Anne Lamott once put it perfectly when she wrote, “You can safely assume you’ve created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”
When it comes to Christianity, some practitioners believe that the words of Jesus Christ help them to be welcoming of people regardless of their race or sexuality. While others use the Bible to validate their own prejudices.
In 2019, it’s hard to imagine that people would use the good book to discriminate against a biracial couple looking to get married, but in Boonesville, Mississippi, a venue refused to let a black man and a white woman marry in its event hall because the owner’s “Christian belief.”
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After her brother’s wedding was cancelled, LaKambria Welch confronted the owner of Boone’s Camp Event Hall to learn the reason.
“First of all, we don’t do gay weddings or mixed race, because of our Christian race — I mean, our Christian belief,” a woman who is believed to be the owner told Welch.
(Saying “Christian race” has to be a Freudian slip.)
Welch said she, too, was Christian and the owner said she didn’t want to “argue my faith.”
“We just don’t participate,” the woman tells Welch.
“Okay. So that’s your Christian belief, right?” Welch asks the woman.
“Yes ma’am,” she replies.
What’s telling was that the woman didn’t want to argue her faith. That shows she probably never really understood it in the first place. Or, that she’s a racist and wanted to hide behind the Bible to rationalize her bigotry.
Either way, she’s wrong. Racism is, of course, is unacceptable and the Bible says nothing about interracial marriage.
“When she explained that she doesn’t do the two specific type of weddings, I felt myself starting to shake,” Welch said according to Buzzfeed, “just hearing it gave me chills.”
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Welch posted the video on Facebook where it quickly went viral and the owner of Boone’s Camp Event Hall responded with her own post where she issued apology.
“I was unable to recall instances where the Bible was used giving a verse that would support my decision… after church I have come to the conclusion that my decision which was based on what I had thought was correct to be supported by the Bible was incorrect!”
“To all of those offended, hurt or felt condemn by my statement I truly apologize to you for my ignorance in not knowing the truth about this,” the post read. “My intent was never of racism, but to stand firm on what I ‘assumed’ was right concerning marriage.”
The city of Booneville responded to the controversy with a statement on Facebook
“The City of Booneville, Mayor, and Board of Aldermen do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status,” the statement said.
