The United Methodists have lifted their ban on LGBT clergy. Being openly homosexual or transgendered is no longer an obstacle to being a minister in the United Methodist Church.
At their General Conference meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, church delegates repealed a ban prohibiting “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” from being ministers. The final vote was 692-51.
The lopsidedness of the vote reflects the fact that thousands of more conservative, Bible-believing Methodists have already fled the UMC. Since 2019, more than 7,000 churches have left the United Methodist Church, disaffiliating with the denomination mostly over the LGBTQ issue.
Thought control, in the form of control of language, is next on the agenda: As the General Conference opened, attendees were told to avoid using “exclusively male language for God” and to “be conscious of inferred power dynamics.” The Methodist Church of Great Britain has also instructed ministers to avoid using “hurtful language” such as “husband” and “wife.”
The changes to terminology are included in its “Inclusive Language Guide.” According to the Methodist Church’s website, the guide helps one “understand why some words, phrases or images are offensive to other people.” The denomination suggested using “parent,” “partner,” and “child” to ensure inclusivity and gender neutrality.
Not content with rebellion against a divinely created sexual order that is so clearly specified in the Scriptures, the UMC is in the process of embracing the whole panoply of cultural Marxism. Church leaders were also told to use “anti-racist” language. “It’s worth considering the need for the Church to take a restorative approach to any communication on the subject of racism, slavery, antisemitism and Islamophobia and attempt to speak or write in a way that is not simply ‘not racist’ but is actively ‘anti-racist’,” the guide says.
“Language is very powerful here. The words used to discuss power, privilege, racism and discrimination mean different things to different people. Language can uphold systems of white supremacy or encourage breaking it down or questioning it.”
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor. 6:9-11
