Tag: homosexual

Posted in theology

Attending a transgender/gay wedding? Alistair Begg’s reply and the outcry

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Scottish born Alistair Begg has been pastoring and preaching at Parkside Church in Cleveland since 1983. That’s over 40 years at the same church, something to celebrate. His online ministry is called Truth for Life.

He is well-known and looked at credibly by his peers. He has not been involved in any huge scandals. His preaching to my knowledge is straightforward and unapologetic on ALL the Bible’s texts.

This week a video surfaced where this past September 2023 Begg was interviewed by Bob Lepine at Truth for Life, promoting Begg’s new book, The Christian Manifesto. Begg was asked a question of how people might be changed reading Begg’s book. Part of Begg’s answer included a surprising reply.

Begg said he’d a conversation with a grandmother about her grandson inviting the grandma to the grandson’s wedding ceremony. He was marrying a transgender person. Begg acknowledged that people may not like his answer, but he said he’d encouraged the grandma to attend and to buy the homosexual couple a gift. It was OK because the grandma, she assured Begg, had already made known to her grandson that she doesn’t approve of his lifestyle, and that her disapproval was in the name of Jesus and the cause of holy sexual ethics. Begg said her attendance would signal love and compassion, and might take him by surprise, whereas her absence would spark accusations of judgmentalness and criticism.

Discernment thought

If we really think about Begg’s reply, it seems that his definition of love is more the world’s than Jesus’. When Jesus confronted the Woman at the Well about her sexual sin, He didn’t say I love you, here’s a housewarming gift for you and the man you’re living with, and by the way I don’t approve of your living situation. That would not make sense would it? It’s conflicting behavior.

Secondly, we never base a response to sin on whether the people would receive it critically. We are told to prepare for mocking and scoffing, hate, and even martyrdom. The lawless hate their deeds being brought to the light, but we must trust the Lord to convict them when we adhere to His standards and live and speak them into a darkening world.

Begg’s reply caused a furor online, with people’s reactions running the gamut from ‘off with his head’ to ‘what’s the big deal’. Most comments were somewhere in between.

Discernment thought

When a long-standing, credible pastor or teacher makes an “out there” reply to a question, or suddenly preaches something contrary to the word of God or to what he has preached before, take a breath. Here is Meg Basham’s take, one I agree with:

Megan Basham @megbasham Even the best, most godly preachers and teachers can have a bad take. Even a really bad take. I don’t stop listening to them unless it 1) becomes a pattern that shows a general lack of discernment or 2) clearly endorses heresy. I’m bummed about the Alistair Begg clip circulating. But it’s a bad take against a lifetime of faithful teaching. Hopefully he’ll address it. 39.9K Views

Discernment thought

But this is not the first time I scratched my head over something Begg said he believed. There are two other instances that I know of that gave me pause in Alistair Begg’s discernment in the recent past.

Issue with A. Begg (the first issue being attending a trans/gay wedding, already discussed above).

In 2019 he preached that women can speak to the gathered congregation in church on a Sunday, if the elders decide they want her to. If she has something worthwhile to share. Since she is “not speaking as a pastor or in rule and authority”, she can teach at the podium, Begg said, and it does not violate the prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12. Forbidding women from speaking to the church on a Sunday is “making a law out of a principle,” Begg advised. Listen to him say this here: “Christian Women” slide to 30:00.

No. Paul’s prohibition was clear. Women may not teach or usurp authority over a man, but to be in silence. An elder’s permission does not trump the biblical rule.

Issue with A. Begg

Also in 2019, Alistair Begg appeared at a conference with Beth Moore, Tony Evans, and a female reverend called Mary Hulst. His ministry was contacted by a concerned bystander, and amazingly they answered. Begg, through the media contact, said he was also concerned about Moore and Evans, but he’d committed to the conference prior to knowing who else would be there. He also said he wanted to preach the Gospel wherever he went. Lastly, he wasn’t sharing the platform with these folks, just being present at the same conference.

This to me, is a disingenuous answer. Sharing the conference IS sharing the platform. Sharing your good name with false teachers throws mud on your name AND the name of Jesus. It’s also biblically forbidden. Secondly, it’s foolish to agree to speak at a place before you know who else will be there. Just…don’t do that. No one does that. And preaching the gospel wherever you go…well, I’d answered that above. There are some places we don’t share with false teachers. Why else did Paul become so upset at the demon possessed girl? She was saying a TRUE thing, but it came from demonic lips.

What Does 2 John Have to Teach Us about Partnering with False Teachers? 9Marks-
What this means practically for those in ministry is that they should not, in any way, under any circumstance, lock arms with heretical teachers, pastors, authors, professors, or anyone in any capacity who comes to you bringing a different Jesus.

This includes: Conferences, Prayer Breakfasts, Bible Studies, Pastors Coalitions, Parachurch ministries, Pulpit Swaps, Book Recommendations, Article sharing or website promoting, And more.

The Trans/Gay Wedding issue

How would Begg’s peers who are at his level reply to a similar question? Here are past replies to the question “Would you attend a gay wedding if invited?” from other pastors. These comments are not a response to the current issue with Alistair.

John Piper: “No. One, it is not a wedding, because it is not a marriage…” more here.

