Two local Presbyterian ministers took the view that the debate over human sexuality and church polity obscured larger, more pressing issues.
What’s more, they said, by voting either for or against a policy change, the church makes a complicated subject that requires thoughtful discussion into a black-and-white matter that’s got a winning side and a losing side.
The Rev. Spike Coleman, of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in West Ashley, said many members of his church don’t follow General Assembly proceedings, or the debate of gay marriage and ordination, very closely.
“Not that it’s not an important issue,” he said. “For some people it’s very important, I realize that, but for most members they’re worried about their jobs and families and children.”
This all sounds familiar. Spike Coleman sounds like my rector in 2003 who said it would all blow over in 6 months. Also, I have news for Spike and Cress–they could be Episcopal bishops. (BTW ,do any Presbyterian ministers in Charleston have regular names?).
If my Church starts doing this, I will just stay home (after withdrawing from membership) and read my Bible with my family. I’m almost there now because we are members of the National Association of Evangelicals, the NAE. The NAE has made resolutions, [b]NAE Resolution on Immigration 2009 and NAE Resolution on Abortion 2010[/b]. The first calls for amnesty for illegal immigrants while the second calls for working with pro-abortion groups to distribute contraceptives to unmarried couples. Since my Church is a member of this organization, my offering money is being used to support the NAE. If my denomination stays with the NAE, I will attempt to lead our Church out of that denomination. Failing that, I will resign membership and cease all financial support.
The NAE was recently the subject of two scandals. The first was when its president was exposed as having had a three year relationship with a male prostitute and for using controlled substances. The second was when the VP for governmental affairs came out on NPR in support of same sex civil unions (as well as being a supporter of “Creation Care” – which is the Green effort to infiltrate the Church. So, if the Church continues on with this organization, I will no longer be part of it.
By the way, this all happend against the background of our Church changing its statement of faith to include “seeking justice for the oppressed”, while leaving that definition wide open as to just who the oppressed are. Are the oppressed the illegal immigrants or are they the people that have lost their meatpacking, construction, and auto body repair jobs to the flood of illegal immigrants that have stolen identities and have not paid taxes while taking jobs from Americans? The NAE has exercised very selective “compassion” in favor of the law breakers rather than our African-American brothers that are vying for the same jobs.
Oh, for those tempted to think I was being racist when I mentioned our African-American brothers, I had in mind that they are suffering unemployment disproportionately with a 17.5% unemployment rate nationally and a rate that exceeds 20% in five states.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/14/AR2010011404085.html
The illegal immigrants are stealing jobs and depressing wages for every ethnic group, not just the African-American community, but it does seem that blacks are being hit especially hard by the wave of illegals stealing their jobs.
Back to the point of the thread, and my response; the liberal trends seem to be tied together. The same folks in the Church pushing for same sex marriages are pushing for illegal immigrant amnesty. They couch the same sex marriage issue in terms of the civil rights movement and they charge racism in the amnesty issue. This seems like more than a coincidence. I know that there are activists infiltrating the Church to work harm.
Sick and Tired,
I had to search for a little bit to find this quote, but I think it encapsulates your premise. It’s from Ann Coulter, every liberal’s bete noire.
[blockquote]Whether it is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Weather Underground, Central Park rapists, Mumia Abu-Jamal, Jim Jones and the People’s Temple, welfare recipients, Palestinian terrorists, murderers, abortionists, strippers or common criminals — liberals always take the side of the enemies of civilization against civilization.[/blockquote]
Somehow these folks have taken what is usually a healthy American trait to root for the underdog and turned into into a constitutional right to be offended and claim victimhood. I leave it to the psychologists out there to define a name for behavior that allows one to feel guilty for having what you believe is a better life than someone else and assuaging your purported guilt by forcing changes in other person’s behaviors by force of law and taking their money through taxes to give it to the deserving (or whomever you consider deserving) victims; all the while without any of it having a significant impact on your quite comfortable lifestyle.