(TotalConservative.com) – A group of African Methodists are pushing back against the liberalization of attitudes toward homosexuality and other sexual minorities popularized in the West. The United Methodist Church had recently updated its guidance regarding homosexuality changing long standing policies regarding same-sex marriages and tolerance for openly gay clergy.
The UMC will no longer chastise priests who officiate gay weddings and admit open homosexuals to church as members of its clergy. The overall attitude of homosexuality as sin has even been reconsidered and reversed by consensus within the organization.
Delegates from Africa strongly dissented from the overall conference and held the line for traditional values. In their published statement, they argued that the Church is ignoring the will of God and substituting its own values for His. They cited Genesis 2:18 and 23-25 as well as Matthew 19 wherein marriage is clearly defined as the relationship of one man and one woman.
They said that Jesus and the Bible were authoritative and that they wouldn’t tolerate a new expanded definition of marriage.
Nimia Peralta, a Philippine delegate, said that she similarly believed the definition of marriage couldn’t vary from place to place.
The new policy was almost universally endorsed by the remaining delegates, but that’s largely due to the fact that most conservative methodists have already left the UMC under the auspices of the Global Methodist Church or opting for independence.
The dissent from the African delegates demonstrates that the liberalization of attitudes towards homosexuality in Christendom is largely still confined to Western nations while Africa, Latin America, and Asia still largely maintain the taboo.
The Russian Orthodox Church also still maintains traditional Christian perspectives regarding marriage and homosexuality.
Traditional attitudes towards homosexuality and marriage are largely perceived as outdated and bigoted in the West. Abroad the sentiments are mocked as indicative of cultural decay and Satanic influence. Condemnation of homosexuality has begun to increase in America with the younger generation after teachers began to push acceptance of gender ideology in schools.
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