Tag: church
Former Lesbian Says It’s Cruel for Churches to Condone Homosexuality – Calls for Repentance
Posted on December 3, 2014 in Marriage, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
My frustration with churches on the issue of homosexuality is simply that they seem to avoid the topic altogether. The issue of gender, sexuality, and marriage may be the most critical of our day and yet pastors don’t seem to want to talk about it. The consequence is a congregation that is ignorant of biblical teaching and unable to engage or help people struggling with this sin.
More specifically, the consequence of the silent church is people that are either so filled with “truth” that they are hateful legalists, or people so “loving” that they are willing to compromise scripture and justify sin.
And still pastors and churches are silent, conveniently skipping over passages like Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6, and Revelation 22; which clearly speak of homosexuality as sin.
Having a biblical theology creates a biblical worldview which, should, create a biblical sexual ethic that includes a proper view of gender roles, sexuality, and marriage. This proper, biblical sexual ethic is critical in addressing the needs of people in our current cultural climate. Being able to address the struggles people are facing concerning sexuality is perhaps the greatest way the church can serve people in their community.
From One Heresy to the Next – Gnosticism, Pelagianism, and the New Sexuality Threaten the Church
Posted on November 26, 2014 in Sexuality, Theology by Nathan Cherry
The church of Jesus Christ has endured a host of theological debates and controversies over the centuries. One need only to look back in time to the debate over Gnosticism, or review the debate surrounding Pelagianism (to name just two) to see the scope of theological discussion the church has underwent.
While these heresies attempt to make a comeback once in a while – Gnosticism resembles new age teaching while Pelagianism and Semi-Pelagianism seem to always be lurking in the shadows of church history – the latest heresy to infiltrate the church is no less destructive.
The heresy of sexuality is causing just as great a disturbance in the church as any other throughout history. Denominations are dividing, churches are splitting, lines are being drawn and some are choosing to sit in silence. This new heresy is no less a doctrinal, theological, and moral issue than Gnosticism and Pelagianism.
Efforts to push a new sexuality complete with a new definition of family and marriage want to make sexuality about personal choice, identity, preference, or any other non-biological factor. The reality remains that gender and sexuality is an inherently biological factor determined at birth by no effort of the individual. For those that don’t believe the Bible this is can be a hard truth to handle. It leads to questions of “why am I attracted to the same-sex if it is wrong, or against nature?” Such questions are valid and not to be taken lightly.
Federal Court Makes Ruling Affecting Every Pastor in America
Posted on November 20, 2014 in Public Policy, Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
Pastors can breathe a sigh of relief today as the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has reversed a lower court decision to strike down the minister’s housing allowance as unconstitutional.
Previously, the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) had argue that the housing allowance given to pastors was unconstitutional because it provided an unfair tax benefit to pastors, creating preferential treatment for religious messages. It was argued that the housing allowance violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment and the equal protection provision of the Fourteenth Amendment. The lower court, with Judge Barbara Crabb ruling, agreed with the FFRF and ruled the housing allowance unconstitutional.
Though the ruling only affected pastors in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana, pastors across the country watched the case with serious interest knowing if the ruling was upheld it would soon spread.
The 7th Circuit determined that since the FFRF was never denied tax-exemption under the housing allowance tax code they had no standing concerning the issue:
Recent Survey Discovers the Most Popular Heresies Among Evangelical Christians
Posted on November 11, 2014 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
As my church prepares to begin walking through the book of Ecclesiastes on Sunday mornings, I am already reminded of Solomon’s oft-repeated phrase: “There’s nothing new under the sun.”
That phrase comes to mind as I read the results of a recent survey conducted by LifeWay Research for Ligonier Ministries concerning the theological beliefs of evangelical Christians. These views, heretical at best, show the lack of theological training and how it has caused a host of ancient heresies to resurface today.
Here is a list of some of the troubling statistics:
Which Church Is Yours-The Macklemore, Wrecking Ball, M.C. Hammer, or Ring of Fire
Posted on October 28, 2014 in Marriage by Nathan Cherry
Dean Inserra recently wrote an article for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission that was also published on the Speak Up movement blog. In the post Inserra says that four kinds of churches exist when it comes to dealing with homosexuality: the Macklemore Church, the Wrecking Ball Church, the M.C. Hammer Church, and the Ring of Fire Church.
