Christian Heritage News

 By Ryan Denison - Posted at Denison Forum: As Andy Stanley’s church and public profile have grown, the pastor has become an increasingly controversial figure in Christian life. His attempts to make the gospel attractive to the lost appear to come from a genuine desire to help people know the Lord, but too often he crosses boundaries that end up drawing people to a god that stands in contrast to the God of Scripture. As such, perhaps it should not come as a surprise that he and his church are in the news once again in the buildup to the Unconditional Conference that they will host next week. The Unconditional Conference is an event “for parents of LGBTQ+ children and for ministry leaders looking to discover ways to support parents and LGBTQ+ children in their churches.” They promise that those who attend “will be equipped, refreshed, and inspired as you hear from leading communicators on topics that speak to your heart, soul, and mind,” adding that “no matter what theological stance

 By Al Baker - Posted at Forget None Of His Benefits: “For God is the King of all the earth. . . God reigns over the nations, God sits on His holy throne.” –Psalm 47:7,8 Perhaps there has never been a more perverse, godless, and wicked time in which Jesus’ incarnation could have occurred. Pederasty was common in the Roman Empire. Older men routinely sought young boys for sex. Gymnasiums (the Greek word means naked) abounded in Rome and older men frequented the gymnasium to watch young boys compete naked in various athletic events, mainly wrestling, and choose one or two for their own sexual pleasure. While most men waited until their late twenties to marry, they could have a prostitute or slave woman as often as they wanted from the time they reached puberty. This was not considered adultery. Pederasty was not frowned upon at all. In fact most everyone believed women were inferior to men. Therefore real companionship and love could best occur between an older man and a young boy. Women

 Posted at Reformation Scotland: The Church of England recently voted in favour of allowing blessings for same-sex couples although with assurances that the church’s doctrine of marriage will not change. To many this seems incoherent, and it exposes a lack of clarity on the boundaries between what is and is not acceptable in the realm of sexuality and marriage. In the New Testament model, the church and the world are on different sides of a clear line of demarcation and the church has no need to feel pressurised into adopting the agenda and mores of the world. In the early days of the church of Corinth the pressure was real and the church in some significant ways capitulated to societal expectations. The boundary markers in these ways collapsed and the apostle Paul needed to write more than once to reinstate them. Particularly in the area of sexual ethics the divergence needed to be crystallised between how the surrounding culture regarded people’s behaviour, and how Jesus’ apostles ex

  Posted at The Christian Institute: Two of the most senior figures in the Church of England have revealed they believe sexual intimacy within same-sex relationships should be ‘celebrated’. Following a bishops’ report that recommends against same-sex weddings being permitted in churches but in favour of allowing clergy to bless same-sex couples, the Archbishop of York and the Bishop of London indicated their approval of churchgoers engaging in sexual activity outside of marriage. In separate media statements, they both said “stable, faithful relationships” between two men or two women could be blessed – rejecting historic Christian teaching on sexual ethics. Continue here... See also: Sexual immorality is not sinful, Archbishop of York says | Church & Ministries News (christianpost.com)

By Milton Quintanilla - Posted at Christian Headlines: Published November 23, 2022 Over 200 congregations in North Carolina have announced their departure from the United Methodist Church over the denomination's ongoing debate over homosexuality. On Saturday, during a special session of the UMC North Carolina Conference, delegates voted 957-165 in favor of the disaffiliation of 249 churches from the mainline denomination. The number of departing congregations represents about 32 percent of the regional body's churches and about 22 percent of its membership, The North Carolina Conference reports. Continue here...

 By Jon Payne - Posted at Gospel Reformation: It’s official. Greg Johnson and his congregation have voted to leave the Presbyterian Church in America. [1] It’s a sad departure, especially for a church that has been affiliated with the PCA since 1980. Arguably, however, it’s not only a sad departure. It’s a needful one. The historic Memorial Presbyterian Church, located in St. Louis, MO, is departing the PCA under an ominous cloud of ecclesiastical controversy. [2] The last four years have been plagued with serious concerns, objections, and complaints over Johnson and Memorial PCA’s theological views and ministries. As a result, admonishment and scrutiny have come from within the PCA, as well as the wider Reformed and Evangelical community. The following are some reasons why: Revoice In 2018 Memorial PCA hosted Revoice, a conference ministry dedicated to “supporting, encouraging, and empowering gay, lesbian, same-sex-attracted, and other LGBT Christians so they can flourish while obse

By Milton Quintanilla - Posted at Christian Headlines: Published November 3, 2022 A Tennessee congregation voted to leave the United Methodist Church on Sunday due to the denomination's longstanding schism on homosexuality. On Sunday, Christ Church Memphis voted to disaffiliate from the UMC after a final tally of 941 voted in favor of leaving, while 101 opposed and one abstained. Miles Stevens, director of communications for Christ Church Memphis, told The Christian Post that the vote was prompted by "decades of failed efforts to reconcile firmly held foundational but oppositional beliefs among member churches within the UMC." "We believe that disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church is the best path forward for Christ Church as we seek to proliferate the Gospel and make disciples," Stevens said. He also noted that the church's next steps are "yet to be determined" and that the congregation still has to receive the final approval of the v

