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The Falling Away, sodomite version

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March 27, 2024, 12:55:24 pm Mark says: Shocked Shocked Shocked Shocked  When Hamas spokesman Abu Ubaida began a speech marking the 100th day of the war in Gaza, one confounding yet eye-opening proclamation escaped the headlines. Listing the motives for the Palestinian militant group's Oct. 7 massacre in Israel, he accused Jews of "bringing red cows" to the Holy Land.
December 31, 2022, 10:08:58 am NilsFor1611 says: blessings
August 08, 2018, 02:38:10 am suzytr says: Hello, any good churches in the Sacto, CA area, also looking in Reno NV, thanks in advance and God Bless you Smiley
January 29, 2018, 01:21:57 am Christian40 says: It will be interesting to see what happens this year Israel being 70 years as a modern nation may 14 2018
October 17, 2017, 01:25:20 am Christian40 says: It is good to type Mark is here again!  Smiley
October 16, 2017, 03:28:18 am Christian40 says: anyone else thinking that time is accelerating now? it seems im doing days in shorter time now is time being affected in some way?
September 24, 2017, 10:45:16 pm Psalm 51:17 says: The specific rule pertaining to the national anthem is found on pages A62-63 of the league rulebook. It states: “The National Anthem must be played prior to every NFL game, and all players must be on the sideline for the National Anthem. “During the National Anthem, players on the field and bench area should stand at attention, face the flag, hold helmets in their left hand, and refrain from talking. The home team should ensure that the American flag is in good condition. It should be pointed out to players and coaches that we continue to be judged by the public in this area of respect for the flag and our country. Failure to be on the field by the start of the National Anthem may result in discipline, such as fines, suspensions, and/or the forfeiture of draft choice(s) for violations of the above, including first offenses.”
September 20, 2017, 04:32:32 am Christian40 says: "The most popular Hepatitis B vaccine is nothing short of a witch’s brew including aluminum, formaldehyde, yeast, amino acids, and soy. Aluminum is a known neurotoxin that destroys cellular metabolism and function. Hundreds of studies link to the ravaging effects of aluminum. The other proteins and formaldehyde serve to activate the immune system and open up the blood-brain barrier. This is NOT a good thing."
http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-08-11-new-fda-approved-hepatitis-b-vaccine-found-to-increase-heart-attack-risk-by-700.html
September 19, 2017, 03:59:21 am Christian40 says: bbc international did a video about there street preaching they are good witnesses
September 14, 2017, 08:06:04 am Psalm 51:17 says: bro Mark Hunter on YT has some good, edifying stuff too.
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Author Topic: The Falling Away, sodomite version  (Read 32045 times)
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« Reply #210 on: July 21, 2016, 06:35:33 pm »

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2016/0721/Peter-Thiel-s-presence-highlights-Republican-tension-over-LGBT-voters
7/21/16
Peter Thiel's presence highlights Republican tension over LGBT voters

When Peter Thiel takes the stage at the Republican National Convention Thursday night, he is expected to declare that he is proud to be gay – marking a historical first for the party’s convention.

The Silicon Valley billionaire supports gay marriage, putting him at odds with the party’s official platform, and he’ll use his prime-time slot (shortly before Donald Trump is slated to officially accept the party’s nomination) to ...



 



 



 



 



Billionaire Peter Thiel's invitation to speak Thursday night is one of several nods to the LGBT community at the Republican National Convention.
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« Reply #211 on: July 22, 2016, 11:24:12 am »

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/trump-first-gop-nominee-mention-lgbtq-citizens-acceptance-034140503--abc-news-topstories.html
Trump Is First GOP Nominee to Mention LGBTQ Citizens in Acceptance Speech
7/22/16

For the first time in history, a Republican nominee has mentioned the LGBTQ community in a GOP nomination acceptance speech.

"Only weeks ago, in Orlando, Florida, 49 wonderful Americans were savagely murdered by an Islamic terrorist. This time, the terrorist targeted our LGBTQ community. No good. We are going to stop it," said Donald Trump, the Republican Party's presidential nominee.

The massacre in Orlando, by gunman Omar Mateen, occurred at the popular gay club Pulse.

"As your President, I will do everything in my power to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology, believe me," Trump added.

After pausing for applause from the audience, Trump went off his speech script to acknowledge the support of his statement from Republicans gathered in the arena.

"And I have to say as a Republican, it is so nice to hear you cheering for what I just said," he said. "Thank you."
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« Reply #212 on: July 24, 2016, 07:47:34 pm »

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/
Op-Ed GOP's new tactic: pitting the LGBT community against Muslims
7/23/16

In 2002 the Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn carved a path for Donald Trump. Fortuyn demanded an end to Muslim immigration, claiming that Islamic culture endangered the Dutch tradition of respect for LGBT rights. I remember reading the headlines after Fortuyn’s party won local elections, wondering how long it would be until America’s political right adopted the same tactic. The answer was 14 years.

Last week in Cleveland, Republican grandees cited protecting LGBT Americans as a central reason for vigilance about Islam. Newt Gingrich said, “If our enemies had their way, gays, lesbians and transgender citizens would be put to death as they are today in the Islamic State and Iran.” Trump himself pledged to “do everything in my power to protect our LGBT citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.”

Pitting LGBT rights against Islam appears to be the GOP’s strategy for transitioning away from overt homophobia. Only ten years ago the party agitated for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Now, with thousands of ordinary Republicans attending the same-sex weddings of their own children, the party must change.

A turning point came in June, after a man declaring his allegiance to Islamic State killed 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando. Within hours Gingrich was telling Fox News that he wants LGBT people to “realize that Islamic supremacy is their mortal enemy.” Two days later, Trump tweeted, “Thank you to the LGBT community! I will fight for you while Hillary brings in more people that will threaten your freedoms and beliefs.”

This is the script that Fortuyn wrote: Muslims must be kept out because they are a threat to gay rights. Some Republicans will insist that the comparison is an unfair one. Unlike Fortuyn, they wish to stop only “radical Islamists.” But their nominee does not take this distinction seriously. Trump has repeatedly proposed a ban on all Muslim entry to the United States. The day after the Orlando attack, he told a rally, "We cannot continue to allow thousands upon thousands of people to pour into our country — many of whom have the same thought process as this savage killer.”

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« Reply #213 on: July 28, 2016, 11:07:37 pm »

http://cnsnews.com/commentary/lynn-wardle/anglican-church-canada-adopts-gay-marriage-endangers-future-faith
Anglican Church of Canada Adopts Gay Marriage, Endangers Future of Faith
7/28/16
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« Reply #214 on: August 02, 2016, 01:07:14 pm »

Gay-sex scandal hits Irish seminary

DUBLIN: The head of Ireland's biggest Catholic diocese said Tuesday he had moved trainee priests from the country's leading seminary over allegations of homosexual activity among students and staff, including the use of the Grindr dating app.

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin said the "poisonous" atmosphere caused by the claims at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth – also known as the National Seminary for Ireland – had led him to transfer students to the Irish College in Rome.

An anonymous letter emerged in May, alleging homosexual activity among some students and teachers. Authorities issued a statement promising to "thoroughly deal" with such behavior.

"A culture of anonymous letters is poisonous and until that is cleared up I would be happier to send my students elsewhere," the archbishop told RTE, Ireland's national broadcaster.

The archbishop said the use of Grindr would be inappropriate for seminarians "not just because they are training to be celibate priests but because an app like that is something that would be fostering promiscuous sexuality which is certainly not in any way the mature vision of sexuality that one would expect priests to understand."

Thanks to GPS technology, users of the Grindr app, generally gay men seeking sex, are able to locate and view photos and brief profiles of other users in their immediate vicinity and arrange to meet them.

The archbishop said he had tried to communicate with the author or authors of the anonymous online letters and blogs, offering to appoint a confidential expert to help verify the claims.

However, his initiative has been met only by more anonymous letters.

It is believed whistleblowers are reluctant to come forward because others have been expelled for making such allegations.

"The authorities at Maynooth feel we have to find ways in which people will come forward with solid, hard evidence which can be used to follow up allegations," Archbishop Martin said.

Hugh Connolly, the President of St. Patrick's College, told RTE he was aware of the allegations and was "very worried" about the alleged use of Grindr in particular.

But "natural justice" demanded the production of strong evidence before any action could be taken, he added.

Archbishop Martin also appeared to question if Maynooth was still fit to train modern-day clergy, suggesting it could be better done outside the "closed, strange world of seminaries."

St. Patrick's College, situated at Maynooth, Co Kildare, is a university town 24 kilometers (15 miles) from Dublin.

The seminary was formed in 1795 and at the height of Catholic Church power in Ireland trained around 500 young men for the priesthood.

This number has dwindled to around 55 and there are now concerns that it could face closure if bishops believe priest could be trained better elsewhere.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/World/2016/Aug-02/365220-gay-sex-scandal-hits-irish-seminary.ashx
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« Reply #215 on: August 10, 2016, 12:30:09 pm »

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/10/how-donald-trump-is-slowly-teaching-republicans-to-embrace-gay-rights/
8/10/16
How Donald Trump is teaching Republicans a way to embrace gay rights

In the course of his campaign so far, Donald Trump has had harsh words for Mexicans and Muslims, the people of Iowa, African Americans, refugees, the parents of a dead Army captain, women, a disabled reporter and the pope. He has fashioned his political incorrectness into a personal virtue, portraying himself as a straight-talker incapable of pretense. Supporters praise this “brute honesty,” while critics accuse Trump of amplifying and taking advantage of intolerant tendencies within the GOP base.

