Pastor Steven Anderson, whose faith-based hate speech at Faithful Word Baptist Church knows no bounds, was planning an overseas “soul-winning” trip to South Africa. Those plans were officially halted for good yesterday when Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba announced in Parliament that Anderson would be banned from entering the country:
In his address, Gigaba said: “South Africa has to work towards reaching its constitutional goals … It is a constitutional imperative for organs of state and society at large to protect and jealously defend the rights of all people.”
Gigaba added that the Immigration Act of 2002 “prohibits the admission of foreigners likely to promote hate speech or advocate social violence”.
This isn’t even a close call. Anderson celebrated the deaths of dozens of people at Pulse nightclub in Orlando by saying, “The good news [about the massacre] is that there’s 50 less pedophiles in this world, because… these homosexuals are a bunch of disgusting perverts and pedophiles.” He also said the U.S. government should execute homosexuals by way of a firing squad because that’s what the Bible commands.
Before Gigaba issued the ban, Anderson made a video trashing him for making an empty threat. That clearly backfired.
(Hey, Steven, don’t film yourself while driving a van full of kids. Eyes on the road. Jesus isn’t gonna take the wheel.)
Even before the government stepped in, Anderson’s trip was going to be difficult because the venues he planned to visit — to eat at or to preach in — were denying him access to their facilities.
The government banning him is just icing on the cake.
But that’s not all!
Yesterday, the United Kingdom also banned Anderson from the country, adding that he was forbidden from landing there for a layover on his way to other countries.
Anderson confirmed the decisions on Facebook, adding that he couldn’t wait to visit Botswana. Because that’s where the real action’s at.
I have been banned from South Africa AND the United Kingdom. I am not even allowed to have a connecting flight in London.
…
I feel sorry for people who live in South Africa, but thank God we still have a wide open door in Botswana. Stand by for reports of MULTITUDES saved in Botswana, where religious freedom still exists.
Religious freedom still exists in South Africa and the UK. They just don’t condone hate speech. And when someone from South Africa tried to point that out, Anderson’s responded with a list of the nation’s problems, which he thinks require God to overcome.
He’s not wrong about sexual violence in South Africa… but “BIBLE PREACHING” isn’t going to fix the problem.
Anderson made a(n oddly subdued) video explaining his situation as he made his way to Botswana:
He may be able to get into that country but the bigger story is obviously the fact that bigger nations want nothing to do with him. Their bans are not anti-Christian; they’re anti-hate speech. And Anderson’s entire schtick is using his Bible to condemn everyone who’s not like him.
Even if Botswana’s laws allow Anderson to enter the country, the people there would be wise to speak out against him and his Christian bigotry. The more pushback against his awful rhetoric, the better.