Apparently the Washington Post's website editors have little patience for African-American ministers who pledge fidelity to the Bible over that to their usual political allies like Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D).
"Black pastors take heat over stance against Maryland gay-marriage bill," reads a teaser headline on the washingtonpost.com front page. "As Maryland legislature passes bill, church members warn clergy that they're on the wrong side of history," the subheadline adds [see screencap below page break]. "Black pastors take heat for not viewing same-sex marriage as civil rights matter," reads the online version's headline.*
"We're all sinners... Christ never turned anyone away. People come to us all the time with issues, some with a stealing demon, some with urges and desires. But love doesn't mean you go along to get along. I counsel them by showing them God's word; some receive the word, and some reject it," Baptist minister the Rev. Nathaniel Thomas told the Post.
Only once in the article did Fisher cite actual black church parishioners who question their pastor's stance, and that was when Fisher noted Thomas had "a couple of young women in his church" who asked him if "it's not so bad to allow two women to join together because, in many cases, men are not in the home."
That's the extent of specific parishioner disagreement that Fisher cited in his entire 28-paragraph front-page story. What's more, no polling data were given by Fisher as to where the average black churchgoer in Maryland stands on the issue of same-sex marriage.
*The print edition headline was much less antagonistic than the online version: "For black clergy, issue is not a civil rights one."
