A Fort Worth church has apologized after a guest speaker delivered a controversial sermon about slavery.
According to CBS News, Mike Keller was giving a sermon as a guest pastor at Fairpark Baptist Church earlier this year when he claimed that Black slaves were freed because they “humbled themselves” and prayed.
“A hundred-fifty years ago or 200 years ago, when the Blacks were slaves, did they ever go to Washington, D.C., and have a rally 200 years ago to protest against slavery?” Keller said at a June 25 service. “No. What did they do?”
“Here’s what the Blacks did about 150 years ago,” he continued. “They humbled themselves. They prayed. They sought God’s face and they turned from their wicked ways and God made slavery illegal through several white presidents. It worked, didn’t it? They didn’t protest.”
Keller also noted that “good people on plantations” helped slaves by teaching them how to read and building their churches.
After videos of the sermon went viral on social media, Fairpark Baptist Church condemned Keller’s comments.
“Fairpark Baptist Church affirms that racism and slavery are wrong, sinful, and violate the scriptures. As a part of our faith we would never condone slavery, or tolerate any kind of prejudice against people of color,” the church said in a statement.
Keller is the father-in-law of the church’s pastor and the father of reality star Anna Dugar, who appeared on the show 19 Kids and Counting.
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