Shelley defended the idea that gay people should be put to death, citing Romans 1:27-32 and Leviticus 20:13 as justification and adding, “This was the law in America in the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s, in the late 19th century. Many states lowered the punishment for homosexuality from the death penalty to life in prison or a lengthy prison sentence. In the 20th century, America continued to weaken punishments for homosexuality. Not until 2003 was homosexually considered legal in the state of Texas.”
“My staff and I have been publicly doxed,” said Shelley, “our church has been vandalized and received thousands of death threats for believing what Americans have believed for hundreds of years in its past. We will not let the Devil’s influence in our culture stop us from believing the Bible. Our main purpose is not to preach controversial things but rather get people saved. However, we will preach everything the Bible says.”
When asked how to reconcile the church’s teachings with the love of Jesus, Shelley said, “Jesus loved everyone by dying on the cross for them and giving them a chance to believe in him and be saved. However, those who die without faith in Christ will spend eternity in Hell and God does not love them. Additionally, people can be hated by God while alive on Earth because they are Reprobate (Romans 1), meaning they hate God and will never believe in Jesus due to their hardened heart…Even if someone is saved or believes in Jesus, this does not absolve them from civil rules of government and the death penalty should still be applied equally to all people.”
In the spring of 2021, ChurchLeaders released a podcast series on how the church can engage with the LGBTQ community well. You can access all nine of those conversations at the link below:
LGBTQ and the Church Podcast Series: A Conversation We Need to Have
