the religious faith in which it was founded. So I must say that it is the Georgia Baptist Convention’s prerogative to support or not support the school based on their beliefs. But if you want to punish the school because of a small gay organization, then why not punish schools because some of their students drink alcohol, or have sex before marriage, or who cheat on their relationships?
I could go on with many issues in relation to this, but I’ll save it for future posts. But while I think I can get away with saying it, I’ll just use my sister’s mis pronunciation of the word by saying that there are a lot of hypocritical bastards within the Baptist church.
(Yeah, I’m saying it!)
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