CLARITY
A Biblical Response to Current Events – 8-24-18
Confusing
What’s Happening: “A Jesuit priest, James Martin, protested that the Catholic Church has not been ‘Building a Bridge’ (the title of his 2017 book) to the LGBTQ Community at the World Meeting of Families that Pope Francis is to address this weekend (https://www.yahoo.com/news/catholic-conference-hears-appeal-church-welcome-gay-people-155514166.html). In a separate news story, the Catholic Church is still reeling over the revelation that its Cardinals, Bishops and Priests have long been involved in a pedophilia ring that includes cover-ups and heinous secret acts of over 1,000 victims for 70 years (http://www.coolconversations.co/pedophilia-catholic-churches/). I’m a little confused and I’ll bet you are, too.. On the one hand, the Catholic Church is to welcome gays and on the other hand to condemn pedophelia?! Don’t they see the conflict here?”
Knee-Jerk Response: “Perhaps you’re being to Puritanical here. That’s why the church is losing membership…a big tent needs to be inclusive.”
Biblical Response: “I almost don’t know where to start. In the first place, the Puritans were our ancestors and they may have had restrictions on behavior that kept many practises in the closet (which is a myth – there is no closet if God can see through the walls – however, I agree that only activities brought out of the ‘closet’ can be dealt with). Secondly, The church (small ‘c’) may be losing members, but membership that swells due to inclusiveness or ‘modernism’ may not swell the rolls of the Church universal (large ‘C’)\…and maybe it shouldn’t. Moreover, much pedophilia gets its start in the LGBTQ community, though I dare say, they’d rather not talk about that.”
Christians? We are against ‘unnatural affection’ of any kind (Rom. 1:3; 2 Tim. 3:3; Col. 3:5); whether it’s homosexual or heterosexual the consent of the recipient must be a factor, and that within Scriptural bounds. You cannot give encouragement to one unrighteous behavior to disallow another.”
Here’s a Prayer You Can Pray: “Heavenly Father, give our leaders clear guidance as to what behavior they are to promote and what to plainly condemn
c; in Jesus’ Name, amen.”
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