The Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary announced on Wednesday evening that they had decided to fire Patterson:
During the May 30, 2018, Executive Committee meeting of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) Board of Trustees, new information confirmed this morning was presented regarding the handling of an allegation of sexual abuse against a student during Dr. Paige Patterson’s presidency at another institution and resulting issues connected with statements to the Board of Trustees that are inconsistent with SWBTS’s biblically informed core values.
Patterson had served as the school’s president until earlier this month. Public outrage over Patterson’s comments on sexual harassment and sexuality—he had preached that abused women should not divorce violent husbands, and described a 16-year-old girl as “built” and “very attractive” in a sermon illustration—originally encouraged seminary trustees to accelerate his retirement. But Patterson retained a salary, the title of president emeritus, and free on-campus housing.
Later reporting by The Washington Post revealed that Patterson, as president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, told a rape victim to forgive her assailant and discouraged her from filing a police report. Female graduates of SWBTS also told me that Patterson fostered a discriminatory environment on campus, and once delivered a sermon that seemed to blame immodest women for their own sexual abuse.
