Posted on 03/25/2014 7:10:13 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Christian leaders such as evangelist Franklin Graham and Russell D. Moore, who is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, expressed outrage that Christian relief organization World Vision announced it would hire employees in same-sex marriages on Monday.
"I was shocked today to hear of World Vision's decision to hire employees in same-sex marriages," Graham, the son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, said in his statement. "The Bible is clear that marriage is between a man and a woman.
"My dear friend, Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision and Samaritan's Purse, would be heartbroken. He was an evangelist who believed in the inspired Word of God. World Vision maintains that their decision is based on unifying the church – which I find offensive – as if supporting sin and sinful behavior can unite the church. From the Old Testament to the New Testament, the Scriptures consistently teach that marriage is between a man and woman and any other marriage relationship is sin," Graham, who is the president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
Moore also released a statement on Monday in which he pointed out that World Vision, one of the largest Christian relief organizations in the world, said its move was no capitulation, just a recognition that some groups supporting World Vision have differing views on sex and marriage.
"This is no surprise, on one level," Moore explained. "The constellation of parachurch evangelical ministries founded after World War II have been running headlong, with some notable exceptions, toward the very mainline liberalism to which they were founded as alternatives. Some think if we can just barter away Christian orthodoxy fast enough we can catch the wave of that Presbyterian Church (USA) church growth boom.
"But here's what's at stake. This isn't, as the World Vision statement (incredibly!) puts it, the equivalent of a big tent on baptism, church polity, and so forth," he writes. "At stake is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. If sexual activity outside of a biblical definition of marriage is morally neutral, then, yes, we should avoid making an issue of it. If, though, what the Bible clearly teaches and what the church has held for 2000 years is true, then refusing to call for repentance is unspeakably cruel and, in fact, devilish."
World Vision announced that its "American branch will no longer require its more than 1,100 employees to restrict their sexual activity to marriage between one man and one woman," as reported by Christianity Today. The organization states that abstinence outside of marriage remains a rule. Christians in legal same-sex marriages are permitted be employed, according to the policy change.
Moore's statement includes his belief that the world has entered an era "where we will see who the Evangelicals really are, and by that I mean those who believe in the Gospel itself, in all of its truth and all of its grace." He continues, "And many will shrink back."
He writes that there's "an entire corps of people out there who make their living off of evangelicals but who are wanting to 'evolve' on the sexuality issue without alienating their base."
"I don't mind people switching sides and standing up for things that they believe in," Moore states. "But just be honest about what you want to do. Don't say, 'Hath God said?' and then tell us you're doing it to advance the gospel and the unity of the church."
He concludes, "Donor bases come and go. But the Gospel of Jesus Christ stands forever. World Vision is a good thing to have, unless the world is all you can see."
Trevin Wax, managing editor of The Gospel Project at LifeWay Christian Resources, said the decision by World Vision brings on a time to grieve for children everywhere.
"No matter what you think about this decision, I hope you feel a sense of grief…for the children," Wax wrote on The Gospel Coalition's blog. "This is a story of deep and lasting significance, because there are children's lives at stake in how we respond.
"Children will suffer as Evangelicals lose trust in and withdraw support from World Vision in the future. It will take time for evangelicals to start new organizations that maintain historic Christian concepts of sin, faith and repentance."
After listing reasons children suffer in so many ways, not just in decisions such as the one that World Vision made, and how Evangelicals will respond with grief, he writes. "But we also grieve for children here at home who are growing up in a culture in which sexual idolatry distorts the meaning of marriage and the beauty of God's original design."
The only good news was the public rebuke of men of faith. A large part of accountability is to expose and rebuke and not make excuses and sweep this under the carpet. Good on Franklin Graham and others.
Shift your giving to Grahams Samaritans Purse.
God is not a dunce.
What we might see as random, senseless chaos is kept in order by an omnipotent, omniscient God.
So we have a reason to not despair. These present troubles might or might not be overcome for a season. I’m positive that God could work such an outcome, and the chances of it are maximized when all hands on deck are willing. Sometime it takes naked evil to get men to care enough to seriously go to the Lord about it.
