December 18, 2014
Christianity
In the now viral video sermon, Anderson cited a Bible passage he says is the “cure” for AIDS:
“Here’s what the Bible says, Leviticus 20:13, ‘If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.’ And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS. It was right there in the Bible all along.”
Anderson then stated: “All homos are pedophiles. There, I said it, they’re all pedophiles.” He went on to add that killing gays is the way to an AIDS-free world by Christmas.
At least 2 Phoenix-area pastors have since come forward to denounce Anderson’s words as more hate than anything.
“I see a lot of drama,” said Pastor Vernon Meyer of the Sun Lakes United Church of Christ. “That’s very offensive when he says ‘homo’.”
“I do not view him as a pastor,” said Jeffrey Dirrim of Rebel and Divine United Church of Christ. “That’s not what he’s doing.”
“It’s very difficult to listen to,” Dirrim continued. “I cannot identify with him whatsoever as a minister.”
Christianity
As an openly gay pastor himself, Dirrim works with lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual youths who have been suicidal, homeless and hungry, rejected simply because they’re gay.
“Words are powerful, and I have no doubt those words are going to kill someone,” he said of Anderson’s sermon.
To those who Anderson’s words is targeting, Dirrim added: “Someone cares about them …they’re loved and they shouldn’t listen to this hateful rhetoric. This is not church.”