Throughout all of this, though, Trump has refrained from launching barbs at one particular group: gay Americans.

It would be a stretch to call Trump a gay-friendly candidate — he still opposes same-sex marriage — but he supports other LGBT rights and has publicly declared himself a “real friend” to the community. In April, he broke with his GOP rivals by speaking out against North Carolina’s anti-transgender bathroom law. (He later backed off.) And last month in Cleveland, Trump brought in Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who became the first openly gay speaker to affirm his sexual orientation onstage at a Republican National Convention.

“I am proud to be gay,” Thiel said that night, to cheers. “I am proud to be a Republican.”

Thiel, a staunch Libertarian, went on to admonish the GOP for wasting time debating “who gets to use which bathroom.” These “fake culture wars,” he said, “only distract us from our economic decline, and nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump.”

Many have commented on Trump’s reluctance to engage with the concerns of social conservatives. He'd rather talk about immigrants or terrorism than Planned Parenthood or gay marriage, in part because he has a record of permissive views on abortion and gay rights. Though he has tried to walk back some of his statements recently, his liberal reputation on social issues endures. Many thought it would prove a fatal weakness with the evangelical wing of the GOP. Yet, when his rivals tried to attack this flank during primary season, none of their arguments seemed to stick.

Some interpret Trump’s success as a sign that the traditional culture wars have reached their conclusion. On LGBT issues, at least, it seems the end may really be in sight. In recent months, Trump has essentially been offering a blueprint for how the GOP could eventually woo gay Americans — which is useful, because a startling new poll shows that Republicans may have to adapt much faster than they thought.

We have long known that gay rights are more of a generational issue than a partisan one. A 2014 poll showed that majority — 61 percent — of Republican millennials support same-sex marriage.

But last week, a report from the Black Youth Project and the AP-NORC Center turned up a surprising finding. Not only do millennials overwhelmingly favor LGBT rights, but they have dramatically increased their support just in the past two years.

In a 2014 poll, 69 percent of whites aged 18-30 agreed that gays and lesbians should be allowed to adopt children. In the most recent poll, 84 percent of them favored gay adoption — a bump of 15 points. Likewise, just in the past two years, the fraction of white millennials who support equal LGBT employment rights increased from 84 percent to 92 percent.



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« Reply #216 on: August 12, 2016, 10:32:26 pm »

http://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2016/08/rubio-preaches-love-of-lgbt-neighbors-at-controversial-meeting-with-pastors-stands-firm-against-same-sex-marriage-104697
Rubio tells pastors 'our LGBT neighbors' should be loved, but still opposes same-sex marriage


By Daniel Ducassi

08/12/16 02:25 PM EDT

TALLAHASSEE — Amid criticism of his attendance at what LGBT advocates have dubbed an “anti-LGBT rally,” U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio told a conference of pastors in Orlando on Friday that Jesus teaches that “our LGBT neighbors” should not be judged, but loved.

Abandoning judgment and loving our LGBT neighbors is not a betrayal of what the Bible teaches, it is a fulfillment of it. Jesus showed us how to do this,” Rubio said, recounting the story of Jesus saving an "adulterous woman” from being stoned.

Rubio, in a speech laced with New Testament references, did not, however, back down from his position against same-sex marriage.

“I know what some of you are thinking,” Rubio said to the pastors. “That even if you speak of respect and dignity for all, if you do not accept a new definition of marriage, some are still going to try to shame you and silence you. They’re still going to call you a ‘bigot' and a 'hater.’ Yes, probably some will, and yet we must still love our neighbor.”

Rubio said traditional marriage between one man and one women "deserves to be elevated and set apart in our laws.”

The U.S. Supreme Court legalized same sex marriage nationwide last year when it ruled that the U.S. Constitution bars states from denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"To love our neighbors in the LGBT community, we should recognize that even as we stand firm in the belief that marriage is the union between one man and one woman, there are those in that community and in same-sex relationships whose love for one another is real, and who feel angry and humiliated that the law did not recognize their relationship as a marriage."

LGBT advocacy groups have slammed Rubio in recent days for attending the pastors' conference.

They note that sponsors of the event, the Liberty Counsel and American Family Association have been labeled as anti-LGBT hate groups by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

“Marco Rubio’s participation in an Orlando anti-LGBT rally further demonstrates why Floridians can’t trust his leadership,” said Democratic state Rep. David Richardson, the only openly gay member of the Legislature. “Senator Rubio is using his national profile to legitimize activists who promote inequality, and he continues to ‘double down’ on his support for discrimination against the LGBT community."

Terry Fleming, president of the Florida LGBTQ Democratic Caucus, penned an op-ed in TIME magazine blasting Rubio for speaking to the group on the two-month anniversary of the massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. Forty-nine people were killed in the attack.

"Rubio’s company isn’t surprising considering he has actively advocated against the rights of gay Americans,” Fleming wrote. "He has opposed the rights of gay Americans to get married or adopt children. He has embraced support from the leader of a group that promotes dangerous conversion therapy for LGBT youth, and voted against providing basic workplace discrimination protection for employees based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. While the LGBT community was grieving, Rubio used the tragedy as an opportunity to run for reelection.”

LGBTQ advocates held a rally on Thursday to protest Rubio’s attendance at the conference, as well as that of Donald Trump.

“I wonder if Marco Rubio or Donald Trump have ever lost a family member to a hate crime,” Celia Cruz, the sister of one of the Pulse victims, said at the rally, "I wonder if they know the pain that comes from losing a family member in this manner. If they knew this pain … I doubt Marco Rubio and Donald Trump would be promoting this conference, promoting intolerance and hate.”
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« Reply #217 on: August 15, 2016, 10:29:05 am »

http://www.rollcall.com/news/kentucky-gay-senate-candidate-anybody-care
8/15/16
Kentucky Has a Gay Senate Candidate — Does Anybody Care?

America may be closer to a post-gay state of politics than most realize


FANCY FARM, KENTUCKY — Jim Gray walked to the lectern on stage, leaned in to the microphone, and began to speak. Kentucky’s openly gay Senate candidate was making history.

He would say later the boos were so loud he could barely hear his own voice.

No more than 10 yards in front of the Democrat, a teeming mass of yelling, chanting Republicans were trying to intimidate him. A few hundred of them had crammed underneath this pavilion, no bigger than half a football field, to stay dry from the storm soaking the surrounding fairgrounds in this tiny western Kentucky town.

Gray, of course, welcomed this.

The St. Jerome Fancy Farm Picnic is an annual showcase for Kentucky’s top politicians to give (they hope) a funny, sharp-elbowed speech at the other party’s expense. While they speak, hundreds of loud-mouthed partisans are encouraged to yell and scream as loudly as they can — as if the American political id was caged in a small pavilion two hours from a major airport.

“I want to introduce myself to Senator McConnell,” he said, looking over to the Senate majority leader seated a few feet away, who minutes earlier had given his own speech. The Republicans, whose voices drowned out the sound of nearby thunder, chanted “Go away Gray!”   

The candidate continued: “He earlier called me a ‘nobody.’ Well, let me introduce myself, senator. I am Jim Gray, and I am the guy who is going to beat Rand Paul.”

What went unnoticed this recent Saturday afternoon was that Gray was probably first openly gay person to speak at Fancy Farm. Records aren’t easy to come by for something that began in 1880, but veterans of the event say they can’t recall an openly gay speaker.

This is how Gray’s campaign has gone: He’s making history, and nobody seems to notice. Or, for that matter, care.

Gray would be the first openly gay man to serve in the United States Senate, and the possibility that Kentucky would be the state to elect him should be remarkable. This is a Southern state that sits on the buckle of the Bible Belt, where even the Democratic Party is culturally conservative.

It’s a state where, only a year ago, Kim Davis made international news when she refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the small county where she served as a clerk.

And yet, Gray’s sexual orientation has drawn little interest, from voters, his opponents, or the even the media.

“I’m constantly surprised by what a non-issue this has become,” said Geoff Reed, a longtime adviser to Gray.

“I’m constantly surprised by what a non-issue this has become.”

— Geoff Reed

Gray’s campaign is undoubtedly a sign of how far gay and lesbian candidates have come. It even suggests that in the year 2016, they may not have all that much further to go.

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« Reply #218 on: August 19, 2016, 01:10:25 pm »

This guy, who's part of the whole "religious right" crowd (and a CNP member, which is to the global "religious" wing, as the CFR is to the "political" wing), ran for Senator of Louisiana in 2002 (I used to live in New Orleans then). What happened was the then-governor (Mike Foster) endorsed him, instead of the clear GOP frontrunner (Suzzie Terrell). When all was said and done, Mary Landrieu got re-elected amidst all of this chaos (when the election was clearly rigged for her in 1996 - her opponent was CNP member Woody Jenkins). When all was said and done, when Obamacare came up to vote in 2009, they barely had enough votes for it to pass b/c of Landrieu being there (otherwise, they would have been 1 vote short). By the time she was voted out in 2014, the damage was already done.

