Tim Walz's 'Christian' Church > "A Trainwreck of Heresy and Blasphemy"

 

The website Protestia calls the church, "A Trainwreck of Heresy and Blasphemy"

God the Hen, God the Baker: Tim Walz’s ‘Church’

Is About What You’d Expect

Aug 9, 2024 7:00 am By Robert Spencer

Hey, Tim Walz isn’t so bad. In an age when leftists compete with one another in how much they can repudiate and mock traditional values, it is surprising and refreshing to discover that the Democrats’ shiny new vice-presidential candidate, America’s dad, is a regular churchgoer. Walz’s Christian piety, however, is not exactly the sort of thing that would put you in mind of Augustine, Aquinas, Martin Luther, Mother Theresa, or any other prominent Christian you’d care to name. In fact, it’s just the sort of thing you’d expect: the far left at prayer.

The Daily Caller reported Wednesday that Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz attends a church, all right, but you will not be surprised to learn that it’s not exactly a bastion of Christianity as it has been known up until these enlightened days. Walz attends Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minn., where the worship is as woke as it can be. If it weren’t for the folks walking around in robes and the occasional prayers, Walz might sometimes get confused and think that he is at a Democrat party meeting, for Pilgrim Lutheran is little more than the Democrat platform in ecclesiastical trappings.

Pilgrim Lutheran’s stances on everything are tediously predictable, and 100% in line with the latest far-left wisdom. The Caller notes that “materials published by Pilgrim Lutheran Church instruct parishioners not to refer to God using male pronouns, push congregants to support reparation funds, encourage them to celebrate Ramadan and include a modified gender-neutral version of the Lord’s Prayer, among other liberal practices.” Of course. Anything else would be racist, bigoted, sexist, and “Islamophobic.” Pilgrim Lutheran’s leadership would no doubt rather be burned at the stake rather than be accused of any of those beyond-mortal sins.

Walz’s church is, of course, not singular to his corner of the Minnesota Soviet Socialist Republic. Woke churches have spread all over our fair land, and are full of the blue-haired, gender-confused, and heavily tattooed whenever they feel the need to give the appearance that God or Gaia or Almighty Whoever heartily approves of their activities.

Pilgrim Lutheran itself is an outpost of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which ditched traditional Protestant Christianity quite some time ago in order to chase after the left’s latest cultural fads and imbue them with a patina of sanctity. And so it is no surprise once again that the ELCA not only has female bishops but lesbian bishops, as well as female bishops who are really men but have demanded that everyone around them pretend that they’re women.

There is more. Read the rest here.

Have you ever heard anything so stupid in your life? > ‘Queer liberation is Palestinian liberation’

There is only one country in the Middle East that allows Pride Parades and that is Israel. The rest of the Muslim dominated Middle East does not allow gay or lesbians in any way, shape or form. So, why do LGBTQetc identify with people who would murder them in a heartbeat, against a country where they actually have rights and freedom? Astonishing stupidity!

Canada: Fredericton Palestine Solidarity

is Pride Parade Grand Marshal, 

‘queer liberation is Palestinian liberation’

JUL 4, 2024 7:00 AM BY CHRISTINE DOUGLASS-WILLIAMS

Yet again, gay activists supporting “Palestine” (which hates them) are out making a spectacle of themselves, this time via Fredericton Pride in New Brunswick, Canada:

Fierté Fredericton Pride is happy to announce that Fredericton Palestine Solidarity is our Grand Marshal for our Pride Parade taking place on Sunday, July 21st at 3pm.

We believe, as Fredericton Palestine Solidarity does, that queer liberation is Palestinian liberation…

Fierté Fredericton Pride stands in solidarity with UNB (University of New Brunswick) students, faculty, alumni and staff activists asking for the university to disclose and divest from all Israeli investments and partnerships, as well as those with any arms manufacturers..

“UNB” is the University of New Brunswick, which cowardly rushed to distance itself from Israel in May under questioning about its investments in Israel. Its administration stated that “currently UNB does not have any active partnerships with Israeli institutions” except for “a small fraction of its endowment” in Israel-based companies.

The Queers for Palestine movement is so antisemitic that it’s “forcing LGBTQ+ Jews back into the closet,” according to a Jerusalem Post report. Compounding the issue in Fredericton is taxpayer-funded government support.

Among the sponsors’ logos presented at the upcoming Fredericton Pride event are those of the Government of Canada and the city of Fredericton.

The city of Fredericton is represented by Liberal MP Jenica Atwin.

