Last I checked, “pride” was considered the grandaddy of the seven deadly sins in the Christian faith.
Pretty much every one of the thinkers who dealt with this question in the first thirteen centuries of the church — from Pope Gregory I, who called it “the queen of sins” to Thomas Aquinas, who said it is “the cause whereby other sins are rendered more grievous” — agreed, and this was pretty much undisputed until the world started secularizing.
Now, we have a whole month dedicated to “pride” — in which another of the deadly sins, “lust,” is also heartily celebrated — and lo and behold, we have the left’s new favorite Christian prelate celebrating it heartily not just as a thing in itself but as an antidote to President Donald Trump.
Bishop Mariann Budde, the first female to hold that position in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and now on minute 13.5 of her latest 15 minutes of fame for her version of performative Christianity at the National Prayer Service after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January — announced in an interview with USA Today published Monday that she’s now praying for pride.
Because there’s nothing that tells you maybe — just maybe — woke Christianity is on the wrong track than praying for a month dedicated “the queen of sins,” which also involves the favorite sin of drag queens.
“I pray that it is a really joyful, inspiring gathering where people feel safe, where they feel seen, where they feel supported, where they can laugh and learn,” Budde said in the interview.
“Maybe it is a good antidote to some of the meaner rhetoric that has been unnecessarily hurtful. And just be a balm for people. We all need that,” she added.
Oh, brother. (Or is it “sister?”)
Budde — who drew rebukes after she asked that the new president “have mercy” upon “gay, lesbian, transgender children, Democratic, Republican, independent families, some who fear for their lives” and people who “may not be citizens or have the proper documentation” while presiding over the inaugural prayer service at the National Cathedral — went on to share an unintentionally hilarious quote about the “history” of “pride.”
Do you think any church leader should promote LGBT month?
“Pride historically has been this celebration and also an opportunity for churches like ours to witness and to say, ‘Hey, we want to celebrate you, the fullness of humanity, God’s love for all children,’” Budde said.
“This year is there a poignancy or urgency to that? I would say so because it feels as if there are some values, some accomplishments, some strides that are being called into question and a fairly aggressive effort on the part of many to take away some of the things that have been so hard fought for.
“It’s both a time of celebration and a reminder that this is who we are, and these are our beloved and this is who we stand with,” she added.
Speaking of history, Gregory I and Thomas Aquinas — pre-Reformation figures both, it’s worth noting, so individuals whose teachings should hold resonance for Christians of all denominations — may have something else to say about what the history of “pride” is.
It’s usually a joke among Christians that Episcopalianism is about one step away from Unitarian Universalism and two steps away from straight-up humanism. Here, it’s difficult to separate her from the humanists.
But then, what is she if not a prophet of pride?
And not just the LGBT rainbow-hued June version, which is on its way out in space year 2025 anyway. She’s an emissary of her own personal beliefs than of the Christian faith, as she seemed to acknowledge in an interview with “The View” after lecturing America on virtue from the pulpit.
“As I was pondering what are the foundations of unity, I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being,” she said.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde explains her pointed message to Pres. Trump at Tuesday’s inaugural prayer service: “My responsibility yesterday morning was to reflect, to pray with the nation for unity.”
“I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being.” pic.twitter.com/V9VtF9P1og
— The View (@TheView) January 22, 2025
“Knowing that a lot of people, as I said, in our country right now are really scared, I wanted to take the opportunity in the context of that service for unity to say we need to treat everyone with dignity, and we need to be merciful,” she added.
“I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarizing and in which people, real people, are being harmed.”
Now as always, this is the big grift: division in the name of countering division, “pride” as a virtue, polarization and harm in the name of offering “a balm for people.”
“There seems to be a lot to be gained by keeping us divided and to project really false statements onto whole groups of people. That has not stopped, which is just worrisome and a bit heartbreaking,” Budde said in the Monday interview.
“This is not, for me, a partisan thing,” she added, perhaps keeping a straight face as she said it. “But I do want to constantly stand for and remind people of the values that are bedrock to me as a person of faith, but also to our country and to emphasize that we have far more in common with one another than we differ.”
True: I think Americans of all creeds and colors can agree that you’re out for your own worldly gain. It’s debatable whether God is even quaternary or tertiary, much less secondary, to that.
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