Hate Crime Committed at Hillsong 'Church'

      The recent stories coming out about Hillsong church and the back and forth over the recent revelations that a unrepentant homosexual couple is ministering in music- one leading, the other in a choir. The statements below are both from October 2014: 

NOTE: THIS IS AN UNOFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT TAKEN FROM PRESS CONFERENCE AUDIO  

Michael Paulson, The New York Times: Can I ask you to clarify something you said in regard to the relevance question? You brought up the subject of same sex marriage, and I wasn’t sure what you were saying. You’re now operating in New York and California where same sex marriage is legal. Can your pastors preside at same-sex marriages?

Brian Houston, Senior pastor of Hillsong Church: It can be challenging for churches to stay relevant. Because many mainstream churches upheld what they would believe is the long established view of what the Bible says about homosexuality. But the world has changed around and about them. On the subject, I always feel like there’s three things. There’s the world we live in, there’s the weight we live with, and there’s the word we live by. The world, the weight, and the word.

And to me, the world we live in, whether we like it or not is changing around and about us. Homosexual marriage is legal in [New York City] and will be probably in most Western world countries within a short time. So the world’s changing and we want to stay relevant as a church. So that’s a vexing thing. You think, “How do we not become a pariah?” So that’s the world we live in.

Then the weight we live with is the reality that in churches like ours and virtually any other church, there are young people who have serious questions about their sexuality. And who maybe, hypothetically speak to a youth pastor and says, “I think, you know, I’m gay.” And maybe they feel a sense of rejection there. Or maybe even their own Christian parents can’t handle it and exclude them at the time when they are most vulnerable in their life.

So you can have churches—not just our church, but churches—young people who are literally are depressed, maybe even suicidal and, sadly, often times grow up to hate the church because they feel that the church rejected them. So there’s the world we live in, the weight we live with, and then the word we live by.

The word we live by is what the Bible says. And it would be much easier if you could feel like all of those three just easily lined up. But they don’t necessarily. And that’s what Carl [Lentz] always says for us, it’s a conversation. For us, it’s easy to reduce what you think about homosexuality to just a public statement. And that would keep a lot of people happy. But we feel at this point, it is an ongoing conversation, that the real issues in people’s lives are too important for us to just reduce it down to a “yes” or “no” answer in a media outlet.

So we’re on the journey with it, aren’t we?

         Source  

Josh's Pastor, Carl Lentz, weighs in:  

Carl Lentz, pastor of Hillsong’s New York City location, made similar statements on CNN in June, saying Hillsong in New York City has “a lot of gay men and women” and he hopes it stays that way. But he declines to address the matter in public because, in part, Jesus never did. 

“Jesus was in the thick of an era where homosexuality, just like it is today, was widely prevalent,” Lentz told CNN. “And I’m still waiting for someone to show me the quote where Jesus addressed it on the record in front of people.  You won’t find it because he never did.” 

Lentz’s wife, Laura, chimed in: “It’s not our place to tell anyone how they should live. That’s their journey. 

Source

Which seem to agree with the testimony of Josh Canfield, seen in this twitter post from him: 

We’re writing this post in response to so many of you who have kindly reached out. You’ve been wondering why we have been getting so many hateful comments on all of our social media in the past week, in which some of you have been tagged or engaged.

The drama that is unfolding at the moment all revolves around the fact that we have been heavily involved in our church, Hillsong NYC. Josh has been with Hillsong for eight years in a variety of ways: choir director, vocal director, and worship team. I've been there since the beginning of our relationship, over three years ago, and eventually began singing in the choir and opening my apartment as the gathering place for a connect group for Hillsong members in the Broadway and theatrical communities.

We have been open and forthright about our relationship from the get-go.Due to our openness and very public appearance together on CBC’s “Survivor”, we have been in conversation with Hillsong NYC's lead pastors regarding the church's non-LGBT affirming stance. Hillsong has many campuses around the world, many in places where gay marriage is now legal, so this has been an ongoing dialogue trying to figure out how and where we, as part of the LGBT community, fit in. As a church family, we have been wading through these uncharted waters of shifting culture and social change. 

