Same sex marriage – on the road back to paganism

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A Truth Watch member recently lobbied New Zealand’s government on proposed new legislation legalising same sex marriage and adoption. The New Zealand Parliament approved the legislation soon thereafter. Truth Watch expected its plea for a return to common sense would be ignored and it was. In various polls New Zealanders indicated they were against the legislation, but the people’s will has not influenced the government for decades.

To read the full text of the letter sent to the government go to the letters drop down menu.

The government was warned that legalising same sex marriage would take us further down the road towards a renewed pagan world. Slavery, homosexuality, pederasty (man-boy sexual relationships), incest, violence, bestiality and tyrannous government (the death of democracy) were the hallmarks of the pagan world.  The letter points to indicators that show the Western world is well on the way back to that dark time.

How many Christians are really Christian?

Posted on by issachar

The failure of the western Church to stand for holiness over the last five decades can be sheeted back to poor leadership, cowardice, poor doctrine and false teachers and prophets. It all began in earnest with the sexual revolt of the 1960s and has now reached the point in 2013 where governments will recognise homosexual marriage. Truth Watch asks some important questions in its article, ‘How Many Christians are really Christian’. After 50 years of compromise and excuses where is the light of the gospel in the western world? Where are the champions of holiness? How many people have entered the Church believing a false gospel. How many are really born again? How many have fallen for Satan’s lie, “did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1).

Admonishing the director of the NZ Christian Network

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Glyn, On behalf of Truth Watch NZ I wish to register our dismay at the letter you sent to GayNZ.com in which you thank them for their fair reporting. We object to your letter on three grounds (To read the letter, go to http://www.nzchristiannetwork.org.nz/family/1067-nzcn-letter-to-gaynz-newspaper-.html) .

Firstly, the second paragraph obfuscates the true reason for opposing same sex marriage. Christians should be against ‘gay’ marriage because it is opposed to the commands of God. Marriage is mandated by God for union of a man and a woman in a life long monogamous union.

Secondly, homosexuality is a sin, but not just any sin. It goes to the heart of Man’s rebellion against God. We go into this in more detail in our article ‘A Terrible Thing has Happened: Church Leaders and Homosexuality : http://truthwatch.info/articles/a-terrible-thing-has-happened/ .

Thirdly, you imply in the closing paragraph, that the Church is not anti-gay or anti gay marriage. If the Church is not opposed to gay marriage or is not opposed to homosexuality then it is certainly not the Church of Jesus Christ. Here is a quote from our article referred to above, under the heading: ‘Where should the Church stand:’

They should be saying that the Church cannot support homosexuality at any level, least of all when it is linked to God’s most basic of institutions – marriage. Homosexual civil unions are still opposed to the commands of God. They should be saying that the only position Christians can take, if they truly love God and love their neighbour, is to express in the strongest terms that without repentance homosexuality dooms its adherents to a dark eternity. They should be saying God’s commands preclude homosexuality and the Church cannot accept or countenance homosexual relationships or unions, other than to acknowledge that they are recognised by government in legislation.

The failure of the Church to speak out loudly and authoritatively against same sex marriage confirms that Christians have traded their love for God’s commands for a secular entente. The parallels with pre-exilic Israel and Judah are disturbing. This has been apparent now for decades as the homosexual lobby has pursued its agenda with little effective opposition from the Church. In allowing this situation to continue, across the full spectrum of moral decline in the West, Christians have consistently demonstrated a blind and unjustified trust in their leaders, despite the consistent refusal of many to defend God’s commands against the advances of moral relativism.

Glyn, we can assure you that you do not represent the Church of Jesus Christ when you claim, in your letter: “I do want to thank you for not portraying it as the church being anti-gay marriage or (worse) as anti-gay.” We suggest you give some serious thought to your theology, for you are out of step with God’s commands – as are those in NZCN who endorsed your letter. Perhaps you should follow Job (23:11), who said: “My feet have closely followed his steps; I have kept to his way without turning aside.” Then read the whole of Psalm 119 and remind yourself of the importance of God’s commands. Follow that by reading Psalm 19. Then turn to the New Testament and find the verses that talk about how obeying God’s commands is love for God.

