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Showing posts with the label Albert Mohler

There Is No ‘Third Homosexual Way’ — Southern Baptists Face a Moment of Decision (and so will you)

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Southern Baptists will be heading for Baltimore in just a few days, and the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is to be held in a city that has not hosted the convention since 1940. This time, Baptists attending the meeting will face an issue that would not have been imaginable just a few years ago, much less in 1940 — a congregation that affirms same-sex relationships. Just days before the convention, news broke that a congregation in suburban Los Angeles has decided to affirm same-sex sexuality and relationships. In an hour-long video posted on the Internet, Pastor Danny Cortez explains his personal change of mind and position on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. He also addressed the same issues in a letter posted at Patheos.com. In the letter, Cortez describes a sunny day at the beach in August of 2013 when “I realized I no longer believed in the traditional teachings regarding homosexuality.” Shortly thereafter, he told his 15-year-old

Long-time Toronto gender identity clinic shuttered in clampdown on ‘reparative therapy’

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Under intense pressure from Toronto's influential LGBT community , the Center for Addiction and Mental Health has suspended operations at its Gender Identity Service, which has long been accused of practicing "reparative therapy" to help youth suffering from gender dysphoria to adapt to their biological gender. This violates provincial law as of this summer. The longtime director, Dr. Kenneth Zucker , has left the clinic. The CAMH itself announced the suspension after making public a highly critical independent review of its practices which pointedly observed that Dr. Zucker had reached "end of career" age and his retirement would clear the way for "revisioning and modernization." Zucker's days were clearly numbered by a petition launched against him by Toronto's trans and homosexual communities on Change.org titled "Eliminate Dr. Kenneth Zucker's Practice of Transgender ' Reparative Therapy ,'" which prompted

If a transgender individual gets saved, should the church require them to undergo a restorative sex change operation so that they are anatomically their original gender?

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Eventually, every church will face a question like this. The first thing we must remember is that the gospel is for everyone-regardless of gender identity . The gospel is for the transgender and the transsexual just as much as it is for the one who identifies with his birth gender. The gospel promises wholeness in Christ and calls us to holiness.  Thus, in response to the gospel, all true Christians seek to live in obedience to the God who created us male and female. Obedience to Christ means that we seek in every way to progressively move toward embracing our birth gender rather than lingering in rebellion or confusion. This is not to suggest that the progress of sanctification is easy or instantaneous. As Eugene Peterson said, the Christian life is "a long obedience in the same direction." In other words, obedience can be slow progress. What if the individual had undergone medical procedures and  sex change operations before coming to Christ? Would surger

Homosexuality - the competing visions of sexuality as they relate to morality and the common good.

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Transgender moral mental confusion  Wikipedia ) Australia ’s current sexual mess finds its roots in the past – back to the sixties and before. The sexual revolution has affected our culture . The acceptance of no fault divorce culture, marriage as a contract and not a covenant, liberation of sex from reproduction, the prevalence of heterosexual cohabitation, the normalization of homosexuality, and the rise of the transgender movement has led to the moral insanity of our culture. In particular regarding birth control and contraception, I think virtually no one understood the eventual moral revolution that would be accelerated by that. And you add to that the therapeutic revolution and a revolution in the academic culture with post modernism and moral relativism, and you’re going to have all that before you get same sex marriage. Transgenderism is specifically the claim that gender is a social construct and that every individual is autonomous to determine what gender in terms o

Many leaders disagree on the USA Court decision on homosexual marriage

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English: Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The Supreme Court decided Friday (June 26) to legalize gay marriage across the United States in a 5-4 vote. The historic ruling that overturned same-sex marriage bans in 13 states came as a concern to many Christians, who believe marriage should be reserved for one man and one woman. Evangelical leaders are now speaking out in response to the ruling that changed American history forever. Russell Moore , president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention urged Christians not to panic . In a blog published on The Washington Post website, Moore wrote, “The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supreme Court cannot get Jesus back in that tomb. Jesus of Nazareth is still alive. He is still calling the universe toward his kingdom.” He continued, “The church will need in the years ahead to articulate what we believe about marriage; w

Why did theologian J.I.Packer walk away from the Anglican church?

In 2002, the synod of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster authorized its bishop to produce a service for blessing same-sex unions, to be used in any parish of the diocese that requests it. A number of synod members walked out to protest the decision. They declared themselves out of communion with the bishop and the synod, and they appealed to the Archbishop of Canterbury and other Anglican primates and bishops for help. (1) J. I. Packer was one of those who walked out. When asked why he walked out, he answered, “Because this decision, taken in its context, falsifies the gospel of Christ, abandons the authority of Scripture, jeopardizes the salvation of fellow human beings, and betrays the church in its God -appointed role as the bastion and bulwark of divine truth.” In other words, it was Packer’s confidence in the functional, life-directing authority of Scripture that led to this decision. “My primary authority,” wrote Packer, “is a Bible writer named Paul. For many decades n

Sexual Orientation and the Gospel of Jesus Christ

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English: Sinful Gender symbols, sexual orientation: heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality display sinful passions (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) I reccently addressed a major national conference on “ The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of Marriage ” held by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention . As expected, the conference was one of the most responsible and edifying meetings yet held of Christians concerned about these issues. This is exactly what would be expected of the ERLC and its leadership. The conference was both helpful and historic. I had the honor of delivering the opening keynote address entitled “Aftermath: Ministering in a Post-Marriage Culture.” The full text of my address will be posted here shortly. Subsequent to the conference, it became clear that the vast coverage of the conference in the national press raised some issues that need to be considered further. One of these issues is sexual orientation . As I expla

There is no ‘third way’ — Southern Baptists face a moment of decision (and so will you)

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English: Al Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) June 2, 2014 ( Albert Mohler ) - Southern Baptists will be heading for Baltimore in just a few days, and the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is to be held in a city that has not hosted the convention since 1940. This time, Baptists attending the meeting will face an issue that would not have been imaginable just a few years ago, much less in 1940 — a congregation that affirms same-sex relationships. Just days before the convention, news broke that a congregation in suburban Los Angeles has decided to affirm same-sex sexuality and relationships. In an hour-long video posted on the Internet, Pastor Danny Cortez explains his personal change of mind and position on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. He also addressed the same issues in a letter posted at Patheos.com. In the letter, Cortez describes a sunny day at the beach in August of 2013 whe