Baptist preacher gives Scottish congregation a ‘masterclass in misogyny’

An investigation has been launched into a sermon delivered by American pastor Donald Clough at Scotland's Moray Coast Baptist Church.

The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) launched an investigation into the Church after the National Secular Society (NSS) lodged a complaint with the organisation after it discovered that Clough had delivered a deeply sexist sermon to his congegation.

The sermon, according to the NSS, was posted on the church’s website, but—following a storm of outrage—cannot now be accessed unless one has a password.

But you really don’t need a password to hear the sermon that the church has decided to hide. If you have the stomach for Clough’s misogynistic bullshit, you can access it here (scroll down to October 17, 2021, to hear “The Conduct of Christian Women”, in which imbecile says housework is the “primary function” of women.

Moray Coast Baptist Church was registered as a charity in August.

Clough, pictured above, was originally an assistant pastor at the New Testament Baptist Church in Minnesota, USA.

Society would be a lot better if women would submit to their husbands

Clough said:

It’s not fitting or proper for a woman to exercise authority over men. As a woman, your role in the home is to submit to the authority and leadership of your husband, and to bring up godly children. And in the church your role is to submit to your pastor and the leadership of the men in the church.

He also said women “tend to be a little more easily deceived than men” in spiritual matters but that they save themselves “by focusing on the role that God has given to them”.

He added that the “primary function” of a woman is “to be married, to have children, and to tend to household affairs—the cooking, the cleaning, the washing up, the preparing of meals.”

He dug himself deeper by saying:

Society would be a lot better if women would submit to their husbands and tend to their children and take care of their home. The world wouldn’t be in the mess that it is in today if that were the case.

‘I only want my wife to look sensual when she’s around me’

Clough said men “tend to struggle” with “seeing a woman and having a desire for her”, but that women can “greatly help” by “not dressing in an immodest or a sensual way”.

He gave the example of his own wife, saying:

I wouldn’t want my wife going around looking like something the cat dragged in, as they say, or like she was wearing a sack or something like that, I want her to look nice. And I want other people to see how nice she looks. But I don’t want her to look sensual, only when she’s around me, but I don’t want her looking that way around other people and I don’t want her drawing attention to herself in a sensual way. And I don’t want her looking ugly but I don’t want her being extravagant to the point of excess.

NSS head of campaigns Megan Manson called the sermon:

A masterclass in misogyny. It’s shocking to think these sexist, patriarchal attitudes still exist in Scotland. It’s even more shocking to think that a leader in a registered charity which runs a children’s Sunday School would promote the subjugation of women.

And she pointed out:

In return for generous tax breaks, charities are meant to provide a public benefit and not cause likely detriment or harm. Promoting female subordination clearly doesn’t benefit the public—it merely fuels the misogyny underpinning discrimination, abuse and coercive control of women that the Scottish government says it is committed to ending. Unfortunately, OSCR’s hands may be tied, as it appears unwilling to act against charities promoting harmful ideas as long as those ideas are religious.

OSCR confirmed it is investigating a complaint about the church and when approached by the Daily Record, Mr Clough denied claims of misogyny.

The pastor said:

We believe that men and women occupy different roles, both within their homes (Ephesians 5:22-33) and within the churches (1 Timothy 2: 9-15), but this in no way means that women are inferior to men.

• Hat tip: Stephen Harvie

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