These teens are rejecting confirmation in protest of church's anti-LGBT stance
"We want to be clear that, while we love our congregation, we believe that the United Methodist policies on LGBTQ+ clergy and same sex marriage are immoral," the group wrote in a statement. "We are concerned that if we join at this time, we will be sending a message that we approve of this decision."
The teens object to a February vote that reinforced the church's stance against ordaining gay clergy and performing same-sex weddings. Delegates of the denomination's General Conference voted 438-384 in favor of the policies following several days of dramatic testimony and prayer.
"Depending on how this church responds to the general conference action, we will decide at a later time whether or not to become officially confirmed," the group's statement said. "But until then, we will continue to stand up against the unjust actions that the denomination is taking."
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/01/us/un...index.html
"We want to be clear that, while we love our congregation, we believe that the United Methodist policies on LGBTQ+ clergy and same sex marriage are immoral," the group wrote in a statement. "We are concerned that if we join at this time, we will be sending a message that we approve of this decision."
The teens object to a February vote that reinforced the church's stance against ordaining gay clergy and performing same-sex weddings. Delegates of the denomination's General Conference voted 438-384 in favor of the policies following several days of dramatic testimony and prayer.
"Depending on how this church responds to the general conference action, we will decide at a later time whether or not to become officially confirmed," the group's statement said. "But until then, we will continue to stand up against the unjust actions that the denomination is taking."
https://edition.cnn.com/2019/05/01/us/un...index.html
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