Anyhow - long story, yeah, but nonetheless Perkins certainly played his role.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/louisiana-floods-destroy-home-christian-leader-who-blamed-natural-disasters-gay-people-1576782?utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=rss&utm_content=/rss/yahoous/news&yptr=yahoo
Louisiana floods destroy home of Christian leader who blamed natural disasters on gay people

President of Family Research Council said his family was forced to escape in a canoe.

8/18/16

A Christian campaigner who said natural disasters were God's punishment for an increasingly gay-friendly world has seen his home destroyed by a flood.

Tony Perkins, the president of Christian lobbyist group Family Research Council, saw his house in Louisiana submerged under water during floods that have so far killed 13 people and destroyed more than 40,000 homes.

Describing the deluge as of "near-biblical proportions", he said his family of seven escaped in a canoe when the water rose to 10-feet high.

While last year Perkins said a hurricane heading for Washington DC was a sign of God's wrath for the legalisation of gay marriage, he fell short of blaming the Louisiana floods on the LGBT movement.

He instead told his organisation's radio show that it was an "incredible, encouraging spiritual exercise to take you to the next level in your walk with an almighty and gracious God who does all things well".

He added: "We're gonna look for what God's gonna do in this. I'm asking those questions and I'm going to see."

Perkins, who also attracted controversy when he blamed the 2013 Boston bombings on Congress's support of "sexual liberalism", said he and his family are now forced to live off "God's provisions" with help from his church congregation.

Along with his wife and five children, he faces six months living in a trailer while his house is repaired.

The Red Cross said three days of heavy rainfall in Louisiana, which began on Friday (12 August), had led to the worst natural disaster to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy. It has so far led to 20,000 people being evacuated.

Posting pictures of his own flooded home on Facebook, Perkins received a torrent of both abuse and messages of goodwill.

One comment read: "Didn't you say God sents (sic) storms to punish gays? Either you were wrong about that or you're still in the closet. Sorry for your loss."

Another added: "From the viewpoint of one transgender atheist (whom I suspect you might wish was drowned beneath the torrent), I am truly, sincerely sorry that your home was destroyed and your family endangered. I am glad that you and yours are safe.

"I do hope you manage to take a few moments to consider your less affluent neighbors who may not be as well-buttressed. Maybe in particular, those who you yourself may have wronged through your actions and words ... May you emerge from this catastrophe not only unscathed, but improved."

The Family Research Council is one of the most influential – and controversial – religious lobbyist groups in the US, with its members campaigning against same-sex marriage, abortion, divorce and stem-cell research.

Under Perkins' leadership, the organisation was classified as an anti-LGBT hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2010, characterised as a "fount of anti-gay propaganda". The allegation was strongly denied by Perkins.

Perkins is not the only Christian leader to have blamed natural disasters on the passing of pro-LGBT legislation.

Texas pastor John Hagee in 2006 described Hurricane Katrina as "God's retribution for a planned gay pride parade" – a remark that led to widespread criticism in the media.
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« Reply #219 on: August 24, 2016, 04:50:47 pm »

Proverbs 23:4  Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/another-good-reason-not-married-100004570.html
Another Good Reason Not to Get Married, Courtesy of the IRS
8/19/16

There are plenty of reasons to get married. Your taxes may not be one of them.

Some couples—generally those with one person who earns far more than the other—will see their tax bills fall after marriage. But for two well-paid professionals, tax bills can soar post-marriage, as their combined incomes put them in the highest tax brackets.

And well-off couples just got another financial incentive to cancel the wedding. Unmarried couples can now deduct effectively twice as much of their mortgage and home interest on their tax returns, thanks to a change this month by the Internal Revenue Service.


The IRS had little choice: A year ago, it lost a California couple's lawsuit challenging its mortgage-deduction rules. Bruce Voss and Charles Sophy were registered as domestic partners and owned two properties together in California, in Beverly Hills and in Rancho Mirage near Palm Springs. In 2006 and 2007, they had about $2.7 million in debt on their houses, and they were paying a combined interest of about $180,000 a year.

The law says taxpayers can deduct the interest on up to $1 million in mortgage debt and $100,000 in home equity financing. Voss and Sophy each tried to deduct this full amount, but the IRS audited their returns and said the $1.1 million limit had to be applied on a per-residence basis—meaning they had to share the deduction limit and lost the right to $198,415 in deductions over two years. The men sued, but a tax court sided with the IRS. They appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, which last August overturned the ruling and found, based on a close reading of the tax code, that the men should each get their own $1.1 million deduction limit.

This month, the IRS “acquiesced” in that ruling—applying it not just to Voss and Sophy and other taxpayers under Ninth Circuit jurisdiction but to all taxpayers nationwide in similar circumstances.

The IRS's new position on the mortgage deduction could be a boon to other unmarried couples who co-own property and split mortgages in expensive areas of the country, such as Manhattan or San Francisco, where median home prices top $1.1 million, according to Zillow.

But it could also pose a dilemma if those couples are planning a wedding: Get married, and you’re limited to deductions of $1.1 million in mortgage and home debt.

“If you stay unmarried, you can deduct up to $2.2 million,” said ReKeithen Miller, a financial planner at Palisades Hudson Financial Group, based in Atlanta. “Not to say you want to let tax policy dictate your personal life, but it’s another thing for them to consider.”

The ruling could also apply to friends or family who want to buy real estate together.

Still, buying real estate with friends, family, or an unmarried partner is risky and can get messy if you stop getting along or decide to break up. (A 2006 movie starring Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn centered on this very scenario.)

“When you’re an unmarried couple, you don’t have protections,” said Janis Cowhey, a lawyer and partner at Marcum, an accounting and advisory firm in New York. “As far as the law is concerned, you’re legal strangers.”

Property co-owners can hire lawyers to write agreements that set out some rules. Co-habitation agreements let unmarried couples agree on all aspects of the relationship—including inheritance rights, medical decisions, property, and finances. Ownership agreements are more narrowly focused on how to handle a particular property after a death or breakup, but they can still be complicated documents, Cowhey said, specifying who gets to stay in an apartment or exactly how to sell the property.

“They seem like insane details, but if you’re in the middle of a breakup, they seem like important details,” Cowhey said. “You’re never going to agree on a real estate broker.”
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« Reply #220 on: August 25, 2016, 08:45:02 am »

https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/2016/08/24/rubio-abandon-judgment-of-lbgt-americans/
8/24/16
Rubio: ‘Abandon’ Judgment of LBGT Americans

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) encouraged Christians to “abandon a spirit of judgment” of LBGT Americans, which he said would not violate the teachings of the Bible.

“To love our neighbors, we must recognize that many have experienced sometimes severe condemnation and judgment from some Christians. They have heard some say that the reason God will bring condemnation on America is because of them as if somehow God was willing to put up with adultery, and gluttony, and greed and pride, but now, this is the last straw,” Rubio said in a recent speech at a conference held by the American Renewal Project, a group of conservative religious leaders focused on influencing public policy, in Orlando, Fla.

“To love our neighbors, we must abandon a spirit of judgment. Do not judge or you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged and with a measure you use it will be used to measure you. And we should remember not to ignore the plank in our own eye,” he added.

“I want to be clear with you,” the former GOP presidential candidate continued. “Abandoning judgment and loving our LGBT neighbors is not a betrayal of what the Bible teaches, it is a fulfillment of it.”

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) encouraged Christians to “abandon a spirit of judgment” of LBGT Americans, which he said would not violate the teachings of the Bible.

“To love our neighbors, we must recognize that many have experienced sometimes severe condemnation and judgment from some Christians. They have heard some say that the reason God will bring condemnation on America is because of them as if somehow God was willing to put up with adultery, and gluttony, and greed and pride, but now, this is the last straw,” Rubio said in a recent speech at a conference held by the American Renewal Project, a group of conservative religious leaders focused on influencing public policy, in Orlando, Fla.

“To love our neighbors, we must abandon a spirit of judgment. Do not judge or you will be judged. For in the same way you judge others you will be judged and with a measure you use it will be used to measure you. And we should remember not to ignore the plank in our own eye,” he added.

“I want to be clear with you,” the former GOP presidential candidate continued. “Abandoning judgment and loving our LGBT neighbors is not a betrayal of what the Bible teaches, it is a fulfillment of it.”

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« Reply #221 on: August 29, 2016, 06:39:49 pm »

http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/man-proposes-boyfriend-texas-methodist-church-gets-standing-ovation-congregation/
8/29/16

Man Proposes To His Boyfriend At Texas Methodist Church Gets Standing Ovation From Congregation

"I don't need permission to be gay", a defiant Harper stated during his "testimony". "I get that from Jesus". Well, actually Trevor, no you don't. The Bible declares that homosexuality is a sin, regardless of whether or not they are monogamous or not.


The church is open to members of any sexual orientation. Harper said the support they have received has been a huge blessing to their relationship, especially as a gay couple in Texas.

“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)

At the First United Methodist Church of Austin, Texas, anything goes. Except apparently following the Bible. A gay couple in the church were asked to stand up and “give their testimony” of what God has been doing in their lives. So, one of the men, Trevor Harper, decided this would be a great time to “propose” to his “wife”, Davis Covin.
•Click here to watch the “proposal” of Trevor and Davis.