The province of New Brunswick, however, is governed by Premier Blaine Higgs of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick, which issued a statement in January about rising antisemitism after an attack on a Fredericton synagogue. Conservative Minister of Justice and Public Safety Kris Austin stated:

There is no place in New Brunswick for antisemitism. I want to express my support to the Jewish community and assure them our department has already engaged with local police to offer support and any needed assistance as they investigate.

Since October 7, we have seen a horrific rise in antisemitic and Holocaust-denying activity both online, and in streets across Canada and around the world.

The Palestinian cause and “resistance” is packaged under the anti-racism banner, and is fuelling the rise in antisemitism. Its organizers know how to harness and manipulate Western wokesters, while concealing the truth about how Palestinians view gays, as well as the fact that the “resistance” is aimed at annihilating Israel from the River to the Sea.

The truth is that gays are despised, scorned, and utterly rejected among Palestinians. They are under threat of violence. It is only in Israel that the gay community can live in peace, including Palestinian gays. 25-year-old Ahmad Hacham Hamdi Abu Marakhia, a gay Palestinian, “was kidnapped and brutally beheaded in Hebron.” His body was then paraded through the streets of a Palestinian neighborhood. The incident happened three months after a prominent sermon by Al-Aqsa Mosque Islamic scholar and cleric Imam Mohammed Saleem Ali, who stated passionately:

The Palestinian people will not allow a single homosexual on our land; such perversion brings the wrath of Allah on us all.

Mohammed Saleem Ali also discussed the “killings of female students in the Arab world, saying that this is a result of the ‘immorality’ of mixing the male and female students in universities.”

Gay-hatred is not the exception among Palestinians. It’s the rule. Crowds attending Friday prayer at al-Aqsa reach tens of thousands. During Ramadan, over 250,000 have attended.

So what do Western gays supporting “Palestine” really think they’re doing? Western gays who support a “free Palestine” from the River to the Sea are being played for fools. Just days ago in Halifax, Canada, two lesbians who were merely celebrating a birthday night out were beaten up by a group of Muslim men.

Since Fierté Fredericton Pride members are supporting Fredericton Palestine Solidarity as the “Grand Marshal for our Pride Parade,” why host such an event in the Palestinian territories, since “Queer liberation is Palestinian liberation” in their view? They certainly won’t have any problems raising funds and publicity for such an event. 

In Western countries, pro-Hamas gay activists face gentle opposition in response to their antisemitism such as petitions like this one — click HERE. Just imagine what they’d face if they took their anti-Israel activism in a gay pride parade to the Palestinian territories, exhibiting their full flamboyance, rainbow flags and Palestinian flags.

Their rabid and blind support of the Palestinian “resistance” isn’t reciprocated.

It must be quite a joke in Islam. How stupid can those westerners be?

Approaching Sodom > Now that UMC has divested itself of all its Christians, it's free to practice ungodly doctrine

 

UMC ends funding ban on LGBT advocacy groups,

scraps punishment for officiating gay weddings

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Wednesday, May 01, 2024

The United Methodist Church General Conference voted to drop a ban on funding LGBT advocacy groups and removed a required punishment for pastors who officiate gay weddings after thousands of theologically conservative congregations left the mainline Protestant denomination in the last two years. 

On Tuesday, delegates approved a petition that struck from the UMC Book of Discipline Paragraph 806.9 language that prohibits the General Council on Finance and Administration from "ensuring that no board, agency, committee, commission, or council shall give United Methodist funds to any gay caucus or group, or otherwise use such funds to promote the acceptance of homosexuality."

The change was among the bulk of legislation approved by a vote of 667-54, which also loosened restrictions on the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and mandatory punishments for clergy who officiate same-sex weddings.

Measures passed in Tuesday's consent calendar scrapped elements of the Traditional Plan enacted at the 2019 General Conference to bolster UMC's restrictions on same-sex marriage and ordination of noncelibate homosexuals.  

According to UM News, other measures approved Tuesday include the striking of a ban on "self-avowed practicing" LGBT individuals from being considered for ministry. The delegates also voted to scrub the requirement for a one-year suspension without pay for any pastor who officiates a same-sex wedding and to allow gay pastors with good standing to be appointed to positions across annual conferences. 

The Rev. Jeff Campbell, the top executive of UMC Discipleship Ministries, told UM News he welcomed the removal of the funding ban, saying it freed his agency "to fully serve all those who seek our support without worry of unnecessary, discriminatory oversight."

"Discipleship Ministries staff remains committed to challenging and supporting all leaders for our missional task of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world," he added.

For decades, the UMC has faced a debate over whether to change its Book of Discipline's biblical stance on LGBT issues, which labeled homosexuality "incompatible with Christian teaching."