     So for the past eight years, Josh Canfield has been in a conversation with his pastors, who have stated  that "Hillsong in New York City has “a lot of gay men and women” and he hopes it stays that way." The Pastor's wife argues “It’s not our place to tell anyone how they should live. That’s their journey". 

     This is in opposition to scripture. A hate crime is being committed at Hillsong. 

     And it is not the only 'church' in which hate crimes are being committed in the name of relevance in a changing culture. Both my wife and I have personally experienced similar hate crimes in churches that we used to attend. We were personally and directly offended and affected by the lifestyle sins of others, and both of our (separate) pastors stated, as Laura Lentz stated above, "Its not our place to tell anyone how they should live. Thats their journey."

     It is clear that though Brian Houston has stated recently that he agrees with the teachings of the Apostle Paul that he and Pastor Lentz disagree with the ecclesiology of the Apostle Paul: 

1 Corinthians 5: 9-13 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. 11But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 13God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you"

1. The Hate Crime that the Hillsong Church is committing is towards God Himself: This is called blasphemy. It is saying something about God, or Jesus, that is simply not true. When you affirm that someone is a Christian (bears the name of brother) by allowing a 'conversation' (translation: keep coming to church while we figure out if XYZ is sin or not) or when you refuse to judge someone in your church who is living an unrepentant and immoral lifestyle, you are blaspheming God- as are they by calling themselves Christians while they continue to live in unrepentant lifestyle. And this is not just about homosexuals- it is all sexual immorality (adultery, fornication)- as well as greedy people, idolaters, swindlers, drunkards- if these things mark the lifestyle of a person who calls themselves a Christian they are blaspheming God. If the church refuses to deal with it directly, they are also blaspheming God. 

2. The second hate crime is refusing to judge those who are in the body. Paul commands that we are not to judge or treat outsiders in this way, but those who are in the Church who are being immoral we are to judge, because it is a loving thing to do! It is loving to the sinner, for the hope of church discipline is that they will repent (Vs 5). It is also loving to the church as a whole for a little leaven - a little impurity- affects the whole body (Vs 6). So the disease of sin spreads, and weakens the entire body.  

3. The third hate crime is against scripture itself: Brian Houston equates  the world- culture- and the weight- the impact of how we deal with people- to the gravity and importance of scripture (the Word). In the church, the Word stands supreme as the unchanging standard. The culture shifts, the way people respond and feel shifts, but the Word of God stands firm. The church is a unique place in the world. By the nature of the church we are counter-cultural. We are not called to "stay relevant"- to compromise with the world system, we are called to be different (sanctified, set apart, holy 1 Peter 1:15-17, 2:9-12) because we are the Bride of Christ. The harshest penalties for God's people in the Old Testament is when they played the whore/adulteress with the cultures around them (God's words, not mine). The same is true with the Bride of Christ. We are called to be holy, separate, and unique. We are not to love the world (system of values opposed to Christ) or the things in the world (1 John 2:15). 

4. The fourth Hate Crime is against the sinner who is fooled into thinking he/she can still be a Christian and live in unrepentant sin. let us look at 1 Corinthians 6:9-10:

9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 

When we try and compromise, and refuse to tell the truth as Pastors and ministers, we are shirking our sacred responsibility. We are joining hands with the deceiver. It is as though Carl Lentz and Brian Houston are saying "go ahead and be deceived for a while while we decide from the world and the weight whether God's Word has changed". In essence, Pastor Houston and Lentz and any other minister who refuses to warn people who are in their flocks are keeping them from the good news of the Gospel. It is not a conversation, or a negotiation- God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) and obey the Gospel (2 Thessalonians 1:8). Obedience is a result of repentance and belief in Jesus. Obedience flows out of a heart that is grateful and filled with the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6 continues with the good news result of the Gospel: 

11And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

It is the good news: We used to be that way, but when we repent and obey/believe the Gospel, we are washed clean of our sin, set apart for holy use, as we are declared NOT GUILTY of all the things we have done. We are also given the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells and empowers our new character and nature (2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 2:10) so that we are no longer enslaved and controlled by sin. 

