"INCENDIARY SPEECH" TOO OFFENSIVE FOR CANADA'S LIBERAL SOCIAL JUSTICE
MILKTOAST PREACHERS
"Our concern is that the contentious and
confrontational political and social rhetoric that Mr. Graham has used
has the potential to overshadow the message of Jesus and incite
hostility in our highly charged social climate."
"we do not believe that Rev.
Graham … should be the exemplar that impresses itself on these new
believers,”
CANADIAN ECUMENICAL PREACHERS TELL GRAHAM – SCRAM!~
THEY THINK HIS STATEMENTS & POLITICAL VIEWS ARE HARMFUL TO THE PRESENTATION OF THE "GOSPEL" TO PROGRESSIVES
CITE HIS ANTI-MUSLIM & ANTI-LGBT POSITIONS AS NOT CONDUCIVE TO "UNITY" &
COULD INCITE DISCORD
______________________________________
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Evangelical Critics: Franklin Graham’s Evangelism Won’t Work in VancouverCanadian pastors debate whether Trump baggage will hurt local outreach efforts.
KATE SHELLNUTT| FEBRUARY 25, 2017
Compared to Franklin Graham’s evangelistic rallies in far-off countries, his upcoming event in Vancouver is relatively close to home. But the diverse, mostly secular Canadian city is culturally a world away from the Bible Belt.
That’s partly why a group of fellow evangelicals has joined local Christian leaders asking him not to speak at the Festival of Hope, a Billy Graham Evangelistic Association event scheduled to take place next week in the Vancouver Canucks’ arena.
For months, a group of Vancouver pastors have raised concerns about Graham’s “contentious and confrontational political and social rhetoric,” particularly his characterizations of the LGBT community, Muslims, and immigrants.
Context matters for evangelism, and they worry that a figure who has made such controversial remarks won’t be a good fit to share the Good News with the more progressive people of Vancouver. Especially not right now.
“Given that the express goal of this event is evangelism, with the commitment of new believers to Christ, we do not believe that Rev. Graham … should be the exemplar that impresses itself on these new believers,” wrote four evangelical pastors and a Catholic leader who were invited to endorse the March 3–5 event, but opposed Graham’s place as keynote speaker.
The latest statement against Graham’s appearance was released Friday afternoon and signed by leaders representing 60 percent of Vancouver’s Christians. Pastors from Baptist, Reformed, Foursquare, Vineyard, and nondenominational churches signed the letter, along with representatives from Catholic and mainline churches.
“Hopefully it will differentiate the mainstream Christian vision from what Franklin Graham has said,” Tim Dickau, senior pastor at Grandview Calvary Baptist Church, told CT. “We’re not opposed to the festival. But it’s important to distinguish that, ‘No, we disagree with these aspects of his statements.’”
President Donald Trump’s election in the United States has put Canadian evangelicals in a sensitive spot. Evangelicals make up only about 10 percent of Canada’s population, compared to 25 percent in the US, and number even fewer in Vancouver. Trump’s perceived association with evangelicals has only made their reputation worse among the people they seek to reach.
“There’s a real sense of conflating Trump with evangelicals,” which doesn’t go over well in liberal Vancouver, said Ken Shigematsu, pastor of Tenth Church, one of the largest and most diverse congregations in Canada.
And while Graham did not endorse Trump, he prayed at his inauguration, appeared alongside the president during his victory tour, and has championed his recent policies.
Shigematsu was a sponsor of the Festival of Hope, and knows its organizers through his mentor Leighton Ford, Billy Graham’s brother-in-law and a Toronto-born evangelist. But the Christian and Missionary Alliance pastor ultimately decided to withdraw his involvement from the event. Shigematsu said Franklin Graham’s political positions, particularly on refugees and immigrants, were “at odds with our church’s vision and ethos.”
About 1 in 4 evangelicals in Canada today are immigrants, a demographic credited with recent church growth in the country, according to the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada (EFC). The Vancouver Sun reported that “Graham’s crusade runs the danger of dividing the city’s ethnically diverse Christian population of roughly 850,000, since it continues to be actively promoted, including on bus ads, by dozens of prominent evangelical clergy.”
_______________________________________________________
DISREGARDING MATTHEW 10:34-
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
THE APOSTATE ECUMENICAL PASTORS DISTORTION
OF THE MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST
COMPARED TO GRAHAM
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Cover Note
We, the undersigned, represent a broad diversity of
Christian churches, including evangelical congregations, and over 60% of
the Christians in the metro area.
We are releasing the attached letter regarding
Franklin Graham being the speaker for the Festival of Hope, after nine
months of dialogue with the Festival of Hope committee.