Take a peek at Inserra’s description of each church and ask yourself, Which do I belong to?” But don’t forget to ask yourself which is the most biblical, Gospel-centric church. If you’re not at that one it might be time to make a change.
The Macklemore Church
The Macklemore Church just simply thinks the Bible is outdated, or just plain wrong on homosexuality. This church has been on the fringe left end of the spectrum, but recently exists in some traditional mainline circles.
Can The Church Simply Change Teaching on Sexuality and Marriage?
Posted on October 20, 2014 in Marriage, Sexuality, Theology by Nathan Cherry
Some say Christians, and the church, are out of touch and “behind the times” regarding sexuality and marriage. They want us to “get with the program” and accept homosexual behavior and marriage redefinition.
While some have acquiesced to the demands of those seeking to redefine marriage by voicing their acceptance for homosexual behavior and marriage redefinition, that is no longer good enough. The demand now is that Christians and churches support, affirm, and cheerfully endorse such behavior. The idea of tolerance, once a pillar of the LGBT movement, has been demolished, replaced by verbal affirmation and celebration.
These demands are being made by people who believe it’s no big deal for the church to simply change centuries of doctrinal convictions. Furthermore, they would have us reject the plain text teaching of the Bible in favor of their culturally imposed position. Is such change even possible?
Pastor Appreciation Month! Do We Really Need It?
Posted on October 17, 2014 in Theology by Nathan Cherry
You may not have known that October is “Pastor Appreciation Month,” but that’s only because it wasn’t in the church bulletin or on the website. Even if it was announced from the pulpit last week in the service I am guessing you forgot by the time you walked out the door. Hey, no biggie.
All joking aside, this month is an opportunity to show your pastor that you truly appreciate him, his ministry, and his family. We have days to show our appreciation to teachers, public workers, and administrative professionals so I heartily endorse a month to show our spiritual shepherds that we appreciate their life of ministry.
You might be wondering why we need such a day.
SHOCK! Government Demands Copy of Pastors Sermons!
Posted on October 16, 2014 in Religious Freedom by Nathan Cherry
For some time people like myself has been warning that the government was becoming increasingly intrusive on the religious freedoms of churches. Stories from the last few years alone are enough to make any sane persons head spin. From zoning law restrictions to taxes, the government has been seeking to get more than a foot in the door of America’s churches.
I have warned on more than one occasion that before long the government would try to silence America’s pastors – either through regulation, IRS intimidation, or both. It seemed a no brainer to me that the end game was to pretend to value freedom of religion while seeking to monitor and regulate exactly what speech is used.
It seems that day has come far sooner than anyone expected.
The city of Houston has issued subpoenas to a group of pastors for their sermons dealing with homosexuality, gender identity, or any mention of Mayor Annise Parker; who happens to be a lesbian.
Am I The Only One Confused By “Atheist Churches”?
Posted on October 9, 2014 in Religious Freedom, Theology by Nathan Cherry
But what I wonder is just how inclusive and accepting the atheist church is. They claim to be a center for inclusivity, but would they accept me, an evangelical Christian? Would they be open to changing the way they conduct their services so as not to offend me? Would they adopt a “doctrinal statement” that acknowledged God to include me?
While many atheists attack Christians for their beliefs, calling them exclusive, bigoted, hateful, discriminatory, etc., the reality is that every group, including atheists has beliefs that are offensive to someone else. The fact that atheists deny the existence of God is offensive to me, should I sue? If they don’t let me join their church should I sue? If they require members to sign their support for their humanist tenets should I sue? Should I seek to have them removed from college campuses, high school events, and other public arenas?
What Two “Pastors” Said About Abortion is Appalling
Posted on October 6, 2014 in Uncategorized by Nathan Cherry
I’ve heard a lot of arguments for abortion that have bothered me. Many of them are selfish and take no account for the human life being destroyed. And some of those arguments have come from Christians or others seeking to gain the support of the religious community. When I hear attempts to justify abortion by distorting Scripture I cringe.
But what two “pastors” said in an attempt to justify abortion, encourage religious people to support it, and demand Christians pay for it is simply beyond the pale.
An article at LifeNews carries the comments from the Washington Post by pro-abortion Reverends, Dr. Alethea Smith-Withers and Harry Knox in their attempt to encourage Christians to support and subsidize abortion. They write: