Biblical Concepts Ministries releases "Christian voters' guide" for Jax voters

A few weeks back, for my column in Folio Weekly, I interviewed Raymond Johnson of Biblical Concepts Ministries. Johnson, a local political consultant, had put together the Biblical Concepts Ministries 2015 Duval County Candidates Christian Voter Guide Survey, which aimed “to educate Christians in our local churches on where candidates stand on these moral, biblical and cultural issues.”

I had a wide-ranging interview with Johnson, who had some interesting thoughts.

Intrigued, I called Johnson last week to ask him about this questionnaire. He told me there was “nothing radical, weird, or arrogant about these questions.” They just needed to be asked because, well, “people just aren’t educated: They don’t know much.” Thus, he sent out a “relevant survey — typical Christian voter guide for a normal Christian group.”

Our conversation lasted a half-hour. I heard his unique take on homosexuals: “They are mentally and emotionally ill, where they’re sodomizing themselves, and we’re telling them [with the human rights ordinance expansion] that it’s OK.”

And I heard his take on Parvez Ahmed, a Fulbright scholar appointed to the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission by then-Mayor John Peyton: “Parvez Ahmed specifically is one of the major moral issues City Council has faced in the last four years, this and the HRO. We have to know where these people stand. Either you’re completely ignorant of national security or you’re not.”

The questions dealt with issues such as those presented by Ahmed and the Human Rights Ordinance, as well as questions about marijuana, the Bible, and how soon after conception life actually begins.

At the time, Johnson told me he had trouble getting people to respond to this survey; it seems that now, he’s had some luck getting responses. He got two incumbent council members, Kim Daniels and Doyle Carter, to respond, as well as 11 challengers. None  who responded to the survey (except Carter) are endorsed by the Jax Chamber, which points to a real divide in Jacksonville between market conservatives and religious fundamentalists. One mayoral candidate, Omega Allen, responded to the survey, with the three frontrunners steering clear. Two sheriff’s candidates, Jay Farhat and Rob Schoonover, responded to a modified survey that wasn’t so idiosyncratic.

The vast majority of responses were friendly to the demographic. A few deviations were to be found, such as Allen offering “limited conditional support” for an anti-discrimination amendment for LGBT citizens. One council candidate, Wendell Sams, a Democrat running in District 7, proclaimed support for protective legislation.

The introduction to the Biblical Concepts Ministries voter guide leads with an especially hard-line position in opposition to anti-discrimination legislation:

The most serious moral/biblical issue City Council and the mayor’s office had before them over the last four years, was the so called Human Rights Ordnance also known as an “Anti-Discrimination Bill.” This local ordinance would add the words “sexual orientation, gender identity and sexual expression to current discrimination laws. This bill was defeated by ONE Vote, and will be brought to a vote before the newly elected Council.

Such a law will impact your family, church and business. Such an ordinance opposes Biblical Marriage. Stifles Religious liberty of all Churches and Christian Businesses. Forces churches to perform same sex weddings if church performs weddings for non-members. Allows Trans-Genders into restroom of choice. Allows Pedophiles into restrooms of their choice.