Although numerous attempts at past General Conferences to change the various provisions failed, many theological progressives within the denomination refused to follow or enforce the rules.

In December 2022, for example, the UMC General Board of Church and Society gave a $2,000 grant to Reconciling Ministries Network, an LGBT advocacy organization that is not an official part of the UMC, to develop a Vacation Bible School curriculum.

A GBCS spokesperson argued in an earlier interview with The Christian Post that the grant was compatible with the Book of Discipline since the money would not be going to LGBT advocacy directly.

In response to the longstanding debate and progressives' resistance to the rules, approximately 7,500 mostly conservative congregations disaffiliated from the UMC from 2019 to 2023.

Most of these departing congregations have affiliated with the Global Methodist Church, a theologically conservative denomination launched in 2022 in response to the UMC debate.

Due to the large number of conservatives that have left the UMC in advance of the General Conference, many expected the churchwide legislative gathering to finally remove the Book of Discipline rules banning the blessing of same-sex unions and the ordination of people in same-sex relationships.

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Canada - European View of the Great Canadian Experiment in Madness

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"The predatory psychopath has been able to figure out how to cloak himself in the guise of compassion" 

- Dr. Jordan Peterson

Canada’s woke nightmare is a vision of Britain’s future

Drug decriminalisation, gender ideology, legal euthanasia – the country seems to

have adopted every policy on the progressive wish list

29 August 2023 • 2:47pm

Steven Edginton, Telegraph

video 38:05

Under Justin Trudeau, Canada has sought to position itself as the global bastion of progressive politics. In my latest Telegraph documentary, seen above, I went to the former British colony to find out how Canadians are dealing with Trudeau’s radical reforms; from the promotion of gender ideology in schools and the mass legalisation of drugs, to his extreme new suicide laws and clamp downs on freedom of speech.

I began my investigation in one of the country’s most liberal cities, Vancouver. Possession of up to 2.5 grams of hard drugs, including heroin, cocaine and fentanyl, has been legalised in the city as part of a three year experiment which began in January of this year. If the aim was to combat the opioid crisis that already beset the city then it appears there is still much to be done as vast tent sites line the streets, patrolled by roaming zombie-like drug addicts.

As we filmed on Hastings Street, infamous as the epicentre of Vancouver’s homelessness crisis, I witnessed a topless man shoot a needle into his arm five feet from me. Though it wasn’t quite as bad as San Francisco, where my cameraman and I came under attack from angry vagrants, the scenes were still shocking.

It’s not just the homeless who patrol the streets of Vancouver. Chris Elston, better known online as Billboard Chris, campaigns against the imposition of gender ideology on children, whether through Canada’s education system or via dangerous operations to “transition” children. As his nickname suggests, Chris walks around Vancouver wearing signs protesting gender ideology, encouraging lively debates with passers-by which he puts on X, formerly Twitter.

Chris kindly allowed our crew to join him on a walkabout, where we found many Canadians horrified by the use of puberty blockers in children and the promotion of biological men in women’s sports.  

We did encounter some opposition of course, mostly through the odd shout or flicking of the finger. So much for Canadian politeness.

One aggressive gentleman, tall, ageing and angry, began a tirade against Chris with the rather bizarre singular message that he is “queer”.

For those who do question gender ideology there can be severe consequences. We spoke to a nurse, Amy Hamm, who faces losing her licence to practise after two members of the public complained about a poster she was involved in pledging support for the gender-critical author J K Rowling.  

The promotion of transgenderism in Canadian schools has led to a fierce backlash from some parents, not least from some of the country’s ethnic minority communities. While multiculturalism has become a key pillar of Justin Trudeau’s vision of Canadian identity, not everyone fits in with his mould of the enlightened immigrant.

In Toronto, I caught up with a family originally from India to discuss their experiences of modern Canada. Neerunjun, a social worker fired by his company for refusing to take the Covid vaccine, discussed how his eight-year-old son was asked to wear the opposite sex’s clothes for a school day promoting cross-dressing. He let his child have a day off instead of submitting to such woke indulgence.

Part of Canada’s social revolution can also be witnessed in its extreme new euthanasia laws. In 2016, the ruling Liberal Party passed legislation enabling assisted suicide for terminally ill Canadians. Next year the legislation will be expanded to include those with mental health problems. As Christianity declines across Canada, and the liberal obsession with “bodily autonomy” and “personal freedom” reaches its logical conclusion, a new dystopia is forming. As Dr Konia Trouton, a euthanasia advocate, told me, “we are an organised society but within that organisation we have to allow some freedoms and opportunities, this is not a communist system where we can try and reign that in”. The campaign group Euthanasia Prevention Coalition estimates that 13,500 people chose state-assisted suicide last year.

