Pastor Dwight McKissic said he has chosen to end his friendship with Buck over Buck’s comments about Harris. The pastor said that Buck displayed “blatant disrespect” and was “extremely harmful to the image of Southern Baptists.” McKissic has recently expressed concern over the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) stance on critical race theory and has decided to pull his church out of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, while remaining in the Baptist General Convention of Texas (both are affiliated with the SBC).
One woman commenting on the controversy said it was possible to have a nuanced view of Harris—that is, to disagree with her policies while being thankful to see a woman in a high leadership position. But another pastor in Texas responded to this by saying that the racism in Buck’s tweet overshadowed everything else.
Quite a few women weighing in on Buck’s words have shared that they themselves have been called a “Jezebel” before. One woman said she was called “Jezebel” in college simply for wearing earrings. Another questioned why men never get accused of having an “Ahab” spirit.
I always think it’s interesting how quickly women are told they have a Jezebel spirit. Why do we never hear about the Ahab spirit?
— April Fiet (@aprilfiet) January 23, 2021
Still others suggested that neither contexts of the Old Testament nor the New Testament Jezebels were similar enough to the United States to warrant a comparison to Harris.
I decided to make a helpful, color-coded flowchart to help us decide when we SHOULD and when we SHOULD NOT call someone a Jezebel! Share if it’s helpful. pic.twitter.com/P5bBs20ZK9
— Caitlyn Stenerson (@stenersonMN) January 24, 2021
Buck has defended his original comment, saying that his problem is with Harris’s character, not her color. He referenced Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous quote that people should not be known for the color of their skin, but for the content of their character.
I fully stand by the point of my original tweet!
“Should Jezebel, who governed in godless ways, have been a role model simply because she was a woman in power?”
If not, “why should Kamala, who’s governed in godless ways, be a role model just because she’s a woman in power?”
— Tom Buck (@TomBuck) January 25, 2021
Buck also told Sarah Pulliam Bailey he was unaware of the racial implications of the term “Jezebel.” And there are those who defend Buck.
It seems clear that @TomBuck was simply aiming to use a Biblical example to state a Biblical principle…
Don’t let gender or ethnicity be the chief component in assigning admiration.
A person’s morality, character, and accomplishments should rank higher.
— Brian Jump (@bjump2) January 23, 2021
What do you think? What does it look like for believers not to compromise truth while treating one another with love and respect in such an emotionally charged situation?