Diversity of opinion is not a sign of disunity. It is a
sign of health. We have learned from each other that unity is best
achieved at the start of a journey together, before an irrevocable
decision like the selection of a speaker has been made. Despite this
diversity of opinion about Mr. Graham, we trust that many will find new
life in Christ at the Festival of Hope over these next few days and
that, irrespective of anything else, this city will experience the love
of God in new and profound ways. We pray to that end.
We had planned to release the letter on February 21st,
but agreed to hold it until today to give Mr. Graham time to reply in
writing. We received Mr. Graham's reply last night (the 23rd). We are
encouraged that he gave us a gracious response and has publicly pledged
to avoid controversial topics while in Vancouver and to focus on the
"simple Gospel."
However, Mr. Graham has neither retracted nor
sufficiently addressed the harmful statements to which we drew his
attention, and which can be found here. Therefore, we are releasing our letter. We urge Mr. Graham to release the reply he sent us.
We love and respect our sisters and brothers on the
Festival of Hope Committee. We have worked together for many years and
hope to do so for many years to come. Nonetheless, we feel compelled to
clarify our concerns to the wider community, regarding our perspective
on what brings honour to Jesus and on the Good News he asks us to share
in word and deed.
We are eager to dialogue further with our sisters and
brothers about their concerns and ours - and with Mr. Graham if he is so
inclined.
Letter
February 24th, 2017
To our Christian colleagues and our fellow Vancouverites,
As pastors and Christian leaders in greater Vancouver,
we deeply believe in a Jesus who is "for" all human beings. He is so
“for" us that he willingly died to teach us how we can have life to the
fullest with him. We desire that all people hear his message of hope.
We are concerned that Franklin Graham, who is our
brother in Christ, will be the keynote speaker at the Festival of Hope
conference to be held here in March.
Our concern is that the contentious and
confrontational political and social rhetoric that Mr. Graham has used
has the potential to overshadow the message of Jesus and incite
hostility in our highly charged social climate.
We wish to make clear that we value the work our
sisters and brothers in Christ have done in organizing the Festival,
which intends to celebrate and share the true message of Christianity:
the Good News about Jesus of Nazareth. We pray that the Festival of Hope
will be all that God wants it to be.
Jesus inaugurated his ministry in and for the world by
announcing, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed
me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom
for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the
oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour" (Luke
4:18-19).
Regrettably, Franklin Graham's public comments appear
to compromise Jesus's mission of love and justice for all. He has made
disparaging and uncharitable remarks about Muslims and the LGBTQ+
community, while portraying the election, administration and policies of
U.S. President Donald Trump as intrinsically aligned with the Christian
Church.
For instance, Franklin Graham has said that:
-
All Muslims should be banned from the United States because Islam is a "very evil and wicked religion" at war with the Christian West;[1]
-
LGBTQ+ persons should not be allowed to enter churches or even enter as guests into Christian homes, because "the Enemy [Satan] wants to devour our homes";[2]
-
The outcome of the recent U.S. presidential election was due to "the hand of God," giving the impression that the Christian church as an institution is partisanly aligned with an administration and its policies.[3]
Such blending of politics and religion is dangerous.
First, it comes close to aligning the power of the church with the power
of the state. Second, it does so by seeming to develop a false
religious narrative to support an exalted and troubling American
nationalism. Third, it can divide Christians who do not view things the
same way as Mr. Graham. Fourth, we are concerned that some of the
policies of the Trump administration have introduced unprecedented
structural shifts that put the most vulnerable in our world at risk of
greater harm. These policies may jeopardize refugees and reinforce
prejudice.
Some examples of the incendiary speech Mr. Graham often employs can be found at whatfrankgrahamsaid.wixsite.com/whatfrankgrahamsaid. Statements
like these do not convey the spirit of Christ that we would hope to see
preached by an ambassador of the Gospel to Canada.
Offering a Christian presence and witness in Vancouver
is a lifelong task that belongs to all of us. Unfortunately it’s one we
may find more difficult if our fellow citizens are given the impression
that such remarks are representative of Christianity.
Christians can legitimately disagree with one another
on many issues of political and religious policy, and we do engage in
ongoing conversation about these issues. Biblical ethics do not sort
neatly into "conservative" and "progressive" circles, even less so among
Canadian Christians than our American counterparts.
We have attempted to resolve this matter through
dialogue with Festival organizers, who we had hoped would be open to
inviting a speaker with a message that more clearly aligns with the Good
News of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, our efforts have been
unsuccessful. So with heavy hearts we have taken this unusual, painful
step to speak publicly about our differences.
