A Baptist church in Texas has issued a clarification after the father-in-law of the pastor preached that Black slaves “humbled themselves” and prayed, turning “from their wicked ways,” which led to their freedom through “several white presidents.”
Mike Keller, who also is the father of Anna Duggar of the TLC reality show 19 Kids and Counting, was guest preacher at Fairpark Baptist Church in Edgecliff Village, near Fort Worth, July 2. Anna Duggar is married to Josh Duggar, now a convicted sex offender. He is the eldest of Jim Bob and and Michelle Duggar’s 19 children.
The Duggar family has been the subject of much controversy, as evidenced in the recent Netflix documentary Shiny Happy People.
The Daily Beast and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported on Keller’s sermon where he said “God made slavery illegal” after Black people “turned from their wicked ways.”
He continued: “A hundred and fifty years ago, or 200 years ago, when the Blacks were slaves, did they ever go to Washington, D.C., and have a rally 200 years ago to protest slavery? Did they? No. What did they do? Well, a lot of good people in the plantations would say, ‘Hey, it’s wintertime. Let us help build a church for you dear folks.’ And they loved them and taught them how to read and so they can read the Bible.”
“And here’s what the Blacks did about 150 years ago. They humbled themselves. They prayed. They sought God’s face and they turned from their wicked ways and God made slavery illegal through several white presidents, right? It worked, didn’t it? They didn’t protest.”
A video of the sermon went viral online, prompting protests about the misrepresentation of both American history and Christian faith.
A few days later, the church issued a clarification without refuting the explanation the guest preacher gave: “Fairpark Baptist Church affirms that racism and slavery are wrong, sinful and violate the Scriptures. As a part of our faith, we would never condone slavery, or tolerate any kind of prejudice against people of color.”
The pastor of the church is David Waller, who is married to Priscilla Waller, an older sister to Anna Duggar. The church is an independent Baptist congregation.
Related articles:
How to connect the dots while watching Shiny Happy People | Analysis by Rick Pidcock
I survived the Christian fundamentalist world that created Josh Duggar | Opinion by Lydia Joy Launderville
