More than 150 evangelical religious leaders sign ‘Christian manifesto’ on human sexuality
August 31, 2017 by admin
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On the anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling to legalize same-sex marriage, Gallup polled how many LGBT couples are married today. The results: gay marriage is up 33% in the past year.
NASHVILLE — A nationwide coalition of more than 150 conservative Christian leaders signed a statement, released Tuesday, affirming their beliefs on human sexuality, including that marriage is between one man and one woman and approval of “homosexual immorality” is sinful.
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s list of 14 beliefs, referred to as the Nashville Statement, is a response to an increasingly post-Christian, Western culture that thinks it can change God’s design for humans, according to the statement.
“Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be,” the statement from the coalition members reads.
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood convened a meeting of evangelical leaders, pastors and scholars Friday at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s annual conference in Nashville. The coalition discussed and endorsed the statement.
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In a press release, John Piper, co-founder of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, called the Nashville Statement a “Christian manifesto” on human sexuality.
“It speaks with forthright clarity, biblical conviction, gospel compassion, cultural relevance, and practical helpfulness,” Piper said. “It will prove to be, I believe, enormously helpful for thousands of pastors and leaders hoping to give wise, biblical, and gracious guidance to their people.”
Among the signers who have been involved in national politics: James Dobson, founder of the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family, and Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council in the District of Columbia.
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Dobson and four others — Senior Pastor Ronnie Floyd of Cross Church, which has four campuses in northwest Arkansas and southwest Missouri; Pastor Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, Texas; President Richard Land of the Southern Evangelical Seminary in Charlotte, N.C.; televangelist James Robison, founder of Fort Worth-based Life Outreach International — also are members of President Trump’s evangelical advisory board.
In a series of tweets, Pastor Brandan Robertson of MissionGathering Christian Church in San Diego, an LGBT activist who helped organize a protest at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission conference, called the statement an affront to God’s creative design.
“When your theology breeds death, your theology is not of God,” he tweeted.
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Christian author Jen Hatmaker of Austin, Texas, who come out in favor of same-sex marriage and whose books have been removed from the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Christian Stores because of that philosophy, called the timing of the statement callous because of the Aug. 12 Unite the Right white supremacists’ rally in Charlottesville, Va., and protester Heather Heyer’s death.
“If the fruit of doctrine regularly consistently creates shame, self-harm, suicide, broken hearts, families, churches, we shld listen,” she tweeted.
The fruit of the “Nashville Statement” is suffering, rejection, shame, and despair. The timing is callous beyond words.
— JenHatmaker (@JenHatmaker) August 29, 2017
Each of the Nashville Statement’s 14 beliefs include one sentiment the signers affirm and one they deny. They cover a range of topics from a prohibition on sex outside of marriage to the connection between biological sex and gender identity.
Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who as a councilwoman officiated some of the city’s first same-sex marriages when they became legal in Tennessee, took issue with the statement’s moniker. In a tweet, she called it “poorly named.”
Its name is derived from the meeting location. The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s founding document — the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood — was signed about 30 years ago during a summit at a resort in Danvers, Mass.
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Founded in 1987 and based in Louisville, Ky., the council’s website said it has helped several religious groups, including the 15 million-member Southern Baptist Convention, promote “gospel-driven gender roles.”
Some members of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy arm of the Southern Baptist Convention that played host to the coalition last week, signed the statement.
In the news release, the commission’s president, Russell Moore, said it is “urgently needed.”
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“The sexual revolution cannot keep its promises, and the church must stand ready to receive with compassion the many who are in need of a better hope,” Moore said. “The Nashville Statement is part of that mission, and my prayer is that it will help anchor churches and Christians to the gospel of Jesus Christ for years to come.”
This year, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s annual conference focused on parenting, including how to talk to your kids about their biblical view of sex, same-sex attraction and gender identity.
Follow Holly Meyer on Twitter: @HollyAMeyer
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Sen. Feinstein dials back statement that Trump could be ‘good president,’ after backlash
August 31, 2017 by admin
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Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein created a small uproar Tuesday after telling a San Francisco audience that if President Trump “can learn and change,” he could “be a good president.”
The conciliatory language didn’t last long.
California’s senior senator issued a lengthy statement late Wednesday clarifying her true feelings toward the president – which are largely negative.
“I’ve been strongly critical of President Trump when I disagree on policy and with his behavior,” she said, noting she was “appalled” by Trump’s response to the Charlottesville violence and the pardon of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio.
And she sought to put her statement from the day before in context: “The duty of the American president is to bring people together, not cater to one segment of a political base; to solve problems, not campaign constantly. While I’m under no illusion that it’s likely to happen and will continue to oppose his policies, I want President Trump to change for the good of the country.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Feinstein’s original remarks during an interview at the Herbst Theater.
The paper described the event as a “political lovefest” — pointing out that Feinstein is wildly popular in San Francisco, where she served as mayor for a decade.
Toward the end of the evening, Feinstein reportedly shocked the crowd when she declined to say that Trump should be impeached and told the audience they should be prepared to see Trump complete his four-year term.
Feinstein serves on both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, both of which are investigating Russia’s alleged involvement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
“The question is whether he can learn and change. If so, I believe he can be a good president,” she said.
The report said, “the crowd reacted with stunned silence, broken only with scattered ‘No’s’ and a few hisses and some nervous laughter.” The article said that kind of talk is “never heard in Democratic circles.”
Feinstein has indeed been a tough critic of Trump. She recently slammed his decision to pardon Arpaio, saying Trump’s action shows a “flagrant disregard for the rule of law in this country.”
She has also criticized Trump’s transgender military ban and called the nature of Trump’s immigration policies “cruel and arbitrary.”
Fox News’ Edmund DeMarche and The Associated Press contributed to this report.