This morning the voice of one renegade Baptist pastor led many to believe that the Baptist churches of Australia had changed their previously stated opposition to same sex marriage. They have not.
The voice was that of the Revd Michael Hercock, a pastor of the Surry Hills Baptist Church, also known as “Imagine,” and an employee of Hope Street, an inner city ministries agency of the Baptist Churches of NSW and ACT. He is a “recognised” but unaccredited minister of the association of churches.
Mr Hercock is well known for his controversial views on sexuality and marriage. In 2008 he orchestrated the “100Revs” campaign, inviting Australian clergy to sign up to a “sorry” statement directed at gay and lesbian people, and subsequently parade with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. He has spoken to media and appeared on panels discussing same sex marriage on numerous occasions, on both radio and television.
More recently Mike appeared before a Senate inquiry giving evidence in support of same sex marriage, and, with the help of the gay lobby group Australian Marriage Equality, recorded and posted a YouTube clip outlining his views on the matter. Read his submission to the Inquiry here.
I am not aware of any other Baptist minister in Australia, ordained or otherwise, who has taken such extraordinary steps to express his personal views on the subject of same sex marriage – views which deeply offend many Baptists around Australia, and which are out of line with the clearly defined policy of Australian Baptist Ministries, previously known as the Baptist Union of Australia and representing all State and Territory Baptist Unions.
Today, in the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama’s personal statement in favour of same sex marriage, Mr Hercock joined Uniting Church minister Roger Munson and Anglican minister Gary Bouma in claiming that church support for marriage had a “dehumanising” influence on same-sex attracted people.
Of interest to me was the fact that not one of these ministers of religion referred to biblical texts in support of their argument. Instead, Mr Hercock chose to attack the Australian Christian Lobby for its unwavering biblical stance on the issue, and alleged that:
There’s constant fear-mongering among some Christian conservatives and they’re trying to degrade what is essentially a desire for monogamy, fidelity and the family unit.
Such language, apparently delivered in haste to piggy-back on media interest in last night’s statement by the U.S. President, is most unfortunate.
The policy of Australian Baptist Ministries is clear. The Baptist Union of Australia (the legal name of ABM) defines marriage as being the union between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others, voluntarily entered into for life. Authorized celebrants with the Baptist Union of Australia are only able to solemnize marriages according to Baptist Rites that conform to this definition.
I am convinced that an overwhelming majority of Baptists in Australia take the view that marriage is a fundamental social institution, and that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. Therefore legislation and other instruments which seek to mimic marriage or otherwise undermine the traditional sense of the institution by extending marriage status to same-sex couples will attract strong opposition by Baptists as well as by other persons of faith.
Australian Baptist Ministries, representing more than 300,000 Baptists in 950 local churches, supports the rights of all couples to justice with respect to property and like entitlements and acknowledges that people, including some in Baptist churches, face difficult issues with respect to sexuality. Recognition of such rights and difficulties does not justify major changes to our convictions about marriage or to marriage legislation.
The Baptist World Alliance, representing over 42 million baptised believers and 221 Baptist Unions and Conventions in 120 countries, shares the views of Australian Baptist Ministries on marriage. The Baptist World Alliance views homosexual lifestyle as incompatible with the teachings of Scripture and no BWA member body affirms, promotes or approves of same sex marriage.
At the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in July 1994 in Uppsala, Sweden, the BWA General Council passed a resolution confirming that the BWA “proclaims the biblical definition of the family, a permanent, monogamous, heterosexual union, as the original divine plan for family life which must continue to serve as the foundation and ideal for an ordered and effective society.” This resolution was reaffirmed at the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering at Ede, The Netherlands, in 2009.
For more than 400 years Baptists have affirmed the Bible as the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. The Bible teaches that the only appropriate context for sexual intercourse is between a woman and a man who are married to each other. Those who argue otherwise have drifted away from biblical ethics and an authentic Baptist understanding of marriage.
Michael Hercock speaks on his own behalf; he does not speak for a majority of Baptists.
See the ABM media release on the subject from 24 August 2011 here.
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