“I don’t need permission to be gay”, a defiant Harper stated during his “testimony”. “I get that from Jesus”. Well, actually Trevor, no you don’t. The Bible declares that homosexuality is a sin, regardless of whether or not you are monogamous or not.

“And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.” Romans 1:27 (KJV)

This story took place last year, but as we speed closer and closer to the Rapture of the Church, it bears repeating. Jesus said that the last church, the church of Laodicea, would be a church that glorified themselves and locked the Lord outside the door. That is exactly what we are seeing.

The Bible believers are being driven out, and in their place are the proponents of the social justice false gospel which no one in the Bible ever preached. With each passing month, more and more churches are signing on to affirm and promote the LGBT lifestyle and agenda. Here are just a few:
•The First Baptist Church of the City of Washington D.C.
•St. Matthew Cathedral
•St. Thomas Episcopal Parish
•First Congregational United Church of Christ
•Calvary Baptist Church
•Riverside United Church of Christ
•FirstCoast Metropolitan Community Church

There are thousands more across America where the gay agenda is preached and sinners are told they are not sinners, and that they have no need get saved and repent. This is a false Christianity that leads its followers down a flaming road to Hell.

The apostle Paul said that in the last days, there would be no doctrine to warn and instruct, only people having their ears tickled by false teachers teaching lies. That day has arrived, mark this one in the “fulfilled” category.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3,4 (KJV)
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« Reply #222 on: September 03, 2016, 12:38:05 pm »

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/293912-pence-questioned-why-aids-activists-attended-1996-gop
Pence questioned why AIDS activists attended 1996 convention
8/31/16

GOP vice presidential nominee Mike Pence questioned why AIDS activists spoke at the 1996 Republican National Convention in San Diego in an article penned that year.

While writing for Indiana Policy Review, a conservative think-tank based in the state where Pence would later serve as a congressman and governor, Pence blasted the convention for failing to represent the party’s base.

“The sad truth is that the Republican Party for all its success in generating media praise for the convention failed to present the personalities or principles of interest to its base constituency, the modern Reagan coalition,” Pence wrote.

“An endless line of pro-choice women, AIDS activists and proponents of affirmative action may have struck a chord with the Washington press corps. They bombed, however, in Peoria.”

Pence, 57, was a talk radio host at the time of the article.

People for the American Way’s “Right Wing Watch” first uncovered Pence’s article and shared it with The Hill.

A Pence spokesman did not return a request for comment.

In the 1996 piece, Pence went on to add that the convention also included a “systematic exclusion from prime time of social conservatives” and argued that “whether the elites in the media and the GOP like it or not, traditional pro-family conservatives make up the bedrock of modern Republican electoral success.”

AIDS activist Mary Fisher, who contracted the disease from her former husband, spoke at the 1996 convention to call on the party to join the fight against the disease, which had been stereotyped as a disease more prominent in the gay community.

PFAW Senior Fellow Ari Rabin-Havt accused Pence of “advocating for a smaller-tent Republican Party, one that would not court African Americans, women or the LGBT community.”

“It is doubtful that Pence’s objection was to these specific ‘AIDS activists,’” he wrote in a blog on the group’s website.

“His objection was likely that at the time, HIV/AIDS was still viewed as a gay issue. Pence clearly did not consider LGBT individuals part of the 'pro-family' party he envisioned the GOP to be.”

Pence drew controversy last year with his support of a bill known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which he signed as governor. But amid protests that the bill amounted to legalizing discrimination against the LGBT community, Pence backed a compromise meant to protect against that discrimination.
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« Reply #223 on: October 02, 2016, 04:46:32 pm »

http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/02/politics/rudy-giuliani-infidelity-everybody-does/index.html
10/2/16
Giuliani on facing accusations about infidelity: 'Well, everybody does'

Washington (CNN)Rudy Giuliani answered the charge that he faces accusations of infidelity on Sunday by saying it's not just him.
"Everybody does," the former New York City mayor and Donald Trump supporter said.

Giuliani was attacking Hillary Clinton in an interview with NBC's Chuck Todd on "Meet the Press" the morning after Trump said -- with no evidence -- at a rally: "I don't even think she's loyal to Bill, if you want to know the truth. And really folks, really, why should she be?"

Not mentioned by Trump: He's had three divorces and faced accusations of infidelity himself. So has the thrice-married Giuliani.

Todd asked Giuliani if he's the right person to criticize Clinton's marriage.

Giuliani cited his pre-mayoral career as a Justice Department prosecutor.

"I'm the right person to level this charge, because I've never made such a charge, and I've prosecuted people who've committed ****," he said.
But, Todd responded, "You have your own infidelity charge."

"Well, everybody does," Giuliani said. "And I'm a Roman Catholic, and I confess those things to my priest. But I've never ever attacked someone who's been the victim ... of sexual abuse. Not only that, I put people in jail who've been the victim of sexual abuse."

Then, Giuliani complained about Todd's line of questioning.

"And I think your bringing up my personal life really is kind of irrelevant to what Hillary Clinton did. She's running for president, I'm not," said Giuliani, himself a presidential candidate in 2008, when he sought the GOP nomination, unsuccessfully.
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« Reply #224 on: October 11, 2016, 08:11:22 am »

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« Reply #225 on: October 24, 2016, 08:03:45 pm »

Pastor to Preside over Transgender Renaming Ceremony
BreakPoint

A Baptist minister will preside over a transgender name-changing ceremony at the church he pastors in south London.

According to ChristianToday.com, the event will take place during the normal Sunday morning worship service at Oasis church in Waterloo. Pastor Steve Chalke will lead the service.

Parishioners will be present to witness the name-changing ceremony of Luke, a transgender individual who transitioned from being a woman to being a man.

During the service, which will be filmed by the BBC, Luke will tell his story before being prayed for, renamed, and presented with a Bible with his new name written in it.

Chalke says that before transitioning into a male, Luke attended Oasis for seven years as a woman.

Chalke gave him high praise, saying that Luke is "a totally committed Christian – a fantastic guy. He's the kind of person you'd die for being in your church. There are some people that are there on a Sunday and there are some people that are really there. They are committed to God's kingdom – they are committed for living out their life for Christ and he is one of those."

Oasis is very welcoming to transgenders. A transgender individual named Ruth who became a woman was recently baptized in the church. In Ruth’s testimony, she shared how she always felt drawn to identify as a female.

Chalke also noted that both Luke and Ruth discovered they were born inter-sex and their parents had to make a decision whether to raise them as a male or female.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/pastor-to-preside-over-transgender-renaming-ceremony.html
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« Reply #226 on: October 28, 2016, 07:45:00 pm »

Christian Author Jen Hatmaker: 'It is High Time Christians Opened Wide Their Arms...to the LGBT Community'

 Popular Christian author and speaker Jen Hatmaker said that Christians should embrace the LGBT community.
 
ChristianToday.com reports that Hatmaker, author of 7 and For the Love had previously held more conservative views regarding the LGBT community.
 
In 2014, Hatmaker wrote that she believed "God's original creation is how we were crafted to thrive: in marriage, in family, and in community, which has borne out for millennia in Scripture, interpretation, practice, and society (within and without church)."
 
However, she recently made waves when she wrote in a Facebook post that “It is high time Christians opened wide their arms, wide their churches, wide their tables wide their homes to the LGBT community.”
 
"So whatever the cost and loss, this is where I am: gay teens? Gay adults? Mamas and daddies of precious gaybees? Friends and beloved neighbors of very dear LGBT folks? Here are my arms open wide. So wide that every last one of you can jump inside. You are so dear, so beloved, so precious and important. You matter so desperately and your life is worthy and beautiful,” she continued.
 
Hatmaker told those in the LGBT community that there “is nothing 'wrong with you,' or in any case nothing more right or wrong than any of us, which is to say we are all hopelessly screwed up but Jesus still loves us beyond all reason and lives to make us all new, restored, whole."
 
Hatmaker’s post received 35,000 likes and nearly 7,000 shares, but there were also many who disagreed with her, saying that being lesbian, gay, or transgender was not a lifestyle Christians should condone.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/christian-author-jen-hatmaker-it-is-high-time-christian-opened-wide-their-arms-to-the-lgbt-community.html

LifeWay Stops Selling Jen Hatmaker Books Due to Her LGBT Support

 LifeWay Christian Stores will no longer carry Christian author Jen Hatmaker’s books, according to Christianity Today.

In a statement, the Christian business says it will be discontinuing Hatmaker’s books due to her stance on LGBT issues.

“In the past, LifeWay Christian Resources published several resources with Jen Hatmaker. In a recent interview, she voiced significant changes in her theology of human sexuality and the meaning and definition of marriage—changes which contradict LifeWay’s doctrinal guidelines,” read the statement.

Hatmaker declined to comment on LifeWay’s decision.

Hatmaker drew attention and criticism when she posted back in April about how the church needs to embrace members of the LGBT community.

“It is high time Christians opened wide their arms, wide their churches, wide their tables wide their homes to the LGBT community,” she wrote in a Facebook post.

In a recent interview, she went on to expound on her support of LGBT people.

