1 / 18 Pastor Who Advocated Parents Beat Gay-Acting Children, Defends Sermon, Compares Himself To Jesus

The North Carolina pastor whose violent anti-gay rant <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/north-carolina-pastor-sea_n_1468618?ref=mostpopular">blew up across the blogosphere</a>, said in an interview that his message to parents in a sermon -- to "punch" a boy who is effeminate and "crack that wrist" if he is limp-wristed -- were taken out of the "context of a ministry," and that he meant them "figuratively," claiming that Jesus, too, in the Bible, "conjures up violent images." Pastor Sean Harris of the Barean Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C. <a href="http://pastorseansblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/important-clarification-to-sundays.html?spref=tw">retracted</a> the statements of violence but continued to defend his comments about the "importance of gender distinctions that God created," as well his condemnation of homosexuality, citing the Bible. But he was not able to explain other passages in the Bible, such as those condoning slavery, saying he didn't realize the interview would "slant and redirect the conversation." <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/pastor-sean-harris-beat-gay-children-sermon_n_1474510?&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000009" target="_hplink">Read the full story here</a> and listen to the interview here:

Alamy