For a nation to be truly woke, it must have its own narrative of oppression. In America, activists focus on the country’s history of slavery and racist laws. In Britain, they focus on the Empire. In Canada, where historically there were very few black people, the nation’s story of guilt centres on a so-called genocide against its indigenous population. Supporters of this narrative point to the discovery of hundreds of disturbances in the earth around an Indian residential school in Kamloops, which is supposedly evidence of a mass grave site. 

However, no bodies have ever been found and many question the idea of a genocide as being at best an exaggeration and at worst a total fabrication. We interviewed a man who questioned the genocide story, and was fired from his job as a teacher as a result. Canada’s Justice Minister David Lametti has said he is open to punishing those who deny the indigenous genocide narrative, similar to bans on Holocaust denialism.

To prevent wokeism from spreading it is important to have a strong opposition party. Canada’s Conservatives have been historically weak in pushing back against Trudeau, however, their recently elected leader, Pierre Poilievre, has injected fresh energy into the party. Whilst there are some who still question Poillievre’s conservative credentials, his strategy seems to be working; one recent poll gave his party a twelve point lead over Trudeau’s Liberals.

However, the most successful opponents to Canada’s social revolution have so far not been politicians but members of the public. Our film highlights some of these brave individuals, including Dr Jordan Peterson, perhaps the most high-profile Canadian in the world other than the country’s leader.

During my travels I found ordinary people appalled at Canada’s surrender to drug dealers, its contempt for freedom of speech, its enforcement of gender ideology on children and a breezy willingness to terminate the lives of its own citizens. However, for all the depressing stories of people losing their jobs, or being hounded by the government, these cases were equally inspirational. Whilst Canada is a warning to the West, there are also individual messages of hope from those brave individuals fighting for their freedom.

How has Canada changed in recent years? Have you noticed the impact of progressive politics? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section at the Telegraph.

Approaching Sodom > Left Abandons Truth - Leaves it for Right-Wing < Melanie Phillips

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MELANIE PHILLIPS SHOCKED THE LEFT BY

SAYING THIS OUT LOUD

written by Phil Schneider 

May 31, 2023 2.1K views

Israel Unwired

The left-wing today has completely shunned the ideas of liberalism and adopted cultural totalitarianism. Melanie Phillips says it so well and so eloquently. She understands and knows how to explain the nature of the absurdity of cancel culture better than anybody else today. Reason, argument, discussion, and open-mindedness have been tossed out the window.

How did this happen and when did this happen? This was not the norm in the crazy 60’s. In the 70’s and 80’s, this was not the case either. It seems to have begun sometime in the 21st century. The political landscape was very volatile in the 60’s, between McCarthyism still being a force, civil rights marches on Washington, and race riots across the United States. But, there was no cancel culture even after a popular President, a Civil Rights Leader, and Presidential candidate were all assassinated. It was just a very emotionally charged atmosphere.

The Vietnam War pitted masses of youngsters against the leadership of the United States. But, even the opposition to the Vietnam protesters knew that the Vietnam War was not going well. The protesters had a point – even if they were extremists. And the protesters knew that Communism was indeed a threat that needed to be contained – just not via American lives in Vietnam. Each side knew that the other side had legitimate logic backing it up.

But today, young people – in the masses – are flocking towards hard to fathom values that are completely at odds with basic concepts of existence – such as the very existence of genders. And these ideas are not based on respecting the values of others, as anyone who thinks otherwise is repudiated and cancelled as a member of the Dark Ages.

Discussion and difference of opinion are not praised but tossed aside as negative phenomenon. What has really been thrown away is the placing of any concept of truth at the top of a pedestal of priorities. That is why Melanie argues that truth has become a right-wing concept. What a horrible tragedy for mankind.

Can this be reversed? Can the left-wing repudiate the obsessive focus on gender issues and woke concepts of reality? Today it seems hopeless. But the world does not only spin out of control in a negative fashion. Sometimes, concepts that were thought to have been gone from the world come back into fashion.

What is needed on the left is a big dose of some old-fashioned open-minded liberalism. Difference of opinion needs to be embraced. Striving towards truth needs to be a common goal among those who disagree. Recognition that no specific political persuasion can rule over the other needs to be the norm.

Was liberalism ever open-minded? At 75 years of age, I cannot remember a time when it was. 

A Twitter follower asked one time what the difference between left-wing and right-wing was? I answered, "Truth". Truth is something that seems to be related to belief in God. No such belief leaves one with no fear of lying. But 'fear of God' makes one wary of lying. Jesus said, "I am the Truth". If you refuse to believe in Jesus, you have no reason to tell the truth. This blog is dedicated to the truth.

