Wade Burleson

An Oklahoma pastor is heightening calls for a prominent Southern Baptist seminary president to step down or be removed after allegations were published Tuesday that the seminary president counseled a woman not to report a rape to police.

Emmanuel Enid, Oklahoma, lead pastor Wade Burleson previously called for Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (SWBTS) President Paige Patterson to step down or be removed from SWBTS and all leadership positions in the Southern Baptist Convention.

That call came after comments resurfaced in late April, in which Patterson counseled an abused wife to remain with and pray for her abuser and in which he joked about the physical attractiveness of a teenage girl.

Burleson said Tuesday it was imperative the trustees of SWBTS, who were then meeting in a special session over Patterson’s future at the seminary, remove Patterson after The Washington Post reported allegations from a woman who said Patterson encouraged her not to report the assault to police.

Rape allegation

The unnamed woman told The Post she was raped in 2003, while she was pursuing a ministry degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., where Patterson was then president.

A man reported by The Post as having been the alleged assailant’s roommate at the time said the woman told him of the assault not long after it allegedly occurred. The woman also provided to The Post an email from Southeastern’s dean of students referencing the alleged assault, The Post reported.

The woman said she reported the rape to a seminary administrator, who then reported it to Patterson, according to The Post.

The woman said Patterson met with her, along with several male seminarians, but Patterson and administrators did not report the incident to police and encouraged her also to not report the rape, The Post reported.

The woman said Patterson told her to forgive the alleged assailant, according to The Post.

In an April 9, 2003, letter, the seminary’s dean told the woman she “would be put on probation after the incident, with suspension or expulsion as possible next steps if there were subsequent behavior the school deemed inappropriate,” The Post reported.

The woman remained on probation at the seminary for two years, until she left the school in 2005, The Post reported.

The woman said she did not previously report or publicize her allegations because of Patterson’s reputation in the SBC and the respect she then held for his position, The Post reported.

And, the woman said she’s since forgiven the alleged rapist, The Post reported.

The Post said Patterson, Southwestern spokesman Charles Patrick and the alleged rapist did not respond to several requests for comment before the story was published.

An attorney for Southeastern, George H. Harvey, told the Post the seminary “is conducting an internal review of the 2003 incident,” The Post reported.

‘An unforgivable mistake’

Emmanuel Enid’s Burleson said he believes the allegations detailed Tuesday in The Post.

“There are reasons I have to believe every word this woman says,” Burleson said, “and at the appropriate time those reasons will be disclosed.”

He declined to comment further on his basis for believing the woman’s allegations, but said it’s likely she will come under character attack in the near future from within the SBC.

“The friends and loyalists of Dr. Patterson will have a tendency to attack the credibility of the victim,” Burleson said. “I think if they do that it will be an unforgivable mistake. Our prayers right now should go out to this victim and her family.”

Burleson said he believes he knows the identities of the male seminarians reportedly in the room when Patterson allegedly advised the woman not to report the rape.

“I have an idea of who the other men in that room are,” Burleson said, “and I would encourage them to do two things: one, do not lie; and two, seek forgiveness of the young woman you violated.”

Burleson commended the woman for finding the strength to forgive her assailant.

“I find it remarkable that the victim has forgiven her rapist,” Burleson said. “This young lady is a Christian and she will forgive the repentant, and some people don’t understand that.”

There’s a difference, Burleson said, between forgiving, and holding people accountable for their wrongs.

“I had someone say to me just today, there’s a difference between forgiveness and accountability,” Burleson said. “Even though the rapist is forgiven, he still must be held accountable for his actions.”

Patterson also must be held accountable, Burleson said, both for his past comments on women and the new allegation reported in The Post.

“If the trustees do not immediately remove Paige Patterson — and I’m not saying they assume he’s guilty, they may assume he’s innocent — but they need to remove him until they can determine guilt,” Burleson said, “and I’m confident with the number of people involved, guilt or innocence will be categorically established.”

Background on controversy

Controversy surrounding Patterson rose in late April after an audio clip surfaced of a 2000 interview on domestic abuse and divorce.

In the interview, Patterson said divorce is “always wrong counsel,” and he related an incident in which he advised an abused woman to kneel beside her bed and pray for her husband.

“‘Get ready, because he may get a little more violent when he discovers this,’” Patterson recalled telling the woman. “And sure enough, he did. She came to church one morning with both eyes black.”

Patterson said he was happy about the incident, because the husband came to church the next day and repented. He held it up to abused women as an example of the power of prayer.

“When nobody else can help, God can,” Patterson said, “and in the meantime you have to do what you can at home to be submissive in every way you can and to elevate him.”

Circulating with the audio clip was a video from a revival conference in 2014, in which Patterson joked about a teenage girl being “built,” saying “she wasn’t more than about 16, but let me just say, she was nice.”

An online petition of Southern Baptist women began circulating May 6, stating Patterson’s comments were “unbefitting the sober, wise, and sound character required of an elder, pastor, and leader,” and are “damaging, sinful, and necessitate a decisive response.” The petition had more than 3,200 signatures, as of Tuesday afternoon.

Trustees of SWBTS met in special session Tuesday at Patterson’s request. SWBTS officials were not immediately available for comment on this story.