Oh right, I forgot; the Law has been fulfilled by messiah so you’re free to be lawless. He took the rap and you’re off the hook so go ahead and do whatsoever you want. We don’t have to keep G-d’s commandments! They’ve been done away with! Well, looks like you are right in step with World Vision.
Calm down. I’m going to go out on a limb here and assume you’re Jewish. As a Catholic I’ll entertain rebuke from my spiritual older brother. But you should know that I do not subscribe to sola fide and Catholic moral theology includes the 10 Commandments as precepts. as as it is said in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
As Catholics we are expected to keep the commandments.
RE: Is World Vision one of the organizations that do “sponsor a child for $1 a day” type of things?
Yes, World Vision does that kind of ad ( and they’re probably the biggest ).
However, there are many other organizations that do that.
Save the Children Foundation is one.
Help Foundation is another.
Human Concern is another.
And a heap of others....
It is doing it.
Just the 10 Commandments only.
The Torah is for the Jews only. Christians are only required to obey the 10 Commandments.
Not everyone who rejects legalism embraces antinomianism. Which parts of the Torah do you live by? Do you make your wife live in a tent for a week each month?
Here is the Nicene Creed. NOTHING anti-semitic here:
“The Nicene Creed
I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.
I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.”
Your argument is simply just LAME.
Got to remember that Christians are saved by grace not the law.
Samaritans purse!!!
Just this minute ended 25 years of sponsorship to world vision, on top of that I put permanent stop payment on my bank account in case they try to take 1st of the month payment out
I spoke in a live chat with a employee, they tried to suggest they had no choice, I went to world Vision facebook page as well, they said basically same to others I read
I cancelled via on line account, I suspect they will ask me to send a handwritten letter via snail mail to cancel? At any rate the permanent stop payment will take care of this
Why now?? Was it to show they disapprove with Hobby Lobby?
Franklin Graham is the Christian man I admire most, he said there are other alternatives to World Vision
I am going to today give same monthly amount to Samaritans purse
I witnessed a lot of back sliding even in Social Conservatives circles, many of my formerly favorite people said stuff like....
Social issues take a back seat this election, things are just to bad to have social issues front and center, I heard it on this forum many times, it became a cliche.
Rick Warren went around saying that abortion was not the only issue, I am pro life but,,,,was his comment
People are backsliding in these end times
Catholic Church does not stand up for right and wrong, no they dont! They wont tell their members that voting for anti Christian politicians will disqualify them from the faith as they should
The ALL Black Church turned their back on God/Christ some time ago when they embraced the Democrat party and all it`s sins
Protestants that vote Democrat absolutely to blame.
Christians , true Christians only vote for the things of God
The Old Testament is full of folks who never lived up to the Torah...it couldn’t be done under the Priestly order of the Levites and Aaron. Under the priestly order of Melchezidek, thru Jesus Christ, you obey the statutes God writes on your heart...now You go and Learn what this means!
“The outer man perishes but the Inner man is renewed day by day!”
“Just go back to the Catholic Church.”
When the righteous laity of the Catholics rise up to put down the filth that has infected their leadership...I may consider it.
Remember the Census that David undertook which caused the plague in Israel. God allowed Satan to attack David thru his pride because God was actually unhappy with the PEOPLE of ISRAEL. He wished to punish THEM! Had the people been sufficiently sensitive to God’s aegis, they could have, in a body, risen up in opposition to David’s plan of a Census(which was forbidden in Mosaic law) and thus, escape national punishment.
You Catholics have work to do before you even can consider calling anybody...”home”..whatever that means to you! Each Catholic has to be concerned about their own individual Salvation and spiritual growth, apart from a leadership that has become dysfunctional in feeding Catholics collectively. Satan has adapted a kind of Pattonesque strategy of holding you Catholics by the nose(your leadership) while kicking you in the behind(culturally). Time for the most righteous of the Catholics in the laity to stand and say “enough”!
REVERSED!
The Catholic church’s members and priests are more liberal than the Protestants they condemn.
Official doctrine doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if nobody enforces and practices it.
When they start practicing what they say they preach, get back to us about why people should go back to Catholicism.
So much for the accusations that Christians don’t speak out against the immorality in our country and only the Catholic church does.
Where were they (RCC) in condemning this, BTW?
“Just go back to the Catholic Church.’
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