GOSPEL DEFENCE LEAGUE
P O Box 587, Sea Point 8060, RSA; Tel 021-510-6854; e-mail: dscarborough@mweb.co.za
August/September/October 2006
Dear Friends,
The present religious debate in South Africa is about the imminent legalisation of homosexual marriage. The Government has drafted a new law, the Civil Union Bill, which provides 1. for "the solemnisation of civil partnerships," i.e. marriage of same-sex couples, and 2. for "the recognition of the legal status of domestic partners", i.e. marriage rights for unmarried people who are living together. It was ordered to do so by the Constitutional Court which a year ago, after a court case initiated by two lesbians, ruled that the South African Marriage Act was unconstitutional in that it did not allow for the marriage of homosexuals. It ordered Parliament to change the legal definition of marriage before 1 December 2006. This demand aroused the very soul of South Africa and brought about heated debates on all levels. The Christian Churches rose to defend traditional MARRIAGE and formed a Marriage Alliance which now comprises over 100 denominations and 20 million people. 1) This Alliance has not only rallied the believers, but also put their demands to the Government.
Prayers and Petitions for the Family
In 2006 the Marriage Alliance motivated some large scale action. On the Day of Prayer for Transformation held at Pentecost on 4 June 2006, 620 South African towns joined in praying for the needs of the Family. They were joined by over 500 million Christians worldwide. It was 'the world's largest prayer meeting,' and in Cape Town hundreds of pastors/leaders afterwards presented a 'Marriage Protection Petition' to Parliament. - On and about the 16th of September, 2006, seven 'pro-marriage marches' took place in various South African cities. Tens of thousands of Christians (and some Muslims) protested against the legalization of same-sex marriages. Marriage, they said, should be constitutionally defined as the voluntary union of one man and one woman, not as the union of two homosexuals. In Cape Town a "Memorandum" drafted by the Marriage Alliance was handed to Mr Patrick Chauke, Chairman of the Home Affairs Portfolio Committe which is in charge of changing the law.
On behalf of the Government, Mr Chauke then conducted public hearings in various parts of the country at which individuals and organisations could present submissions. The people of Mpumalanga and Soweto spoke out strongly against same sex marriage, but in Cape Town the homosexual lobby was vocal. On 9 October, outside the Woodstock Town Hall, the 'gays' had put up posters and emphasised their 'victim' status to the press. Inside the hall, prominent advocates pleaded their cause, among them Gordon Oliver, a Unitarian minister, formerly mayor of Cape Town and patron of the Parliament of the World's Religions; Rowan Smith, dean of the Cathedral, once pictured with a devil's tail pinned to his robes in support of the CT 'Gay Festival'; David Russell, former Bishop of Grahamstown; Laurie Gaum, homosexual activist in the Dutch Reformed Church, and of course the South African Council of Churches. One Methodist minister associated with the latter even suggested that since there is so much violence in families, we should do away with marriage altogether.
