Pro-gay religious Left condemns ‘toxic’ Evangelical Nashville Statement defending Biblical morality
September 1, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-LGBTQ theologians and activists are feverishly attacking the evangelical Nashville Statement that upholds biblical sexual morality, as a religious Left counter-statement declared it “toxic” and against the “Holy Spirit.”
Though liberal media and blogs referred to the pro-LGBTQ counter-statement as by “Christian leaders,” their propositions are antithetical to longstanding biblical teachings on sex and marriage. Historically the vast majority of Christians have believed that the Holy Spirit is a person of the triune God, that homosexual sodomy is an abomination (i.e., “detestable”), and that all sex outside of marriage between a man and woman is sinful.
As LifeSiteNews reported, the evangelical Nashville Statement, signed by more than 150 evangelical and church leaders and issued Tuesday, reflects this 2,000-year-old strain of Christianity. It is composed of 14 affirmations and denials, includes biblically-based teachings on homosexuality, transgenderism and sexual purity (chastity), including:
WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church. WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.
WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing. WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.
WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life. WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.
WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness. WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.
Among the signers were five members of the president’s Evangelical Advisory Board, including James Dobson and The Stream publisher James Robison, and other evangelical leaders, including: Albert Mohler, theologian and seminary professor Wayne Grudem; WORLD magazine editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky; author and host of “Revive Our Hearts” Nancy Lee DeMoss; “Truth for Life’s” pastor and radio preacher Alistair Begg, and popular Christian author John MacArthur.
LGBT counter-statement redefines “sin”
Pro-LGBT Catholic priest and Vatican communication adviser Fr. James Martin is among those on the religious Left who have forcefully condemned the evangelical statement, as LSN reported.
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A theologically liberal coalition quickly issued a counter-statement to the Nashville document. Going under the name "Christians United," the leftist response reverses the historic Christian understanding of homosexuality as a sin and replaces it with the "sin of exclusion," of which it calls on the Church of Jesus Christ" to repent.
The leftist “Christians United” statement is being promoted by a host of pro-LGBT groups, including the well-funded LGBTQ lobby Human Rights Campaign, which slammed the evangelical Nashville Statement as a “vicious attack on LGBTQ people.”
The following is the pro-LGBTQ “Christians United” counter-statement’s first Article:
“WE AFFIRM that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and that the great diversity expressed in humanity through our wide spectrum of unique sexualities and gender identities is a perfect reflection of the magnitude of God's creative work. “WE DENY any teaching that suggests God's creative intent is limited to a gender binary or that God's desire for human romantic relationships is only to be expressed in heterosexual relationships between one man and one woman.”
The leftist counter-statement’s preamble accuses Christians who oppose LGBTQ lifestyles of resisting the Holy Spirit: “Throughout our history, those who have been on the leading edge of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work have often found themselves initially excluded, marginalized, and demonized by some of those within established Christian institutions. In the twenty-first century, we believe that the Church finds itself once again on the brink of a new reformation, one which in which the Holy Spirit is calling us to return to the Scriptures and our traditions in order to re-examine our teachings on human sexuality and gender identity.”
Article 5 of the leftist Christians United statement claims that God created people to be gender-confused and that “transgender” ideology is faithful to God:
“WE AFFIRM that while the male and female gender identity reflects a majority of the human family, God has created individuals whose gender identity does not fall on such a binary spectrum. We also affirm that there are many transgender individuals who are born with a physical body that is incongruent with their true gender identity, and these individuals should be supported and trusted in regards to their own self-knowledge of who they are and how God has created them. “WE DENY that forcing individuals to embrace a gender identity that matches the cultural assumptions based on their biology is a healthy practice and that the heterosexual, male/female binary is the only consistent reflection of God's holy purposes in Creation.”
Ex-“gay”: leftists lies are Satan’s lies
Greg Quinlan, a former homosexual and evangelical Christian who heads up Garden State Families in New Jersey, was outraged by what he said are the “shocking blasphemies” contained in the leftist response to the Nashville Statement.
“A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie. This is straight out of the mouth of the liar himself, Satan,” Quinlan told LifeSiteNews. “Everything God did in diversity is rooted solely in His created biology. This evil LGBT statement is not rooted in biology. It’s rooted in people’s passions and lusts. It’s rooted in sexual chaos.”
Describing the “Christians United” document, the former “gay” activist Quinlan, citing the Gospel of John, chapter 10, said, “In order to rationalize their lifestyles and their own lusts, they have to destroy the Word of God. But the teachings of Jesus Christ are clear: we are to conform to Him, who was a witness of the Father.”
“From the beginning, Satan wanted to change God into his image,” he said. “Every lie from the beginning has been about redefining and undermining God’s purpose for mankind.”