Before that can happen, however, we need to quit having conversations about what sin is and is not, and just put ourselves under the authority of the Word of God. However, too many churches have decided to fear man (this is where compromise and conversation come in) instead of God. Many modern mega churches have put their trust in the methodologies and methods of man to grow their churches (Hillsong is one of many). While this could be an amazing platform to proclaim the truth of the Gospel, the same methods produce the fear that if you don't compromise, or if you do proclaim the Word of God as written, you will lose members. The fear of man causes us to make small, incremental compromises with culture which soon leaven the entire lump, and at that point, they are no longer a Christian church. 

How do you fix this? 

1. Stand on the Word of God: When it comes to the Church, the Word of God is the only standard of faith and practice. We do not have to deal with the World, for we are not of the World. We do not have to deal with weight; for God will deal with those that are outside the church (and God the Holy Spirit is already doing His work on them).
2. Practice church discipline: When someone is living a lifestyle that belies the fact that they are a Christian or behaving in a manner which brings dishonor to Christ, we are called to confront them, and if they will not repent, put them out of our fellowship. It is with the hope that they will be restored.
3. Preach the Whole Counsel of God: Do not cherry pick various verses to support your theology (belief about God) but rather preach the whole counsel of God, which includes themes like sin, hell, judgment, wrath- as well as repentance, Gospel, regeneration (being Born Again) forgiveness and grace. 
4. Proclaim the Gospel: That man is dead in sin (Ephesians 2:1-3) but that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4) and sent his Son Jesus to live a perfect, sinless life, die a sinners death, and be resurrected on the third day (1 Corinthians 15) so that we may be born again (John 3:3, 5, 16-17) if we will repent (turn from our sins, turn to Christ) (Mark 1:15) and place our entire trust in Christ we can be saved (Romans 5:1, 10:9-10,
   2 Corinthians 5:17, 21). 

Brian Houston has issued a new statement; Let us read it with the eyes of scripture:

I wish to correct reports that Hillsong church has “an openly gay couple directing a choir” at our New York City campus. Hillsong’s position on homosexuality and gay marriage has not changed and is consistent with Scripture. As I have stated previously, I believe the writings of Paul are clear on this subject. Several months ago when one of our choir directors made an unexpected public statement regarding his engagement to a man who sometimes sang in the choir, it was a complete surprise to us as well. It is my understanding that they have not been involved in an active leadership or ministry role since. That said, we still love them and acknowledge that they – like all of us – are on a journey, and our role as a church is to assist them on this journey with grace and compassion.

Now let us consider how Paul, using scripture, might have written this statement: 

God's Word is clear on the sin of homosexuality (as well as all other sexual sins). Let us make something quite clear: If you are in a lifestyle of sin- any sin, our position is clear: We will confront you privately, remove you from ministry immediately, and observe you consistently before you are restored. The scripture is clear on the fact that we are to judge those within our fellowship. This is for the glory of God and the benefit of the other members. The members in question are on a journey in rebellion against God. It is the role of the church to shine the light of the Gospel on them and command them to repent- that is to turn from the journey they are on and turn to Christ. We will do so with grace and compassion so that we will not fall into sin ourselves. If they will repent, we will restore them. If they repent not, they will be on the outside looking in. 



The two men in question are still singing at the church, and encouraging their gay friends to remain and participate at Hillsong church. This is a tragedy, for clearly, there is not enough preaching the whole counsel of God that these men will feel uncomfortable and perhaps repent of their particular lifestyle sin. I suspect there are many greedy, swindlers, drunkards, and liars that feel very comfortable that their sin will remain hidden and blessed by their church. 

   

The Ghouls Among Us: Babies BORN ALIVE and Killed.....

The irony and deception of planned parenthood should be evident; except for those blinded by the god of this world- Satan- (Ephesians 2:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:4).

