Megachurch Pastor Ed Young to Baptize Copies of 'Fifty Shades of Grey;' Calls Book a 'Perverted Attempt to Trap Readers'
Just over a week before the steamy "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie opens on Valentine's weekend, controversial founding pastor of the popular Fellowship Church in Dallas, Texas, Ed Young, says he will baptize copies of the book on which the movie is based, calling it a "perverted attempt to trap readers."
"There is a cultural epidemic out there that is wrapped up in complete fantasy. The book, Fifty Shades of Grey, is a perverted attempt to trap readers and leads them to a misunderstanding of what intimacy and connection are all about," said Young in a press statement Wednesday.
THIS WEEKEND at @FC I'm going to baptize fantasy and raise up reality!! #FiftyShadesOfTheyhttp://t.co/JsppjML9mW
— Ed Young (@EdYoung) February 5, 2015
"It is a pathetic distortion of a more powerful reality about relationships. God is not anti-sex, and he isn't grey when it comes to relationships. I want to wake people up to the reality that God's purpose and plan for their lives is so much greater!" he added.
Young, who's a New York Times best-selling author who wrote the book Sexperiment, addresses the power of healthy relationships in his latest book, Fifty Shades of They.
"You show me your friends and I'll show you your future. Relationships drive so much of our lives. It's time to start looking realizing the truth and put away the twisted falsehood. And it's time to answer the question, 'Are your desires fulfilled in a sexual fantasy, or a relational reality?" he asked.
The megachurch pastor says he'll be raising awareness about the perversion of Fifty Shades of Grey by baptizing copies of the book at locations in Dallas, Miami, Florida and London, England.
"The sad thing is that so many have fallen prey to what that book represents and have missed out on the truth that God has a better way and purpose for them. By baptizing the fantasy of that book and raising to life the reality of God's plan, I want to show people that it comes down to one thing — fantasy vs. reality!" he continued.