Baptist Pastor Preaches That He ‘Can’t Even Look’ at Paul’s ‘Contradictory’ Bible Verses + “Go To Hell Paul”
St. Stephen Baptist Church is the largest African American Church in Kentucky and the “largest private Black employer in the state.” Boasting that “Over 98% of St. Stephen employees are from the Black Community” and that they “conduct the city’s largest voter registration campaign,” their stated mission is to “change lives, to strengthen families, and to transform communities. “
St. Stephen is led by Senior Pastor Dr. Kevin Cosby. According to his church bio, he is “He is one of our nation’s most influential leaders: He was inducted into the Gallery of Great Black Kentuckians at the Kentucky State Capitol…and was inducted into the Martin Luther King, Jr. Board of Preachers of Morehouse College.”
Two weeks ago, he preached a message titled “Slavery and the Bible where he criticizes the Apostle Paul for his behavior and statement in the book of Philemon, declaring that the Apostle Paul can “go to hell” for all the “problematic and antithetical texts in the bible” that he wrote.
“Let me say this: all the Bible is not on the same level. So when you say “the Bible says it” well, that doesn’t mean that just because you quote a scripture from the Bible that that is a priority of the purpose of the Bible.
Just like you’ve got a quarter, a dime, a nickel and a penny, which one of these four is money? All four is money, would you agree? They are all equally money..but are they all equal in value? No! And everything here in my hand is Bible, all equally Bible. But everything in my hand is not all equal in value”
He continues:
Salvation is not going to heaven. Salvation has to be deliverance from things that oppress people. Deliverance from hatred, deliverance from sexism, racism, the isms, that’s what salvation is. Heaven will take care of itself- God is concerned about how we treat each other. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.
…And the question is, when you look at those Paul passages about slaves being obedient to their masters, that’s a penny. (he earlier said that some bible verses were valuable, worth a “quarter”, and others near worthless, a “penny”)
In fact, it’s such a penny and so contradictory to the themes of Jesus, I can say I don’t even look at them.
I will say, “go to hell, Paul.”
And I can say, “go to hell” Paul, about those slave verses. And I can say it to John McArthur out there in California who said, ‘what’s wrong with slavery?’ And you got them Negro preachers out there believing that nonsense. I can say, “go to hell” by the authority of Christ, because it’s total out of alignment with Jesus.”
h/t to All Things Theology, who break it down in detail here.
Cosby's assertions are just as biased as those he condemns. He preys upon the emotions of his congregants, and Cosby most certainly is not an intellectual preacher. He has a decided meanness in his heart, and it comes out in his vapid comments.