It is indeed a battle over the culture. The culture of basic decency.

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Approaching Sodom > Is the Pope misguided in his inter-faith studies with Islam?

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On Coronation Day, is there a Defender of the Faith anywhere?

Pope: Christianity, Islam share common commitment to good life

by Francesca Merlo, Vatican News, 

May 4, 2023 

Addressing participants at the VI Colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the Royal Institute for Inter-Faith Studies, Pope Francis encouraged each member, noting that with this being their sixth encounter, their perseverance is clear.

Commonalities between religions

The theme of the colloquium, “Creative Commonalities between Christianity and Islam”, the Pope said, reflects how “each of us is like the link in a long chain: many people have preceded us on the beautiful and challenging road of encounter and friendship, others will follow us, as we hope and pray, confirming that feeling of brotherhood that is the foundation of relations between peoples”….

Bringing his message to a close, the Pope noted that the dialogue practiced and promoted requires a style of sincerity and mutual respect if it is to be fruitful, and requires “an awareness of both convergences and divergences”. He spoke of compassion for all, before adding that “we also believe that not everything ends with death, but that there is another life, eternal, where we will give account to God for our actions and receive reward or punishment”.

Finally, the Pope noted that “our common commitment is to a good life” and this, he concluded, “gives glory to God and joy to all those we meet on our earthly pilgrimage”.

It is distressing that the Pope seems completely unaware of the enmity between Islam and Christianity. 

He seems oblivious to the desire in Islam to enslave or destroy all religions other than Islam. 

He seems not at all bothered by their dismissal of Jesus as the Son of God, or the elevation of Allah to be Jehovah God, the Father. 

He has missed the point of Jesus having completed The Law and replaced it with Grace, only to have Mohammed come along 600 years later and put his people back under The Law. 

Is he unaware that Mohammed is raised to the primary Messenger of Allah, and Jesus is pushed to a lower position?

On this day, as King Charles III is crowned, one must look for a Defender of the Faith - unfortunately, it seems we cannot find one in the Vatican, or Westminster.

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Pope says of Christianity and Islam that ‘our common commitment is to a good life’

MAY 6, 2023 5:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

Jihad Watch

All right, but the definition of “a good life” differs sharply in both religions. The pope would stoutly deny this and call anyone who pointed it out “Islamophobic,” but nonetheless, it is the case.

Qur’an 98:4-6: “Nor were the people of the book divided until after the clear proof came to them. And they are not ordered to do anything else but serve Allah, keeping religion pure for him, as hanifs, and to establish prayer and to give alms. That is true religion. Indeed, the unbelievers among the people of the book and the idolaters will remain in the fire of Gehenna. They are the most vile of created beings.”

Qur’an 5:14: “And with those who say: Indeed, we are Christians, we made a covenant, but they forgot a part of what they were reminded about. Therefore we have stirred up enmity and hatred among them until the day of resurrection, when Allah will inform them of their handiwork.”

Qur’an 5:17: “They indeed have disbelieved who say, Indeed, Allah is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say, Who then can do anything against Allah, if he had willed to destroy the Messiah son of Mary, and his mother and everyone on earth? To Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them. He creates what he wills. And Allah is able to do all things.”

Qur’an 4:157: “And because of their saying, We killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the messenger of Allah, they did not kill him nor crucify him, but it seemed so to them, and indeed, those who disagree about this are in doubt about it, they have no knowledge of it except pursuit of a supposition, they did not kill him for certain.

Qur’an 4:171: “O people of the book, do not exaggerate in your religion or say anything about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of Allah, and his word that he conveyed to Mary, and a spirit from him. So believe in Allah and his messengers, and do not say Three, Stop, it is better for you. Allah is only one God. It is far removed from his transcendent majesty that he should have a son. Everything that is in the heavens and everything that is on the earth is his. And Allah is sufficient as defender.”

Qur’an 5:116: “And when Allah said, O Jesus, son of Mary, did you say to mankind, Take me and my mother as two gods besides Allah? He said, Be glorified. It was not for me to say what I had no right to say. If I said it, then you know it. You know what is in my mind, and I do not know what is in your mind. Indeed, you, only you, are the knower of hidden things.”

Qur’an 19:35: “It is not fitting for Allah that he should take to himself a son. Glory be to him, when he decrees a thing, he says to it only, Be, and it is.”

Qur’an 9:30-31: “And the Jews say, Ezra is the son of Allah, and the Christians say, The Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths. They imitate the statements of those who disbelieved before. May Allah curse them. How perverse they are. They have taken as lords besides Allah their rabbis and their monks and the Messiah, the son of Mary, when they were called to worship only one God. There is no God except him. May he be glorified from all that they ascribe as partners.”

