Steven L. Anderson, pastor at Faithful
Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona, claims that the Bible commands
the government to execute gays.
Anderson made headlines last week when
he told his congregation that an AIDS-free world is possible by
Christmas. “[I]f you execute the homos like God recommends, you
wouldn't have all this AIDS running rampant,” he said.
In a live interview with Spanish
language Telemundo Arizona, Anderson was asked whether the Bible
commands Christians to kill gays to eliminate AIDS.
“Well, it's not my job or the job of
Christians to kill homosexuals,” Anderson
said in Spanish. “But according to the Bible it is the job of
the government to execute criminals and according to the Bible they
are criminals. And it's the job of the government to execute
killers, murderers and also homosexuals, according to the Bible.”
Anderson added that gay people are not
welcome at his church.
On
it's website, Faithful Word describes itself as an
“old-fashioned, independent, fundamental, King James Bible only,
soul-winning Baptist church.”