‘God Will Cure AIDS If Gay People Repent’ Says Right-Wing Pastor
A right-wing pastor says God would cure AIDS if gay people with HIV would repent their sins and adopt a moral lifestyle.
A right-wing pastor claimed that God would cure AIDS if gay people would repent and society stopped treating homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle.
Rick Scarborough, a self-proclaimed “Christocrat” with a history of launching attacks against the LGBTQ community, recently gave a sermon at Calvary Bible Church in Wichita, Kansas, in which he promoted his new book, America in the Balance: American Dream vs. Woke Nightmare.
“When the homosexual comes out of the closet and he is bragging about his activities, demanding not only acceptance, but endorsement, that is a nation that God is taking his hand off of,” Scarborough said. “And that’s exactly who we are.”
He continued, “Here’s a principle that I want you to never forget: Sin often begins manifesting itself even by the transformation of your characteristics. About 80 percent of the time before a homosexual opens his mouth, you can see by the look on his face that he’s — I won’t say the word ‘gay’; it almost slipped out — a sodomite will always reflect it in his countenance. And if he doesn’t naturally, he’ll learn it by those he hangs around with.”
Scarborough then returned to a common refrain he has echoed in past remarks, in which he casts AIDS as God’s judgment for immoral acts and has criticized the government — and society at large — for accepting homosexuality as valid.
“We are spending billions of dollars to keep these sodomites alive, and we should out of compassion,” Scarborough said. “But it can be cured overnight by repentance, by a change of lifestyle.”
He added, “There will be certain death among those who’ve been practicing [sodomy], but I believe God would so reveal himself that we’d find the cure and instead of just keeping them alive with drugs, they’d find a genuine cure if they hadn’t already aborted the one that had the cure.”
Interestingly, Scarborough’s remarks aren’t that different from other fire-and-brimstone preachers who have resorted to attacking homosexuality and LGBTQ visibility in their sermons, which often rely on the premise that if gay people would repent their sins, God would work wondrous miracles.
According to Right Wing Watch, a project of the left-wing political advocacy group People for the American Way, several right-wing organizations — Liberty Counsel, ACT for America, and Turning Point USA — have previously partnered with Scarborough’s Recover America to launch a coalition called The Remnant Alliance.
The coalition advocates for greater engagement by pastors and churches with the broader society, with the intent of swaying the overall culture toward embracing traditional values and morality, and exercising those values when selecting political leaders.
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!