We continue to respect Franklin's father, the
prominent evangelist Billy Graham, and we appreciate the life-saving
work that Franklin's international relief agency, Samaritan's Purse,
does in some of the world's most challenged regions. It is not our
intention to vilify the Festival's organizing committee. We simply
believe it is a mistake to think Franklin Graham's political stances are
immaterial to his presenting the Gospel. We want to continue to work
with all our sisters and brothers in the faith, even in the wake of this
controversy. We do not want disagreement on this one initiative to
reverse the tide of cooperation that has been building for years now.
As followers of Jesus, then, we commit to:
-
Joyfully sharing Jesus's Gospel that calls us to serve and love our neighbours of differing ethnic or religious commitments;
-
Creating a society that includes people from every nation, in line with God's abiding passion for reconciliation;
-
Encouraging our elected leaders when they work for a just and peace-filled society that comes closer to God's vision of flourishing life, while challenging them when they enact policies that oppress others.
Sincerely in Christ,
The Most Reverend J. Michael Miller, CSB, Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver
The Rev. Cari Copeman-Haynes, President-Elect, BC Conference of the United Church of Canada
The Rev. Garry Janzen, Executive Minister, Mennonite Church British Columbia
The Rev. Dr. Laura Nelson, President of the Board of Canadian Baptists of Western Canada and Pastor of Olivet Baptist Church
The Right Reverend Melissa Skelton, Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster
Pastor Randy Barnetson, Vancouver Foursquare Church
The Rev. Dr. Jeremy Bell, Executive Minister, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada
The Rev. Geoff Chapman, University Chapel
The Rev. David Chow, Killarney Park Mennonite Brethren Church
The Rev. Albert YS Chu, The Tapestry
The Rev. Lydia Cruttwell, First United Mennonite Church
The Rev. Geoffrey DeJager, Vancouver First Church of the Nazarene
The Rev. Dr. Darrell Johnson, Pastor and Professor
The Rev. Dr. Tim Dickau, Grandview Calvary Baptist Church
The Very Reverend Peter G. Elliott, Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean, Diocese of New Westminster
The Rev. Mike Hsu and The Rev. Mark Swanson, Grace Vancouver Church
The Rev. Heather Joy James, Cambie Village Church
The Rev. Matt Kitchener, Pastor, Canadian Baptists of Western Canada
Silas Krabbe, Community Theologian and Coordinator, Mosaic Church
The Rev. Tim Kuepfer, Mennonite Church of BC
The Rev. Gordie Lagore, Vancouver East Vineyard Church
The Rev. Daniel Louie, Urban Village Church
The Rev. Janina Mobach and The Rev. Mary-Lee Bouma, Downtown Friends Christian Reformed Church
The Rev. Dr. Ted Ng and Diana Gee, Pastors, Faith Community Christian Church
The Rev. Jesse Pals, The Tapestry Marpole
The Very Reverend Dr. Gary Paterson, St Andrew's Wesley United Church
Dr. Cam Roxburgh, Pastor of Southside Community Church
The Rev. Dr. Ken Shigematsu, Tenth Church
The Rev. Trevor Vanderveen, First Christian Reformed Church of Vancouver
Jonathan Bird, Executive Director, CityGate Leadership Forum
The Rev. Dr. Tom Cooper, President, City In Focus
Prof. Ron Dart, Dept. of Political Science/Philosophy/Religious Studies, University of the Fraser Valley
Dena Nicolai, Chaplain and Refugee Support Mobilizer, Christian Reformed Churches of Metro Vancouver and the Lower Mainland
The Rev. Dr. Richard R. Topping, Principal, Vancouver School of Theology
[1] quoted by NBC Nightly News, November 16, 2001
_______________________________________________________
AND IN AMERICA:
Churches Oppose Repeal of the Johnson Amendment
BY BOB ADELMANN
SEE: https://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/faith-and-morals/item/25851-churches-oppose-repeal-of-the-johnson-amendment;
republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
Part of a letter sent to top members of Congress
earlier this month and signed onto by 99 churches says: “The charitable
sector, particularly houses of worship, should not become another cog
in a political machine or another loophole in campaign finance laws.”Pushback to President Donald Trump’s promises to repeal the Johnson Amendment was expected from the American Humanist Association and American Atheists, and he got it. But from Baptists?
Trump said at a campaign event in Virginia in October, “I think [the Johnson Amendment is] very unfair, and one of the things I will do very early in my administration is to get rid of [it] so that our great pastors and ministers, rabbis … and priests and everybody can go and tell and participate in the [political] process.”
This became part of the Republican Party’s platform:
Republicans believe that the federal
government, specifically the IRS, is constitutionally prohibited from
policing or censoring speech based on religious convictions or beliefs,
and therefore urge the repeal of the Johnson Amendment.