• Planned Parenthood/The Pro-Murder crowd want to convince you that a baby in the mother's womb is just a blob of cells- Yet in two previous videos they are talking about harvesting tissues human organs from babies that they allow to be born partially and then crush the skull.

• In this video, we hear this 'doctor' proclaim "its a boy" - the same she and her cohorts claim is just a 'fetus'

• The president of PP, The president of the US, and all his liberal cronies in congress ignore the fact that this is happening, claiming that planned parenthood is a needed thing providing health services to the underprivileged. Since when does health care involve murder? 

Abortion at its root comes from a denial of God as creator, which devalues human life as simply a product of a host of changes over time. Evolution says that we are animals, and actually we have a lower value than some animals (see the uproar over Cecil the Lion).  Denial of what all humans know about God and His creative power leads to ungodliness, which leads to unrighteousness, which eventually turns into a depraved mind. 

Romans 1:18-32 18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. 24Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.26For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.28And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Are you giving approval through silence? 

     This leads to lack of conscience, which is evidenced in our country's continued support of 'a woman's right to choose'. You would think these videos would be enough to stop abortion in our country all together, but our nation is under the wrath of God (see above) evidenced by the society's blindness to this evil. Even professing christians are apathetic to this and other societal evidence that God is removing His hand of grace from our country as His wrath is being poured out.  Abortion is worse than the holocaust, and yet many who call themselves Christians continue to remain silent on the issue. They refuse to be 'one issue voters' and vote for people who will actually address the human justice issue of our time. They believe that if they make a stand for righteousness, they will be seen as unloving and judgmental. 

Though liberals deny it, the comparison to the holocaust is not that far off; Hitler was a negative eugenist, which has to do with the breeding of a 'master race' and ultimately included the murder of over 6,000,000 Jews. 

Nazi eugenics were Nazi Germany's racially based social policies that placed the biological improvement of the Aryan race or Germanic "Übermenschen" master race through eugenics at the center of Nazi ideology.^[1] Those humans targeted were largely living in private and state-operated institutions, identified as "life unworthy of life" (German: Lebensunwertes Leben), including but not limited to prisoners, degenerate, dissident, people with congenital cognitive and physical disabilities (including feebleminded, epileptic, schizophrenic, manic-depressive, cerebral palsy, neuroatypicals, muscular dystrophy, deaf, blind) (German: erbkranken), homosexual, idle, insane, and the weak, for elimination from the chain of heredity. More than 400,000 people were sterilized against their will, while more than 300,000 were killed under Action T4, a euthanasia program.^{[2][3][4] --Wikipedia}

Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, came before Hitler, as did the U.S. eugenics program. Have you ever wondered why a disproportionate amount of Planned Parenthood clinics murder mills are in communities dominated by people of color?  It is because Margaret Sanger (hero of Hilary Clinton) was also a negative eugenist. Check out these quotes from the one who Planned Parenthood says "Sanger’s early efforts remain the hallmark of Planned Parenthood’s mission.”

1) “[Our objective is] unlimited sexual gratification without the burden of unwanted children… [Women must have the right] to live … to love… to be lazy … to be an unmarried mother … to create… to destroy… The marriage bed is the most degenerative influence in the social order… The most merciful thing that a family does to one of its infant members is to kill it.” – Margaret Sanger (editor). The Woman Rebel, Volume I, Number 1. Reprinted in Woman and the New Race. New York: Brentanos Publishers, 1922 

2) “We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population. And the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.”– Margaret Sanger’s December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble, 255 Adams Street, Milton, Massachusetts. Original source: Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, North Hampton, Massachusetts. Also described in Linda Gordon’s Woman’s Body, Woman’s Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1976 

3) “Today eugenics is suggested by the most diverse minds as the most adequate and thorough avenue to the solution of racial, political and social problems.

“I think you must agree… that the campaign for birth control is not merely of eugenic value, but is practically identical with the final aims of eugenics… Birth control propaganda is thus the entering wedge for the eugenic educator.