“From a civil rights and civil liberties side and from just a human being side, any two adults have the right to choose who they want to love. And they should be afforded the same legal protections as any of us. I would never wish anything less for my gay friends,” she said.

“Not only are these our neighbors and friends, but they are brothers and sisters in Christ. They are adopted into the same family as the rest of us, and the church hasn’t treated the LGBT community like family. We have to do better,” she continued.

Hatmaker’s latest book, For the Love, is a New York Times bestseller.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/blog/lifeway-stops-selling-jen-hatmaker-books-due-to-her-lgbt-support.html
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« Reply #227 on: November 10, 2016, 11:39:11 am »

Yes, even this far-left news publication says it correctly!

https://www.yahoo.com/news/m/a17cdbe8-cee7-3f87-a40d-13100da25c6d/ss_gays%2C-trump-is-not-going-to.html
Gays, Trump is Not Going to Take Away Your Rights
11/9/16

I assumed Hillary would win. I knew that the moment it was final I would be annoyed, but it simply never occurred to me to cry. The President of the United States is the head of one branch of government. The president is not a king. We vote every four years and progressively we have assigned ever more power to this individual - the exact situation the separation of powers was intended to prevent. Every four years we each scream about a potential savior and the absolute end of our country as we know it.

Every four years.

But this year is unique and the nonsense is profound. I can say with absolute certainty that there is not a politician in this country that could inspire me to weep with joy or despair. I was concerned about Hillary. I was worried about the consequences of additional leftist Supreme Court Justices. I was insecure with her foreign policy and domestic agenda. But I was never afraid.

The notion of Americans being afraid of their president is absurd and yet we are witnessing an emotional and psychological meltdown across our nation that can only be described as an epidemic. People have lost the ability to reason. Of the multitude of examples, the irrational demand that Trump is somehow a threat to gay people needs addressed.

Something LGBT need to understand is that in our system of government rights are not granted and our president cannot take them away. President Trump simply cannot take away gay marriage. It just doesn’t work that way. To be sure, there is no reason to believe Trump would want to if he could. In 2005, when both Obama and Hillary opposed gay marriage, Trump said this of Elton John and David Furnish’s marriage:

    “I know both of them, and they get along wonderfully. It’s a marriage that’s going to work,” Mr. Trump wrote, adding: “I’m very happy for them. If two people dig each other, they dig each other.


What Trump has expressed disagreement with, to which I agree with him, is compulsory nation-wide same-sex marriage requirements on the states. Trump is not a conservative by any means, but he respects the autonomy of the states (as does Obama regarding marijuana legalization). Trump supports overturning Obergefell via the Supreme Court for the same reason I do: it isn’t Constitutionally sound and it unfairly limits the states which should be making their own marriage laws.

However, Trump cannot will this into being. Cases must be viewed by the Supreme Court; they are not assigned by the president. He could replace the entire court with his personal nominees and they would still require a valid court case to review. Even then it is highly unlikely due to the nature of the decision itself which invoked the 14th Amendment. If Obergefell were to be overturned it would not impact same-sex marriage at all, it would simply lift the restriction on the states against defining marriage between one man and one woman. Each state would have to choose to nullify the thousands upon thousands of legally recognized same-sex marriages performed in their state. This just isn’t going to happen.

Donald Trump has openly supported transgender individuals using whatever restroom they wish, famously inviting Caitlyn Jenner to use the restroom of her choice in Trump Tower and opposing North Carolina’s controversial HB2 law.. He is not a religious conservative but he supports legal protections to ensure religious freedom. LGBT obsessively demand religious freedom is code for ‘legalized discrimination against LGBT’ but this is merely a political tactic with no logical or rational basis.

Trump has openly embraced his gay supporters, displaying the rainbow flag with ‘LGBT for Trump’ written on it at a recent event. High profile gay advocates like Milo Yiannopolous and Chris Barron are enthusiastic supporters and the hashtag #GaysforTrump trended on twitter. He likely wouldn’t support the Equality Act for the same reasons, again, as I wouldn’t due to its overreaching abuse of Federal power and its unnecessary precedent.

Simply put: There really is no specific reason LGBT would oppose Trump and certainly no reason to fear him.

To claim Trump would negatively impact LGBT rights is honestly a routine argument used when demonstrating opposition to any generic Republican. LGBT like to wrap extremely leftist policy in emotional terms like ‘Marriage Equality’ to intimidate people from opposing them. They then claim Republicans are anti-gay when they speak out against said policies.

The arguments I see are generalized ‘He doesn’t support policies we want, therefore he hates us!’ which I do not recognize as valid.

I would say Donald Trump is neutral to positive towards the generalized world of LGBT. He lived in New York City as a TV personality billionaire for goodness sake. Why would anyone imagine he has a problem with gay people?

Gay people tend to demand that Trump opposes ‘pro-LGBT’ policies or ‘could’ impact some right or another and his choice of a socially conservative vice president solidified the confirmation bias. But this is really a case of ‘its not always about the gays.’ Trump just hasn’t focused on us either way and why should he? Gays in the United States are not really a high priority right now. We have an extremely low hate crime rate (0.01% of our population), we’ve been getting married to members of the same sex for years now, discrimination is so rare it is largely faked, most people are perfectly nice and accepting, HIV/AIDS is managed well and there are no legitimate legal concerns facing us.

What LGBT is upset about is we are still refusing to submit to their never-ending list of ridiculous identity-political demands and Trump is notorious for standing up to this kind of bullying.

I also think most LGBT genuinely believe, due to the constant propaganda of the the LGBT media, that the right hates them and Trump, by default, must too. We have watched hysterical cries of how dangerous Trump will be for everyone for so long its difficult to separate out the factual reality. The truth is we are not likely to come up at all and that’s a good thing. That’s what equality truly looks like.

I am not a Trump supporter or fan and I have absolutely no problem with opposition to his policies, ideas or actions. But this silly narrative needs to end.

    How Trump’s Win Could Mean Trouble For LGBT People Worldwide https://t.co/6TdyQnCDju pic.twitter.com/Bnp5CXlvLU
    — BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) November 9, 2016

Considering Hillary Clinton was funded by nations around the world that execute gay people per state law, this assertion is beyond parody.

I understand that the left is upset, just as the right would be if Hillary had won. I appreciate the discomfort with Trump and I even understand the generalized anxiety. But fear is just going too far and especially for gay people. We have to get to a place where we can engage in political debate without resorting to irrational histrionics. Gays: it really is fine. Trump isn’t going to hurt you I promise.

Over the next four years we will see all manner of outrageous attention-grabbing nonsense that will make the Bush years seem tame and boring and I am certain the LGBT media will never cease in their contributions. But four years from now gays across the nation will be living their lives just as they are now and hopefully will feel pretty silly over their meltdown today.

Not every event has to be the end of the world and remember, we have a representative government. The less power you assign at the highest levels the less you, as an individual, have to worry about someone abusing that power. Small government means more direct influence on said government by you.

In the meantime, you have plenty of things to worry about with this new transition, but LGBT rights simply are not one of them. Stop the fear-mongering.
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« Reply #228 on: November 13, 2016, 11:10:49 pm »

https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/texas/19679-two-churches-removed-from-bgct-due-to-gay-issue
11/12/16
Two churches face removal from BGCT due to gay issue

Officials with the Baptist General Convention of Texas notified two churches an affirming stance toward LGBT members places them outside the bounds of “harmonious cooperation” with the state convention.

BGCT Executive Director David Hardage, BGCT President René Maciel and Executive Board Chairman David Russell sent letters Nov. 8 to First Baptist Church in Austin and Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.

“We have made no demands of the BGCT that it become welcoming and affirming” of same-sex relationships, said Griff Martin, pastor of First Baptist Church in Austin. “We’ve just asked for a place at the table.”

In the case of Wilshire, Pastor George Mason called the decision by BGCT leaders both “provocative” and “premature,” noting a relevant vote by his congregation has not been completed.

“The outcome is not yet known, and it will not be known until after the convention messengers are seated,” he said, noting Wilshire plans to send messengers to the BGCT annual meeting in Waco, Nov. 14.

The letter to Wilshire frames the congregation’s relationship to the BGCT in terms of “potential withdrawal.”

“Should your church choose to publicly affirm same-sex sexual behavior, the BGCT will no longer be able to accept funds from the church, seat its messengers to the annual meeting, allow the church to express affiliation with the BGCT or allow its members to serve on the BGCT boards, committees or other roles,” the letter states.

'Painful' but consistent with previous actions

“This is painful for us,” Hardage said. However, he said, it is consistent with previous Executive Board actions and resolutions adopted by messengers to annual meetings, declaring belief the Bible teaches any sexual relations outside the bounds of a male/female marriage are sinful.

So, he said, any church that essentially affirms other types of sexual relationships “effectively chooses to withdraw itself from harmonious cooperation with the churches of the convention.”

Due to the timing, some nominees from Wilshire will be presented as nominees to BGCT-related boards at the annual meeting.

“If elected, they will be given time to make a decision,” Hardage said. They may choose to resign from the board or move their church membership, he explained. Or, if the institution allows a percentage of non-BGCT-elected directors on its board and has a vacancy, the institution may choose to move the person into that position.

