Indiana church tells LGBTQ+ people to kill themselves or face death penalty under Trump
Members of the church preached that LGBTQ+ people should be shot in the head (Google Street View)
An independent Baptist church in Indiana, Sure Foundation Baptist Church, has doubled down on a sermon which was delivered during a men’s preaching evening that called for LGBTQ+ people to take their own lives.
On Thursday (3 July), preacher Justin Zhong shared a post on the official Facebook page for the Sure Foundation Baptist Church in Indianapolis, stating he will “not apologize for preaching the Word of God”.
“I will not apologize for stating facts. I will not negotiate with terrorists, among whom the LGBTHIV crowd is full of domestic terrorists,” Zhong wrote.
“The Bible is crystal clear that sodomites (homosexuals) deserve the death penalty carried out by a government that actually cares about the law of God. We are not to take the law into our own hands.”
The statement comes after the church was criticised for the violent homophobic language used by church members during Men’s Preaching Night, which was broadcast live on Facebook.
“We should pray for their deaths”
During a sermon entitled ‘Pray the Gay Away’, member Stephen Falco said: “You ought to blow yourself in the back of the head. You’re so disgusting.”
Falco went on to rhetorically ask: “How shall we then properly pray for gay people?”
“We should pray for their deaths, plain and simple,” he answered himself.
Another church member, reported by Newsweek as Wade Rawley, said LGBTQ+ folks should be “beaten and stomped in the mud” before they “should take a gun and blow the back of their heads off”.
On the church’s official website, it states under its beliefs section that the congregation “believe that
sodomy (homosexuality) is a sin and an abomination before God which God punishes with the death penalty,” adding: “No sodomite (homosexual) will be allowed to attend or join Sure Foundation Baptist Church. (Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:19-32, Deut. 23:17-18, 1 Kings 14:24, Jude 1:7)”.
In the Facebook post defending the sermon, Zhong outlined several quotes from Bible scripture with additional commentary explaining why those quotes matter and what they mean.
“The Bible says that the sodomites (homosexuals) are filled with all unrighteousness. That’s why I believe all sodomites are capable of molesting children and committing all kinds of wickedness,” Zhong wrote.
“It is hilarious that the best thing they can say to us is that we are closet homos, because they know being a homo is filthy and vile and disgusting.”
Zhong went on to say that the Sure Foundation Baptist Church is a “Bible-believing church” whereby “whatever the Bible says, we believe it”.
“We don’t care about what the world, culture, or media think. It is funny that these so-called “faith leaders” and some “Christians” do not approve of this message. This simply shows me that they do not care about the Bible.”
He continued: “Sure Foundation Baptist Church protects children from predators. We don’t separate children from their families. We expose perverts and pedophiles. No homos will ever be allowed to attend any church services.
“Sure Foundation Baptist Church is a soulwinning powerhouse. We preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and the eternal security of the believer on a weekly basis to the lost and dying world, while all those “holier than thou” Christians let the world go to hell.”
He added: “If you are sick and tired of the woke culture or churches that do not preach the whole Bible, then you should come and check us out!”
In response to comments made by members of the Sure Foundation Baptist Church, the Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis – a fellowship of “pastors and other concerned citizens who are God-fearing people who believe injustice, racism, ageism, class-ism and sexism to be contrary to the will of God” – said: “The Concerned Clergy of Indianapolis stands firmly against the harmful rhetoric recently preached that condemned all LGBTQ individuals to hell and instructed people to stay away from them.
“Such messages are not only theologically irresponsible but pastorally dangerous.”
In a further statement emailed to Newsweek, the church stated: “The Bible puts the death penalty on the LGBTQ people.
“We as Christians must believe and preach what the Bible says.
“The reason people are so shocked about all this is not many ‘Christians’ and even ‘pastors’ actually believe the Bible.
“To be clear, we only called for the government to execute those people. We are against vigilantes.”