John MacArthur: “No matter how much you desire to be compassionate to the homosexual, your first sympathies belong to the Lord and to the exaltation of His righteousness.” more here

Kevin DeYoung at Ligonier: “A wedding ceremony, in the Christian tradition, is first of all a worship service. So if the union being celebrated in the service cannot be biblically sanctioned as an act of worship, we believe the service lends credence to a lie. We cannot in good conscience participate in a service of false worship.” More here

Voddie Baucham:

Owen Strahan responds to Begg’s stance on attending gay weddings, here

RESOURCE–

Here is David Murray at Heart Head Hand blog (a counseling site) with a hypothetical answer on what he would say if his son came out as gay. I thought it was a good in-between response that showed his son fatherly love but also set Christian boundaries: What letter would you write to a gay son?

CONCLUSION

While we don’t leap on a teacher who has been solid for years with the first little tittle they say that appears to vary from the Bible, we do wait to see if there is a pattern. Alistair Begg has partnered with people who he knows aren’t solid, has overturned the prohibition for women teaching and preaching in church, and has seemed to have gone soft on practical applications in life regarding homosexuality/transgender. It is my opinion he has established a pattern that bears close watching. Perhaps the outcry will cause Pastor Begg to re-examine his stance in this hot-button issue, and perhaps he’d also pray for more discernment on the other two issues. We pray and wait to see.

Posted in ears tickled, end time, god no longer male, prophecy

What happens when a national church rules that God is no longer male?

Posted on by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

In 2010 I reported on a stunning move by the Scottish Episcopal Church to change all male-oriented language to gender neutral language. Well 13 years ago it was stunning. A new order of service produced by the Scottish Episcopal Church has caused controversy by removing masculine references to God.

“Female priests asked why God was still referred to as a man. The new form of worship, which removes words such as “Lord, he, his, him” and “mankind” from services, has been written by the church in an attempt to acknowledge that God is “beyond human gender”. Episcopalian bishops have approved the introduction of more “inclusive” language, which deliberately removes references suggesting that God is of male gender.”

They were already on a bad path. Did you catch that? “Female priests.” It sounds humble to say God is beyond gender. And while it is true, it is not humble. God revealed Himself as male in His word in His own words.

Once man decides to alter God’s word, it never stops there. It’s like all the leashes, and guardrails, and boundaries suddenly disappear and all bets are off. The Bible becomes a free-for-all.

Since sin never lays still and never ceases to try and pollute God’s people and His church, I decided to check back in now that 13 years have passed. Let’s see how the Scottish Episcopal Church is doing now. There is an advantage to have been blogging for 15 years, the chronicling I’ve done allows me to see trajectories. So, I checked back in with the Scottish Episcopal church now that it’s 2023 and 13 years have passed.

Photo by Dennis Jarvis, CC https://www.flickr.com/photos/archer10/34752799136

What happens when the rock starts sliding down the hill? It picks up speed. By 2017 the Scottish Episcopal Church voted to allow homosexual marriage. To become homosexual “inclusive”. Just 7 years after the change of language of God as male. It was stated,

By removing gender from our marriage canon, our church now affirms that a same sex couple are not just married but are married in the sight of God. 

By the way, they call homosexual marriage “equal marriage”.

The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church on LGBTQ+ inclusion

Gay times indeed.

First, we already know that God is spirit and thus beyond human gender. Reiterating that fact by changing the language is not necessary. That language is already in the Bible. As John 4:24 states, “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.” God is a spiritual being. We all know that if we read the Bible.

However, when the ‘female priests asked why God is referred to as a man’, their first answer should have been to refer to the scriptures. The answer is that though God is Spirit, He chose to reveal Himself to humankind as male, and His son was revealed to us as a male also. It is too bad that the method God chose to speak of Himself and the way He chose to reveal Himself to us is not sufficient for the priests at this church. But they were female priests, so…already in sin and therefore unable to think properly of the things above.

Secondly, Jesus, His son, referred to Him as male.

John 8:19 – “So they were saying to Him, “Where is Your Father?” Jesus answered, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.””

John 20:17 – “Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.'”” The Apostles also referred to God as a male. (Jude 1:1; 1 Peter 1:3; 2 Thess 1:2…) I’m sorry that the way that our Savior spoke of our Father is not credible to the priests.

They use the word ‘inclusive.” The word ‘inclusive’ these days is usually a code for ‘man’s fleshly desire.’ God is inclusive because anyone who calls on the name of God and repents will be saved.

Changing the scriptures to align with individual desires or mass culture is not only dangerous, but blasphemy. Why? “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,” (2 Tim 3:16). The scriptures the Scottish Church is changing were delivered by God. Man’s corruption of God’s work is blasphemy because it directly disrespects God and His sacred Word. Again, to use an overused word, “all scripture” means ALL, inclusive of Genesis 1:1 to Revelation 22:21.

But! We were told that the days would come when people would not stand for the scriptures as is,  but succumb to the pleasant words of man, wanting their ears tickled instead. “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.”

UK Telegraph article concludes, “the blessing at the end of services has been changed by some ministers from “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” to “Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier”. “The changing of God language is a little tricky,” admitted Rev Darren McFarland, convener of the church’s liturgy committee…” Well that explains it. A committee!