The one thing that many evangelical extremists reliably do is to make truly weird claims. Today we have Pastor Mark Driscoll popping up to claim that the biggest religion in the world is LGBTQ.
Seriously, this is not parody, and yes, if you are up to speed on such stuff it is “that” Mark Driscoll, the guy who was once pastor of the now closed Mars Hill megachurch. More on that drama shortly. First, let’s dive into what he has claimed.
Mark’s Claim
Via Hemant, who keeps an eye on guys like this, we have this tweet …
Here is what he says within the above clip …
The Biggest Religion, not only in America, but the world, it’s not Christianity, it’s Sex, and LGBTQIA (sniff), are all denominations within the religion of Sex, and (sniff) Just as Christianity has Evangelists trying to convert people (sniff) to their way of life, so the religion of Sex also has evangelists … er, in addition, er, churches have kids ministry, and now the religion of Sex has decided to get into kids ministry as well (sniff) and since many or most of them cannot have their own children, their looking to enter the schools with their curriculum and their drag queen story hour, and evangelise and disciple your own children …
I have questions
His definition of sex is exclusively LGBTQIA. Is he claiming that these are the only people who actually have sex and nobody else does? Did his mum and dad not have “the talk” with him? Since he is married and has kids, then how exactly did that happen, was he actually involved?
When it comes to being gay, being converted by a gay-vangelist is simply not how that works … ever, but hey this is Driscoll, so you can safely assume that lying for Jesus is part of his agenda.
I’d love to ask him how he defines the words “religion” or for that matter “sex”, then sit back and bask in the torrent of gobbledygook that would pour forth. I might not be informed, but at least I’d be entertained.
Hands up everybody who has been converted by a gay evangelist, or even approached by a gay evangelist ….
…anybody … anybody at all?
This is of course evangelical speak. Simply mentioning in passing that your partner is same sex would immediately brand you as a fanatical gay-apostle who is engaged on a gay-vangelical conversion tour. It is perhaps an understandable mistake to make because of the projection in play. Many evangelicals are gagging to tell you all about Jesus in excruciating detail. Simply asking them how there are, is considered by some to be open invitation for them to spend the next 30 minutes frantically telling you just how wonderful the day is because of Jesus. As you stand there and cringe, thinking “I’m Fine” would have been a good answer, you struggle with the deep desire to tell them to chill a bit, but know if you do, they would consider that to be “persecution”.
I do also have to ask this. What’s with all the sniffing in Mark’s clip, was he perhaps snorting a line or two just before the camera rolled?
If so, then that might indeed explain rather a lot regarding his homophobic diatribe.
Seriously folks, if we had known that sex was a religion, then we might all have become religious a long time ago.
So who exactly is Mark Driscoll?
This is the Guy would founded the Mars Hill Megachurch in Seattle, then ran it like a crime syndicate until it eventually imploded and collapsed.
When Mars Hill collapsed, he moved to Arizona, started a new church, Trinity Church in Scottsdale, Arizona, then proceeded to do exactly the same, but with a new twist. He was in total and complete control and had no pesky elders to hold him to account which was his “Mars Hill Mistake”.
Past experience really does point to future behaviour.
“Ah, but you as a non-believer are biased“, some might quip.
OK, let’s work an example from a Christian source. The Roys report, a Christian run website that exposes religious corruption. It has an article that reveals a prime “Mark Driscoll” saga. Titled “Mark Driscoll Accused of Cult-Like Actions; 24/7 Surveillance, Mandated Loyalty“, it has some truly jaw dropping revelations.
This starts with Angelo and Katherine Manuele who attended his church. The backstory is that their son “kissed” Driscoll’s daughter consensually. They were teens, it was just a kiss, no really, that was it.
Driscoll’s response was to have the Manuele family banned permanently from his church and reported to the police for trespassing. He also directed all in the church to shun the Manueles.
There was more …
Trinity’s former head of security, Chad Freese, a cybersecurity expert and a former Marine, said Trinity hired a private investigator to surveille the Manuele family 24/7. He says teams, including pastors, tracked the Manueles as they went to local shops and businesses—even their own neighborhood.
Remember … their “crime” was that their son had simply kissed Driscoll’s daughter.
This is the example within the Roys Report of what this control freak is like. It illustrates the total cult like control and obedience this guy demanded …
According to Freese and other former staff and volunteers at the church, what happened to the Manueles is the tip of the iceberg.
They say the church has an army of security to protect not just the church, but the entire Driscoll family, who are treated like “royalty.”
Freese said there’s nowhere on Trinity’s campus where people are not being audio- and video-recorded. And to serve as a volunteer, one must sign a non-disclosure agreement pledging “to protect the confidentiality of all information” about the church’s “business operations, staff, volunteers and guests.”
The church also maintains a BOLO list (Be On The Lookout), Freese said, with names, pictures, and sometimes personal vehicles of people the church has banned from its property. The list contains one VIP—Randal Taylor, a man from out of state who allegedly provides “wise counsel” for Trinity.
Freese added that Driscoll has initiated a system of ranking staff and volunteers on a loyalty scale from 1 to 10.
… Freese added that he’s also seen Driscoll berate his staff in meetings, saying they lack “balls” or are “p-ssies” and using the f-word frequently….
The Roys report then proceeds to drill down into the details, with evidence, exposing just how harrowing and utterly corrupt it all truly is.
There are other sources that confirm this
Chad Freese mentioned above, who ran Driscoll’s tight security at Trinity, resigned in utter disgust at what he saw, then published an open letter.
The abstract of that reads …
Abstract: My family attended The Trinity Church for nearly three years, and my wife attended Mars Hill several years ago. I served on the security team for eight months. I served as the Director of Security for only seven weeks (Feb 27th – Apr 18th, 2021) until I resigned due to the pastor’s immoral, unethical, and unbiblical actions. I did not see these issues until I became part of the inner circle where I attended meetings and participated in “top-secret conversations.” I acknowledge I was complicit in executing the duties of my position. I did not get fired, nor was I kicked out of the church as others have been. I could not continue down the same path as the “leadership” of the church, as that is not who I am, nor who God called us to be.
Bottom Line
Yes that Driscoll clip is ugly and deeply problematic, but also in one sense so bizarre and strange that it is akin to a satire of itself. I quite honestly don’t rage at it, but instead laugh at the utter absurdity of his premise.
However, the guy behind it is not your normal homophobic evangelical bigot, but instead is a rather sinister individual.
In other words, buyer beware, because even if you agree with what he is saying in that clip because you have similar beliefs, you should be aware that Mark Driscoll is not running a church, but a cult. By endorsing him, you are also endorsing all of that.