Religious Liberty Law Firm Accuses Orlando Church of Heresy for Promoting LGBT Cause
A national religious liberty law firm has accused a church in Florida of heresy after it hosted a public forum in partnership with an organization that supports the LGBT community.
According to New Now Next, Liberty Counsel accused the Northland Church of going against the teachings of the Bible when it hosted The Reformation Project group's open discussion.
The Reformation Project's website described itself as a "Bible-based, Christian grassroots organization that works to promote inclusion of LGBT people by reforming church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity."
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Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver expressed outrage at Northland Church for holding the event, CBN News reported.
"It's frankly shocking that any church would invite this organization," said Staver. "One would have to be blind or complicit to allow the Reformation Project to put on an LGBTQ propaganda presentation in the church."
"The name and mission of the organization declare its purpose is to reform church teaching on sexual orientation and gender identity," Staver said. He also noted that the dialogue is an avenue for Christians to be confused and an attempt to distort the Bible's teachings on sexuality.
Pastor Joel Hunter of the Northland Church explained their stand on why they allowed a forum from an LGBT organization to be held in their church.
Speaking to the Orlando Sentinel, Hunter said the invitation they extended to the Reformation Project was meant to reach out to the LGBT community, which he said is a "vulnerable" group in the city after the June 2016 Pulse nightclub attack that killed 49 people.
"We want to talk to increase understanding," the pastor said. "We think that's necessary for the healing of our community."
He added that while they opened the church doors to the LGBT community, Northland Church has no intentions of going against the Bible's position on homosexual relations.
In a public statement posted on the church's website, Northland Church stressed its stance and said, "Our understanding of scripture is that sex is a gift God gave to be used exclusively inside the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. Any sexual activity outside that boundary is sin."
The statement also reiterated that the event was part of the church's "effort to build bridges with those who are different than us."