This letter will be posted on our web site and has also been sent to your board chair

xx

Spokesman for Truth Watch NZ

A Terrible Thing Has Happened in the Land

Posted on by issachar

Despite efforts made by Truth Watch to get certain church leaders in New Zealand to stand for truth, in the face of a likely same sex marriage law change (see our Admonishment Report), they have refused to do so. Truth Watch has also appealed to Rhema Broadcasting with no success. Few Christian leaders seem prepared to stand for God’s commands on marriage and homosexuality, let alone all the other biblical commands abandoned across the Western world. Despite the biblical record and the strong homosexual connection to Nazi fascism, Christian leaders have taken a cowardly and irresponsible approach to homosexuality. They should know that a strong and legally protected homosexual presence in society is a recipe for repression and resergent paganism. To learn more read our report entitled ‘A Terrible Thing has Happened: Church Leaders and Homosexuality’.

The boards of Tear Fund, Challenge Weekly and NZ Christian Network fail to uphold God’s commands

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A recent (Aug-Oct 2012) Truth Watch NZ investigation confirms that the Boards of three influential Christian organisations in New Zealand appear to have failed to stand up for the supremacy of Scripture in relation to God’s commands on marriage and homosexuality. For a full account read our admonishment report here: TW Admonishment Report

Christians Burnt at the Stake of Same Sex Marriage

Posted on by issachar

Remember how witches were identified in medieval times. Dunk them in a river. If they drowned they were not witches; if they survived they must be witches, so burn them at the stake. The modern equivalent could soon be happening across New Zealand. Ask a Christian marriage celebrant to marry two same sex individuals. If he agrees then he forsakes the commands of God, but he isn’t a ‘homophobe’; if he refuses he is a homophobe so charge him under the new same sex marriage legislation. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

In a radio New Zealand interview Grant Illingworth QC agreed that, in principle at least, pastors, elders, marriage celebrants or photographers could all be in breach of the Bill of Rights Act and the Human Rights Act if they refuse, on religious grounds, to marry same sex couples.

A Christian who agrees to marry two same sex individuals will do so knowing they are agreeing to consummate, under law and before God, a homosexual relationship. They will know they are tacitly assisting in the assignment of unrepentant homosexuals to hell (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). No genuine Christian who is also a marriage celebrant can do that. So what happens if homosexuals decide to carry out a witch hunt and persecute Christians who refuse to marry them? It has already happened overseas under similar same sex marriage legislation.

There is also a good chance these homosexual christophobes will target the smaller evangelical churches because they know they will face little resistance from the old protestant denominations and the Catholic Church may be a little too big to take on.

Genuine Christians will have to make a stand against this legislation. Truth Watch suggests forms of passive resistance:

- Simply refuse to undertake any form of same sex ceremony, claiming the protection of the Bill of Rights. This will test the law and provide an opportunity to defend freedom of religion. Unfortunately, this tactic has not worked overseas.

- Tell the same sex duo that you will marry them but inform them a statement will be included in the ceremony that it is being conducted under duress and an iniquitous legal system that refuses to accept freedom of religion and conscience.

- Also,  refuse to allow anyone into the ‘service’ (where it is conducted in a church) other than the same sex duo and two witnesses.

- Insist on stripping the ceremony of any Christian references – acknowledging as part of the service that the ‘marriage’ is being conducted outside the sanction of God.

- Put 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 on a banner and display it in the church and issue a trespass notice to any same sex duo that enters the church buildings, as soon as they announce they wish to get married.

- Simply refuse to speak to the same sex duo. Say absolutely nothing and go about your business. Issue them with the trespass notice.

- Agree to marry them, subject to the conditions above. Tell them you will turn up on the day, but inform them you will have to be carried into the building and physically supported during the proceedings.

- Where a freedom of religion tee-shirt at the ceremony with the 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 reference in large letters – front and rear, along with trousers covered in ash and dust. Have other Christians attend the ceremony similarly attired.

- We could go on but you get the picture –either refuse point blank and take whatever the law throws at you or turn the whole charade into a passive resistance fiasco and protest.

There are two things we can say without equivocation: Christians must continue to operate as marriage celebrants because marriage before God is a holy sacrament. Secondly, they can never agree to marry a homosexual duo under the Christian marriage liturgy. They can only do so using a secular format and only when it is combined with forms of passive resistance. If their conscience, before God, will not allow them to do even that then they must be prepared to take a stand and face the ‘legal’ consequences.

