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Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention #fundie #sexist christianitytoday.com

One of the country’s biggest and best-known megachurches, Saddleback Church, is no longer a part of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) after bringing on a female teaching pastor last year

Saddleback was among five churches with female pastors who were deemed “no longer in friendly cooperation” with the denomination at a meeting of the SBC Executive Committee in Nashville on Tuesday

The Lake Forest, California, congregation ordained three women from the stage in May 2021[…]Last year, Saddleback selected Andy Wood as Rick Warren’s successor and the church’s lead pastor, and his wife Stacie Wood came on as a teaching pastor

Warren responded to calls for the SBC to cut ties with his church at the convention’s June 2022 annual meeting, held in Anaheim, California. “Are we going to keep bickering over secondary issues,” he said, “or are we going to keep the main thing the main thing?”

At the time, the credentials committee—the group tasked with recommending whether to disfellowship a particular church—hadn’t come to a decision on Saddleback, saying it wasn’t clear if the SBC’s statement of faith restricted women from any position doing pastoral work or with a pastoral title, or if it just applied to the senior pastor[…]
This week, the committee recommended Saddleback be disfellowshipped, saying the church “has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor”[…]
The credentials committee also recommended a single church—Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Florida—be disfellowshipped for issues related to its response to sexual abuse[…]SBC has only acted to remove a handful of congregations since 2020, the majority of whom knowingly employed a registered sex offender as pastor. Others have been disfellowshiped for their stances on LGBT and racial issues

Ravi Zacharias #fundie #psycho christianitytoday.com

A four-month investigation found the late Ravi Zacharias leveraged his reputation as a world-famous Christian apologist to abuse massage therapists in the United States and abroad over more than a decade while the ministry led by his family members and loyal allies failed to hold him accountable.

He used his need for massage and frequent overseas travel to hide his abusive behavior, luring victims by building trust through spiritual conversations and offering funds straight from his ministry.

A 12-page report released Thursday by Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) confirms abuse by Zacharias at day spas he owned in Atlanta and uncovers five additional victims in the US, as well as evidence of sexual abuse in Thailand, India, and Malaysia.

Even a limited review of Zacharias’s old devices revealed contacts for more than 200 massage therapists in the US and Asia and hundreds of images of young women, including some that showed the women naked. Zacharias solicited and received photos until a few months before his death in May 2020 at age 74.

Zacharias used tens of thousands of dollars of ministry funds dedicated to a “humanitarian effort” to pay four massage therapists, providing them housing, schooling, and monthly support for extended periods of time, according to investigators.

One woman told the investigators that “after he arranged for the ministry to provide her with financial support, he required sex from her.” She called it rape.

She said Zacharias “made her pray with him to thank God for the ‘opportunity’ they both received” and, as with other victims, “called her his ‘reward’ for living a life of service to God,” the report says. Zacharias warned the woman—a fellow believer—if she ever spoke out against him, she would be responsible for millions of souls lost when his reputation was damaged.

Steve Turner #fundie christianitytoday.com

[It's making me pay to read the entire article, but I just find the idea of John of all people to be born again to be downright hilarious]

John Lennon's Born-Again Phase
"Can He love me?" the former Beatle asked Oral Roberts. "I want out of hell."
AN EXCERPT FROM 'THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO THE BEATLES' BY STEVE TURNER| JANUARY 3, 2007

In March 1977 Yoko traveled with John Green to Cartagena in Colombia to meet a witch who had been recommended to her as someone "who could do anything." Green had to accompany her to check out the witch's validity. Yoko paid the witch sixty thousand dollars to perform a series of rituals culminating in the sacrifice of a dove. When they returned to New York; Yoko insisted that they had to fly via Los Angeles and Alaska to avoid having to fly in a northeasterly direction because she believed this would bring her bad fortune.

