A video of a Christian pastor calling for the extermination of gay people for “an AIDS-free Christmas” has been causing controversy since it was uploaded to YouTube on Monday.
Steve Anderson of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempa, Arizona, gave an hour-long sermon during which he claimed to know how to put an end to the existence of AIDS.
“Turn to ‘Leviticus 20:13’ because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS,” he said.
“If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS.
“It was right there in the Bible all along — and they’re out spending billions of dollars in research and testing. It’s curable — right there. Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant.”
Later in the sermon, Anderson stated that no gay people would ever be welcome in his church.
“No homos will ever be allowed in this church as long as I am pastor here,” he said. “Never! Say ‘You’re crazy.’ No, you’re crazy if you think that there’s something wrong with my ‘no homo’ policy.”
The speech was made on November 30th, the day before World AIDS Day.
Anderson has previously been accused of bigotry for past sermons, including ‘Remarriage is Adultery’ in February, ‘The Jews and Their Lies’ in July, and ‘Why Women Should Not Say Amen in Church’, in which he argues that women should “learn in silence with all subjection”.
