Three Nashville progressives have created a left-wing alternative to the Nashville Statement, a declaration signed by evangelical Christian leaders that upholds traditional marriage and describes homosexuality and transgenderism as sinful.
Corey Pigg (pictured above, left), Melissa Greene, and Matthew Paul Turner drafted The Accurate Nashville Statement and are collecting signatures from around the city and across the nation.
“On behalf of those that are religious – we want you to know that you are created in the image and likeness of God (however you define it) – and that there is nothing wrong with you,” reads part of the brief statement. “God does not need you to change. God loves you just the way you are – no matter where you land on the spectrum of the LGTBQIA+ continuum. There is great diversity expressed in humanity through our wide array of unique sexualities and gender identities.”
Greene is a former Christian recording artist who performed with the group Avalon and until recently was pastor of worship and arts at GracePointe, an evangelical church whose membership plummeted when it endorsed LGBT inclusion in 2015. Greene recently co-founded a spiritual community called Imaginarium.
On his Facebook page, Pigg describes himself as an “INFJ Ex-Missionary. Jesus Mystic. Reverently Agnostic. Meditation / Headspace Junkie.” Turner is a religion writer, photographer and speaker.
The Accurate Nashville Statement has attracted more than 1,200 signers, including leaders at local liberal churches. They include Alison Bocking of Christ Church Cathedral in downtown Nashville, Christy Jo Harber of Eastwood Christian Church in East Nashville and Matthew Kelley of United Methodist Church in Franklin.
Signers also include LGBT activists and everyday citizens, many of whom identified themselves by their occupation or workplace. Metro councilwoman Nancy VanReece signed as “Metro Councilmember, Christian, Wife, Lesbian.” VanReece tweeted Tuesday about the evangelical Nashville Statement:
https://twitter.com/NancyVanReece/status/902742204229279744
Mayor Megan Barry also tweeted about the Nashville Statement, saying it’s “poorly named and does not represent the inclusive values of the city & people of Nashville.”
The Nashville Statement was approved last Friday at a meeting of evangelical leaders in Nashville and was named for the city in keeping with a historical Christian practice of naming doctrinal statements for the places where they were written.
The evangelical statement condemned all sexual activity outside the bounds of marriage between one man and one woman, but emphasized that God’s forgiveness is open to all. It also said, “We deny that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.”
The Nashville Statement simply reiterated historic orthodox Christian beliefs. But its release comes at a time of intense public pressure nationwide to conform to the new LGBT ideology, and as even a growing number of church-going evangelicals appear to be losing their convictions or at least a willingness to express them.
According to a Pew Research Center report released in June, black Protestants and white evangelical Protestants support same-sex marriage at lower rates than other religious groups. But the share of white evangelical Protestants who support same-sex marriage has grown from 27 percent in 2016 to 35 percent today. Around two-thirds of Catholics and mainline Protestants now support same-sex marriage, the report said.
While the Nashville area has a number of evangelical churches, they have largely remained silent as the LGBT movement in Middle Tennessee has exploded. Many businesses and corporations now openly align themselves with LGBT activist groups. Among the sponsors for Nashville’s large annual gay pride festival in June were Bridgestone, Nissan, Sam’s Club, Opry Mills and Dollar General. Even the family-friendly restaurant chain Cracker Barrel had a booth at the festival.
[…] not represent the inclusive values of the city,” and three Nashville progressives drafted a counter statement that says “you are created in the image and likeness of God (however you define it)” […]
Wrong is wrong no matter how many people say it’s right and right is right no matter how many people say it’s wrong. The Nashville Statement is right. The Bible is right. The hope of change from the inside out is at the very heart of the Gospel. These so-called progressives should just be honest and say we thumb our nose at Scripture and God and Christ, we want to go out own way, like the old Fleetwood Mac song said. Whatever happened to sin? Pray for these individuals and LGBT.
Perverts!
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Homosexuality is sin, just like idolatry from which it springs, just like racism, hypocrisy, adultery, etc., etc., Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:21-22, Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:8-10; it is of “the flesh”, “the old man”— the first man Adam. The entire notion of “gay Christianity” is a man made message diametrically opposed to the message of the Cross. It’s part of an evil false narrative from the world that includes the lie that, “Certain people are born with a gay orientation and cannot change.” The purpose of such lies (and lies are of the devil) is to make people comfortable in Adam and conformed to the world so as to avoid Christ and Him crucified and what His glorious Gospel entails. While Jesus does indeed sympathize with our weaknesses, He does not tolerate or sympathize with our sinful nature from Adam in any way, He came to destroy it and He calls us to deny ourselves “take up the cross” and follow Him; Matthew 16:21-28; Mark 7:20-23; Mark 8:31-38; 1 John 3:5,6,8.
“And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6: 11
And such was I. Christians by definition have not only been cleansed of our sins, and not only are we “not under law, but under grace” we “died to sin” the thing itself, and we “died to the Law” with Christ; therefore we cannot live any longer in sin or under the Law. The obedience of faith is walking in and obeying God’s Divine statements of fact.
Death is absolute separation from this world and what we once were in Adam; and abiding in the Lord Jesus and His Word (John 15; John 8:31-36) we come to know this, “that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.”
Thus, we are commanded to, “reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Consequently, “obeying from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness . . . having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to HOLINESS, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6
We are to “walk in the Spirit” and “according to the Spirit” and are guided by the Spirit and it is “by the Spirit” that we “put to death the deeds of the body” which includes the desires in back of the deeds; Romans 6; 7; 8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Colossians 3:1-17; Ephesians 4:17-24; Galatians 2:19-20; Galatians 5:16-26; Galatians 6:14-16; Ephesians 4; 2 Corinthians 5:9-21, etc.
Try as they might, no one in the world, including professing Christendom will manipulate the Word of God. The Truth is clear and settled forever in Heaven, the place of citizenship for all who belong to Christ Jesus the Lord; Philippians 3.
Unfortunately these misguided souls reflect the changing Nashville culture. What was once a moral and family-oriented city has become a greedy and do as you please environment. Thank goodness for a evangelicals that hold to the truth.
Nah.
Le 18:22 Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.
Le 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
Ro 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
1Co 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor “effeminate”, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
Ro 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
Personally, I think the “Christian Commnity” should complain about these “Churches” labeling themselves as “Christian”, and put the label of “Wolf in sheep clothing” on them,
Every time the opportunity arose.
leviticus 19:19, Leviticus 11:10, Romans 14 1-23