Welcome to the second issue of David's Call, an e-zine for those who want to know. The topic of this editorial is the many changes taking place in the Church today and whether we're justified in changing traditional views, beliefs, and church values, in many cases replacing them with New Age thought.
Can the physical church of Jesus Christ change 20 Centuries of tradition simply because it has the earthly power to do so? In Vol. 1, No. 1 (July 99), you learned how Wesley Ariarajah, Methodist seminary professor, Drew Theological School, New Jersey, stated that it's time for the Christian church to dispense with the traditional evangelical ministry with Christ at the center. Instead, Ariarajah suggested that the church preach an earthly, universal salvation where anyone can find heaven regardless of whether they believe in Jesus Christ or not.
Ariarajah is not the only one in church leadership who is presently promoting such a non-traditional approach. Recently, Bishop Roy Sano, Los Angeles, spoke to a group of United Methodist Bishops, asking them to compare homosexuality to circumcision.
"Just as the early church decided not all Christians must be circumcised, so perhaps today's church should not require homosexuals to become hetrosexual or celibate, Sano suggested."[1]
According to the UM Action report, Sano made an attempt to "explain away" God's Word regarding homosexuality by redirecting the Bishops' attention to select portions of the Holy Bible that deal with inhospitality, prostitution and pederasty. (Pederasty is defined as: "sexual relations between two males, especially when one is a minor.")[2]
A change in ministry for some also include a more liberal stance where it comes to homosexuality and church leadership. For many years a growing movement toward a more liberal approach has been underway, but recently the Vatican, in rare public display, chastised Sister Jeannine Gramick and the Reverand Robert Nugent for their full and open acceptance of homosexuality in the church as well as their open ministry that centers around a pro-gay agenda.
According to Hanna Rosin, writer for the Washington Post, "By issuing a public 'notification' calling the pair's teachings 'erroneous and dangerous,' the Vatican resorted to a level of punishment it has used against American clergy only twice in the last 60 years, both times in the cases of errant theologians."[3]
Here we see that it's not enough that some members of Christ's glorious body want church leadership to fully embrace and promote homosexuality as normal and proper behavior, but they also want church leaders to allow gays to act as ministers in the church, teaching God's Word.
What exactly does God's Word say about homosexuality?
In Romans 1:24-27, it says, "Because men are such fools, God has given them over to do the filthy things their hearts desire, and they do shameful things with each other. They exchange the truth about God for a lie; they worship and serve what God has created instead of the Creator himself, who is to be praised for ever! Amen.
"Because of what men do, God has given them over to shameful passions. Even the women pervert the natural use of their sex by unnatural acts. In the same way the men give up natural sexual relations with women and burn with passion for each other. Men do shameful things with each other, and as a result they receive in themselves the punishment they deserve for their wrongdoing."[4]
Perhaps the question that all Christians should ask themselves is, "just how off center does a ministry have to become before we decide to turn away?" For example, should we sit in the pew every Sunday morning under the direction of a pastor who we know is deliberately and routinely disobeying God's Word? How bad must such a sin be before we, as members of a congregation, make the decision not to continue going to this particular church? Where do you suppose homosexuality resides along the chain of human sin and does God want a practicing homosexual to minister to us from the pulpit?
Perhaps the best way to answer this is to ask th