Although current policy requires BGCT Executive Board staff to be members of BGCT-affiliated churches, no immediate action will be taken regarding staff who are members of churches considered outside of  “harmonious cooperation” with the convention, he added. The BGCT Staff Support Committee will revisit the policy at its meeting prior to the February 2017 Executive Board meeting, he said.

Previous BGCT resolutions and actions

A resolution at the 1982 BGCT annual meeting stated, “The homosexual lifestyle is not normal or acceptable in God’s sight and is indeed called sin.”

In 1996, the BGCT Executive Board approved a report from its Messenger Seating Study Committee that said: “The Bible teaches that the ideal for sexual behavior is the marital union between husband and wife and that all other sexual relations—whether premarital, extramarital or homosexual—are contrary to God’s purposes and thus sinful. Homosexual practice is therefore in conflict with the Bible.”

In 1998, the convention’s Administrative Committee and Executive Board voted to decline any financial contributions from University Baptist Church in Austin after the congregation ordinated a gay man as a deacon. Messengers to the BGCT annual meeting subsequently affirmed the action. The recommendation as approved dealt not only with University Baptist, but also “any church which openly endorses moral views in conflict with biblical teaching.”

The BGCT Executive Board in 2010 took similar action toward Royal Lane Baptist Church in Dallas, saying the congregation’s decision to ordain gay deacons placed it outside the BGCT understanding of biblical sexual ethics.

“We haven’t changed,” Hardage said. “We’re trying to be both gracious and consistent.”

First Baptist Austin welcoming and affirming

A diversity statement on the First Baptist Church of Austin website states the congregation “welcomes and wants people of every race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, age, physical and mental ability, nationality, and economic station to thrive in the full life of our community; (and) affirms and celebrates all people as created in God’s very image and likeness.”

In a Nov. 2 article in The Clarion, the church’s newsletter, Martin writes: “It might be helpful for us to think about our history and the bridges that we have crossed: our move from the old property to this new property, the bridge that lead us away from the Southern Baptist Convention, and the bridge from a system of only male leadership to equal leadership between genders. All the way to our most recent bridge of inclusivity, where we bravely walked into a place that too few Baptist churches have yet crossed over, saying that at First Austin, all are welcome and all are equal.

“This bridge has lead us to perform same-sex weddings, ordain LBGTQ+ deacons, and has helped create a safe space in the Baptist world for a group that was often excluded. Crossing that bridge has not come without cost. We have lost folks who did not agree and have begun to understand this stance may cost us our place in some of our affiliations.”

Wilshire in process of voting

Members of Wilshire are in the process of voting on a resolution to affirm the church’s “existing bylaws, which provide for a single class of membership.” An article included in the church’s newsletter and online explained the significance of the vote.

A “yes” vote “would permit all members to participate in congregational life on the same basis as any other church member regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. This affirms the ability of the church’s committees and lay and staff governance structures to consider all members for leadership, ordination, baby dedication and marriage based upon individual merit and the discernment of those duly elected to governance positions,” the explanation stated.

A “no” vote “affirms the existing principle that does not allow some members to be considered for certain leadership roles, ordination, baby dedication and marriage based upon sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Last fall, the deacons at Wilshire appointed an Inclusion and Diversity Study Group to guide church leaders on issues related to sexual orientation and church life.

In particular, the group studied questions regarding limitations on deacon service, ordination to ministry, marriages performed at the church or by ministerial staff and family dedications at Wilshire.

Mason responds

Throughout the process, Mason noted, the church deliberately avoided making public statements and avoided “welcoming and affirming” language that would “put the BGCT on the defensive or be interpreted as provocative.”

Instead, when the matter came to a church vote, the deacons framed it simply in terms of affirming the church’s existing bylaws.

“I do not accept the idea that we have withdrawn ourselves from the BGCT,” he said. “We believe we have been rejected by the BGCT.”

In earlier conversations with Hardage, Mason said, the two talked about ways the church might continue to support BGCT missions causes and work together on matters of shared concern. However, he interpreted the letter to mean the state convention did not want Wilshire’s support.

“The BGCT appears to care more about institutional survival than missional partnerships,” he said.

Austin church drafts open letter to Texas Baptists

In an open letter from First Baptist Church in Austin to BGCT leaders, the Austin congregation insists it acted in keeping with Baptist principles of biblical freedom, soul freedom, church freedom and religious freedom in reaching its welcoming-and-affirming position.

“As a church, we did our diligent theological work, being guided by the Spirit, meditating on sacred Scripture and hearing the stories and struggles of our own members. As a result of that thoughtful process, we are proudly and openly welcoming and affirming of all God’s beloved children,” the letter states.

The church asserts the BGCT violated local-church autonomy in taking its action.

“The current actions of the Texas Baptists’ leadership are blatantly against our very Baptist heritage of the autonomy of the local church, where each church has the freedom under the leadership of Christ and the Holy Spirit to make its own choices and stances,” the letter states.

Furthermore, the BGCT surrendered to the will of congregations opposed to LGBT-inclusion who threatened to withhold financial support, the letter asserts. Giving in to pressure on this issue could lead to the BGCT surrendering on other issues, such as women in ministry, Calvinism or biblical inerrancy, the letter says.

“When will you draw the line on what you will or won’t hold a required belief for being a Texas Baptist?” the letter asks. “Once we begin to listen to the voices who wield their power and financial strength in this way, we have begun a slippery slope to fundamentalism and irrelevancy. This is a familiar road we have been down.

“From our perspective, the current model of discernment being used by the leadership of Texas Baptists is based on money and influence, far from the model that Jesus set forth in the Gospels.”

Decisions based on principle and precedent

The BGCT had to make a decision based on principle and precedent, in light of the positions adopted by messengers to the annual meeting and actions taken by the Executive Board regarding LGBT issues, Hardage asserted.

“I believe a church can be welcoming but not affirming,” he said, explaining his belief churches can welcome people regardless of sexual orientation but maintain a traditional understanding of marriage and sexual ethics. “I believe that is not only possible, but also biblical. I also realize some would disagree.”

Hardage, Martin and Mason agreed on at least one point.

“It’s sad,” each said.
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« Reply #229 on: November 15, 2016, 03:32:23 pm »

Texas Baptist Convention Issues Warning After Congregation Votes to Allow Openly ‘Gay’ Members, Leaders

he Baptist General Convention of Texas has sent a warning letter to a congregation in Dallas that recently voted to allow open homosexuals as members and leaders.

According to reports, Wilshire Baptist Church passed a motion 61 percent to allow those in unrepentant homosexual behavior to serve in the house of worship.

While the resolution didn’t specifically mention homosexuality, an explanation on the Wilshire website outlined its intent.

“[T]his resolution would permit all members to participate in congregational life on the same basis as any other church member regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” it reads. “This affirms the ability of the church’s committees and lay and staff governance structures to consider all members for leadership, ordination, baby dedication and marriage based upon individual merit and the discernment of those duly elected to governance positions.”

But the matter did not sit well with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which oversees an estimated 5,000 Baptist churches in the state.

“Should your church choose to publicly affirm same-sex sexual behavior, the BGCT will no longer be able to accept funds from the church, seat its messengers to the annual meeting, allow the church to express affiliation with the BGCT or allow its members to serve on the BGCT boards, committees or other roles,” it warned in a letter to leader George Mason.

The Convention holds to the belief that sexual behavior between those of the same gender is a violation of the law of God.

“This is a painful time for Texas Baptists,” it said in a statement. “We have deep respect and appreciation for the churches involved. While Texas Baptists are loving, respectful and welcoming to all people, we have a longstanding and often reaffirmed biblical position on human sexuality.”

“As in the past, when a church chooses a position outside of the BGCT position, that church effectively withdraws from harmonious cooperation,” the Convention continued. “The BGCT values the autonomy of the local church and the harmony which is vital to the Convention’s purpose of fostering cooperative missions and ministries.”

The organization also sent a warning letter to First Baptist Church of Austin, which likewise welcomes openly homosexual members.

“This bridge has lead us to perform same-sex weddings, ordain LBGTQ+ deacons, and has helped create a safe space in the Baptist world for a group that was often excluded,” leaders wrote in a recent newsletter, according to the Baptist Standard. “Crossing that bridge has not come without cost. We have lost folks who did not agree and have begun to understand this stance may cost us our place in some of our affiliations.”

Convention Executive Director David Hardage told the outlet that he believes congregations “can be welcoming but not affirming”—allowing those who struggle with an attraction toward the same sex to attend services while holding fast to the Word of God on the issue of marriage and sexuality.

“I believe that is not only possible, but also biblical,” he said. “I also realize some would disagree.”

Romans 1:26-27 reads, “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections, for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature, and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another—men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.”

Jesus also said in Matthew 19:4-5, “Have ye not read that He which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?"

http://christiannews.net/2016/11/15/texas-baptist-convention-issues-warning-after-congregation-votes-to-allow-openly-gay-members-leaders/
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« Reply #230 on: November 21, 2016, 07:53:31 pm »

No, We Can't 'Agree to Disagree' on Marriage: Here's Why

 For years, a steady drumbeat of Christian pastors, musicians, and authors have announced they’ve “evolved” on the issue of homosexuality. Authors like Matthew Vines and more recently, Jen Hatmaker, musician Nicole Nordeman and Yale philosopher Nicholas Wolterstorff argue that the Bible doesn’t actually condemn same-sex “marriage.” Christians, they say, should bless such unions as “holy.”

