Pete Buttigieg 'deserving of death' for being gay, says top evangelical Christian website

Former South Bend mayor first openly gay candidate seeking presidential nomination for major party

An influential evangelical Christian magazine has published an article claiming Democratic frontrunner Pete Buttigieg is “deserving of death” because he is openly gay.

In an article published by Charisma News, a website associated with the magazine Charisma, which was founded in1975, writer Bert Farias denounced the way people were celebrating the fact Mr Buttigieg was the first openly gay person seeking the presidential nomination for a major party.

He said, such celebrations marked the “death rattle of a nation”.

“God created male and female with sexual union between the two being first for procreation; anything outside that is merely behaviour,” wrote Mr Farias, who claims to head the Holy Fire Ministries in Boston.

He added: ”The constant compromising of preachers to avoid controversy is creating much damage—not only to the world, which is looking for a clear sound from preachers, but also to believers who have little discernment or are growing tired of ambiguity.”

After claiming the former mayor of South Bend “worshipped Satan” because of his sexuality, he added: “In fact, when those who practice such things that are “deserving of death” also approve of others who practice them (Rom. 1:32), it is one of God’s final signs of His wrath on a society.

“This is a description of gay activism and constantly pushing for its normalcy and marginalising those who disapprove. This is present-day America. How far we’ve fallen.”

The comments, which were reported on by Newsweek widely denounced on social media by people identifying themselves as Christians and saying Mr Farias was misquoting the Bible, point to a challenge even supporters of the 38-year former South Bend will face as his campaign moves forward – bigotry and homophobia.

In his 2019 memoir, Shortest Way Home: One Mayor’s Challenge and a Model for America’s Future, he recounted making the decision to come out as gay before running for reelection in South Bend in 2015, something he secured with 80 per cent of the vote.

“I was well into adulthood before I was prepared to acknowledge the simple fact that I am gay,” he wrote in the South Bend Tribune.

The issue received fresh attention after the Iowa caucuses when video emerged of a woman asking to to retract her support for the candidate, after learning he was gay.

Mr Buttigieg responded to that incident by saying: “It’s unfortunate you can’t win everybody, but as somebody who got reelected with 80 per cent of the vote in my Indiana city, while Mike Pence was the governor of my state, I’ve also seen how many people are able to move beyond prejudices when it comes to elections.”

Polls commissioned by Politico and published in October, suggested half of American voters said they were personally ready for a gay or lesbian president, but were divided as to whether the country was.

The campaign for Mr Buttigieg, a church-attending Christian and military veteran did not respond to comments. Charisma News did not respond.

Polls showed that in the 2016 election, around 80 per cent of evangelical Christians voted for Donald Trump, a thrice-married, failed casino owner, who appear to have little experience of attending church, or much expertise with the Bible. His has rewarded those voters by appointing two conservative justices to the Supreme Court, and supporting restrictions on abortion.