The following comes from a Sept. 24 story on ReligionNews.com.
The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee voted unanimously Tuesday (Sept. 23) to break ties with New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, Calif., after determining it was condoning “homosexual behavior.”
“We believe that, following the lead of Pastor Danny Cortez, New Heart Community Church has walked away from the Southern Baptist Convention’s core biblical values,” said Roger Oldham, a spokesman for the committee.
Oldham said Cortez attended the meeting and indicated that he had officiated at a same-sex wedding.
The denomination has cut ties to churches that endorsed homosexuality before, but this may be the first time that its executive committee has withdrawn fellowship from a church on behalf of the denomination. The move came less than two weeks after the California Southern Baptist Convention’s executive board voted unanimously to withdraw fellowship from the congregation because of Cortez’s announcement that he affirmed gays — including his teenage son — and his church had taken a “third way” on homosexuality.
Cortez could not immediately be reached for comment about the SBC Executive Committee vote.
After the California convention board’s vote on Sept. 11, he said: “We want to make it clear that while our hope has been to stay within the SBC denomination, we nonetheless hold them dearly as our brothers and sisters in Christ. We ask that God bless them, and bless us, as we all attempt to navigate this very difficult period of church history.”
To read original story, click here.
God bless the SBC for cutting ties with the pro-homo La Mirada Church. I hope other denominations will also obey and honor God’s word.
“Cortez’s announcement that he affirmed gays — including his teenage son” It is very painful when family members fall into sin. Sins of the flesh are so addictive and difficult to overcome. Did not Jesus say, “They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” God must come first. Would it not be better to stay in the truth and pray for the conversion of the sinner rather that to confirm him in his sin. There is the risk of Cortez losing not only his soul, but his son’s soul and all of the others who he is teaching by his example. Jesus warns about causing a “little one” to sin.
“Pastor” Cortez better be careful about what he is approving in his son. If it is the behavior, how will he feel if his son gets some horrible disease or bodily injury or a type of cancer that is more prevalent among practicing homosexuals? Then he will really be blaming himself that he fell for his son’s emotional blackmail of him, and that probably is what his son and others are doing to him.
Gen 19:1-29; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:10; Jude 1:7.
It is not charitable, nor merciful, nor pastoral to confirm anyone in serious sin – which will send unrepentant sinners to Hell for eternity.
It is important that pastors teach, correct, and discipline if necessary for the good of the sinner.
Hopefully the sinner will then recognize the evil he is doing and repent.
We all want as many as possible to get to Heaven – this is charity (true love of neighbor as commanded by Jesus).
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CCC: ” 105 God is the author of Sacred Scripture.
The divinely revealed realities, which are contained and presented in the text of Sacred Scripture, have been written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
For Holy Mother Church, relying on the faith of the apostolic age, accepts as sacred and canonical the books of the Old and the New Testaments, whole and entire, with all their parts,
on the grounds that, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
they have God as their author, and have been handed on as such to the Church herself. “
Wow, a Protestant sect that really tries to believe and live according to the Bible. Imagine that! There is much to recommend the Southern Baptists, who are often much more fundamental than Catholics regarding biblical scholarship and belief. You know, Catholics are bound to live according to the Bible, too, as well as Catholic Tradition. And, the Liberal-Protestant-Catholic-Mass-As-A-Meal types are attempting to re-write all Catholic teachings, Tradition, rituals, and catechism to reflect new beliefs (with new Biblical translations sure to come). Remember that the “Third Way” for example, has Catholic adherents, yet no Catholic leadership that says, “No, no, we cannot go there”. Instead, we have Cardinal Dolan insulting the intelligence of every Catholic that says his being the Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade is fine because homosexual marchers are not proclaiming homosexual sex, “but only that they are gay”. People: these Catholic leaders do not care about us, the sinners, those that are looking to them and to the Church to lead all toward salvation. These Church leaders are interested in building themselves a nice career, and threaten “excommunication” and simply crazy things like that against any Traditional expression of the Faith. Just look at Bishop Zubik of Pittsburgh and how he threatens anyone who even attends a SSPX Mass there (threats that are inconsistent with what the Church says about attending a SSPX Mass). Good work, Southern Baptists, good work.
There are some Protestant Faiths that are more Christian in teaching and beliefs than some Catholic Diocese – where the Bishop does not actively encourage Laity to read the Bible at home.
Far too many Catholics in the USA do not know Christ and what He taught us.
And Bishops do not seem to care. They are more concerned with things of this world – like getting Federal Grants and supporting ILLEGAL immigration.
If it were not for the Eucharist, I would leave too.
There are some US Cardinals like Wuerl and Cupich that even allow Sacrilege against the Holy Eucharist (people in mortal sin to receive).
And the USCCB teaches people to stand rather than kneel while receiving our Holy Lord.
They trivialize the Lord, Himself and drive the nails further into His hands and feet.
So future generations will not even stay Catholic because of the actiions/examples of high profile Church leaders.
Hosea 4.6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me.
This is why Catholics leave the Faith for certain Protestant religions.
In many Catholic Churches they are not taught, corrected, or disciplined if necessary. Anything goes.
Many Catholic priests are poorly educated in bad seminaries. I once went to a Bible class taught by one once and never went back. He said something that did not sound right about what was in the book of Luke. I then asked him, “Didn’t Christ predict the fall of Jerusalem in the book of Luke?” — which he did of course. The priest answered me that some theologians thought that Luke was anti Semitic, and that Luke wrote that after Jerusalem had already fallen.”
I could not believe my ears. I thought to myself, “Well if St. Luke lied about Christ’s prediction, what else did he lie about and why do we even need this priest?” As far as I was concerned the priest had just pulled the rug right out from underneath himself as to his reason for even being needed as a priest. Luckily, I had a Catholic friend who knew some very good Catholic theologians, and she sent me proofs from the Bible and history that the priest was definitely wrong, and that the Lord Jesus did in fact predict the fall of Jerusalem before it happened. I think the priest was a fan of the theologian with the last name of Brown because he mentioned him. He also had a Jewish convert in the class, and perhaps he thought if he said the truth it would offend her, as if she should have been offended.
Everyone needs to brush up on the threat posed by sodomites:
http://www.tinyurl.com/HomoAbusers