Many of them have said that even if we don’t agree, we shouldn’t make it a big deal. We can “agree to disagree,” they say. Typically, they offer one of three reasons.

First, this issue, they say, is like the mode of baptism, or worship styles, or wine versus grape juice in the Lord’s Supper. In other words, homosexuality is a matter of preference, an area where believers can respect one another’s differences.

But this doesn’t make sense for either side. Advocates of same-sex “marriage” say it’s a human right. If that’s true, the traditional view is not just mistaken, it’s dangerous! Opponents say that acts of homosexuality are sinful. If that’s true, then Christians can’t agree to disagree either.

Second, we often hear that the Church is evolving on this issue, especially every time a Christin celebrity changes their minds. But the vast majority of evangelicals still hold to the traditional view, and they’re not changing their minds anytime soon. As my “BreakPoint This Week” cohost, Ed Stetzer, points out in Christianity Today, “Evangelical organizations across the spectrum are making clear where they stand on marriage.” Groups like the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Christianity Today, and even more progressive social-justice-minded organizations like World Vision and Fuller Seminary, have all unambiguously committed to hold the line on this issue.

As have denominations. Virtually every evangelical communion has reaffirmed God’s design for sex and marriage.  Even in the United Methodist Church, long considered a stronghold of liberal theology, and in the worldwide Anglican communion, the marriage debate has taken a conservative turn as traditional members in Africa and elsewhere exert their influence.

But, some will reply, “If Christians don’t all agree on what marriage is, you can’t say there’s such a thing as ‘the Christian position.’” But Christian truth isn’t made of what people who call themselves Christians say. It’s revealed truth, made known through creation, through Scripture, ultimately through Christ—each of which are quite clear about what makes us male and female, what marriage is, and about sexual morality.

Which is why Christians never questioned marriage until culturally yesterday. A post-sexual revolution claim just a few years old does nothing to negate the consistent Christian witness about marriage throughout all of history.

Which brings up the final argument, “If marriage is a core part of Christian teaching,” we hear, “why isn’t it in the creeds or the councils? Why did no one talk about it until now?” The answer is, because no one questioned what marriage is until now—anywhere, much less in the Church.

Throughout history, the need to clarify certain Christian doctrines has almost always arisen because of challenges. No one thought we needed a canon, until Marcion suggested some books weren’t Scripture. No one thought we needed to clarify Jesus’ place in the Godhead, until the Arian heresy. In each case, what was upheld wasn’t a theological innovation, but a clarification of the consistent Christian teaching.

So next time someone says, let’s just agree to disagree about this issue, say, “No. Instead, let’s agree to love each other and to pursue the truth together.” That’s a much better way forward.

http://www.christianheadlines.com/columnists/breakpoint/no-we-can-t-agree-to-disagree-on-marriage-here-s-why.html
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« Reply #231 on: November 21, 2016, 08:23:40 pm »

Baptist Church Turns Back on Denomination, Embraces Apostasy

A Texas Baptist church voted to embrace gay marriage and consequently, will be forced out of The Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Wilshire Baptist Church voted 577-367 (61 percent) to affirm that the church bylaws recognize a single class of membership, which would allow for all members to be treated equally, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, with respect to leadership, ordination, baby dedications and marriage. 

BGCT will formally tell Wilshire Baptist church, which left the Southern Baptist Convention years ago, they are no longer in "harmonious cooperation" with the organization. 

"All Texas Baptists are loving, respectful and welcoming to all people. But while we are welcoming, we are not affirming," a spokesman told the Washington Post.

"We will take up the matter of our relationship to the BGCT on our own terms in the near future, as cooperation with such bodies is voluntary and springs primarily from the church to the convention, rather than the other way round," Rev. George Mason said in a letter to his congregation. 

Mason expects at least 100 people to leave after the church's vote.

http://www.charismanews.com/us/61419-baptist-church-turns-back-on-denomination-embraces-apostasy
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« Reply #232 on: December 05, 2016, 10:26:47 pm »

Prominent Baptist Minister Says ‘Gay Marriage’ Is ‘Law of Land,’ Christians Need to Move on to Abortion

Like President-elect Donald Trump, a prominent Baptist minister in Texas who backed Trump’s campaign efforts says that despite his opposition, same-sex “marriage” is “settled law,” and Christians should move on to another issue, such as abortion.

Robert Jeffress, who leads First Baptist Church in Dallas, spoke last week with Good Morning Texas, which noted that Jeffress’ longstanding fight against the issue is now “water under the bridge.”

“This is not going to be re-litigated by the Supreme Court. That is the law of the land. I wish it were different, but it’s not different,” he said emphatically.

Jeffress outlined that he told Christians and others not to urge Trump to make the sanctity of marriage a part of his campaign.

“And actually I had to argue against some hard-right Catholics and evangelicals who wanted Mr. Trump to make that a campaign issue,'” he explained. “I said, ‘Guys, forget it. It’s over.'”

“We need to go on to other things, like protecting the unborn,” Jeffress said.

As previously reported, last month, Trump told CBS’ “60 Minutes” that he believes the issue of same-sex “marriage” has been “settled” by the U.S. Supreme Court and that he is “fine with that.”

“Do you support marriage equality?” interviewer Leslie Stahl inquired.

“It’s irrelevant because it was already settled,” Trump replied. “It’s law. It was settled in the Supreme Court. I mean, it’s done.”

“So even if you appoint a judge that—,” Stahl interjected, alluding to the possibility of overturning Obergefell.

“It’s done,” Trump stated. “These cases have gone to the Supreme Court. They’ve been settled. And I’m fine with that.”

While Trump believes that same-sex nuptials are settled with the U.S. Supreme Court, he is conversely open to appointing justices that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

f it (Roe v. Wade) ever were overturned, it would go back to the states,” he said.

“Yeah, but then some women won’t be able to get an abortion?” Stahl asked.

“No, it’ll go back to the states,” Trump replied.

He said that if abortion then becomes illegal in one state, that “they’ll perhaps have to go to another state.”

“And that’s okay?” Stahl asked.

“Well, we’ll see what happens,” Trump stated. “It’s got a long way to go, just so you understand. That has a long, long way to go.”

During last week’s interview with Good Morning Texas, Jeffress was also questioned about past statements decrying Roman Catholicism, but said, “Look, I believe there are going to be millions of Catholics in heaven because they have trusted in Christ as their savior.”

He did, however, advise in regard to Islam that Christ said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

“Any false religion ultimately is a deception of Satan to try to keep people from the only way to Heaven, which is by faith in Jesus Christ,” Jeffress stated.

http://christiannews.net/2016/12/05/prominent-baptist-minister-says-gay-marriage-is-law-of-land-christians-need-to-move-on-to-abortion/
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« Reply #233 on: December 06, 2016, 06:54:12 am »

2 years from now, Jeffress will be forced to admit that Roe V Wade is the law of the land.

What's next? Will he be forced to admit other abominations like polygamy, pedifile, etc are the laws of the land (if they get legalized, that is)?
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« Reply #234 on: January 12, 2017, 05:52:32 pm »

Baptist ‘Church’ in Nation’s Capital Hires ‘Married’ Lesbian Women to Lead Congregation

A historic Baptist “church” in the nation’s capital has hired two “married” lesbian women to lead their congregation, a move that has raised concerns among Baptists nationwide.
Calvary Baptist Church, which disassociated with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012, presented Maria Swearingen and Sally Sarratt as “co-pastors” this past Sunday, according to a press release from the Ministerial Selection Committee.

The two hail from Greenville, South Carolina as Sarratt had been serving as associate chaplain in the Greenville Health System and Swearingen as associate chaplain at Furman University. Sarratt had also been working part time at Greenville Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

“As we met and talked with Sally and Maria about their vision for pastoral leadership at Calvary, we were struck by their deep faith and commitment to being part of a gospel community,” Committee Chair Carol Blythe said in a statement.

“We were impressed by how their gifts, talents, and experience matched our ministry priorities—and we are thrilled about their upcoming pastorate and the versatility the co-pastor model will provide our congregation,” she added.

The women are expected to assume their roles in February.

But some have expressed concern over the arrangement, including Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

“Here you have a church—Calvary Baptist Church, one of the most historic congregations in the nation’s capital—that has now called a legally married lesbian couple as co-pastors,” he said on Tuesday during his podcast “The Briefing.” “The overarching pattern [in this matter] is the trajectory of American Protestant liberalism. That liberalism began as an impulse to try to modify Christianity so that it would fit better into a modern age.”

Mohler opined that the problems, however, go deeper than lesbianism, as he noted that one of the women works as a minister for a universalist assembly.

The Unitarian Universalist Association website outlines, “Few of us believe in divine judgment after death. It’s in our religious DNA: the Universalist side of our tradition broke with mainstream Christianity by rejecting the idea of eternal damnation.”

“If the [District of Columbia Baptist Convention] does not expel Calvary Baptist Church from their membership, then they by very definition simply become a convention that will accept—that indeed does accept—a church that has legally married lesbian co-pastors in terms of their own membership,” Mohler stated.