"Open Letter to South Africans"
The ultimate aim of the homosexual militants is, of course, just that. The American Dr James Dobson of "Focus on the Family" has written an "Open Letter to South Africans", saying: "I do not recall a time... when the institution of marriage faced such peril, or when the forces arrayed against it were more formidable or determined. Barring a miracle, the family as it has been known for more than five millennia will crumble, presaging the fall of Western civilization itself. This is a time for concerted prayer, divine wisdom and greater courage than we have ever been called upon to exercise... For more than 40 years, the homosexual activist movement in liberal Western democracies has sought to implement a master plan that has had as its centrepiece the utter destruction of the family... I was recently given a copy of the South African 'Gay Rights Charter,' which shows that the aims of homosexual militants in South Africa include the universal acceptance of the gay lifestyle, the discrediting of Scriptures that condemn homosexuality, the muzzling of the clergy and Christian media, the granting of special legal privileges and rights to homosexuals, the indoctrination of children and future generations through public education, and the securing of all the legal benefits of marriage for any two people who claim to have homosexual tendencies. It is only a matter of time before the homosexual agenda in South Africa reaches an even more radical level, as it already has in the USA, where certain groups are seeking to legalise paedophilia (sex with children), polygamy and polyandry (marriage among groups of people)." 2)
Dr Dobson also points to the arrogance of the judiciary in furthering this aim. In a Constitutional Democracy, he says, the laws should be made by the elected representatives. The role of the courts is to merely make sure that the laws made by Parliament are implemented fairly. However, all over the world, in the case of homosexual 'marriage,' the legislatures have been bypassed, leaving an unelected and unaccountable judiciary to invent new laws and then impose them on an unsuspecting public. When the public do object, their demands are overruled. For instance, on 18 June 2005, in Madrid, Spain, one million Spaniards took to the streets in defence of the family, showing their opposition to 'gay marriage'. But in spite of this, the law was established. In South Africa, a Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) survey found that 80% of South Africans oppose same sex marriage. Moreover, the last census showed that 70% of all South Africans call themselves Christians, and since Christians generally honour the law of God, they reject legalised ungodliness. If South Africa really is a Democracy, why ignore those 80%? Why disdain those 70%? Why spurn the tens of thousands of Christians who marched? Will the huge pile of submissions avail anything? At the public hearings in the Woodstock Townhall most people were clearly against 'gay marriage'. Rev Errol Naidoo of His People's Church (and of the Marriage Alliance) was loudly applauded, but then applause was forbidden, and the false impression was created that the homosexual voice was stronger than the Christians' (or the Muslims' who also spoke up strongly).
Marriage
Marriage is not a man-made institution, nor a religious rule, nor by government decree. It is a creation order, a foundational social design for man who is created in the image of God. God created the first persons "male and female" (Genesis 1:26-28), "blessed them" and said "be fruitful" and "subdue the earth." He gave them the cultural mandate and later the Great Commission, to bring the whole world under His Law and His Gospel. Thus the Family has a redemptive mission, a Christian duty to evangelise and disciple every new generation, and to work on God's behalf for the benefit of mankind. To destroy the family is to destroy the order of God and the work of God. In the Christian wedding service marriage is called the "holy estate of matrimony" because it is to reflect the relationship between Christ and His Church.
God is the God of Life. Marriage produces life and raises the next generation, while homosexual unions are barren. They lead to family death and national suicide. Only in families can children grow up secure, loved, and purposeful, and when families break up this has a devastating effect on them. In the USA it was found that 63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes. 85% of all children with behavioural disorders, 80% of rapists motivated by displaced anger, 71% of all high school dropouts, 75% of all adolescent patients in drug abuse centres, and 85% of all youths sitting in prisons grew up in a fatherless home. In Australia research on children has shown that those of homosexual couples are "more timid, reserved..." and "the least sociable." 3) And in South Africa a little boy was battered to death by his mother's lesbian partner because he would not call her "Daddy."
Liberation Theology
The most unexpected factor of the whole 'gay marriage' dispute in South Africa is that the Dutch Reformed Church supports the proposed legalisation. In a submission to Parliament signed by Dr Ben du Toit it says: "We have a history of discrimination against people on the grounds of differences which they cannot control." 4) This is pure "liberation theology" and shows to what extent the Dutch Reformed Church has succumbed to its false guilt manipulation. Like the pro-gay clerics at Woodstock they reinterpret the Bible and downgrade its authority.
