The Baptist Minister is one of the most conservative ministers in Laramie and the head of a large congregation at the local Baptist church. The Baptist Minister considers himself a “Biblicist,” meaning that he believes in reading the Bible literally and word-for-word. The Baptist Minister, who is firmly against homosexuality, speaks on the phone with Amanda Gronich, telling her that, although he does not condone Matthew Shepard’s murder, he sees it as a kind of justice for Matthew’s gay “lifestyle.” In general, the Baptist Minister seems to see violence as a fitting punishment for what he deems to be moral transgressions, and while he believes that Matthew’s death was fitting punishment for his sexuality, he also believes that Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson deserve the death penalty for their deeds. The Baptist Minister expresses an ideological orientation towards violence and offers an image of God and justice as vengeful and unforgiving.
The Baptist Minister Quotes in The Laramie Project
The The Laramie Project quotes below are all either spoken by The Baptist Minister or refer to The Baptist Minister. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Dramatists Play Service edition of The Laramie Project published in 2001.
Act 2: Lifestyle 2
Quotes
Now, those two people, the accused… I think they deserve the death penalty…Now as for the victim, I know that that lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing. I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him—and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle.
Related Characters:
The Baptist Minister (speaker), Matthew Shepard, Aaron McKinney, Russell Henderson, Amanda Gronich
Related Symbols:
The Fence
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Baptist Minister Character Timeline in The Laramie Project
The timeline below shows where the character The Baptist Minister appears in The Laramie Project. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1: The Word
The Baptist Minister recites what seem to be Amanda Gronich’s memories of his sermon. The Baptist Minister says...
(full context)
...family as “one woman and one man and children,” which cannot by deviated from. The Baptist Minster adds that his followers may be criticized for their faith, but they must follow the...
(full context)
...Shepard. He says that they use the Bible as a way to defend their views. The Baptist Minister describes himself as a “Biblicist” and says that, regardless of people’s beliefs, the Bible is...
(full context)
Act 1: Lifestyle 1
This moment consists of a phone call between Amanda Gronich and the wife of the Baptist Minister . Amanda introduces herself over the phone and explains her reason for calling. She talks...
(full context)
Act 2: Lifestyle 2
Amanda Gronich calls back the Baptist Minister . The Baptist Minister tells Amanda he does not really want to talk about Matthew...
(full context)
The Baptist Minister notes that he thinks Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson deserve the death penalty. The minister...
(full context)