It was the great Thomas Jefferson who
said, “The God Who gave us life gave us liberty.” Jefferson asked, “Can
the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction
that these liberties are the gift of God?” Among those freedoms is the
right to worship according to our own beliefs.
That is why I will get rid of and totally
destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to
speak freely and without fear of retribution.
The offending language appears on the website of the Internal Revenue Service:
All Section 501(c)(3) organizations are
absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or
intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition
to) any candidate for elective office.
Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes.
The signatories from the 99 churches who oppose Trump’s promise to repeal explained their reasoning:
Current law serves as a valuable
safeguard for the integrity of our charitable sector and campaign
finance system. People of faith do not want partisan political fights
infiltrating their houses of worship. Current law simply limits groups
from being [both] a tax-exempt ministry and a partisan political entity.
The letter went on to say that repeal would be “highly divisive” and have a “detrimental impact” on community life:
Houses of worship are spaces for members
of religious communities to come together [and] not be divided along
political lines; faith ought to be a source of connection and community,
not division and discord.
It added:
If houses of worship endorse candidates,
their prophetic voice, their ability to speak truth to power as
political outsiders, is threatened.
The credibility and integrity of
congregations would suffer with bad decisions of candidates they
endorsed. Tying America’s houses of worship to partisan activity demeans
the institutions from which so many believers expect unimpeachable
decency.
All of which is complete and unadulterated applesauce, according to Pastor Chuck Baldwin, writing in his weekly newsletter:
Liberal pastors from a variety of
Christian denominations promote their socialist agenda from the pulpits
of their churches all of the time. Are we really expected to believe
that Jewish synagogues, Muslim mosques, and Hindu temples do not promote
their particular agendas contained in their sacred texts that affect
their political, social and cultural lives?
[These groups] … are neck-deep in politics.
The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has been salivating over the
opportunity to take the IRS to court over the issue, certain that courts
would rule the Johnson Amendment unconstitutional. The ADF holds that
the Johnson Amendment 1) violates the "establishment clause" by
requiring the IRS to monitor sermons to make sure that they are not
transgressing its restrictions; 2) violates the "free speech clause"
because it requires the IRS to discriminate against speech based solely
on the content of the speech; 3) violates the "free speech clause" by
“conditioning the receipt of a tax exemption on refraining from certain
speech”; and 4) violates the "free exercise clause" because it burdens
the free exercise of religion without a compelling reason.That may explain why the IRS has been extremely reluctant to enforce its mandate. Instead, it has been happy just to let the threat do its work for itself, emasculating pastors and limiting political speech from the pulpit for more than 60 years.
Baldwin said that if pastors were really free to speak out on the political issues that are vital to maintaining and strengthening the Republic, it not only would inform the culture but would represent Christ:
Virtually everything Jesus did was a
direct challenge to both the political system of Rome and the religious
system of Jewry.… That’s why His death was a collaboration of both the
Roman political system and the Jewish religious system.
Similarly, virtually everything the early
church did was a direct challenge to those same systems. True men of
God and Christians throughout two thousand years of church history
constantly challenged both the political and religious systems of their
day.
Simply put, the Johnson Amendment has successfully kept the church
from performing one of its primary duties and responsibilities:
informing believers about how the Good News should impact the culture in
which they live.That may also explain why the National Council of Churches and the Islamic Society of North America also signed the letter.
Related article:
GOP Platform: Repeal the “Johnson Amendment” Inhibiting Pastors’ Free Speech
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MVI 4261 Non Profit funded Leftists
want to keep the Johnson Amendment
that silences Churches
Published on Apr 18, 2017
A
townhall was held by the offices of United States Senator Tom Cotton
and United States Congressman French Hill in Little Rock on Monday,
April 17th, 2017. Like other townhall, several leftist activist
screamed, held signs, & interrupted during the event.Questions regarding taxes, foreign policy, Trump, war, military, & other issues are asked by audience members. Both Congressman French Hill and Senator Tom Cotton are up for election in the 2018 session.
Some of the organized protest groups at this event include the taxpayer funded pro abortion group Planned ParentHood, the Soros funded group Moveon.org, supporters of Bernie Sanders, Medical Marijuana groups, & probably 1/2 a dozen other groups. Despite the hype at these townhalls, it is unlikely that the democrat party or any other group will be able to unseat Senator Tom Cotton or French Hill in the 2018 election.
TRUMP SWORE TO DESTROY THE JOHNSON AMENDMENT,
501C3 TAX EXEMPTION, & IRS RESTRAINTS ON FREE SPEECH INCLUDING
POLITICAL SPEECH BY PASTORS
AND CHURCH MEMBERS
