Anti-gay US pastor Steven Anderson has declared that New Zealand is “in trouble” with God after it became the 34th country he is barred from visiting.
The leader of Arizona’s fringe Faithful Word Baptist Church, who supports the death penalty for homosexuality and openly celebrated the massacre at Orlando’s Pulse gay club, had applied for a visa to visit New Zealand for a missionary trip.
However, in a YouTube video on October 17 he shared a letter informing him that his request had been declined because he does not meet “character requirements”.
The letter cites the plethora of other countries that have excluded Anderson – which includes Australia, Canada, Botswana, Jamaica, South Africa, Ireland and the United Kingdom. He is also banned from the Schengen area, the common European travel area consisting of 26 countries, bringing the total to 34.
God will ‘punish’ New Zealand, claims anti-gay preacher Steven Anderson.
In the video, Anderson vented: “According to them, preaching what the Bible actually says about Sodomites is ‘a lack of character’… Well, you know what? If that’s what it means to have character then I don’t want to have character.”
He added: “I am a soul-winning Christian, a Bible-believing Christian that wanted to go to New Zealand to preach the gospel … and they won’t receive me.
“You know what? God is not going to bless these countries for that, and if I were you and I were living in New Zealand or Australia, I’d be on my knees praying to God that he will be merciful and that he would forgive your country for doing this.
“I would at least do something to withhold the wrath of God for your country, because these countries are just getting worse and worse.”
Anderson warned: “God is not going to bless a country that is turning away a missionary… when somebody is coming to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they block that, they are going to be under the wrath of God and the punishment of God… Australia in New Zealand are in trouble with the Lord.”
YouTube hosts anti-LGBT pastor’s content.
YouTube continues to routinely host Anderson’s anti-LGBT content.
Speaking after the attack on Pulse nightclub in June 2016, Anderson said: “The good news is that there’s 50 less paedophiles in this world, because, you know, these homosexuals are a bunch of disgusting perverts and paedophiles.”
Speaking about HIV/AIDS, he has suggested: “If you execute the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have AIDS.”