Monday, October 8, 2007

THE INSTITUTIONAL CHURCH AS THE "ENEMY"

"Colin Hart, Director of the conservative evangelical Christian Institute, said: 'In a democratic society people must be free to express their beliefs without fear of censure. A homophobic hatred law would be used by those with an axe to grind against Christians to silence them....'" [For the full article, see here.]

Isn't it remarkable that the call of Jesus for us to be loving to others, to be agents of His grace in the world, has become so distorted, so twisted, that in the minds of many, professing Christians included, "Christianity" is identified with hatred and with the many dangers posed to LGBT people?

What an indictment against most of the institutional Church when laws seeking to prevent hateful rhetoric that can affirm discrimination against others, and lead to suicides, assaults, and murders of LGBT people, are viewed as "threatening" so-called "Christians'" "religious freedom."

This despicable mockery of Christianity by so many institutional Church leaders and their followers is an embarrassment to Christians worthy of the name, and also shows how dangerous these leaders and followers have become to the realization of Jesus' Great Commandments to us to love God and to love others!

And these limited, frequently hateful, human beings have caused, and continue to cause, untold harm to others through their justification of hatred and discrimination, as well as to the civility of a society that views itself as being comprised of decent human beings.

When what all too frequently purports to be "Christianity" becomes the enemy of Jesus, it has become the enemy of all Christians worthy of the name, and must be confronted for the enemy that it truly is.

What is equally disturbing is the profound silence of most others in the institutional Church when hatred is spewed from pulpits and other venues in the name of the Prince of Peace.

These haters and hate-mongers, and the cowards who give them a pass through their silence that serves to enable that hatred, have nothing to do with Jesus, and have nothing to do with Christ's Church!

Don't you think it's time that we told people the truth of this fact?
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4 comments:

DC HAMPTON JACOBS said...

Yes, it is time to tell the truth, and we're telling it. Let's hope at least a few LGBT are willing to hear it. Anyone who uses the pulpit to preach against Lesbians and Gay men is preaching the Holiness Code. They're trying to say Christians should abide by it, and that we are the same as the ancient Israelites. Anybody who's read the book of Galatians (and these so-called ministers should be familiar with it) knows that's falsehood! They're spouting hate speech and passing it off as doctrine, but their doctrine has nothing to do with Jesus Christ's teachings. Every one of these Holiness Code frauds ought to be sued for slander! What's more, their credentials should be challenged.

Jerry Maneker said...

Thanks for this comment, Don Charles. Not only does their doctrine have absolutely nothing to do with Jesus, but their hate speech should automatically cause Christians to give them absolutely no credibility, and if one is attending their churches, he/she should flee those churches as quickly as possible. Christianity is based on loving others, and if anything other than the Gospel of grace is being preached and lived out, that "church" is representing demonic forces, and is defaming our God of love, as it is defaming "Christianity" itself!

DC HAMPTON JACOBS said...

Right on, Jerry. But, oh, what a daunting task it is to expose this false prophesy! The Gospel of Grace has been overshadowed to the point where it's almost irrelevant to Christians. It really does seem to be true that if lies are told long enough and often enough, people will accept them as fact.

Jerry Maneker said...

Don Charles: That's why we have to educate people both about the reality of the lives of LGBT people while fighting for full and equal civil and sacramental rights, but also educate people about what Christianity really is, and not let those who are ignorant and/or mendacious define Christianity for those who have never been exposed to the real Gospel, the Gospel of grace, or God's unmerited favor to all those who trust Him over and above seen circumstances. These two goals are inextricably linked!