“As an advocate of birth control I wish… to point out that the unbalance between the birth rate of the ‘unfit’ and the ‘fit,’ admittedly the greatest present menace to civilization, can never be rectified by the inauguration of a cradle competition between these two classes. In this matter, the example of the inferior classes, the fertility of the feeble-minded, the mentally defective, the poverty-stricken classes, should not be held up for emulation.

“On the contrary, the most urgent problem today is how to limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective.”– Margaret Sanger. “The Eugenic Value of Birth Control Propaganda.” Birth Control Review, October 1921, page 5 

4) “Our failure to segregate morons who are increasing and multiplying… demonstrates our foolhardy and extravagant sentimentalism…

“[Philanthropists] encourage the healthier and more normal sections of the world to shoulder the burden of unthinking and indiscriminate fecundity of others; which brings with it, as I think the reader must agree, a dead weight of human waste. 

“Instead of decreasing and aiming to eliminate the stocks that are most detrimental to the future of the race and the world, it tends to render them to a menacing degree dominant…

“We are paying for, and even submitting to, the dictates of an ever-increasing, unceasingly spawning class of human beings who never should have been born at all.” – Margaret Sanger. The Pivot of Civilization, 1922, pages 116, 122, and 189. Swarthmore College Library edition 

5)  “Birth control must lead ultimately to a cleaner race.” – Margaret Sanger. Woman, Morality, and Birth Control. New York: New York Publishing Company, 1922, page 12 

6) “One fundamental fact alone, however, indicates the necessity of Birth Control if eugenics is to accomplish its purpose…

“Before eugenists and others who are laboring for racial betterment can succeed, they must first clear the way for Birth Control. Like the advocates of Birth Control, the eugenists, for instance, are seeking to assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit. Both are seeking a single end but they lay emphasis upon different methods.”– Margaret Sanger. “Birth Control and Racial Betterment,” Feb 1919 

7) The government ought to “apply a stern and rigid policy of sterilization and segregation to that grade of population whose progeny is tainted, or whose inheritance is such that objectionable traits may be transmitted to offspring.”

And the government should “give certain dysgenic groups (those with ‘bad genes’) in our population their choice of segregation or sterilization.” – Margaret Sanger, “A Plan for Peace.” Birth Control Review, April 1932, pages 107-108 

8) “The third group [of society] are those irresponsible and reckless ones having little regard for the consequences of their acts, or whose religious scruples prevent their exercising control over their numbers. Many of this group are diseased, feeble-minded, and are of the pauper element dependent upon the normal and fit members of society for their support. There is no doubt in the minds of all thinking people that the procreation of this group should be stopped.” – Margaret Sanger. Speech quoted in Birth Control: What It Is, How It Works, What It Will Do. The Proceedings of the First American Birth Control Conference. Held at the Hotel Plaza, New York City, November 11-12, 1921. Published by the Birth Control Review, pages 172 and 174 .

9) “There is only one reply to a request for a higher birthrate among the intelligent, and that is to ask the government to first take the burden of the insane and feeble-minded from your back. [Mandatory] sterilization for these is the answer.” – Margaret Sanger, “The Function of Sterilization.” Birth Control Review, October 1926.

10) “In passing, we should here recognize the difficulties presented by the idea of ‘fit’ and ‘unfit.’ Who is to decide this question? The grosser, the more obvious, the undeniably feeble-minded should, indeed, not only be discouraged but prevented from propagating their kind. But among the writings of the representative Eugenists [sic], one cannot ignore the distinct middle-class bias that prevails.”– Margaret Sanger, quoted in Charles Valenza. “Was Margaret Sanger a Racist?” Family Planning Perspectives, January-February 1985, page 44 .

11) Birth control: “To create a race of thoroughbreds.”– Margaret Sanger, “Unity.” The Birth Control Review, Nov 1921.

12) “Hordes of people [are] born, who live, yet who have done absolutely nothing to advance the race one iota. Their lives are hopeless repetitions… Such human weeds clog up the path, drain up the energies and the resources of this little earth. We must clear the way for a better world; we must cultivate our garden.”– Margaret Sanger. Birth Control: Facts and Responsibilities, 1925. 

