Rick Scarborough: Former Pastor Will Not Be Setting Himself On Fire Now That The Supreme Court Voted In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage
Words spoken by Rick Scarborough on the National Emergency Coalition podcast last week were taken too literally. Multiple media outlets reported that Scarborough claimed he would set himself on fire if the Supreme Court voted to allow same-sex marriages nationwide.
When the historic news broke today that the Supreme Court voted 5-4 ruling that same-sex couples can get married anywhere in the United States, many people were wondering if Rick Scarborough was going to follow through on his threat.
During the podcast, Rick Scarborough was asked how deep the devotion ran with him and his followers in regards to “traditional values.” Scarborough replied by saying “we are not going to bow, we are not going to bend, and if necessary we will burn.” The last part of his statement is what made people believe that Rick was planning to set himself on fire based on his devotion to his values.
Rick Scarborough issued a statement to KFYO News clarify what he meant in his statement.
“I made that comment to paraphrase a spiritual song, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in which the three were given a choice—to bow to the image of Nebucahdnezzar or burn in a furnace. We will burn means that we will accept any sanction from the government for resisting today’s Supreme Court decision. We do not support any violence or physical harm.”
It did not take long for the topic of Rick Scarborough setting himself on fire to be discussed on social media. A Facebook community named “Help Pastor Rick Scarborough keep his promise” was created and has 231 likes, while Twitter had many tweets dedicated to the topic as well.
I’m sure pastor Rick Scarborough isn’t gonna set himself on fire & the online story about it has been removed #LoveWins #EqualityForAll
— HopelessAndFluffy (@HopelessFluffy) June 27, 2015
#RickScarborough if you postpone your plan a few weeks, you can tie it into a viral marketing campaign with the new #FantasticFour movie…
— ryan shipley (@elry2009) June 27, 2015
Got my marshmallows… Where’s Rick Scarborough?
— The LA Lady (@Laladyblog) June 27, 2015
Your move, Rick Scarborough.
— 23 of 191 updates (@Dinosaur_McG) June 27, 2015
#LIARLIARYOURPANTSARENTONFIRE #LIARLIARYOURPANTSARENTONFIRE #LIARLIARYOURPANTSARENTONFIRE #LIARLIARYOURPANTSARENTONFIRE #RickScarborough!
— Duncan McNeil (@DuncanMcReal) June 27, 2015
I bet #RickScarborough is feeling pretty heated about today’s news headlines!
— Peyton Ryan White (@ThatPeytonKid) June 27, 2015
The words of Rick Scarborough were simply taken out of context. He was never going to do what people thought he would.
What are your thoughts on Rick Scarborough? Did you really think he was going to set himself on fire?
[Image via Alex Wong/Getty Images]