Memorial Presbyterian Church Session Calls Congregation Meeting The Memorial Session is recommending that the congregation vote to withdraw from the PCA Written by Memorial Presbyterian Church Session - Published Friday, October 21, 2022 at The Aquila Report It is with a mixture of sorrow and hope that we, the elders of Memorial Presbyterian Church, after fifteen months spent fasting, praying, waiting, consulting and listening, now write to call a meeting of the congregation for 5:30–6:30 p.m. Friday, November 18, 2022, in the Auditorium for the purpose of deciding on matters pertaining to denominational alignment. We are recommending the congregation vote to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church in America in accordance with Book of Church Order 25-11   Read more at The Aquila Report ...  UPDATE November 18, 2022: Memorial Presbyterian Church Votes to Leave PCA – byFaith (byfaithonline.com) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For additional information, please see: Memorial Presbyterian Churc

 By Kevin DeYoung - Posted at WORLD : I don’t often agree with David Gushee, the liberal Christian ethicist whose “battles,” by his own description , have included “issues like climate change, torture, LGBTQ inclusion, and white supremacism.” But he spoke the uncomfortable truth when he observed years ago that when it comes to LGBTQ issues, there is no middle ground: “Neutrality is not an option. Neither is polite half-acceptance. Nor is avoiding the subject. Hide as you might, the issue will come and find you.” I thought of those words, written way back in 2016, in recent weeks as I read of Michael Gerson’s tacit approval of gay marriage and of Dr. Bradley Nassif’s claims that he was expunged from North Park University because he upholds traditional views of sex, sexuality, and marriage. These aren’t the first cases of a self-described evangelical or evangelical institution moving into the revisionist camp, nor will it be the last. I hope I’m wrong, but I have my mental list of wri

 Posted at Truth Over Tribe: My name is Rosaria Butterfield, and I choose the truth of Biblical Christianity over the tribalism of Side B/Revoice theology. What Is Truth? The Bible is Truth, both in word and in substance. When one passage of scripture may seem unclear to us, we interpret it in light of the clarity of God’s unified Biblical witness.[1] There are no problem passages in scripture. In His image, God created human beings ontologically as men or women. Our sexual difference is part of our origin and eternity. We bear the image of God in purposeful pattern. “Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them’. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’” Genesis 1:26-28 This magisterial passage, known as the Creation Ordinance, reveals that God established men and women for the normative and

 By M.D. Perkins - Posted at The Aquila Report: The book Dangerous Affirmation is intended to serve as an introduction, rebuttal, and warning. It was written to help the average person in the pew to understand what is being argued by major “gay Christian” thinkers and to respond to it biblically. Although the Bible is the primary focus, I did not shy away from discussing controversial topics like homophobia, LGBT suicide rates, conversion therapy laws, and the rise of “gay celibate Christianity.” Truth demands proper application to every aspect of our life and society. Let’s see if you’ve heard any of these statements before:God made people gay and therefore being gay should be celebrated and affirmed. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality even once. The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is about inhospitality and greed, not homosexuality. If the Bible were written today, it would be gay-affirming. The Bible doesn’t say anything about sexual orientation. Christians hate gay people and need to

 By Samuel Sey - Posted at Slow to Write: Some of your supposedly Christian friends have recently said they are members of the LGBTQ community. That’s becoming increasingly common. However, an even bigger number of your supposedly Christian friends have become LGBTQ allies. You already know that. But do you know why? There are, of course, several reasons why many professing Christians are embracing LGBTQ ideology. Satan has devised many schemes to lead us into apostasy. With that in mind, although all people who support LGBTQ ideology do so for the same reason: sin—people can commit the same sin from different temptations. As I’ve alluded to, one of the reasons why many professing Christians have become allies with LGBTQ people is because many of their friends and family have become members of the LGBTQ community. Studies show that this is statistically the biggest reason why people become LGBTQ affirming. For instance, a 2013 study from Pew Research Center shows that 32% of Americans

 Posted at The Christian Institute: An openly homosexual Church of Scotland Minister has claimed Scripture does not have the final word on sexual ethics. On BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme, Revd Scott Rennie said that scriptural teaching against same-sex acts should be reinterpreted in the light of contemporary thinking. Rennie was being challenged by fellow minister Revd Professor Andrew McGowan over the Kirk’s recent decision to allow ministers to conduct same-sex weddings in its churches. Read more...

