Pastor Sean Harris

Well, if this isn't everything I absolutely hate.  Have you heard of this guy yet?  Apparently, Sean Harris is a Pastor of a North Carolina church and on Sunday he gave his parishioners a "special dispensation" to "punch" their effeminate boys and "rein" in their girls so that they "talk like a girl, walk like a girl and smell like a girl."  The media got wind of this tirade and published his fiery rant that you can listen to here.  This is the quote:

"So your little son starts to act a little girlish when he is four years old and instead of squashing that like a cockroach and saying, 'Man up, son, get that dress off you and get outside and dig a ditch, because that is what boys do,' you get out the camera and you start taking pictures of Johnny acting like a female and then you upload it to YouTube and everybody laughs about it and the next thing you know, this dude, this kid is acting out childhood fantasies that should have been squashed.

Dads, the second you see your son dropping the limp wrist, you walk over there and crack that wrist. Man up. Give him a good punch. Ok? You are not going to act like that. You were made by God to be a male and you are going to be a male. And when your daughter starts acting too butch, you reign her in. And you say, 'Oh, no, sweetheart. You can play sports. Play them to the glory of God. But sometimes you are going to act like a girl and walk like a girl and talk like a girl and smell like a girl and that means you are going to be beautiful. You are going to be attractive. You are going to dress yourself up.'"

Now that the media has outed him as an advocate of child abuse, the pastor has published a "clarification" where he says his words were misquoted.

Hmmm...I don't know, the audio was pretty clear to me.  I didn't hear anything that required clarification.  I heard him loud and clear tell his audience to punch their kids if they seem gay to them.

And we wonder why so many young homosexual people are killing themselves.

What a despicable person this pastor is.  What is wrong with this man?  What preacher gets on his pulpit and tells his followers to squash their children's behavior like a "cockroach"?  Where is the love?  Where is the compassion?  Where is the understanding for a child who might be struggling or might not be secure in himself or herself?

I am angry - no, I am furious - because Sean Harris is basically telling his flock to beat the gay out of their kids.  Actually, he's not even saying just gay kids need to be beat.  He's saying if your kid is just an effeminate boy or a tomboyish girl they need to be set straight - physically.  He's encouraging his people to hit 4 year olds.  

Who are the people in church giggling and calling out "Amen" when he tells the Dads to "crack that wrist"??  It is disgusting and depressing to me that these people are parents and they can laugh at such pointed calls for violence against children who don't fit their ideals.  These people are supposed to protect their children and to love them unconditionally and instead they're chuckling at the idea of slapping the gay out of them like they're in a comedy club.  Even worse, they're raising a new generation of close-minded people who will continue on in their parent's path.

I am so tired of people like Sean Harris who just take the words of the Bible and twist them and turn them to suit their needs when they want to hate someone.  We all "pick and choose" the parts of the Bible we're going to hold gospel.  Everyone just picks different parts.  I'm going to pick "love your neighbor as yourself."

RESIDENTS OF NORTH CAROLINA:  Fight discrimination and VOTE NO on Amendment One on May 8.

Photo source:  David Costello Dominici