First the Episcopalians, now the Lutherans, who’s next?
August 19, 2009 by Jean-Paul Gilbert
Filed under Religion
Continuing the trend toward disregarding the Bible in favor of liberalized social trends, the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States is considering allowing ministers to engage in open homosexual relationships. Fox News reports that the ELCA (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) is debating a proposal that would allow congregations to hire open, practicing homosexuals as clergy. The first hurdle was cleared when a motion to require a supermajority vote was defeated.
This debate clearly demonstrates the pitfalls of allowing church teaching on social issues and morality to be subject to the voting process. Let’s start with the most obvious point: there is no Biblical basis for allowing God’s Word to be subject to a vote. God commands us to follow his Word; He doesn’t ask us if we would like to. In Exodus 20:1-17, God delivered the Ten Commandments to the Jews through Moses; He didn’t offer us Ten Suggestions. Note the use of words like commands and delivers. These words show us who is in control. It is not us.
By engaging in a flawed process that is not Biblically based, the ELCA is in danger of producing an outcome that is in direct opposition to God’s Word. We are all familiar with the numerous Bible verses that address the sinful nature of homosexual acts, but the issue here is much larger than the particular sinful practice being excused. A vote in favor of allowing pastors to openly engage in any sinful act sends a confusing and damaging message to all members of this denomination.
If ministers are allowed to blatantly disregard the Word of God at will because they prefer evolving social norms, how can anything the Bible states be taken seriously? What moral authority would such a minister have to teach and instruct members of the congregation? The obvious answer is NONE. The Bible will become just another study in philosophy rather than the rock-solid, unchanging, everlasting Truth that the Word of God IS.
Romans 6:11-12 (NAB) states:
“..you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, sin must not reign over your mortal bodies so that you obey their desires.”
This passage does not refer specifically to the issue of living an open homosexual lifestyle. Rather, homosexuality is an example of the type of sin referred to in this passage. Paul says that we must not give in to our desires and thereby let sin reign. Allowing sin to reign supreme is exactly what the ELCA is proposing to give sanction to. Join us at Chronicle Watch in praying that this is defeated, so they may be an example of what is right with the Church in America instead of another example of where it has gone terribly wrong.
Related Reading:
- ELCA Throws Out The Bible
- Donation by Guilt
- What Should Faithful Lutherans in the ELCA Do?
- Church Turns into Mosque, Only in America!
- The Indoctrination of our Youth
- Christians Beware; 10 years in Sing Sing Soon to Come.
- Evangelicals and Pentecostals Demand Amnesty for Illegal Aliens
This is very alarming – it seems to me that many churches and many people are conforming to worldly wants and needs – not God’s commandments. People say the Bible is old fashioned…. they say it’s prejudice – they make any excuse to honor their wants… But God is the same today… yesterday.. and will be tomorrow.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention.
Kelly
This is NOT a surprise to me, although it is sad. But it actually fulfills Bible prophecy and “separates the wheat from the chaff,” the ‘men from the boys.’ These days, I just call myself, “Christian” and I have been a serious student of the Bible for the past 30 years. Nobody ever promised that following Jesus Christ would be easy– but He should be our personal Lord and Savior! But we know there will be FALSE ‘Christians’ among us and the angels are sorting things out.
Tom Schuckman
Disabled Vietnam Veteran: 68-70
Jesus is Lord
See: TOM’S JOURNAL [blog]
So it’s ok to judge and condemn the acts of others as long as it’s done in accordance to “God’s word”? Thanks for clearing that up. We should all go tell that gay doctor who saved our loved one’s life that he/she is going to burn in hell for his/her sins. Then we’ll truely be good christians living by the word of god.
I also LOVE how literally you take the words in the bible – your example of “commands” and “delivers” is priceless. Here’s a little idea to ponder… The bible wasn’t originally written in English. It’s been translated many times through many languages over a very long period of time. Yet you treat every word (words that didn’t even exist when the bible was written) so literally. What a foolish thing to do. Remember in 3rd grade when we all played the telephone game? What was the end result there again? Please remind me (and yourself).
Viewing you religious zealots from the outside, there is always, without fail, one thread of commonality. Logical, rational thought and reasoning are simply and completely absent.
Tom and Kelly, thank you for your comments. You demonstrate an understanding of the fact that as Christians, we need to take the words contained in the Bible seriously and heed the Word of God.
Rockhopper, you on the other hand clearly reject the Bible as the Word of God. That is certainly your choice to make, but you need to understand that the Current Events section of this blog is all about one thing: applying the words contained in the Bible to news about the state of today’s Church, our nation, and the world.
You don’t add credibility to yourself or your positions by making inane points like the one about how many times the Bible has been translated. There are minor variations in the specific words that are used to convey the Word, but the point is still the same. Do you really believe that translations over time have skewed the meaning of words like “command” and “deliver” so much that the overall meaning of the passages have changed? Let’s take a look at the 1611 King James Version of the Bible. This passage is nearly 400 years old now:
Romans 6:11-12
The language has changed considerably in 400 years, but the meaning has not.
Now let’s address your scenario about the gay doctor saving your loved one’s life. You didn’t specify, but let’s assume that the doctor in question is a practicing homosexual (since it is certainly possibly to be inclined toward homosexuality but not act on it). Eternal life is not awarded on a points system. We don’t get positive points for doing great work during the day and then get negative points for committing sexual sin, and we go to heaven if our point total is positive. We are commanded (there is that word again) to follow God’s Word at all times and in every way. When we fail on occasion (and we will), we must be truly sorry and make a real change.
According to the Bible, will the doctor in your scenario go to Hell? Yes he will if he lives an unrepentant lifestyle of sin, no matter what he does during the day. Likewise, the abortion clinic doctor in Kansas who was recently murdered will also go to Hell according to the Bible despite the fact that he was actively involved in his church. Why? Because he spent Monday through Friday killing the innocent unborn. In other words, he was an unrepentant murderer. The fact that he believed in Jesus Christ wasn’t enough. So does Satan himself.
Accepting the fact that you are a sinner, accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and living life according to God’s Word, and repenting when we sin; that is the way to eternal life.
If logic, rationality, and reason are your idols, you can keep them. Give me Jesus!
Don’t these people know that one day they will stand before a Holy God and explain these gross sins. Every knee will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.