Albert Mohler, Franklin Graham Denounce Historic Baptist Church's Decision to Ordain Gay Ministers
Notable Christian leaders have denounced the decision of First Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina, a historic Baptist congregation, to allow for LGBT ordination and marriage.
The church, which disassociated from the Southern Baptist Convention in 1999, says its now accepting of gay ordination and marriage, but claims that it doesn't have an official position on homosexuality.
"Now, here's the big issue — we have a congregation that has clearly adopted a statement saying it's going to welcome same-sex couples, that it will perform same-sex weddings and that it will ordain openly gay ministers, but it says it's taking no position on homosexuality," said Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in a podcast Tuesday.
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"The church most fundamentally has taken a position and that position puts the church at odds with Scripture, at odds with the history of the Christian church, and this is also significant, at odds with the denomination with which the church had so long been affiliated, the Southern Baptist Convention."
Mohler added that while FBC Greenville's decision was "not unexpected" it was "still tragic."
"It reveals the trajectory on which any church denomination or institution is set if it is untethered to and accountable to a specific set of doctrines in terms of a confession of faith and to most fundamentally, the inerrancy of Scripture," continued Mohler.
Earlier this month FBC Greenville announced that they were going to allow for LGBT ordination and marriages, while claiming to not have an official position on whether or not homosexuality is a sin.
"In all facets of the life and ministry of our church, including but not limited to membership, baptism, ordination, marriage, teaching and committee/organizational leadership, First Baptist Greenville will not discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity," read the statement adopted by the church.
The decision came following six months of discernment amongst the church membership, who according to senior pastor Jim Dant, have a diverse array of views on the hot button issue.
"What I heard was, 'We need to do the right thing, regardless of what anybody thinks or says about us," explained Dant to Greenvillenews.com.
The Rev. Franklin Graham, head of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, also weighed in on the Greenville congregation's decision.
"First Baptist Church of Greenville, S.C., has decided that it is going to not only accept same-sex couples, but they're going to ordain gay and transgender ministers into their pulpit! This is disappointing and discouraging," posted Graham on Facebook.
"… [T]hey said they are 'embracing the complexities of gender identity.' According to God's Word, what they are embracing is sin. The Bible says, 'Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness …' (Isaiah 5:20)."
