Evangelical leaders’ anti-LGBTQ “Nashville Statement” slammed by city’s mayor
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and others criticized the statement's outdated views on homosexuality and gender identity
A manifesto from a group of evangelical leaders is causing controversy for its anti-LGBTQ content.
The “Nashville Statement,” a manifesto from the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), outlines the group’s views on sexuality and gender in order to act as a guide of sorts for churches.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the results aren’t favourable towards LGBTQ people.
Comprising 14 articles, it opens with the declaration that “God has designed marriage to be a…union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife.” It adds, “We deny that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous or polyamorous relationship.”
“We deny that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes,” the statement continues, adding, “We deny that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation.”
The statement also notes that transgender individuals should embrace religion to “forsake transgender self-conceptions” and accept the “God-ordained link” between sex and gender identity.
And there’s no hope for those who support the LGBTQ community, as the evangelical leaders consider it “sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism.”
“The spirit of our age does not delight in God’s good design of male and female. Consequently, confusion reigns over some of the most basic questions of our humanity,” Council President Denny Burk said in a statement. “The aim of The Nashville Statement is to shine a light into the darkness — to declare the goodness of God’s design in our sexuality and in creating us as male and female.”
However, the use of Nashville in the name — due to a conference of the leaders in the city — has drawn fire from Nashville’s Democractic Mayor Megan Barry, who tweeted: “The [CBMW’s] so-called ‘Nashville Statement’ is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city and people of Nashville.”
The @CBMWorg's so-called "Nashville Statement" is poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville
— Megan Barry (@MayorMeganBarry) August 29, 2017
And elsewhere on social media, users rallied against the views expressed in the manifesto. Comedian Kumail Nanjiani, who has spoken out against transphobic jokes, didn’t hold back in expressing his thoughts:
Fuck the #NashvilleStatement. Fuck the evil shit that people justify using religion.
— Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) August 29, 2017
And the criticism didn’t stop there:
90% of signatories of #NashvilleStatement are white men. Seriously, you guys have to stop all this nonsense. Go back to fantasy football.
— rosanne cash (@rosannecash) August 30, 2017
Dear evangelicals,
You supported a serial adulterer and grifter.
Your opinions couldn't matter less.#NashvilleStatement
— Nick Jack Pappas (@Pappiness) August 29, 2017
Show me a man whose main cause is the #NashvilleStatement and I'll show you a man whose main hobby is the #gloryhole.
— Rachel Dratch (@TheRealDratch) August 30, 2017
I find it funny they are quick to denounce homosexuality but when it comes to racism and white supremacy… SILENCE. #NashvilleStatement
— MalyndaHale (@MalyndaHale) August 30, 2017
#NashvilleStatement is just same old stuff conservative evangelicals have said for years. Nothing new except now they know they're losing.
— Emily C. Heath (@emilycheath) August 30, 2017
#NashvilleStatement is un-American toilet paper written by Trump fans who use religion as a cover for their bigotry & their hate of equality
— Scott Dworkin (@funder) August 30, 2017
I am a Christian. To the authors and signatories of the bigoted & hypocritical #NashvilleStatement I say: My Jesus doesn't know your Jesus.
— Old New Dad (@old_new_dad) August 30, 2017
Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
