This is exhibit B as to why I left the Baptist Church...
Yep and this is the number 1 reason "religion" gets such a bad rap. Using Jesus and forgiveness to justify every sinful deed they want to do. "Hey I can do whatever the hell I want as long as I publicly appear later and give a sob story about how I messed up and Jesus forgives me..".....It is sickening.
It’s bad enough that Chip is with him, but it’s even more sickening how selective Baptists are about forgiveness.
I’m absolutely not trying to turn this into a political thread, but i need to use this analogy to prove my point.
it is incredible how the tune of my old pastor has changed since last November. Not once in the last 8 years was any forgiveness offered to our former president for anything... most of what he did was used as evidence of the Devil’s work in America and that the President was somehow the ring leader.
Fast forward to Trump... forgiveness city. “We should all support our elected leaders and get behind them because God put them there” has been the tune since. We should all forgive Trump because He’s our guy. Hillary? Not a chance. Bill Clinton? Barak Obama? Not a chance.... to prove my point, was said once Obama should be “held accountable before God because of his role in the degradation of God in America.” Now how about Trump? God’s chosen... sins have been whitewashed in many pulpits. We should ALL stand behind him because God put him there (God wouldn’t have put Hillary there, I don’t guess). And to answer the question before it’s asked, i didn’t vote for Hillary (or Trump). I wrote in a name because I couldn’t, in good conscience, vote for either of them.
So what Hugh Freeze? He was a prominent SEC Football Coach (God’s sport, I guess) who was publically outed in an affair and a Prominent Baptist pastor goes on a forgiveness tour with Him and his wife? Would Chip do that for Dan Mullen? What if Steve Robertson got caught in something like this? Doubt it. Steve’s sins as a teen are still being held over his head. But the over-arching question... Would Chip/Liberty do the same thing for them? Highly doubt it.
It’s Selective/tribal forgiveness we are teaching now. Those we don’t like or agree with? Its constant threatening and demonizing and holding their sins against them, no matter how old they are. All this is done From the pulpit. From prominent church leaders. In the name of God...
This stunt by Chip is exactly like that. The message is “if it’s a guy who we like, forgiveness = whitewash his sins publically.” Stand with him on a stage and forgive him. But if it’s someone we don’t like? “Hold his/her sins against them as long as possible.” I doubt Chip would be going on any forgiveness tours if one of his office staff or youth ministers was publically caught in an affair (or anyone else he doesn’t agree with or like... or in this case, won’t stand to gain much from).
That’s what’s so sickening now... Because of a perverted world view of “republican/conservative Christianity,” baptists are sending the message of a perverted view of forgiveness. Basically... Protect our own and those who will publically identify themselves as “one of us.” Anyone else can go to hell.
Note... I left the Baptist Church this year after growing up in it because of stuff like this. Before you call me a liberal, I didn’t leave over the fact the Baptist Church takes stances on political issues... I left because their politics has taken center stage above all else and it’s sickening. It’s stuff like this that make me angry as ****.