NC Church Says “Satan Was the First to Demand Equal Rights”… Like It’s a Bad Thing

Fellowship Baptist Church in Statesville, North Carolina thought it would be a great idea to promote this message on their sign last week.

Remember Satan was the first to demand equal rights

It’s weird for a couple of reasons.

1) The implication is that equal rights are a bad thing… which is a dumb thing to say out in the open without more specificity. Sure, they might be referring to LGBT rights (which are being debated in NC), but Baptists have a history of opposing civil rights for black people and they continue opposing equal rights for women.

In other words, they’re known for being on the wrong side of this issue whenever it comes up. So saying they oppose “equal rights,” with that very language, seems like a strange stance even for them.

2) People fighting for equality are heroes. And this church appears to be comparing them to the devil.

3) If Satan demanded equal rights, then Satan sounds awesome. Even The Satanic Temple felt that way:

The church soon changed the sign and took down its Facebook page. But not before posting this statement:

“The church sign that was in the news was NOT meant to offend ANY people, group or compare ANYONE TO satan. That is not what we teach and preach! It was speaking about our adversary the devil who did want to be God. We pray that the LORD would bless any who were offended!”

How could a sign blasting equal rights not offend anybody? That was the entire point. And opposing LGBT rights, at least, is precisely what Baptists teach and preach.

It’s also telling that they call on God to “bless any who were offended” instead of apologizing for their badly written, ill-intentioned sign. No one needs their blessings. The rest of us will keep fighting for equal rights (even for Baptists). If Satan wants to be on our side, then he’s welcome to join the team.

(Screenshot via WCNC)