Qur’an 9:29: “Fight against those do not believe in Allah or the last day, and do not forbid what Allah and his messenger have forbidden, and do not follow the religion of truth, even if they are among the people of the book, until they pay the jizya with willing submission and feel themselves subdued.”

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Islam - This Day in History > The People of Loot - Islam's Version of the Destruction of Sodom

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The Destruction of Sodom - According to Mohammed

Mohammed's mention of the People of Loot (Lut) somehow morphs into the story of

Sodom and Gomorrah

islamicity

The People of Lut and The City which was Turned Upside Down The people of Lut rejected (his) warning. We sent against them a violent Tornado with showers of stones, (which destroyed them), except Lut's household: them We delivered by early Dawn,-  As a Grace from Us: thus do We reward those who give thanks. And (Lut) did warn them of Our Punishment, but they disputed about the Warning. (Surat al-Qamar:, 33-36) Lut lived at the same time as Ibrahim. The Old Testament says that Lut was Ibrahim's nephew and that they travelled some distance together in Ibrahim's long journeys.  Lut was sent as a messenger to one of Ibrahim's neighbouring communities. These people, as the Qur’an tells us, practiced a perversion unknown to the world up to then, namely sodomy. When Lut told them to give up this perversion and brought them Allah's warning, they denied him, refused his prophethood, and carried on with their perversion. In the end, these people were destroyed by a dreadful disaster. The city where Lut resided is referred to as Sodom in the Old Testament. Being situated at the north of the Red Sea, this community is understood to have been destroyed just as it is written in the Qur’an. Archaeological studies reveal that the city is located in the area of the Dead Sea which stretches along the Israel-Jordan border.  Before examining the remains of this disaster, let’s see why the people of Lut were punished in this fashion. The Qur’an tells how Lut warned his people and what they said in reply;  The people of Lut rejected the messengers. Behold, their brother Lut said to them: “Will ye not fear (Allah)? I am to you a messenger worthy of all trust. So fear Allah and obey me. No reward do I ask of you for it: my reward is only from the lord of the Worlds. Of all the creatures in the world, will ye approach males, And leave those whom Allah has created for you to be your mates? Nay, ye are a people transgressing (all limits)!”  They said: “If thou desist not, O Lut! thou wilt assuredly be cast out!”  He said: “I do detest your doings.” (Surat ash-Shuara: 160-168) The people of Lut threatened him in response to his inviting them to the right way. His people detested him because of his showing them the right way, and wanted to banish both him and the other believers beside him. In other verses, the event is told as follows;  We also (sent) Lut: He said to his people: “Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you? For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.” And his people gave no answer but this: they said, “Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!” (Surat al-Araf: 80-82)  Lut called his people to an obvious truth and warned them explicitly, but his people did not heed any warnings whatsoever and continued to reject Lut and to deny the penalty of which he told them.  And (remember) Lut: behold, he said to his people: “Ye do commit lewdness, such as no people in Creation (ever) committed before you. Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practise wickedness (even) in your councils?” But his people gave no answer but this: they said: “Bring us the Wrath of Allah if thou tellest the truth.” (Surat al-Ankaboot: 28-29) Receiving the above answer from his people, Lut asked for the help of Allah,  He said: “O my Lord! help Thou me against people who do mischief!” (Surat al-Ankaboot: 30) “O my Lord! deliver me and my family from such things as they do!” (Surat ash-Shuara: 169) Upon Lut’s prayer, Allah sent two angels in the form of men. These angels visited Ibrahim before coming to Lut. Giving Ibrahim the good news that his wife would give birth to an infant, the messengers explained the reason of their being sent: the insolent people of Lut were to be destroyed.  (Ibrahim) said: “And what, O ye Messengers, is your errand (now)?” They said, “We have been sent to a people (deep) in sin; To bring on, on them, (a shower of) stones of clay (brimstone), Marked as from thy Lord for those who trespass beyond bounds.” (Surat adh-Dhariyat: 31-34) Excepting the adherents of Lut: them we are certainly (charged) to save (from harm),- All - Except his wife, who, We have ascertained, will be among those who will lag behind. (Surat al-Hijr: 59-60) After leaving Ibrahim’s company, the angels, who were sent as messengers, came to Lut. Not having met the messengers before, Lut first became anxious, but then calmed down after talking  to them;  When Our messengers came to Lut, he was grieved on their account and felt himself powerless (to protect) them. He said: “This is a distressful day.” (Surah Hud: 77) He said: “Ye appear to be uncommon folk.” They said: “Yea, we have