Theologian Albert Mohler is warning Christians that a rapidly changing culture on the issue of LGBT ideology will force them to make tough decisions that could have life-changing consequences, including the loss of a job.
Speaking on his podcast The Briefing, Mohler discussed the news about five Tampa Bay Rays pitchers who declined to wear LGBT Pride hats and jerseys because of their Christian beliefs. Mohler then read from a New York Times story criticizing the players that ran under the headline, "An Attempt at Inclusion Proves There Is More Work to Do." The story approvingly quoted author Andrew Maraniss as saying, "That's not something you should be able to opt-out of."
Society, Mohler warned, wants Christians to affirm LGBT Pride – and not simply tolerate its existence.
Christians who "live faithfully," he said, could face consequences.
"People are going to lose their jobs. They already are. People are going to lose educational opportunities. They already are. Most of us, as Christians, are going to be losing social standing. We already are," he said. "And for that matter, you just might lose the ability to be a pitcher for a Major League Baseball team. And it's not going to be about how good a pitcher you are; it's about whether or not you're willing to pitch the message, contrary to Christian Scripture, of the moral revolution."
Mohler labeled it a "head-on collision" in worldviews between what the Bible teaches and what society – including the Biden administration – promotes. Mohler serves as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
"These players were not saying that they didn't want LGBTQ fans to come to the game," Mohler said. "... They simply said, 'We cannot put on our bodies an advertisement for something we believe to be morally wrong, based upon our Christian convictions.'"
For that simple stance, Mohler said, the players have received widespread condemnation.
"The players didn't fail to acknowledge that people are people and that all fans are welcome," Mohler said. "They simply refused, on the basis of their own religious convictions, to advertise positively for what they believe to be sin, and not just sin, but something that is injurious to human flourishing."
The "moral revolutionaries" promoting Pride Month, Mohler said, want to force people to affirm it.
"You can see exactly what they're trying to do. In business by business, they're saying, 'No, it's not enough that you allow and accept the fact that the person working next to you is going to have a Pride flag. No, you got to put a Pride flag on your desk.' That's a very real challenge coming to many employees in major American corporations or, for that matter, probably smaller American companies now too."
Mohler acknowledged that a growing number of companies are promoting Pride Month.
"It is not wrong for you to work for a company that has pro-gay policies," he said. "It is wrong for you to work for a company that demands that you endorse them, that you make a moral declaration of agreement and solidarity with that moral judgment. It is not wrong for you to participate in many areas of the economy, where, frankly, you don't have that much choice if you want a cup of coffee in the airport. What's wrong is if, for instance, they give you a cup with a message and they say, 'You've got to carry this cup. And you've got to join in this message.'
"Positive declaration is a line," Mohler said. "It's a line we all are going to have to learn to be able to discern. It is one thing to walk into a store that has a Pride sticker on the door because you've got to get a part for your appliance repair. It's another thing for you to have to wear the sticker. That's the big distinction."
Related:
Rays Baseball Players Refuse to Wear Gay Pride Uniforms: 'We Believe in Jesus'
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Marc Bruxelle/EyeEm
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
