I have recently see a posting of the sign outside the Second Baptist Church in Palermo, right off Route 3. The sign says: “JESUS MADE ADAM N EVE NOT ADAM & STEVE.”

In the Bible I’m familiar with, the story of Adam and Eve occurs many generations before the birth of Jesus — including those founding fathers of the Judeo-Christian tradition: Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, to say nothing of all those Old-Testament prophets. This means that a “fundamentalist” church pastor is woefully uninformed about what is in the Bible.

Then there is the message on the sign. That message of exclusion and condemnation is in direct conflict with what I understand to be the essential message of Jesus — that is, the acceptance of all persons. Ironically, it is also in direct conflict with the lurid anti-abortion poster directly below the sign. That poster says: “Every Life Matters.”

I wonder how the pastor of that church — and the members of that church, who presumably support him — manage to think that their sign conveys the teachings of Jesus.

Jesus was quite clear on the matter:  “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus even told a parable to illustrate just who he meant by “neighbor.” That parable is The Good Samaritan, and to understand the parable it is vital to know that in Jesus’ time, Samaritans were “not favored.”

I also wonder where the voices of other Christians, especially pastors, are now.

 

Harold Booth

Hallowell