come to thee to accomplish that of which they doubt. We have brought to thee that which is inevitably due, and assuredly we tell the truth. Then travel by night with thy household, when a portion of the night (yet remains), and do thou bring up the rear: let no one amongst you look back, but pass on whither ye are ordered.” And We made known this decree to him, that the last remnants of those (sinners) should be cut off by the morning. (Surat al-Hijr: 62-66) Meanwhile, his people had learned that Lut had visitors. They did not hesitate to approach these visitors perversely as they had approached others before. They encircled the house. Being afraid for his visitors, Lut addressed his people as follows;  Lut said: “These are my guests: disgrace me not: But fear Allah, and shame me not.” (Surat al-Hijr: 68-69) The people of Lut retorted; They said: “Did we not forbid thee (to speak) for all and sundry?” (Surat al-Hijr: 70) Thinking that he and his visitors subjected to evil treatment, Lut said:  “Would that I had power to suppress you or that I could betake myself to some powerful support.” (Surah Hud: 80) His “visitors” reminded him that they were the messengers of Allah and said;  (The Messengers) said: “O Lut! We are Messengers from thy Lord! By no means shall they reach thee! now travel with thy family while yet a part of the night remains, and let not any of you look back: but thy wife (will remain behind): To her will happen what happens to the people. Morning is their time appointed: Is not the morning nigh?” (Surah Hud: 81) When the perversity of the city people reached its fullest extent, Allah saved Lut by means of the angels. In the morning, his people were destroyed by the disaster of which Lut had informed them in advance.  And they even sought to snatch away his guests from him, but We blinded their eyes. (They heard:) “Now taste ye My Wrath and My Warning.” Early on the morrow an abiding Punishment seized them: (Surat al-Qamar: 37-38) The verses describe the destruction of this people as follows;  But the (mighty) Blast overtook them before morning, And We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay. Behold! in this are Signs for those who by tokens do understand. And the (cities were) right on the high-road. (Surat al-Hijr: 73-76) When Our Decree issued, We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay, spread, layer on layer,-Marked as from thy Lord: Nor are they ever far from those who do wrong! (Surah Hud: 82-83) But the rest We destroyed utterly. We rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): and evil was the shower on those who were admonished (but heeded not)! : Verily in this is a Sign: but most of them do not believe. And verily thy Lord is He, the Exalted in Might, Most Merciful. (Surat ash-Shuara: 172-175) When the people were destroyed, only Lut and the believers, who were only as many as one “household”, were saved. Lut’s wife did not believe either and she was also destroyed.  We also (sent) Lut: He said to his people: “Do ye commit lewdness such as no people in creation (ever) committed before you?  For ye practise your lusts on men in preference to women : ye are indeed a people transgressing beyond bounds.” And his people gave no answer but this: they said, “Drive them out of your city: these are indeed men who want to be clean and pure!” But we saved him and his family, except his wife: she was of those who legged behind. And we rained down on them a shower (of brimstone): Then see what was the end of those who indulged in sin and crime! (Surat al-Araf: 80-84) Thus, Prophet Lut was saved along with the believers and his family with the exception of his wife. As described in the Old Testament, he emigrated with Ibrahim. As for the perverted people, they were destroyed and their dwellings were razed to the ground.  “The Obvious Signs” in the Lake of Lut The 82nd  verse of Surah Hud, clearly states the kind of the disaster that befell the people of Lut. “When Our Decree issued, We turned (the cities) upside down, and rained down on them brimstones hard as baked clay, spread, layer on layer” The statement of “turning (the cities) upside down” implies that the region was totally destroyed by a violent earthquake. Accordingly, The Lake of Lut, where the destruction took place, bears “obvious” evidence of such a disaster.  We quote German archaeologist Werner Keller as follows;  Together with the base of this mighty fissure, which runs precisely through this area, the Vale of Siddim, including Sodom and Gomorrah, plunged one day into the abyss. Their destruction came about through a great earthquake which was probably accompanied by explosions, lightning, issue of natural gas and general conflagration. (1) There is much more on this article at islamicity

United Methodists Edge Toward Breakup Over LGBTQ Policies

A gay pride rainbow flag flies along with the U.S. flag in front of the Asbury United Methodist Church

in Prairie Village, Kansas on April 19, 2019. Charlie Riedel / AP

By The Associated Press

NEW YORK — There's at least one area of agreement among conservative, centrist and liberal leaders in the United Methodist Church: America's largest mainline Protestant denomination is on a path toward likely breakup over differences on same-sex marriage and ordination of LGBT pastors.