     Not only are people who murder babies heartless, they are also racist at the core. Margaret Sanger is the founder of Planned Parenthood, and still seen as a 'hero' of that movement. One of her goals, like Hitler's, was to make a master race that looked like her. Again, however, the communities of color are blinded to this fact. Again, when one denies what they know about God, their understanding becomes darkened.

     What should we do about this? Speak up. Make people aware of the evils of abortion Gospel. Repentance and faith, and the ensuing change of character and nature is the only thing that will change a person's mind about life. It is the change of individuals that changes cultures. If you are a Christian, proclaim the Gospel far and wide so that people will be converted and immediately see the value of life.

Renouncing my Baptism and Confirmation

I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal Church. However, because of their rebellion against God reemphasized today I again publicly renounce my baptism and confirmation.

In doing so, I still love people who call this their spiritual home. I do not hate people in the Episcopal Church- which include members of my family- however, I HATE what the institution has become. 

It breaks my heart, because I love my heritage. I have so many friends I grew up with that are still a part of the abomination the Institutional Episcopal Church has become. God was gracious to me in that all the scripture I learned from a young age came from the Book of Common Prayer. My theology was largely shaped by the Catechism I learned in that book. 

Please members of the Episcopal Church go back to your book of Common Prayer and read all the scripture in it and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes- specifically, the Catechism- 

Q.	Where in the Old Testament is God's will for us shown most clearly?
A.	God's will for us is shown most clearly in the Ten Commandments.

The Ten Commandments

See pages 317 and 350.

Q.	What are the Ten Commandments?
A.	The Ten Commandments are the laws give to Moses and the people of Israel.
Q.	What do we learn from these commandments?
A.	We learn two things: our duty to God, and our duty to our neighbors.
Q.	What is our duty to God?
A.	Our duty is to believe and trust in God;
	I	To love and obey God and to bring others to know him;
	II	To put nothing in the place of God;
	III	To show God respect in thought, word, and deed;
	IV	And to set aside regular times for worship, prayer, and the study of God's ways.

Catechism     847

---

Q.	What is our duty to our neighbors?
A.	Our duty to our neighbors is to love them as ourselves, and to do to other people as we wish them to do to us;
	V	To love, honor, and help our parents and family; to honor those in authority, and to meet their just demands;
	VI	To show respect for the life God has given us; to work and pray for peace; to bear no malice, prejudice, or hatred in our hearts; and to be kind to all the creatures of God;
	VII	To use our bodily desires as God intended;
	VIII	To be honest and fair in our dealings; to seek justice, freedom, and the necessities of life for all people; and to use our talents and possessions as ones who must answer for them to God;
	IX	To speak the truth, and not to mislead others by our silence;
	X	To resist temptations to envy, greed, and jealousy; to rejoice in other people's gifts and graces; and to do our duty for the love of God, who has called us into fellowship with him.
Q.	What is the purpose of the Ten Commandments?
A.	The Ten Commandments were given to define our relationship with God and our neighbors.
Q.	Since we do not fully obey them, are they useful at all?
A.	Since we do not fully obey them, we see more clearly our sin and our need for redemption.

Sin and Redemption

Q.	What is sin?
A.	Sin is the seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.

The Episcopal church is itself in sin as defined in her Catechism, seeking its own will instead of the will of God. God revealed His will for us in the written word of God which has essentially been abandoned by the Episcopal Church. The Word is meaningless, though it is throughout the Book of Common Prayer and the Pastoral Offices. Look with me into the Episcopal marriage ceremony:

Dearly beloved: We have come together in the presence of 
God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and 
this woman in Holy Matrimony.  The bond and covenant of 
marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord 
Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by his presence and 
first miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee.  It signifies to us 
the mystery of the union between Christ and his Church, and 
Holy Scripture commends it to be honored among all people.

