In the first part of this three-part series, we reviewed the matter of racial discrimination and political correctness in relation to the way that a true Christian must live his life, and we continue to look at other movements that reflect different values to that of the Bible.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement
On the BBC website in June 2021 under the heading “What is Black Lives Matter and what are the aims?,” we read: “Among its main goals are stopping police brutality and fighting for courts to treat black people equally. Its demands for equality also include mental health, the LGBT community and voting rights. However, former US secretary of housing and developments Ben Carson [who is black] said people with noble aims had been taken advantage of by a ‘Marxist-driven organisation’ that supports ‘taking down the model of Western family structures’. Carol Swain, a political commentator and former professor, said: ‘They are using black people to advance a Marxist agenda.’”
In 2019, the Guardian newspaper reported the following: ‘A majority of people believe Black Lives Matter, the anti-racism movement that spread across the UK this summer, has increased racial tension, according to a poll. Just over half (55%) of UK adults believe the BLM protests that took place in big cities but also in the Shetland Islands and the Isle of Wight, increased racial tensions, according to a survey of more than 2,000 people by pollsters Opinium. Only 17% of the people polled in October disagreed. The polling also showed 44% of ethnic minorities felt BLM increased racial tensions.”
The following was written by a black journalist, Elizabeth Matory, in September 2020, and reported on the website townhall.com. The heading was, “Yes, There’s a Problem With BLM, and No, You’re Not a Racist For Thinking That”:
“Society eventually came to believe that slavery was wrong, even though modern slavery still exists under the radar in various forms. Yet most people can understand that forcing another human being into submission and bondage against their will and treating that person as non-human is wrong. Anti-abortionists and abolitionists have been able to voice opposition to these wrongs for generations.
“Here is the key difference: the BLM movement remains above reproach in that anyone questioning them is shut down, socially ridiculed, personally attacked, deemed a racist, and becomes a victim to our modern day ‘cancel culture.’ This fact makes the BLM movement the most powerful propaganda campaign in modern history.”
A number of the goals of this movement are not in alignment with the way that God requires of His people, including their apparent hatred for white people and their willingness to burn or otherwise destroy or vandalize buildings, burn cars, resort to violence and throw stones at police officers, and illegally occupy government buildings, sometimes with the use of weapons.
Therefore, it is not an organisation with which we should have any involvement or support in any way.
In the section on “Woke,” you will find a quotation from the Merriam Webster Dictionary showing the interconnection between the “Woke” movement and the Black Lives Matter and Antifa movements.
LGBT+
Another vociferous group which is connected to the other movements we are discussing is the LGBT+ organisation. Wikipedia gives this definition:
“LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
“The LGBT term is an adaptation of the initialism LGB, which began to replace the term gay (or gay and lesbian) in reference to the broader LGBT community beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s. When not inclusive of transgender people, the shorter term LGB is still used instead of LGBT.
“It may refer to anyone who is non-heterosexual or non-cisgender, instead of exclusively to people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. To recognize this inclusion, a popular variant, LGBTQ, adds the letter Q for those who identify as queer or are questioning their sexual or gender identity.”
In our booklet “God’s Teachings on Sexual Relationships,” https://www.eternalgod.org/gods-teachings-on-sexual-relationships/ the matter of homosexuality is discussed on pages 95-114.
On page 95, we state the following:
“Before covering the controversial issue of homosexuality, we feel it is necessary to state our position, as anyone who opposes this behavior is commonly thought to be a homophobe or homophobic. This term is casually used against anyone who has the audacity to question the morality of such behavior, especially when asserting it to be sin, which homosexual lobbyists often refer to as hate speech.
“This argument is invalid, as people on both sides of the argument must be allowed to agree or disagree about homosexuality in a free and fair society. To assert that homosexual behavior is a sin is simply stating a biblical fact, and Christians who live by the Word of God are simply stating what God’s Word clearly reveals. There should be no hate for the individual concerned, just sadness at their way of life.”
In an editorial in our weekly Update, dated December 9, 2022 https://www.eternalgod.org/update-1048/, entitled “Just Because….”, we wrote: “… more controversy has arisen because of the refusal of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) to allow teams to wear the ‘OneLove’ rainbow armband in a show of solidarity for the LGBT+ community and as protest against many human rights violations in that country.”
There was uproar about this situation with the press and media regarding this denial. As our booklet on the matter clearly shows, the abhorrent practice of homosexuality which God roundly condemns, is supported by the mainstream media. We know that it works this way – you either go along with it or you are in trouble!
In our Update No. 1053, dated January 13, 2023, https://www.eternalgod.org/update-1053/ we quoted the following from Life Site News, published on January 5: “Trump has also killed a lot of his support with his hosting of that massive Log Cabin Republicans event at Mar-a-Lago and his and Melania’s and Kari Lake’s enthusiastic partying with them. In doing so, they gave massive, likely naïve support to the ongoing LGBT agenda… and policies to protect and promote their immoral, anti-life, anti-natural-family lifestyle, and to punish all who even think or speak anything critical of what they do…”
On the website lgbted.uk, there is the following information:
“LGBTed is a network of LGBT+ teachers and leaders, empowering them to be authentic in schools, colleges and universities, to support students and to be an advocate for increasing LGBT+ visibility in our education system.
“LGBTed use our network to influence education policy around LGBT+ inclusion in education; we support and empower colleagues to come out at all levels in education; we increase school leaders’ knowledge of LGBT+ issues in education and provide training & mentoring. We help improve teacher retention by allowing colleagues to be more authentic in the workplace.”
There can be no doubt that the teaching profession in schools, colleges and universities can influence students in ways that are not Godly. The above is evidence of this.
On the Law Society website in the UK, there was an article in February 2021 entitled: “LGBT History Month, Imogen Hamblin, employment lawyer at Thrive Law and member of our LGBT+ Lawyers Division Committee, explores two facets of her identity – her faith and her sexuality.” She writes:
“Let’s note, rejection of the LGBT+ community can take many subtle forms, for example exclusion from the membership or leadership teams, refusing to conduct marriage ceremonies and making comments like ‘we love the sinner not the sin’ or that ‘you are welcome, but your way of life is not’.
“The implication is there is something unholy or sinful about our lifestyle.
“The church is in an uncomfortable place for LGBT+ persons; however, there is good news.
“Facets of the church have reacted positively to the changes in legislation and have adopted a more thoughtful approach to the teachings of Scripture, recognising the culture in which it was written.
“The church is starting to become more inclusive and some Christian denominations do not consider homosexuality or transgender identity to be sins. Leading the way in this advancement is Rev Steve Chalk MBE of Oasis Church, Waterloo. He celebrates having LGBT+ people in the leadership team, music team and youth work teams. They also regularly conduct same-sex marriages.”
This is written by a professing Christian who is a lesbian which any honest student of the Bible will see as incompatible. Referring to the culture in which the Bible was written is not an answer.
It may be that many are under the delusion that LGBTQ+ issues are the most important things in the world to them today when to most people on earth, they are very definitely not. No one has to recognise or support this group if they don’t want to, and their constant pushing of this perverted “lifestyle” can become wearying. We must be steadfast in our opposition to these ungodly lifestyles and practices that God condemns.
The Bible states quite clearly and unambiguously that “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16).
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, we read: “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. 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.” Compare also 1 Timothy 1:8-11.
Romans 1:26-27 tells us: “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.”
No amount of theological twisting and turning can make acceptable that which is an abomination to God (See Leviticus 18:22, 26, 29; 20:13).
(To be continued)
Lead Writer: Brian Gale (United Kingdom)
