Fundie Host Bryan Fischer: Christians Can’t Have ‘Diverse Opinions’ (WITH VIDEO)

Bryan Fischer with Courtney Westbrook (image from Fischer's Facebook)
Bryan Fischer with Courtney Westbrook (image from Fischer’s Facebook)

If you’ve known me for any period of time, you’ll know that one of the fastest ways to get my dander up is to tell me that I can’t be a Christian and a liberal. So you can probably imagine that it took me awhile to calm down when one of the looniest religious right talk show hosts in the nation declared that Christians can’t have differing opinions on the issues of the day.

Bryan Fischer, the afternoon drive time host on American Family Radio, was none too impressed with an article in Christian Today, a UK-based Christian magazine. Author Andy Walton saw Ken Ham’s Ark Encounter for what it was–an attempt to use Noah’s Ark as a weapon in “a savage culture war.”

As far as Ham is concerned, there are two kinds of people–those who think God made the earth in six literal 24-hour days, and “aggressive secularists” hellbent on preventing him from “getting a message out there about the Bible.” In the cool, neutral air of the UK, Walton thinks Ham is way off-base with such black-and-white thinking.

“Here’s the problem. Many Americans don’t fall easily into either camp. Many Christians won’t. They may have diverse opinions on sexual ethics, on life issues, on evolution, on hell, on what role government should play in society, on healthcare, and indeed on science.”

When Fischer saw this, he hit the ceiling on Monday’s edition of his radio show, “Focal Point.” People for the American Way’s Right Wing Watch got a clip.

Fischer claimed that Walton’s “snide column” was a textbook case of the Jezebel spirit discussed in Revelation. He declared in no uncertain terms that Christians can’t have differing opinions on sexual ethics. He added that since the Bible declares marriage to be “a union of one man and one woman” and declares homosexuality to be a sin, “these things are not ambiguous.” Therefore, he said, Christians can’t have diverse opinions on these matters.

In the same vein, Fischer claimed that Christians can’t have differing opinions on abortion. For instance, you can’t argue about whether “it’s a baby in the womb because the Bible says it is.” They can’t have differing opinions about evolution because the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth.

Okay, Bryan. I’ll play. I’m assuming that you and Ham take the line that these matters have more or less been decided by 2 Timothy 3:16-17. It states that Scripture is “useful for teaching, rebuking, and training in righteousness.” Where’s science in this? How about history? It isn’t there.

So you say we can’t have differing opinions on the issues. Well, if that’s the case, you’re saying that we should ignore the overwhelming evidence that most fetuses aren’t viable until the 24-week mark. You’re also saying that we should ignore the overwhelming evidence that this planet is several billion years old.

What about homosexuality? Well, a closer look reveals that the main cudgel the fundies use to bash gays over the head–the Sodom and Gomorrah story–wasn’t talking about homosexuality at all. It was an allegory about what happens when you aren’t kind to strangers–a BFD in the Middle East at the time. Apparently, in Fischer and Ham’s world, any attempt to look at this closely makes you an “aggressive secularist.”

I can understand why Walton rolled his eyes at the Ark Encounter. After all, born-agains in the UK, and indeed most of Europe, aren’t as hung up on social issues as born-agains here in the States. I’m not just talking in the abstract either–my church in Charlotte was planted out of a charismatic Anglican church in the UK, and is led by Brits. Sounds to me like Fischer did a really good job of proving Walton’s point for him.

Darrell is a 30-something graduate of the University of North Carolina who considers himself a journalist of the old school. An attempt to turn him into a member of the religious right in college only succeeded in turning him into the religious right's worst nightmare--a charismatic Christian who is an unapologetic liberal. His desire to stand up for those who have been scared into silence only increased when he survived an abusive three-year marriage. You may know him on Daily Kos as Christian Dem in NC. Follow him on Twitter @DarrellLucus or connect with him on Facebook. Click here to buy Darrell a Mello Yello.