But Convention director Robert Cochran told reporters that the organization has no intention of expelling Calvary Baptist.

“We have no plans to disassociate [with Calvary]. To the best of my knowledge, the D.C. Baptist Convention, due to its respect for local congregational autonomy, has never withdrawn fellowship from any congregation,” he told the Baptist Press.

As previously reported, in 2014, Calvary Baptist ordained Daniel Robinson, a “transgender” who goes by the name Allyson Robinson.

“Allyson Dylan Robinson is a minister of the gospel, trained for the task, and ordained to the gospel ministry by another community in which she has served as pastor,” former leader Amy Butler wrote at that time. “Over the course of her journey, God has invited her to step into the faithful witness of a new identity, a true identity, and a new name.”

Robinson now speaks as an itinerant preacher and appeared at Bruce “Caitlyn” Jenner’s renaming ceremony in 2015.

“Frankly I consider Job, Gautama Buddha, Joan of Arc, Rumi and Johnny Cash to be my spiritual predecessors far more than Augustine, Aquinas or Barth,” he told the Alliance of Baptists in April. “My hymnal has a lot less Isaac Watts and Fanny Crosby, but it’s full of Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Tupac and Beyonce.”

http://christiannews.net/2017/01/12/baptist-church-in-nations-capital-hires-married-lesbian-women-to-lead-congregation/
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« Reply #235 on: January 17, 2017, 04:40:56 am »

Divinity Schools: Stop Using ‘He’ or ‘Him’ to Refer to God

Guidelines at two top U.S. divinity schools have recommended professors use “inclusive” gender-neutral language—including for God, according to documents from both Duke and Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt’s 2016-2017 catalog says the divinity school “commits continuously and explicitly to include gender as an analyzed category and to mitigate sexism” in its teachings. “This includes consistent attention to the use of inclusive language, especially in relation to the Divine,” the divinity school catalog says.

Melissa Snarr, the associate dean for academic affairs at Vanderbilt’s divinity school, said in an emailed statement that the 2016-2017 guidelines actually stem from a policy that dates back to 1999.

That document states that “masculine titles, pronouns, and imagery for God have served as a cornerstone for the patriarchy,” while also noting that not all of God’s names are gendered. It recommended “exploration of fresh language for God.”

Vanderbilt faculty vary in their views about how to express the divine, Snarr said. “It is up to the individual professor’s interpretation for their classes and is suggestive rather than mandatory,” she said of the 2016-2017 guidelines.

Duke’s divinity school has a more detailed set of guidelines—but also one that applies to fewer of its students.

The “inclusive language” guidelines were created for a divinity school program geared toward people already working in the Methodist church, taking supplemental weekend or summer classes. That’s “a totally different path than matriculated students,” said a Duke spokeswoman.

Duke’s guidelines offers suggestions “as a beginning point for developing a more inclusive language about God.”

Those suggestions include avoiding gender-specific pronouns, instead using “God” and “Godself.”

The Duke guidelines also suggest professors forgo gendered metaphors for God. For instance, a professor might say “God is a parent to us all” instead of “a father.” Another option: Mixing gender in metaphors. A professor could say, for example, “God is the father who welcomes his son, but she is also the woman searching for the lost coin.”

“Referring to God in gender-neutral language can sound clumsy,” the Duke guidelines say, “but this is largely due to the fact that we are in a transitional period with our use of language. Imagination, patience, and diligence are required in order to use language that expands and enriches our understanding of God.”

Other prominent universities have also wrestled with how inclusive language policies relate to their divinity programs.

Notre Dame’s Theology Department issued a statement recognizing “the ongoing debate and conflicting views about gender-sensitive language for God.” In the end, it opted to issue no formal policy, leaving the decision to professors.

And the editors of the Harvard Theological Review took a more hardline approach, writing that “it is not always appropriate to employ inclusive language when referring to God or divine beings.”

http://heatst.com/culture-wars/divinity-schools-stop-using-he-or-him-to-refer-to-god/
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« Reply #236 on: January 19, 2017, 03:14:03 pm »

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« Reply #237 on: January 25, 2017, 05:41:27 pm »

Apostate ‘Elder Team’ Welcomes Homosexuals ‘In Any and All Levels of Leadership’ After ‘Seeking Unity’

Members of the elder team of Denver Community Church (DCC) announced this week that following a two-year discussion period, and out of a desire to “seek unity,” they have decided to allow homosexuals and transgenders to have full inclusion, including “in any and all levels of leadership.”

DCC is led by Michael Hidalgo, and its elders are comprised of both men and women who “have determined to live in the ways of Jesus,” according to the DCC website.

On Sunday, members of the elder team announced to the congregation that they have decided to allow homosexuals and transgenders to serve in leadership roles. They also released a public video the following day explaining the announcement, as well as the two-year discussion period that led to their conclusion.

“In our journey and conversation, we studied Scripture, prayed together, challenged one another, heard from various viewpoints, and invited our brothers and sisters in the LGBT community to share their stories with us,” the elders state in the four-minute message.

They note that following the process, the leadership concluded that they still do not agree with homosexual behavior, but “felt called to transcend our viewpoints and seek unity.”

“This is what we’ve prayed for—that we would experience unity over uniformity,” one of the female elders outlines.

As a result, the elders agreed unanimously that those involved in the homosexual lifestyle and who present themselves as the opposite gender should have full inclusion in the congregation, including “in any and all levels of leadership.”

“We officially encourage you, invite you and support you, as we do with all who call DCC home—to be involved in the ministry, the community and the work of this church, in any and all levels of leadership,” they said. “We believe this is in keeping with the direction of our faith community, to be a place where everyone can belong, can contribute and be open to the transformative work that God wants to do in each of us.”

The elders said that they recognize that some within the congregation will disagree with the direction, but advised that the leadership believes that God would include homosexuals and transgenders, and so they should too.

“[W]e are committed in imitation of the wild, inclusive love of God that we see in Scripture to include those we believe God includes, and who are already a part of the body of Christ,” they outlined.

“Being queer and trans myself this announcement really makes me happy!” one commenter wrote in response.

“I am so incredibly moved and grateful to be a part of this church community that is so full of love and God’s presence,” another member wrote.

DCC began holding an “LGBT Learning Group” on Jan. 18, which will last for five weeks, to continue discussion on the issue. The group is open to the community at large.

As previously reported, Christians believe that homosexuality—like any sin—is a part of the Adamic sin nature that must be regenerated by the second birth, as Jesus outlined in John 3:5-7, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 also reads in speaking of being a new creation in Christ, “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”

http://christiannews.net/2017/01/25/apostate-elder-team-welcomes-homosexuals-in-any-and-all-levels-of-leadership-after-seeking-unity/
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« Reply #238 on: January 31, 2017, 07:18:27 pm »

Norway’s Lutheran Church Embraces Same-Sex ‘Marriage’

Norway’s Lutheran Church voted on Monday in favor of new ceremonial language that will allow its pastors to conduct same-sex marriages, bringing it into line with several other mainstream Protestant denominations abroad.

Last April the annual conference of the Church—to which nearly three quarters of Norwegians said in 2015 they belonged—backed the principle of same-sex marriages, but did not agree on a wording.

Monday’s decision involved modifying the marriage text to make it gender-neutral, removing the words “bride” and “groom”. The new liturgy will come into effect on Wednesday.

Continue reading this story >>
http://christiannews.net/2017/01/31/norways-lutheran-church-embraces-same-sex-marriage/
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« Reply #239 on: February 07, 2017, 07:04:25 pm »

Blaspheming Holy Spirit Marks Church of England 'Gay Slang' Service

A Church of England theological college held a service involving gay slang, it has emerged.

The service, at the chapel of Westcott House, Cambridge, was held to mark LGBT history month.
Yep that Westcott..

It involved gay slang 'translations' of church liturgy and readings from the so-called 'Polari Bible', which describes God as 'Gloria,' Christ as 'Crystal' and the Holy Spirit as the 'Fantabulosa Fairy.'

Polari

Officials at the college authorized the service but say they were unaware of the wording to be used.

Polari is an antiquated slang language used by gay men before homosexuality was legalized.

In 2003, a group called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence carried out a full translation of Scripture into Polari.

In a warping of Jesus' words to the woman caught in adultery in John 8:11, the Polari Bible website encourages readers to: "Go forth and sin some more!"

Blasphemous Readings

A person present at the service told the BBC that it was led by a trainee priest and attended by other trainees.

The readings included Joel 2:13a-b: "Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful."

It was read in Polari as "Rend your thumping chest and not your frocks—and turn unto the duchess your Gloria: for she is bona and merciful".

The traditional "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit" became: "Fabeness be to the Auntie, and to the Homie Chavvie and to the Fantabulosa Fairy".

'Upset'

The principal of Westcott House, Rev. Canon Chris Chivers, did not admit that the service was blasphemous but said he recognized the "contents of the service are at variance with the doctrine and teaching of the Church of England".

"Inevitably for some members of the house, this caused considerable upset and disquiet, and I have spoken at length to those involved in organizing the service.

"I will be reviewing and tightening the internal mechanisms of the house to ensure this never happens again," he said.

http://www.charismanews.com/world/62863-blaspheming-holy-spirit-marks-church-of-england-gay-slang-service
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