problems from my church

[Hazelelponi]

Hello there Christ servant, thank you for the message. we are all sinners and disobey God, but there is a gay couple whom have been attending the church since i have been there (two years) and no one has said anything to them about it or mentioned it to them. that to me is irresponsible, and is a red flag to me.

I agree with your points about people loving the world whilst loving God. however, we did have a sermon about the body of christ on sunday and i wonder if it is a natural order for some people to be more obewdient of Gods word than others. for example: i a read my bible (wityh exceptions) every day and am reading it more and more as time passes. now i would not be even slightly suprised that many of the people at my church read it once or month or even at all.

Now i am not going to say that this is evidence that they are unsaved or anything like that. and like i say some body parts have more glory than others and some of us in heaven will have more glory than others and i wonder to what degree this differing levels in faith is intentional.

I also wonder if people whom are called to be more 'in' the word of God, by the fact of them being in the word of God and that itself being evidence that they should take more of a leadership role or speak up more on issues at their church and with other more worldly christians.

I have also heard a lot recently about sin and how over time there will be more and more sin and therefore this in itself could explain the seemingly ever increasing insanity and wickedness in the world, which, of course, will penetrate the church (as it is, at the moment, in the world). we are after all always moving towards the end time ( though i am not saying it is soon)

@Albion can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the church of England teach the same thing pretty much as English law?

This may be why nothing is said to them about homosexuality being a sin, because it's legal in England for homosexual couples to marry etc - therefore the official church isn't going to teach it to be sin.

This is why finding a church who has split from the church of England will be more likely to be more conservative on such topics.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Amen, sister.

He has been attending the church longer than me and i guess i caved into his 'seniority' and i do tend to avoid conflict. i wonder if it is something i should ignore or if i should 'argue' over.

I never argue with people, but it is Muslims themselves to look at here. Why are they converting if it's not worship of a different God? And they've been converting these last 20 years in record numbers not seen since Islam began.

It's enough to stand back and see there's something different about the god of Islam and the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Something important to note here, is that people such as your walking companion and some Muslims refer to God as the God of Abraham, but God didn't refer to himself as such. He referred to Himself as the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob, (Exodus 3:15-16 states that is His name forevermore) emphasizing the covenant relationship God has with Israel, which is an important point in salvation through Jesus.

Why does God refer to Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? | GotQuestions.org

The God who confirms He is the God of Abraham Isaac and Jacob is a different God than the one who refuses to confirm this.

I'm also a former Muslim, now saved child of God.

 

[PloverWing]

@Albion can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the church of England teach the same thing pretty much as English law?

This may be why nothing is said to them about homosexuality being a sin, because it's legal in England for homosexual couples to marry etc - therefore the official church isn't going to teach it to be sin.

This is why finding a church who has split from the church of England will be more likely to be more conservative on such topics.

Because the Church of England is a state church, it is affected by English law. Currently, same-sex couples can obtain a civil marriage in England, but by law the Church of England does not perform same-sex marriages. According to the BBC, the Churches of England and Wales objected to performing same-sex marriages, and the law was constructed so as to honor this objection.

Sources: Factsheet: Sexuality and the Church of England - Religion Media Centre , Gay marriage to be illegal in Church of England .

UK churches who are not part of the Church of England hold a variety of views. Some, as you say, are more conservative. Others, such as the Friends (Quakers) and the Scottish Episcopal Church, have a more LGBTQ-affirming policy.

It appears to me that in the UK -- as in the US and elsewhere -- Christians strongly disagree with each other on LGBTQ issues. On both sides of the question, there's more going on than just conformity to culture. People really are trying to follow the teachings of Jesus, and they come to different conclusions about how best to do that, and that makes it very complicated to sort out.

 

[Albion]

@Albion can correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the church of England teach the same thing pretty much as English law?

This may be why nothing is said to them about homosexuality being a sin, because it's legal in England for homosexual couples to marry etc - therefore the official church isn't going to teach it to be sin.

No, I think the Church of England has determined its policy on that matter by itself. And it's only been fairly recently that it has adopted it.

The smaller Anglican church bodies in England are, I think, opposed to same sex marriage and the ordination of homosexuals for Scriptural reasons as they understand them, but I don't have all the details at hand, so that's a good reason not to speak off the cuff. It can all be researched fairly easily, though.

 

[FutureAndAHope]

Hello all, its been a while, i hope that you are well.

At my church there is a man whom i have gotten close to. I was out walking with him the other day and we got around to talking about God and i asked him if he believed that Jesus is the son of God and he replied that he thought He was "of the spirit". He then went on to say, basically, that if Jesus were the son of God then muslims would be wrong and that would be mean i.e. we all worship the same God. he also rejected pauls writing as having any authority, as he got kicked by a horse and went stupid.

Additionally, my church (it is a church of England church) announced that it is LGBTetc.etc.etc.etc.etc. week or month next month and that we are going to be 'celebrating it', which i have a problem with. i mean as a christian i dont see how you can view homosexuality as anything other than (at best) a delusion. of course i do not want to exclude them from coming to church and view them with compassion, but to not say it is a sin and why it is a sin is irresponsible.

Finally, though there are other things i have noticed, my church is completely in line with the green agenda and wants to become an 'eco-church'. regardless of whether global warming etc is correct or not, are we not supposed to be apart from the culture, so why then is my church getting involved in this when we could be spending that time, money and energy on reaching out to other people.

I guess i wanted to get these things off my chest. let me know if you guys have similar experiences to this and what your opinion is.

God bless,

James.

P.s. is this a C of E problem, or just a church problem. ought i to look for another church?

Leave. It is not a church any longer.

 

[Joy]

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