Emergent Church and Homosexuality

Conservatives have an acronym for Republicans that lean toward the Left. That word is RINO for Republicans in Name Only.

I just finished reading a story in WorldNetDaily about the Emergent Church movement. According to that story a principle figure in the loose Emergent Church movement supports the alternative lifestyle of homosexual and transgender as lifestyles that should be fully supported and embraced as normal by Christians.

Yes friends this is Counter-Biblical.

Since there are so many Churches that are considered Mainline Churches that have obviously abandoned the moral standard of the Bible, I thought it is time to have an acronym for these pseudo-Christians – Christians in Name Only or CINO.

Here is a list of Denominations that are fully or divisively CINOs in relation to alternative lifestyles contradicting Biblical Morality:

· Anglican (Episcopalian)

· Canadian and American Reformed Churches

· Christian Reformed Church

· Church of the Nazarene

· Lutheran (Marin Luther rolling grave)

· Mennonite

· United Methodist Church (UMC)

· Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA)

· Metropolitan Community Church

· Moravian Church

· New Apostolic Church

· United Reformed Church

· Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

· Swedenborgian Church

· Unification Church

· Unitarian/Universalist Church

· United Church of Canada

· United Church of Christ (UCC)

· Uniting Church in Australia

· Unity School of Christianity

· Waldensians

Source: Wikipedia.

This is obviously not an exhaustive list AND there are conservative Congregations within many of these Dominations which reject homosexuality because the Bible pronounces the practice as sin.

The point though is this: Including the Emergent Church way too many Denominations that call themselves Christians reject the Good Book as a foundation for morality. This is a sad state of affairs for the Institutional Body of Christ.

As a clarification of my stand on homosexuality, I do not believe those individuals who practice this alternate lifestyle should be treated as pariahs to the point of expressing hatorade. That is not the Way of Christ.

The Way of Christ is to share the Good News of deliverance from the dark wiles of the adversary – The Devil or Satan. Christians should not slip into animosity because of the rejection of the message of deliverance. The Bible says not to be unified with sin; however it also says to pray for those despitefully use you and abuse. Ephesians is even more specific:

16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[a] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all. (Eph. 1: 16 – 23 NKJV)

Christians should reject loudly any acceptance of the practice of homosexuality; however it is incumbent for Christians not to render evil for evil by shouting demeaning comments back toward homosexuals even when goaded to do so. Understand that homosexuals are deceived by darkness and pray the Holy Spirit illuminates the souls of homosexuals and convinces them there is a better way.

Emergent Church leaders such as Tony Jones who wish to validate homosexuality need to get in tune with the Word of God and eschew the pressure human-centered moral relativity.

JRH 11/23/08