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No, it says nothing about the majority of them, and it says nothing about whether or not they regretted the decision. No one here knows the full story, but it didn't stop people from judging the whole church as unloving and un-Christian. I think it says more about the people here, than it says about the ones at the church.
They did NOT pressure the pastor to go ahead with the funeral, Finn. That is enough to indict them all . . . not just the ones who pressured the pastor to cancel. All that is needed for evil to triumph is that good people do nothing and become complicit in the evil.
Of all the unfeeling, hypocritical, mean spirited and callous things to do, 24 hours before the funeral AFTER the church agreed to hold it, just because they found out the deceased was gay.
If this is what being a "good christian" is all about, you can keep it.
Note the pastor cancelled after pressure from parishioners found out the deceased was gay and married. Obviously they were not filled with any holy spirit.
I am so disgusted by this, there are not enough superlatives to voice that disgust.
I'll go on record right here and now to condemn that pastor and the church for doing that. If they agreed to do it, and they backed out, they are wrong.
I've held funerals in my church for people in the area that were not church-going people. Did I stand there and promise that they were in heaven? No. But I did eulogize them and try to comfort the family.
As far as God is concerned, we are all sinners. According to the book of Matthew, Jesus said love your brother as you love yourself. Jesus is clear on how he feels about judging others. I wonder how many of them never broke a commandment. We can't choose what we want to believe in. All we can do is our best.
I agree with that, but to be fair homosexuality is different. If you go and commit an act of fornication, it is merely an act. If you go and rob a bank, then it's merely an act. With homosexuality, it's much deeper than saying that it's an act. It's not like you can turn it on and off. It's one of those things that is a constant, more so than an instance in time. It's a lifestyle, so in some instance I can understand why it would be viewed differently, but I still don't think the church was right with how they handled this situation.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vizio
I'll go on record right here and now to condemn that pastor and the church for doing that. If they agreed to do it, and they backed out, they are wrong.
I've held funerals in my church for people in the area that were not church-going people. Did I stand there and promise that they were in heaven? No. But I did eulogize them and try to comfort the family.
Vizio, regardless of our differences, THAT is the christian thing to do.
Would they have cancelled the funeral if the person had been a drunk, adulterer, liar, thief or covetor? Does one have to be free from sin to receive the courtesy of a decent burial? Embarrasing that a man uses the name of Christ to be so hypocritical.
Well one here had a funeral for a man and said he was in heaven, Of course he was well known drug dealer and died because of that, but ........
Of course he is wrong and unChristian, but the media is so laser-focused on the homosexual/religious front that everything makes the news.
We had an engaged homosexual woman come to our church a few Sundays back, and everyone greeted her and said how wonderful it was to have her in our church. Much to her surprise, everyone was warm and friendly! We are called to love even our enemies! The Scripture tells us to humble ourselves and give of ourselves in service to all, saints and sinners, so that our actions might reflect Christ and those people would come to know Him.
So while a Christian should not engage in homosexual behaviors, we are not to judge the actions of those outside the church! After they have seen the love of Christ in others, they will be moved to accept Jesus as their own Lord and Savior and through the Holy Spirit, they will begin a journey of becoming a new creation and casting off their old sinful nature.
One last thing to think about if we don't wish to be hypocrites...
We should also love the people in this particular church and not speak ill of them, lest we become as they are! No matter the actions of people, we should not slander, gossip or insult, instead we should love and pray for them!
We had an engaged homosexual woman come to our church a few Sundays back, and everyone greeted her and said how wonderful it was to have her in our church. Much to her surprise, everyone was warm and friendly! We are called to love even our enemies! The Scripture tells us to humble ourselves and give of ourselves in service to all, saints and sinners, so that our actions might reflect Christ and those people would come to know Him. <snip>
Why would you consider this woman to be your enemy?
We had an engaged homosexual woman come to our church a few Sundays back, and everyone greeted her and said how wonderful it was to have her in our church.
Well, let's hope so. She's a human being.
So how far does this greeting go? Do you allow practicing lesbians (they prefer that term over homosexual woman - it's OK to say lesbian) to join your church?
So how far does this greeting go? Do you allow practicing lesbians (they prefer that term over homosexual woman - it's OK to say lesbian) to join your church?
I would suggest that a practicing lesbian needs to be treated the same as anyone living in a sinful relationship. They are welcome to come the church, to participate in the worship service. But I would not feel it's appropriate to extend membership to someone that is openly living as such. In my church, I am dealing with the issue of a 78 year old woman who is shacking up with her boyfriend. I am considering how to address it.
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