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The leftist counter-response was signed by: Dr. Paula Williams, a board member of The Gay Christian Network; pro-LGBT "evangelical" blogger Rachel Held Evans; former conservative, "ex-gay" evangelical-turned LGBT activist Randy Thomas, and others. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lifesitenews.com/mobile/news/pro-gay-religious-left-condemns-toxic-evangelical-nashville-statement-defen
Though liberal media and blogs referred to the pro-LGBTQ counter-statement as by “Christian leaders,” their propositions are antithetical to longstanding biblical teachings on sex and marriage. Historically the vast majority of Christians have believed that the Holy Spirit is a person of the triune God, that homosexual sodomy is an abomination (i.e., “detestable”), and that all sex outside of marriage between a man and woman is sinful.
As LifeSiteNews reported, the evangelical Nashville Statement, signed by more than 150 evangelical and church leaders and issued Tuesday, reflects this 2,000-year-old strain of Christianity. It is composed of 14 affirmations and denials, includes biblically-based teachings on homosexuality, transgenderism and sexual purity (chastity), including:
WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church. WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.
WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing. WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.
WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life. WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.
WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness. WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.
Among the signers were five members of the president’s Evangelical Advisory Board, including James Dobson and The Stream publisher James Robison, and other evangelical leaders, including: Albert Mohler, theologian and seminary professor Wayne Grudem; WORLD magazine editor-in-chief Marvin Olasky; author and host of “Revive Our Hearts” Nancy Lee DeMoss; “Truth for Life’s” pastor and radio preacher Alistair Begg, and popular Christian author John MacArthur.
LGBT counter-statement redefines “sin”
Pro-LGBT Catholic priest and Vatican communication adviser Fr. James Martin is among those on the religious Left who have forcefully condemned the evangelical statement, as LSN reported.
Advertisement
A theologically liberal coalition quickly issued a counter-statement to the Nashville document. Going under the name "Christians United," the leftist response reverses the historic Christian understanding of homosexuality as a sin and replaces it with the "sin of exclusion," of which it calls on the Church of Jesus Christ" to repent.
The leftist “Christians United” statement is being promoted by a host of pro-LGBT groups, including the well-funded LGBTQ lobby Human Rights Campaign, which slammed the evangelical Nashville Statement as a “vicious attack on LGBTQ people.”
The following is the pro-LGBTQ “Christians United” counter-statement’s first Article:
“WE AFFIRM that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and that the great diversity expressed in humanity through our wide spectrum of unique sexualities and gender identities is a perfect reflection of the magnitude of God's creative work. “WE DENY any teaching that suggests God's creative intent is limited to a gender binary or that God's desire for human romantic relationships is only to be expressed in heterosexual relationships between one man and one woman.”
The leftist counter-statement’s preamble accuses Christians who oppose LGBTQ lifestyles of resisting the Holy Spirit: “Throughout our history, those who have been on the leading edge of the Holy Spirit's sanctifying work have often found themselves initially excluded, marginalized, and demonized by some of those within established Christian institutions. In the twenty-first century, we believe that the Church finds itself once again on the brink of a new reformation, one which in which the Holy Spirit is calling us to return to the Scriptures and our traditions in order to re-examine our teachings on human sexuality and gender identity.”
Article 5 of the leftist Christians United statement claims that God created people to be gender-confused and that “transgender” ideology is faithful to God:
“WE AFFIRM that while the male and female gender identity reflects a majority of the human family, God has created individuals whose gender identity does not fall on such a binary spectrum. We also affirm that there are many transgender individuals who are born with a physical body that is incongruent with their true gender identity, and these individuals should be supported and trusted in regards to their own self-knowledge of who they are and how God has created them. “WE DENY that forcing individuals to embrace a gender identity that matches the cultural assumptions based on their biology is a healthy practice and that the heterosexual, male/female binary is the only consistent reflection of God's holy purposes in Creation.”
Ex-“gay”: leftists lies are Satan’s lies
Greg Quinlan, a former homosexual and evangelical Christian who heads up Garden State Families in New Jersey, was outraged by what he said are the “shocking blasphemies” contained in the leftist response to the Nashville Statement.
“A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie. This is straight out of the mouth of the liar himself, Satan,” Quinlan told LifeSiteNews. “Everything God did in diversity is rooted solely in His created biology. This evil LGBT statement is not rooted in biology. It’s rooted in people’s passions and lusts. It’s rooted in sexual chaos.”
Describing the “Christians United” document, the former “gay” activist Quinlan, citing the Gospel of John, chapter 10, said, “In order to rationalize their lifestyles and their own lusts, they have to destroy the Word of God. But the teachings of Jesus Christ are clear: we are to conform to Him, who was a witness of the Father.”
“From the beginning, Satan wanted to change God into his image,” he said. “Every lie from the beginning has been about redefining and undermining God’s purpose for mankind.”
Advertisement
The leftist counter-response was signed by: Dr. Paula Williams, a board member of The Gay Christian Network; pro-LGBT "evangelical" blogger Rachel Held Evans; former conservative, "ex-gay" evangelical-turned LGBT activist Randy Thomas, and others. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.lifesitenews.com/mobile/news/pro-gay-religious-left-condemns-toxic-evangelical-nashville-statement-defen
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