“How can some pastors be in favor of homosexual behavior when the Bible is so clearly against it?”

9/30/2021

(The following article was written by Rev. Tom Brock of pastorsstudy.org. You can follow Pastor Brock on Facebook - here and Twitter - here.)

I have heard that question more than once and the below video shows an attempt by a congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to make the Bible say what it doesn’t say. For 2000 years virtually all Christians have understood the Bible to be against homosexual behavior, but a new “woke” interpretation of Scripture has sprung up showing that all the Christians before us were in darkness and now we are enlightened. I don’t think so.

I knew the pastor who served this congregation back in the 1990’s. He was a biblical, godly man. But today’s pastor below announces her preferred pronouns before sharing the new, “enlightened” interpretation of the Bible. This goes to show that a church can go from godly to awful in a matter of a few years if it has the wrong leadership. And this pastor— and the ELCA in general—is the wrong leadership.

Sincerely in Christ,

Pastor Tom Brock

3 Comments

Didaskalos link

12/27/2021 07:30:36 am

The ELCA's "study"-driven but foundationally sin-spurred eisegesis of the Bible changes neither the Bible nor its Author. What has changed since the 1993 ELCA Council of Bishops' biblical stance against sexual sin is the current ELCA leadership's endorsement of taking the wide gate and broad road that lead to eternal destruction. [Matthew 7:13]

ELCA Council of Bishops, 1993: "Neither the scriptures nor the Lutheran Confessions grant any authorization to the church to recognize as divinely approved any relationship other than the marriage of one man and one woman for the full expression of human sexuality...There is basis neither in Scripture nor tradition for the establishment of an official ceremony by this church for the blessing of a homosexual relationship. We, therefore, do not approve such a ceremony.."

Martin Luther similarly warns the ELCA:
[on Galatians 5:16] “Persisting in sin is disastrous...Those who obey the sinful nature and continue to gratify its desires should know that they don’t belong to Christ. Even though people may label themselves with the name ‘Christian,’ they are only deceiving themselves.” (LW, 27:80)

Most importantly, the Bible warns the ELCA:
'A theological stress test: When we change our views on sex, that’s never all that changes'
-- https://wng.org/opinions/a-theological-stress-test-1639142848
“The temptation for the Christian is to convince oneself that changing one’s views on homosexuality is relatively inconsequential, like taking a new position on the millennium or deciding that it’s okay to eat out on Sundays. And yet, sexual sin is never considered adiaphora, a matter of indifference, an agree-to-disagree issue like food laws or holy days (Romans 14:1-15:7). To the contrary, sexual immorality is precisely the sort of sin that characterizes those who will not enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21). There are at least eight vice lists in the New Testament (Mark 7:21-22; Romans 1:24-31; 13:13; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Galatians 5:19-21; Colossians 3:5-9; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Revelation 21:8), and sexual immorality is included in every one of them, usually multiple times and often at the head of the list. You would be hard-pressed to find a sin more frequently, more uniformly, and more seriously condemned in the New Testament. Sexual immorality has always been a proving ground for whether we will take God at his word. As Wheaton professor Doug Moo points out, “In Paul’s day, as well as in ours, sex was an area in which biblical standards clashed especially harshly with contemporary mores” (631).

“Most Christian ministries and Christian leaders will not change their sexual ethics right away. The process of capitulation usually follows a certain, now-predictable pattern: first, we hear how complicated the issue is and how we need more time to study, then there is the phase of intellectual agnosticism and indecision about which way to go, next comes total affirmation of homosexual behavior, followed finally by frequent vituperation against those who have not embraced the new morality.”

Rebecca

12/29/2021 08:19:06 pm

Just enough truth to be really dangerous!! These people are so lost in their designer reading of the Bible. They also, like some other groups, put the books they like on par with the Holy Scriptures. Such deceived people. Yes, God loves them, and I pray they will allow Holy Spirit to open the Word to them. Jesus died for them and I pray they will come to understand that. I pray
God protects the innocents from hearing and believing this garbage being "so lovingly" being expressed.

Paul

1/2/2022 02:06:51 pm

My local experience with the ELCA (to which I no longer belong) shows that the ELCA seems very confused in its identity. On the one hand, there are pastors who act very “Catholic” and utterly reject the conservative German Lutheran identities of the past, trying so hard to distance themselves from LCMS (which I view as being far superior to both the ELCA and even the new conservative splinter groups). Yet at the same time, there are actions that resemble a very watered-down lazy version of Christianity. And when you throw the ELCA’s Bible-contradicting theology and immoral stances on many issues, you have an even more confused mess.

I was unaware until recently that the ELCA is now including verses from several non-canonical books in their lectionary. For example, today’s lectionary for 01/02/2022 has options for the books of Sirach and Wisdom. These are apocryphal books found only in Catholic and “Orthodox” churches. I haven’t gone through the entire lectionary but I am certain I will find more examples.

I am aware of several local pastors who openly travel together to spend time at Catholic Monasteries for retreats and they have taken courses in painting icons. Icons are not a part of Lutheran tradition, they are very Catholic/Orthodox. Now there are several congregations with icons placed in the sanctuary and in small prayer areas.

Some of these local pastors, who share ideas within their regional synods and clusters, have also begun setting up private confessional areas with the church. These local churches are also, as we speak, raising donations to build bell towers, labyrinths, bell choir equipment, and incense burners. What’s next, monstrances and tabernacles??

Yet due to COVID, these same churches are also falling very short of their lofty “high church” goals because they have become very lax in their actual worship. From watered-down liturgy, to fast-food style celebration cups for Communion, to online worship, these churches have taken the Sabbath day and made it anything but holy.

I even recall churches doing literal “drive-thru Communion during COVID.” The Pastor handed out the celebration cups (a tiny plastic cup full of grape juice with tiny round Communion wafer on top) to take home and recite the words of institution from the comfort of their own home. This is quite silly. Wishing someone a very Happy Un-Birthday (like the Mad-Hatter) is less silly than the ELCA.

The ELCA is still so terrified of COVID that some churches STILL not returned to in-person worship. And those that have are still fully masked and even require all attendants to be vaccinated. You either trust Jesus or you don’t. Do you doubt that Jesus can protect you during worship? Is your mask (which even scientists say is barely effective) stronger than God?

So while churches are busy raising money for bell towers, landscaping, stained glass windows, chimes, and even pagan-inspired labyrinths, their numbers are dwindling and they aren’t even doing anything about it. The remaining elderly population in these congregations only cares that their church is pretty and comfy. They clearly could care less that when they die, there will be no young people to replace them in the pews.

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“How can some pastors be in favor of homosexual behavior when the Bible is so clearly against it?”

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