Sarah Silverman tweeted a video yesterday of Adam Fannin, a former pastor of Stedfast Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, who went after her in a rant last year from behind the pulpit.
Watch:
This is Adam Fannin of the Stedfast Baptist Church in Florida and he is going to get me killed. pic.twitter.com/I6Us59o59v
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) August 8, 2019
I say former pastor, because he’s reportedly at Law of Liberty Baptist Church now which is also in Jacksonville.
When I first heard this clip, I cringed when Fannin hoped that God would bust Silverman’s teeth out and kill her. I don’t disagree that Silverman is a vile and wicked person – despicable really – but whatever happened to the notion of hoping that evil people would change their ways and find Jesus?
I understand the idea of hating evil. But at some point we must remember that while God hates evil far more than we do, He’s also ready and willing to save those who repent of their wickedness. If Silverman did repent, Heaven would rejoice!
So no, I’m not a fan of the tenor of Fannin’s remarks. But I also don’t think he’s calling on violence against Silverman or even suggesting it. While his tone is harsh, I think Silverman and her fans are overreacting a bit.
Silverman explained the joke that she made about killing Jesus that Fannin referred to:
Re: that pastor, et al https://t.co/ZHeBrv7GIa pic.twitter.com/CyJTX4LKA1
— Sarah Silverman (@SarahKSilverman) August 9, 2019
It is never funny to joke about killing Jesus, the One who loves us more than we could ever possibly know, at least in this life. Comedy routine or not, it is just never appropriate and I understand why even a joke about it would disturb Christians everywhere.