The Rev. Brent Hawkes, a gay rights activist and Canadian clergyman at the Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Toronto, has argued for the removal of the word “Savior” to describe Jesus Christ because the word is a “stumbling block” for many.
Rev. Hawkes, senior pastor emeritus of MCC and Founder of Rainbow Faith and Freedom, said that years ago there was one word in the church’s bedrock beliefs that “began for me to be uncomfortable, problematic,” and that word was “Savior.”
“I would hope that someday this church would see the possibility of changing that word because it is a stumbling block for so many who want to be here,” he said in a sermon posted on X this week, noting that he was “raised a strict fundamentalist Baptist.”
“It is a stumbling block for people to do interfaith work — how do we explain that word with Muslims and to Jews and to Hindus?” asked the reverend, who has been married to another man since 2006.
In place of the word “Savior,” Rev. Hawkes proposes using the word “guide,” because he believes it is less offensive to non-believers.
“I think the word ‘guide’ just as effectively describes the meaning that Jesus is the one who guides us back into a healing relationship with God — doesn’t say he’s the only guide,” he said.
The minister explained that many people who come to his church first check the website to see what the church is about, and many have found the word “Savior” to be problematic, because they “don’t believe that everyone has to accept Jesus as personal Lord and Savior like the fundamentalists say.”
