Since President Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage, he’s received lots of support. Fellow Democrats have joined the President in calling for marriage equality and polls across the country are showing that even more people, including African-Americans, are standing with the President on this issue. Right-wing Christian groups, however, absolutely do not support the decision, and want to continue discriminating against the LGBT community based on what they read in the Bible. But one Dallas pastor not only delivered an extraordinary and inspiring sermon endorsing same-sex marriage, he also defended President Obama for doing so.
Pastor Frederick Haynes of the Friendship-West Baptist Church gave a sermon criticizing his own congregation and fellow pastors for standing against marriage equality, explaining that the Bible isn’t the law of this nation and that Jesus never said anything about homosexuality. Haynes also pointed out the President Obama’s oath is to the Constitution, which is the true law of the land:
“He [Obama] swore upon oath to uphold, protect and defend the Constitution, not the Bible, but the Constitution of the United States,” Haynes declared proudly. “He is not the pastor of the United States, but the president of the United States. And for the first time in the history of this nation, we have a president who has dared to use his position to make the democratic promise available, not just for a select few who are up and in, but for everybody, regardless of their race, their creed, their color, or their sexual orientation! And my brothers and sisters, I salute the President.”
Haynes then posed a question to his flock:
“Have you ever read the Gospel and heard Jesus say anything about homosexuality?”
Here’s the video:
It’s not often we hear a pastor stand bravely in front of his congregation to defend the President and marriage equality, so this is certainly a noteworthy moment that should be applauded and made available for all to view. Haynes is right about President Obama. He is not a pastor. He is not the President of just Christians. He is, in fact, the President of the entire nation, which includes all races, religions, and every single person living here, including homosexuals. It’s the President’s duty to support democracy and defend the rights of the American citizenry as guaranteed by the Constitution. But sadly, if right-wing religious extremists have their way, the Constitution will be shredded and replaced with scripture. That’s something every American must stand against and that means we all must stand up for marriage equality.