Next came one of the most extraordinary turnabouts in John's life. A television addict for many years (it was his way of looking at the world since he could no longer walk around anonymously), he enjoyed watching some of America's best-known evangelists—Pat Robertson, Billy Graham, Jim Bakker, and Oral Roberts. In 1972 he had written a desperate letter to Roberts confessing his dependence on drugs and his fear of facing up to "the problems of life." He expressed regret that he had said that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus and enclosed a gift for the Oral Roberts University. After quoting the line "money can't buy me love" from "Can't Buy Me Love" he said, "It's true. The point is this, I want happiness. I don't want to keep on with drugs. Paul told me once, 'You made fun of me for taking drugs, but you will regret it in the end.' Explain to me what Christianity can do for me. Is it phony? Can He love me? I want out of hell."

Richard C Klueg #fundie #homophobia christianitytoday.com

I think the point of this caricature, Elegance, is that any attempt to repeat what the Scripture says about the sinfulness of homosexuality is "unloving." We are supposed to act as though there is nothing wrong with it ("because that's what Jesus would do") and then they will come to the Lord and someday, somewhere down the road they somehow discover (without us telling them) that homosexuality is a sin; and, the theory goes, they will stop committing the acts which Holy Scripture calls abominable. It's a plan. It's not the kind of plan we see followed by the prophets, apostles, or our Lord Jesus, but it is a plan. I'm not so sure it actually works, but it is a plan. The one positive thing we can say about this plan is that it frees one from the discomfort of offending people with the truth and suffering the backlash that accompanies such honesty.

Mr Christian #fundie christianitytoday.com

I am Mr. Christian and you call me hypocrite, stupid, narrow minded ... and all other kinds of insults (I am not sure who is intolerant here)... but you know what .. I don't care! I don't hate gay people, as I don't hate Liars, Cheaters, Abusers, Mollestors, ... I don't hate a person, but I do hate the choice of living a sinful lifestyle. Anyone has the right to live as they want.You can be a gay, liar, murderer, cheater, fornicator, child molestor, God hater ... but have the decency to live me alone and not shove your agenda down my throat. A loving God had no problems sending His Son to die for our sins, so it seems to me that SIN is a pretty big problem. Also, He had no problem wipping off all human race (except a few godly people) during the flood ... or again wipping off entire communities as Sodom & Gomorrah. So, I will in the end stick to the Word of God and strongly disagree with anyone who openly choses to disobey God and live in sin ... especially a gay person!

Rick Dalbey #fundie #homophobia christianitytoday.com

Robert, since you believe every tenet of Christianity is false and Jesus is not the savior, why do you even bother to comment? I was raised as an evangelical to respect science, every church I have ever belonged to (Conservative Baptist, Disciples of Christ, American Baptist, Anglican and now Foursquare) have always left the door for a God directed evolution (not Dawkin’s Blind watchmaker). Standing against homosexuality is not an evangelical position, it is the teaching of Genesis, Leviticus, Dueteronomy, Judges, 1st Kings, Ezekiel, Luke, Romans, 1st Corinthians, 1st Timothy, Jude, 2nd Peter and the very last chapter of Revelation. We don’t reject homosexual marriage because it is harmful, but because it is wrong. The Bible has always been neutral on slavery regarding it as a cultural matter. However it has always been adamantly against abusing people. But the Bible has never been neutral on homosexuality. Read how the early church fathers dealt with the subject.

Pop Seal #fundie christianitytoday.com

The Biblical Laws of Human Behaviors (sexual relationships in particular) enforce themselves with consequences of family and broader social destructions. In the end (no puns please), God's righteous standards will be vindicated. Speak the truth in love, appeal to conscience, point to Christ, then get out of the way because the Judgment Train has left Heaven's station. No society survives the destruction of its families for long. 110,000,000+ contemporary case of STDs shout the error of the 1960s sexual revolution.

mj #fundie christianitytoday.com

totally different kind of slavery there. slavery in the bible isn't like the slavery of modern day. Jewish culture slavery was a way of paying off a debt. it as more of being a servant for a certain amount of time. After a certain amount of time they were set free. the problem isn't about homosexuality. The problem is failed worship. That goes for anything. Obesity, anorexia, bulimia, anger problems, disobedience, etc. there are three things that would need to happen for a Christian to ostracize any one living happily in sin. 1. The person says that they are a Christian. Not a church goer, been baptized when I was a baby, give money to the church, do good deeds person. They say that they profess Jesus Christ as the king of their life. 2. An individual confronts the person about their sin. If the person is/does seek treatment from a counselor then they can remain in the church and you are to support them. But if they continue you grab another person. Then an elder.