The differences have simmered for years, and came to a head in February at a conference in St. Louis where delegates voted 438-384 for a proposal called the Traditional Plan, which strengthens bans on LGBT-inclusive practices. A majority of U.S.-based delegates opposed that plan and favored LGBT-friendly options, but they were outvoted by U.S. conservatives teamed with most of the delegates from Methodist strongholds in Africa and the Philippines.

Many believe the vote will prompt an exodus from the church by liberal congregations that are already expressing their dissatisfaction over the move.

Some churches have raised rainbow flags in a show of LGBT solidarity. Some pastors have vowed to defy the strict rules and continue to allow gay weddings in Methodist churches. Churches are withholding dues payments to the main office in protest, and the UMC's receipts were down 20 percent in March, according to financial reports posted online.

"It's time for some kind of separation, some kind of amicable divorce," said James Howell, pastor of Myers Park United Methodist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, who posted a video assailing the proposal for its "real meanness."

The UMC's nine-member Judicial Council convenes a four-day meeting in Evanston, Illinois, on Tuesday to consider legal challenges to the Traditional Plan. If the plan is upheld, it would take effect for U.S. churches on Jan. 1. If parts of it are struck down, that would likely trigger new debate at the UMC's next general conference in May 2020.

In fact, it appears that the general conference in May, 2020, will decide that a split is inevitable as a plan will be presented to do just that.

The UMC's largest church — the 22,000-member Church of the Resurrection with four locations in the Kansas City area — is among those applying financial pressure. Its lead pastor, Adam Hamilton, says his church is temporarily withholding half of the $2.5 million that it normally would have paid to the UMC's head office at this stage of the year.

"We'll ultimately pay it," Hamilton said. "But we want to show that this is the impact if our churches leave."

Hamilton is among the opponents of the Traditional Plan leading an initiative dubbed UMC-Next that seeks the best path forward for those who share their views. Clergy and activists in the alliance have met in Texas and Georgia, and a bigger meeting is planned for May 20-22 at Hamilton's megachurch.

Hamilton, in a telephone interview, said two main options are under consideration.

Under one scenario, many centrists and liberals would leave en masse to form a new denomination — a potentially complex endeavor given likely disputes over the dissolution process.

Under the other option, opponents of the Traditional Plan would stay in the UMC and resist from within, insisting on LGBT-inclusive policies and eventually convincing the conservatives that they should be the faction that leaves under what's envisioned as a financially smooth "gracious exit."

"There's a sense that some conservatives have been wanting to leave for a long time," Hamilton said. "They're tired of fighting about it."

While other mainline Protestant denominations have embraced gay-friendly practices, the UMC still bans them, though acts of defiance by pro-LGBT clergy have multiplied. Many have performed same-sex weddings; others have come out as gay or lesbian from the pulpit.

Enforcement of the bans has been inconsistent; the Traditional Plan aspires to beef up discipline against those engaged in defiance.

Traditional Plan supporter Mark Tooley, who heads a conservative Christian think tank, predicts that the UMC will split into three denominations — one for centrists, another oriented toward liberal activists and a third representing the global alliance of U.S. conservatives and their allies overseas.

"It's a question of how long it takes for that to unfold — and of who and how many go into each denomination," Tooley said. "A lot of churches will be irreparably harmed as they divide."

Scott Jones, bishop of the UMC's Houston-based Texas conference, says churchgoers in his region are divided in their views, but a majority supports the Traditional Plan's concepts.

"I have urged all of us to love each other, listen to each other and respect each other, even if we disagree," said Jones, who holds out hope that the UMC's disparate factions can preserve some form of unity.

Ann Craig of Newburgh, New York — a lesbian activist who has advocated for greater LGBT inclusion in the UMC — thinks a breakup can be avoided, though she's unsure what lies ahead.

"We expect something new to happen, but what that change should be or will be has not jelled yet," she said. "I don't think we're going to break up — it's so cumbersome to figure out a way to divorce."

The crisis is being followed closely at Methodist-affiliated theology schools based at universities with LGBT-inclusive policies. There are 13 UMC-connected theology schools around the country.

"There's a lot of turmoil and distress," said Mary Elizabeth Moore, dean of Boston University School of Theology. "We're trying to find a future that will be less destructive than where we are now."

In other words, they are trying to salvage what they can of the Methodist church before it is entirely taken over by those who are people-centered as opposed to being God-centered. 

Celebrating homosexuality in a church once dedicated to Jesus Christ is a sure way to lose God's candlestick from your presence. That means you will not find the presence of God in those churches. 

Rev 2:5 - Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

The western world resembles Sodom and Gomorrah more every day.