The Scriptorium

The Methodists are among a few other mainline churches who’ve chosen to disregard several parts of the Bible and view homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle instead of the sin that the Bible says it is. I believe part of the problem begins with where they look for answers in solving doctrinal issues in the church. Rather than turning to the Word of God, they turn to the “Methodist Book of Discipline” and to the church’s “High Court” – a man made set of rules, enforced by an institution created by sinful men.

Rev. Edward Johnson of the South Hill Methodist Church was fired recently for going outside these man made rules and following the Bible instead. He denied membership in the church to a man who openly practiced unrepentant homosexuality, just as I’m sure he would do if someone were openly engaged in an adulterous relationship, or any other form of sexual immorality.

You can tell a lot about the current state of the Methodist Church from these quotes by a church leader involved in disciplining the pastor.

“I was trying to show him the church was open to receiving [the member],” Layman said. “He, in turn, relied on his interpretation of the scriptures.”

“Our Social Creed says that we as a church would not ordain homosexuals, but they have the right to be received in membership,” Layman said. “The church supports homosexuals as part of the congregation and as persons of definite worth.

This Methodist minister was removed from his position as pastor because he interpreted the Scriptures rather than following a “social creed”.

It’s perhaps not as shocking as it once would have been, but still disturbing that the leader of a major denomination would put the authority of a social creed above Scripture. Methodist leaders would do well to read I Corinthians, paying special attention to the following verses, and then compare what they’ve read to their “social creed”.

I Corinthians 6:9-10 “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Corinthians 5:1-5
Expel the Immoral Brother
“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this? Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present. When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.”

Condoning homosexuality may make a church seem more politically correct and tolerant, but it won’t lead people out of sin so that their spirit might be saved on the day of the Lord.

The protesters who nearly made it through security forces to join their comrades in Gaza last week have learned from their mistakes. A Yesha leader involved in planning last week’s march admitted they shouldn’t have left from only one location allowing the IDF and police to concentrate their forces in one area. Tuesday’s marches will leave from Sderot and the southern towns of Ofakim and Netivot in an effort to spread the security forces thin.

Unfortunately for the protesters, the IDF and Israeli police have also learned from their mistakes. Realizing the opposition numbers are even larger than they’d anticipated, they plan to take “undemocratic measures” to stop protesters from reaching their destination in Gaza.

“Police are going to block buses from leaving Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, the West Bank. They are going to set up mass roadblocks throughout the country. They will do everything in their power, even if it includes questionable practices, to stop this march from happening,” said the source.

“One police chief suggested forces on the streets in the West Bank and Jerusalem should tell protesters they were given the authority to halt buses even if they don’t have the authority,” the source said.

The government has already received some criticism for their handling of last week’s protests, but a lack of media coverage and the silence of human rights organizations have made it easy for Sharon to ignore any criticism and move toward implementing even more totalitarian practices during the next march.

Former Tourism Minister Benny Elon told WND, “I saw with my eyes last week how police took licenses from drivers, and illegally took out people from buses. Israel is not a real democracy. Only in a tyranny can this be allowed and go unquestioned. We heard nothing from the leftist media. Nothing from leftist human rights groups.”

The opposition groups have their sights set high, and hope not only to stop the evacuation plan, but to topple the Sharon government. News from the Palestinian territories and from Israel points to an escalation in violence that even the leftist media might not be able to ignore.

“If large numbers reach Gaza and we get inside, the evacuation will not be able to happen, Sharon’s government will fall, and Israel is going to have new elections.”

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WND

Hamas and Islamic Jihad’s announced yesterday that they will join in a celebration with the PA to make sure the world knows terrorism has been successful in driving Israel off their land. A rise in this kind of rhetoric from Hamas, along with an increase in attacks on Gaza, has led Sharon to threaten force as a means of preventing attacks during next months eviction of Jewish settlers from their homes.

The Palestinian security forces continue to complain that they don’t have the weapons and ammunition to prevent terrorist attacks and thwart Hamas’ campaign against Gaza. As I wrote yesterday, they should have a stockpile of M-16′s that were recently given to them by Israel. Those weapons, however, are now missing and, most likely, in the hands of Hamas terrorists. The PA is asking for another hand out of weapons and ammunition, supposedly for the purposes of reigning in militants. If Sharon is foolish enough to accommodate them, the P.A. will indeed reign in Hamas and Islamic Jihad, just long enough to hand out the new weaponry and send them back to the front lines.

Sharon has announced that, without a change in the security problem along the southern Gaza border and an end to rocket attacks on settlers, he will be forced to occupy those areas by force prior to the disengagement. The better answer would be to refuse the hand over of Jewish land while under fire, but Sharon shows no signs of changing his mind, even as Hamas reminds him daily that they see the pullout as a huge victory for the “resistance”. Should Sharon resort to force in order to protect civilians, soldiers, and Israeli police during the pullout, the world will almost certainly ignore the ongoing terrorist attacks of the past several weeks and blame Israel for an escalation in violence. This move by Sharon would also qualify as the “Israeli aggressions” Hamas has warned would give them just cause to break the cease fire agreement – as if that hadn’t already happened.

Israel will launch a massive ground operation if Palestinian militants fire on Israeli soldiers and settlers during next month’s Gaza pullout, the deputy defense minister said Sunday.

In such a scenario, the evacuation of settlers would be halted for 10-14 days while Israeli forces occupy Palestinian towns near the Jewish settlements, Zeev Boim said.

Israel is set to evacuate all 21 Gaza Strip settlements and four more in the West Bank in mid-August. The pullout is set to last four weeks.

Boim told Israel Radio the ground operation would be massive, on the scale of the Defensive Shield offensive of 2002, in which Israel reoccupied West Bank towns after a series of suicide bombings.

Israeli leaders have warned repeatedly in recent days that the military would respond harshly to Palestinian fire during the withdrawal. However, Boim’s comments marked the first time the scope of a military offensive was outlined.

If the militants attack, “we would stop the withdrawal, we would deliver a harsh strike, a large-scale operation,” Boim told the radio.

Such an operation would be “about the size of Defensive Shield, meaning about 10 days to two weeks of a heavy strike against terror, to uproot it,” Boim said. . . .

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Assosiated Propaganda