Florida Baptist pastor Tom Ascol—who delivered the invocation at Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' second inauguration—has come under fire after he expressed his belief gay people should be put to death.
Ascol—senior pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral—made the comment on Twitter while criticizing Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz's condemnation of Uganda's "Anti-Homosexuality Act." Cruz's views have drawn widespread condemnation and highlight the ongoing tensions surrounding LGBTQ+ rights, religious extremism and hate speech.
Ascol took to Twitter to respond to Cruz's criticism of Uganda's law, which imposes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuality."
Ascol cited a King James interpretation of an Old Testament verse from Leviticus 20:13:
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."
He added:
"Was this law God gave to His old covenant people 'horrific and wrong'?"
You can see Ascol's tweet below.
\u201cTell it to God, Ted. \n\n"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them."\n\u2014Leviticus 20:13\n\nWas this law God gave to His old covenant people "horrific and wrong"?\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
Ascol's statement was met with outrage from both LGBTQ+ advocates and the wider community.
It is important to note the majority of contemporary Christians do not adhere to such extreme interpretations of scripture and reject the notion God condones violence or discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals. But a very vocal minority of primarily Evangelical Christians embrace homophobia, transphobia and Christian nationalism.
Many condemned his interpretation of the Bible and accused him of promoting hate speech.
\u201c@tomascol As one of the Old Covenant people, I'm happy to report that it was horrific and wrong IF that's what God told us back in the day. But, as Rabbig Glassman said, it probably was thinking that reflected the best wisdom of it time, buy it's just plain wrong by any modern standard.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@john_p_w @Plainsspeak @tomascol You mean the scripture that as hobbled together by authors at a round table meeting centuries after someone called Jeebus went around touting love for the common man while his daddy created war, poverty, illness and death? \nDon\u2019t forget Leviticus 11:7 next time you have breakfast\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@john_p_w @Plainsspeak @tomascol "Scripture is clear" has got to be the most commonly followed by heresy phrase ever written. \nStudy literary context, history, and other verses- not just cherry-picked ones- to discover the actual meaning of the Scripture before condemning your fellow Imago Dei.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@john_p_w @Plainsspeak @tomascol Waiting for you to throw out every blended fabric in your house. According to OT, they\u2019re abominations unto Yahweh.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@john_p_w @Plainsspeak @tomascol You're entirely missing the point that no one who doesn't follow your religion should be subject of whatever your religion does or does not say\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@tomascol Christianity without makeup \nI love it when you all take off the mask.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@tomascol Speak up Tom, everyone\u2019s listening:\n\nDo you think America should have the death penalty for homosexual intercourse, like it does in Leviticus? Simple answer.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
\u201c@john_p_w @Plainsspeak @tomascol Good thing no one has to follow laws of religions they don\u2019t participate in. You can keep your book club rules to yourself thanks. This is 2023.\u201d— Tom Ascol @tomascol (@Tom Ascol @tomascol) 1685446157
This is not the first time Ascol has expressed extreme views.
He has previously stated that women who have abortions should be imprisoned for murder.
Ascol was also involved in authoring The Dallas Statement, which denounced same-sex attraction and same-sex marriage as against "God's design." The statement rejected the acceptance of LGBTQ+ Christians and dismissed gender fluidity, intersectionality, radical feminism, and critical race theory as inconsistent with biblical teachings.
The condemnation of Uganda's Anti-Homosexuality Act has exposed divisions within religious conservative circles. While some religious conservatives, like Ascol, have praised such laws, others vehemently oppose them.
Critics argue that these laws contribute to the marginalization, discrimination, and persecution of LGBTQ+ individuals, both in Uganda and globally.