Church Leaders fail Christian Youth

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In 2005, while living in the UK, a Truth Watch member spent a day in London with other para-church ministry leaders (he was with OM UK at the time) reviewing a study commissioned by Campus Crusade for Christ. The study repeated similar work done seven years earlier. Over a thousand young people aged 11-17 were polled to gauge their Christian awareness and understanding. The most stunning finding concerned their understanding of salvation. The numbers believing they would go to heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as their saviour had dipped sharply over just seven years from 66% to only 28%. Confusion also surrounded their understanding of Christianity. For example:

• Only 58% believed Jesus rose from the dead.
• 35% believed all religions led to God.
• Only 45% believed the Bible was accurate in all its teachings and only 33% believed judgement by God followed death.
• Less than 40% said they looked to the Bible for moral guidance.

In 2010 Peter Brieley, the respected Christian researcher in the UK told attendees at the Pentecost Festival that by 2020 the numbers going to Church is projected to drop from 3.5 million (in 2010) to 2.3 million. He said the drop in attendance is due to less evangelism. “The loss of young people is especially serious. In the 2020s, many churchgoers will die out,” he warned. With 59 per cent of all churches in England having no members between the ages of 15 and 19 Brieley said it was becoming as important for the church to keep young people already in the church as it was to reach new young people outside the Church. While 60 per cent of British people are not in the church, that figure rises to around 80% among the under-15s and around 75% per cent among 15 to 29-year-olds (reported in Christian Today, May 2010).

American pollster George Barna has reported only 15% of those who attend churches in the USA rank their faith as their top priority. Less than half (41%) of over 6,000 adults surveyed in 2001 believed that the Bible was trustworthy. Fifty-seven percent of Baptists believed works plays a part in salvation and 47% believe Jesus was not sinless. Little wonder that Barna has discovered (2006) that of the 38% of Americans who called themselves evangelical only 8% actually fitted the doctrinal criteria. These alarming statistics all point to a Church in the West that has veered off the narrow road. The most poignant figures to come out of the USA relate to the haemorrhaging of young people from the Church. According to Dr Noble of Summit Ministries a massive 80% of young southern Baptists leave that denomination, with some returning in later life. Across all denominations the figure is believed to be around 65%. Young people, raised in the Church, who go to university, also leave the Church in droves and many never return.

These statistics point to a manifest and inter-generational failure of Church leadership that has left the churches full of effete Christians, with a poor understanding of doctrine, history and effective Christian evangelistic engagement and apologetics. Why remain in a Church that stands for very little and is happy to compromise on doctrine to fit into the secular world. When the Church is so much like the world youth see little reason to stay in it. There is no strong conviction that Christians have a higher calling on their lives and only a poorly conceived understanding of a larger Christian cause in a post Christian Western world. Truth Watch sees no reason to doubt that the trends revealed by Barna and Brieley are to be found in New Zealand as well. The failure of leadership and the flagrant disregard for correct doctrine is killing the Church by robbing it of its next generation.

Tear Fund NZ in Tatters?

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Truth Watch has discovered that TEAR Fund NZ’s Director, Stephen Tollestrup, is in serious doctrinal error and has broken his own organisation’s rules.   He claims on Facebook to be an evangelical Christian and yet he supports homosexuality and same sex marriage.  He has also proved that he has no interest in obeying 1 Corinthians 6: 1-7 when he openly accuses a fellow Christian in a secular court.  Having done these things he has compounded his error by being in breach of Tear Fund’s rules that say the Bible must be accepted as the “supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.”  There is nothing evangelical in all of this and no evidence that he treats the Bible as his supreme authority – quite the opposite.  So, we can discount Tollestrup’s claim that he is an evangelical Christian.  This then begs a vital question:  What sort of Christian is he?  In his Facebook disclosure on same sex marriage it is clear that he thinks his opinion is more important than God’s commands.  But, the Bible tells us to love God is to obey his commands.

If Tollestrup can’t even accept straight forward commands concerning marriage and homosexuality (he says SSM ‘enriches relationships’) then is the love of God actually in him?  It’s a reasonable question.  It is simply not possible to reconciling Tollestrup’s position with God’s explicit commands.  He needs to review the unbridgeable gulf between his views on same sex marriage, homosexuality, 1 Corinthians 6:1-7 and a properly evangelical understanding.  He should have plenty of free time to think it all over because under Tear Fund’s rules when they are broken the person concerned is required to resign.  If he does not and if Tear Fund’s trustees fail to make him, the integrity of Tear Fund NZ will be in tatters and the trustees would be in breach of their rules too.  Of course, Tollestrup can get out of the corner he has painted himself into by humbly and publicly repenting.  But, given his obviously poor knowledge of the Bible, there are no guarantees he knows what repentance actually means.