Linda Michigan #fundie christianitytoday.com

I wish my girlfriend's gay 17-year-old son would buck up and marry a WOMAN just like his gay uncle did! (Only stay FAITHFUL to his wife, unlike his uncle.) Why doesn't it occur to homosexuals that maybe God doesn't WANT all his children to be sexually attracted to their spouses, or even sexually attracted to the GENDER of their spouses. Maybe he wants certain people to be disgusted by the sexual organs of their spouse, in order to love him MORE! Nowhere in the Bible does it say "thou shalt be attracted to your spouse." In fact, marriage used to be a property arrangement. Obviously God doesn't care whether or not you are physically attracted - the important part is that you obey his Word - and follow it to the T.

Ben Stein #fundie christianitytoday.com

And it doesn't scare me at all when scientists say, "Oh, but that can't be proved," because neither can any of the Darwinian hypotheses about how life began be proved. Anyway, I couldn't give a [profanity] whether a person calls himself a scientist. It doesn't earn any extra respect from me, because it's not as if science has covered itself with glory, morally, in my time. Scientists were the people in Germany telling Hitler that it was a good idea to kill all the Jews. Scientists were telling Stalin it was a good idea to wipe out the middle-class peasants. Scientists were telling Mao Tse-Tung it was fine to kill 50 million people in order to further the revolution.

Warren Throckmorton #fundie christianitytoday.com

"Transgender impulses are strong, but they don't match up with the Christian sexual ethic," says Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of psychology at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. "Desires must be brought into alignment with biblical teachings, but it will be inconvenient and distressful."
Throckmorton, past president of the American Mental Health Counselors Association, says he has advised transgendered people who are in absolute agony over their state. Typically, such individuals are desperately in search of hope and acceptance, he says. It may be uncomfortable to tell transgendered individuals that their desires don't align with the Bible, Throckmorton says, but pastors must do so. "Even if science does determine differentiation in the brain at birth," Throckmorton says, "even if there are prenatal influences, we can't set aside teachings of the Bible because of research findings."

Tony Snow #fundie christianitytoday.com

Atheism fails as a creed because it lacks humanity. It destroys the wall of sanctity that defends the weak from the strong. It spawned history's most savage movements—from the French Terror to the Stalinist purges. None of the atheistic alternatives has survived because reason just doesn't make a satisfying god.

Tony Snow #fundie christianitytoday.com

Ethics produces an even greater quandary. Moral laws have changed less over the millennia than the recognized laws of physics and mathematics. The ethical principles that undergird the Ten Commandments' prohibitions against stealing and murder are recognized by people in New York, New Guinea, Timbuktu, and even bin Laden's cave, while scientific theory has undergone numerous revolutions—and will continue to do so.

Shirley A. Rorvik #fundie christianitytoday.com

How could he be so deceived? From the beginning, I'd taught him about Jesus, whom he had invited into his life at the age of five.

Through the years, I'd had no inkling something was wrong. Did Tim ever hint at trouble? Did I really listen? Were there dark secrets in our household? I don't know.

After Tim's letter in 1992, I regarded my adult son as a victim. "They" had caught and trapped him. "They" were faceless, nameless, evil people. Homosexuals. Enemies.

Kim, Lou and Lisa #fundie christianitytoday.com

Kim: That's a great question. My realtor—who's gay—recently invited me to a dinner party at his house. Part of me wanted to attend because I've known him for years and I care about him. But another part was anxious about going. I wondered if I'd feel weird, or if I'd be able to carry on a conversation. I don't typically socialize with many gay people. I also wondered if it would look bad for me to go.

Lou: In 1 Corinthians 5:9, the apostle Paul says not to "associate with sexually immoral people"—but then he goes on to say, "not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world."

Lisa: The Bible cautions us to be in the world but not of it, but also calls us to be salt and light. When I look at who Jesus was in the gospels, I suspect he would have gone to a gay realtor's party because he didn't shy away from irreligious people. The reality is, people who aren't Christians are desperate for something that's honest, true, and real—and that's Jesus.

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