The Obsession Continues
Those who are familiar with Armstrong Church of God culture will remember the late Roderick Meredith’s obsession with the subject of homosexuality. If, however, you thought that part of the ACOG’s legacy would die with him, you thought wrong! And the obsession with all things LGBTQ continues in the most unlikely of places – the “moderate” and “sane” Church of God International! In the latest edition of their International News(Spring 2020), there are three articles that prominently address the topic.
The lead article by CGI Chief Executive Officer Vance Stinson warns church members to “Beware of False Gospels.” He writes: “These false apostles who proclaim this particular false gospel would have us believe that Old Testament laws forbidding and condemning homosexual behavior are not for Christians under the New Covenant. They claim they hold the moral high ground , and they tend to see themselves as spiritually, morally, and intellectually superior to those of us who cling to the old biblical/traditional standards regarding sex, marriage, family, and gender roles. To them, we’re bigoted holdovers from the dark Ages—closed-minded, Bible-thumping fundamentalists who are a danger to society. Their false gospel is just a modern version of a very old heresy, but today’s mutated form of this ancient virus has infected virtually all mainstream churches and has spread all over the Western world.” He goes on to bemoan the awful treatment Franklin Graham received at the hands of the United Kingdom because of his anti-homosexual rhetoric.
Mr. Stinson concludes his treatise with the following statement: “The media—from mainstream “news” organizations to the entertainment industry to social media—are fully on board with the LGBTQ+ agenda and are bombarding our minds and the minds of our children with their ungodly message. If we’re not on guard, we, too, can fall in step and begin calling evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20)!
In keeping with the theme, Pastor Bill Watson offers his own commentary on the subject in “Isaiah Defines Leaven for Our Day.” He writes: “The world impacts all of us differently. The effect it has on some of us is often determined by just how close we are to God and our awareness of His terms of right and wrong. There are many Christian churches today that have become very ‘liberal’ in their approach to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They will ordain active homosexual men and women ministers. They will endorse and marry homosexuals, claiming these are approved marriages in the sight of God. Regardless of what the Bible might say about certain habits of eating, dress, worship, or other lifestyle matters, they will ignore the plain commandments and insist on having it their way. And, unfortunately, due to the vast majority and legalized legislation of the land, they adopt the inappropriate and wrong way for being right and good.”
Mr. Watson continues: ““How do we wrap our minds around affording practicing homosexuals—men romantically (sexually) involved with men, women romantically (sexually) involved with women—the right to legalize their relationships? Or perhaps a future President of the USA kissing his husband on stage as candidate Buttigieg did at a campaign stop? How do we wrap our minds around transgenders reading to 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds in libraries as a public reading with the parent’s approval? Or how about a mother that encourages her 6-year-old son to dress like a girl, or visa versa, with the father’s approval that ultimately results in biological ‘gender reassignment’?”
And, just to make sure their readers got the message, Mr. Stinson takes another stab at the subject in the “Questions and Answers” section of their paper. His answer to the question “Did Jesus condemn homosexuality?” was as follows: “Today, it is not unusual to hear arguments such as this one: ‘Jesus did not say anything about homosexuality. He taught much on love, forgiveness, mercy, justice, and refraining from judging and condemning others, but said nothing about homosexuality. Since the matter was not an issue for Jesus, shouldn’t it be a non-issue for those who claim to be His followers?’ It may be true that Jesus never specifically mentioned homosexual practice in any New Testament account, but why should we assume that Jesus approved of every practice He did not specifically name? Many sinful practices may be grouped as a specific type of sin; so when Jesus condemns the type, He condemns all sinful practices included in the type.”
Pastor Stinson then proceeds to give a short treatise on how the Greek word “porneia” includes homosexual behavior. Without citing any evidence for this assertion, he says that its inclusion is implied in the “sexual immorality” to which the word clearly refers. He goes on to cite the apostolic decree referenced in the fifteenth chapter of Acts as evidence that homosexuality was included among the things prohibited to Christians because Leviticus 17 and 18 “almost certainly forms the underpinning of the apostolic decree.” He concludes his answer with the following assertion: “It is true that the Gospels supply no record of Jesus specifically condemning homosexual practice. But then, there is no specific mention of bestiality in the Gospels or, for that matter, anywhere in the New Testament. The lack of specificity says nothing about whether the unnamed act is sinful. Had the push to legitimize homosexual practice been a reality in Jesus’ day, as it is in ours, you can rest assured that Jesus would have openly opposed it through sound teaching and a call for repentance. His followers today must do no less.”
Whatever one believes about the immorality/morality of homosexual behavior, we are left with the distinct impression that The Church of God International is obsessed with the topic. Indeed, the only other topic that comes close to competing with this one for attention in their newspaper is leavening (Thank God for the Spring Holy Days!) As CGI continues its slide into oblivion (it is NOT unique in this regard among the Armstrong Churches of God), they may want to rethink their priorities and reorder their focus and attention. I may be wrong, but I’m thinking that this obsession is only going to succeed in getting them stuck with the label of being homophobic!
Miller Jones
