Mark Driscoll's "Penis Homes" Controversy
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Overview
The Mark Driscoll Controversy refers to the ongoing online backlash against the American evangelical Christian pastor and author Mark Driscoll after a series of sexist remarks and quotes he had posted online in 2001 resurfaced and became widely publicized in early September 2014.
Background
In 2001, under the online handle William Wallace II, American evangelical author and preacher of the Seattle-based megachurch Mars Hill Church Mark Driscoll[1] wrote a blog post[2] detailing his thoughts on marital relations. Among the remarks were:
While His penis is on loan you must admit that it is sort of just hanging out there very lonely as if it needed a home, sort of like a man wondering the streets looking for a house to live in. Knowing that His penis would need a home, God created a woman to be your wife and when you marry her and look down you will notice that your wife is shaped differently than you and makes a very nice home.
Therefore, if you are single you must remember that your penis is homeless and needs a home. But, though you may believe your hand is shaped like a home, it is not. And, though women other than your wife may look like a home, to rest there would be breaking into another man’s home. And, if you look at a man it is quite obvious that what a homeless man does not need is another man without a home.
On April 18th, 2006, Driscoll published a book titled "Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church",[3] in which he reveals his pseudonymous online identity as William Wallace II. On July 27th, 2014, blogger WenatcheeTheHatchet submitted an article investigating some of Driscoll's earliest comments made under this identity.[4] On July 29th, writer and blogger Matthew Paul Turner expanded on these revelations in a blog post[5] which was then referenced on August 1st in an article by Christianity Today.[6] On September 8th, feminist blogger Libby Anne submitted a blog post[2] detailing her discovery of Driscoll's "penis homes" comments, causing the remarks to go viral on the internet.
Notable Developments
Leave of Absence
On August 25th, as numerous direct quotes of his misogynistic and homophobic views came to light in the blogosphere, Driscoll announced that he would be taking a six-week long leave of absence from the church.
News Media Coverage
The resulting controversy was covered extensively by online news and op-ed sites, including The Independent,[7] Jezebel,[8] Huffington Post,[9] and MailOnline,[10] with many of the sites noting that Driscoll's chain of megachurches had been struggling financially in recent times. The controversy was also taken as an opportunity to criticize many other comments that he had made in the past; on September 9th, Vocativ published an article titled "Sexist, Homophobic Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Greatest Hits", which detailed many of his controversial remarks.[13] On September 9th and 10th, the cartoonist nakedpastor satirized Driscoll's remarks in two cartoons[11][12]respectively (shown below) .
Online Reactions
The news was met with backlash and mockery from the online community. On September 8th, redditor booyatrive submitted an article about the controversy to /r/nottheonion, where it has received over 2500 points.[14] On September 9th, the novelty Twitter account @PenisHomes[15] was created amidst critical comments and ridicule from Twitter users (example below).
Mark Driscoll, can I be part of the Mars Hill singles ministry? #nofilter pic.twitter.com/VardYYpgWa
— Stephanie Drury--SCCL (@StuffCCLikes) September 9, 2014 Search Interest
External References
[1] Wikipedia – Mark Driscoll
[2] Patheos – Pastor Mark Driscoll Called Women 'Penis Homes'
[3] Amazon – Confessions of a Reformission Rev.: Hard Lessons from an Emerging Missional Church
[4] WenatcheeTheHatchet – The historical and social setting for Mark Driscoll's development of William Wallace II as a pen name, a kind of postlude/preface to 'Pussified Nation'
[5] Matthew Paul Turner – Mark Driscoll’s Pussified Nation…
[6] Christianity Today – Mark Driscoll Addresses Crude Comments Made Trolling as 'William Wallace II'
[7] The Independent – Mars Hill church closes branches after founder Mark Driscoll calls women 'penis homes'
[8] Jezebel – Megachurch Prick Mark Driscoll: Women Are Homes for Penises
[9] Huffington Post – Mark Driscoll, Women as Penis Houses, and Crumbling Temples
[10] MailOnline – Megachurch closes branches after pastor calls women 'penis homes'
[11] Nakedpastor – Mars Hill Church branches close: less homes for penis homes
[12] Nakedpastor – Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, and women
[13] Vocativ – Sexist, Homophobic Pastor Mark Driscoll’s Greatest Hits
[14] Reddit – Evangelical megachurch begins closing branches after pastor calls women 'penis homes'
[15] Twitter – @PenisHomes
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