 Posted at Reformation Scotland: Hopefully the answer we give is a resounding, “No!” Yet there is growing pressure on the church to stop turning others from sin in certain circumstances. The UK Government has extended its public consultation on banning conversion therapy in relation to LGBT people. This vague term lumps coercive and abusive practices already illegal alongside any kind of talking therapy with the intention of changing them from being LBGT. Some want to take this as far as possible in order to silence anyone from dissuading others from a harmful lifestyle through prayer, conversation or any kind of teaching. This simple call to Christ, conversion and biblical ethics could become criminalised. How does Scripture guide us on this matter? Around 2000 ministers and others have recently written a letter and consultation response on this subject that gives more background. In the context of prayer, James 5:19 tells us of the importance of seeking to turn others from sin. Th

 By Peter Sanlon - Posted at Reformation21: I share this letter to brethren in the PCA with some trepidation. With Prov. 26:17 in mind it is arguably foolhardy to get involved in another denomination’s ecclesial debates — especially one on the other side of the Atlantic! However friends in the PCA have suggested it may be helpful to you if I share how things have played out in England over the past decade. Why would you want to read about the recent history of English evangelicalism as you ponder important votes in the PCA? In most matters, American culture leads the Western world. To be sure, any time my children get obsessed with some fad or new toy, I can bet my bottom pound (dollar?) that the toy or movement originated in the USA. However, in regard to the specific debates you today face in the PCA — Revoice, ‘Side B’ views on sexuality — England, rather than America, has led the way. Read more...

 By Andrew George - Posted at The Aquila Report: "The question, in the end, comes down to whether homosexual temptation is more powerful than Christ or whether Christ is more powerful than homosexual temptation. As Savior, Christ is mightier than our internal temptations. Therefore, if we counsel same-sex attracted people into believing that they may never be rid of homosexual temptation in this life, we have diminished the power of the Cross." With the rising influence of Christian organizations in America that exist to cater to “sexual minorities” in the church, there has been much confusion among reformed evangelicals regarding temptation and desire, specifically as it relates to same-sex attraction. Confessional Presbyterian denominations are not exempt. The Presbyterian Church in America, at present, is on a collision course with Revoice theology and is inundated with debates surrounding homosexual identity and whether men who profess to be “same-sex attracted” can be a

By Dewey Roberts - Posted at Vanguard Presbytery : When I woke up on Saturday, October 23, 2021, there were two texts that had been sent to me earlier that morning. One was from a pastor in the PCA. The other was from a pastor in Vanguard. The sentiments were the same for both of them with respect to the most recent decision of the PCA’s Standing Judicial Commission. On October 21, 2021, the SJC denied all the complaints against the actions of Missouri Presbytery for protecting and exonerating TE Greg Johnson in his professed same-sex attraction. The vote was 16-7. That means the issue is dead. It is over. If there had been at least 1/3 of the SJC jurors to vote against the decision of the highest court, then it would have automatically triggered a floor vote by the next General Assembly on whether to accept the majority report or the minority report. No such vote will be forthcoming now. But wait… the SJC voted on these same complaints against Missouri Presbytery at their March 2021 m

 By Barry York - Posted at Gentle Reformation: As part of my duties as president of our denominational seminary, over the last month I attended the national meetings of several NAPARC churches. I participated in my own denomination's synod meetings (RPCNA) in Indiana, spent two days in St. Louis, Missouri at the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and just came back this weekend from a quick trip to Iowa to visit brothers in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). Having fellowship with not only brothers and sisters of these churches, but folks from many other denominations who also had representatives in attendance at these meetings, was a true highlight of the time, a taste of the greater kingdom of God. Of course, there are some marked differences in these meetings. The PCA is much larger than the OPC and especially the RPCNA, with nearly 2000 churches and 400,000 members. The PCA General Assembly had thousands in attendance, and used the Convention Cen

CH News Editor's Note:  I so appreciate these men who have formed the Vanguard Presbytery. May God use them mightily to build His Kingdom. Amen. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Reflection  By Dewey Roberts - Posted at  Vanguard Presbyterian : Published January 10, 2021 Last week, The Aquila Report published there 50 most read articles for 2020. Articles that I wrote were the first, second, and tenth most read articles for the year. An article by Al Baker on his reasons for leaving the PCA was the third most read article for the year. Over the past three years, Al and I have had 6 of the top 9 most read articles (that is, the top 3 articles each year for 2018, 2019, and 2020). All of our articles have dealt with either the troubles in the PCA or our reasons for leaving that denomination and starting Vanguard Presbytery. One article, written in December of 2019, was the second most read article for 2019 and again for 2020. What that tells me is that

Posted at truthxchange: This article was first published August 3, 2018 A mixed bag of straight and gay pastors, celibate and non-celibate gays, parents and children—450 in all—have just met in a church (PCA) in St Louis. The conference attempted to integrate into the church and its ministry homosexuals who accept the biblical view of sex and marriage as limited to heterosexual people, but who see their same-sex orientation as unchangeable, even as a normative part of creation. This frees them to have a non-sexual “gay” attraction to their same-gender friends. According to the organizer, Nate Collins, this conference (one of many to come) is a time of dialogue to determine acceptable biblical and Christian practice. Can a gay man who rejects homosexual practice still be proud of his “gay identity” and his “gay” way of doing things as pleasing to God? Can he engage in deep friendship, even life-long commitment with another same-sex attracted celibate male friend—even adopt children? Can