The union of husband and wife in heart, body, and mind is 
intended by God for their mutual joy; for the help and comfort 
given one another in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is 
God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture 
in the knowledge and love of the Lord.  Therefore marriage is 
not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, 
deliberately, and in accordance with the purposes for which it 
was instituted by God.

Note that in the current version, the Episcopal church has it right according to scripture- acknowledging that God instituted marriage, between man and a woman. It goes on to acknowledge the  union between man and woman (Ephesians 5:25-32) is a picture of the spiritual union between Christ and the Church, and that it should not be entered into lightly- but reverently- in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God. 

These purposes are revealed in the scripture, both Old and New Testaments that is published in the section called the Ministry of the Word:

The Ministry of the Word
The Celebrant then says to the people

                The Lord be with you.People        And also with you.

Let us pray.

O gracious and everliving God, you have created us male and
female in your image: Look mercifully upon this man and this
woman who come to you seeking your blessing, and assist
them with your grace, that with true fidelity and steadfast love
they may honor and keep the promises and vows they make;
through Jesus Christ our Savior, who lives and reigns with
you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.

Marriage     425

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Then one or more of the following passages from Holy Scripture is read.  If
there is to be a Communion, a passage from the Gospel always concludes
the Readings.Genesis 1:26-28 (Male and female he created them)

Genesis 2:4-9, 15-24 (A man cleaves to his wife and they become one flesh) 

                The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ
                according to __________.People        Glory to you, Lord Christ.Matthew 5:1-10 (The Beatitudes)
Matthew 5:13-16 (You are the light...Let your light so shine)
Matthew 7:21,24-29 (Like a wise man who built his house upon the rock)
Mark 10:6-9,13-16 (They are no longer two but one)
John 15:9-12 (Love one another as I have loved you)

Let us take a look at these passages: 

Genesis 1:26-28Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27So God created man in his own image,in the image of God he created him;male and female he created them.

28And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 

Note, God did create man and woman, and part of the purpose of Marriage was to procreate. This is not successful in 100% of the marriages; there is infertility etc, however from when God created marriage his command was to be fruitful and multiply. You need a man and a woman to do this. 

To continue:

Genesis 2:23-25Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bonesand flesh of my flesh;she shall be called Woman,because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

When God created marriage, it was between the two beings he created. This may seem a pedantic question, but do you suppose that God in creating the first humans could have created two men, each with the ability to procreate? Instead, God created complementary human beings, each with unique parts and personalities that were beneficial to each other, allowing an intimacy (that is beyond sexual) that could allow them to be one flesh- illustrating the unity between the Godhead (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit- Three persons, One God- Unity in will, substance, and purpose- yet Three persons) and the Mystery of the union between Christ and His church.

Finally, Christ reiterates this purpose:

Mark 10:6-9But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’  7‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,  8and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.  9What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”10And in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. 11And he said to them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her,12and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”  

Many people in the debate over homosexual marriage claim that Christ never speaks about homosexual marriage. Here in this passage he affirmed that marriage is between one man and woman- and it is quoted right in the Pastoral Offices.  This is the frustration that I have with the Episcopal Church and other denominations that began so well: They have departed from the clear teaching of the Word of God that they had clung to for so long in favor of cultural relevance and approval from the world. This is why I believe my baptism and confirmation hold no water whatsoever for the scripture promises they are based upon are used falsely and to the Institutional church they Scripture has become no more than suggestion. The foundation of the Institutional Episcopal church is therefore sand.

I urge the members of the Episcopal Church go back to your book of Common Prayer and read all the scripture in it and ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes- and do not stop there. Go to the source- the Bible- and allow God's Word to reveal the truth about God and about You. As it says in your Catechism, start with the Ten Commandments, and examine yourself in the light of God's moral law written on your heart. At that point you will become aware of your need for a Savior. He is Christ- and He wants to save you individually from your sin. When He saves you, there is always the Anglican Church (US) that holds to the Standard of God's Word. 

I encourage an exodus, as ICABOD (The glory of the LORD has departed) has been long written over the Episcopal Church USA.