A recent video shows Rev. Brent Hawkes, a progressive Canadian priest, advocating for the removal of the term ‘savior’ from churches. He argues that this term can offend believers in other religions. Hawkes says he’s tried to ban the word multiple times from his church over a forty-year career. The clip, which circulated on social media, drew sharp criticism.
“There was one word in those bedrock beliefs that began for me to be uncomfortable and problematic. When people now come to our church, many of them will first check the website to see what this church is about, what they believe,” the gay rights activist said. ” And many of the folks who did that would tell me out in the community bread, I looked up your church, and it sounded reasonable, but when I got to that word savior, it was a problem.”
“[It is a] problem because I’m from another faith tradition, or it’s a problem because I don’t believe that everyone has to accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior like the fundamentalists say, or that everyone has to define savior in the way that the fundamentalists define it. And it soon became that I kept having to explain that word,” he said in his progressive sermon.
” I knew many people would never give me the opportunity to explain that word, and in membership classes, when we would go to go through the vision, mission, values, and bedrock beliefs, that was almost always the point that was raised by somebody they had a problem with,” the activist argued. “So twice in my 40 years here, I tried to get the word changed, and because I quickly realized that one crucifixion was enough.”
“Savior means person or persons or situation that helped me to heal my relationship with God who points me in the right direction in healing that relationship with God,” claimed the woke reverend. ” And so for me, being born in Canada, being born in New Brunswick in the Bible Belt, being raised a strict fundamentalist Baptist, I have no problem saying that Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior. That’s where I come from.”
“I would hope that someday this church would see the possibility of changing that word because it is a stumbling block for so many who want to be here; it is a stumbling block for people who do interfaith work,” he added. ” How do we explain that phrase to Muslims and to Jews and to Hindus? I think the word guide just as effectively describes the meaning that Jesus is the one who guides us back into a healing relationship with God. [It] doesn’t say he’s the only guide.”
This argument contradicts traditional Christian beliefs. As Christ said in the Book of John, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Social media slammed the reverend for his woke rant. ” Why can’t people, who are obviously not Christian, just go firm their own religion and call it something, anything but Christian?” asked one user.
Watch his Embarrassing Sermon Here:
Another said, “He is indeed correct that Jesus is a “stumbling block.” That’s kinda the whole point and both Paul and Peter talk about this and there’s no getting over it.” This user noticed, ” This is what heresy looks like. This is the new “progressive” Jesus that has been invented, in recent years. We are witnessing the birth of a new religion. Once they drop the word “Savior” they will then drop the word ‘Christian.'”
Screenshot From Embedded Video