"All homosexuality," says the American theologican Greg Bahnsen, regardless of whether one is inverted or converted to homosexuality, is itself a perversion, a departure from God's ordained use of sex. No qualifying or mitigating distinctions are warranted... The creation order and the law of God have been violated in any and all expressions of homosexuality." 5) God says plainly: "Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." (Leviticus 18:22) "If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 20:13) "A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this." (Deuteronomy 22:5) "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders... will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
So should homosexual 'marriage' be legalised? The Church must say NO. How can the Church sanction what God condemns? How can it bless where God curses? Is it still the Church when it overturns God's commandments? Has it still got a Commission when it believes that homosexuals do not need to repent? Let us pray that all the petitions, marches, and arguments put forward by Christians, may be heeded by the South African Government, that the authorities may remember their spiritual and moral responsibilities before God and do what is right in His sight and in accordance with His Word. May South Africa enjoy God's blessing and not His curse.
May God bless you richly,
D. Scarborough.
Footnotes:
1. The leading personage is Dr Michael Cassidy of Africa Enterprise. 2. Dr James Dobson, An Open Letter to South Africans on same-sex marriage, November 2005. 3. "What about the Children?" Africa Christian Action, 2001 4. Die Burger, NG Kerk verras oor gays, 18.10.2006 5. Greg Bahnsen, Homosexuality: A Biblical View, New Jersey. Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co, p. 58
The Church Cannot Support the Legalisation of a Lifestyle that is Ungodly.
Christian leaders, unhappy with the World Council of Churches' (WCC) liberal and unBiblical views, formed the International Church Council (ICC) to clarify and affirm Biblical doctrines that are being undermined.
The following is the
International Church Council Issue Paper Concerning Homosexuality
Affirmations and Denials
Topic No. 18, 1999
Introduction
This statement was developed by the Steering Committee of the International Church Council. It contains affirmations and denials of truth concerning the Christian position on homosexuality. It presents what we believe are the essential points of the orthodox and Biblical position on this topic.
For the glory of the One who is light, truth, and love, and in a spirit of humility, and a concern for doctrinal purity, and unity, we present this document to the Body of Christ worldwide for feedback and reasoned debate. We invite any Christian brothers and sisters who might disagree with the points made by this document to submit feedback to us.
Statements of Affirmation and Denial
Article 1
We affirm that Scripture describes homosexuality, in thought or behaviour, as sin.
We deny that Scripture's discussion of homosexuality is culture-specific, or relevant only to non-committed or "unnatural" homosexual relationships.
"If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. their blood shall be upon them." (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13; Deuteronomy 23:17, Romans 1:32, a Corinthians 6; Revelation 21:8 etc.)
Article II
We affirm that the Holy Spirit empowers homosexuals to change, meaning that, by the grace of Christ, those who were homosexual can learn holy love for both men and women. We further affirm that sanctification in Christlikeness is progressive and all Christians struggle against their inherent sinful nature until they reach heaven.
We deny that a person is truly converted to Christ if he or she continues in any homosexual practice.
"With God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26; Mark 10:27) "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Article III
We affirm that spiritual change affects the whole person: behaviour, imagination, motives, beliefs, and affections.
We deny that spiritual change targets behaviour alone.
"I urge you in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - which is your spiritual worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:1-2)
Article IV
We affirm that, like any sin, homosexuality can be influenced by innumerable factors, such as biology, early homosexual molestation, cultural values, opportunities for homosexual experimentation. However, those who are homosexual are so because they have made decisions to be homosexual.
We deny that homosexuality is ultimately caused by biology or life circumstances. We also deny that homosexuality is something other than a moral choice.
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." (Proverbs 14:12; 16:25)
Article V
We affirm that we should devote as much attention to how we speak with love and grace to homosexuals as to what we speak.
We deny that the clear teachings of Scripture on homosexuality must be muted in order to reach homosexuals in a compassionate manner.
"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power." (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)
Article VI
We affirm that the preaching of the doctrines of grace and the fervent worship of the Triune God should attract homosexuals to the church, that they might learn to trust, worship and obey Jesus Christ.
We deny that homosexuals who claim to be believers in Jesus Christ, and who are committed to practise their homosexual behaviour, should be allowed to continue as communicant members of the Church of Christ.
"How long will you waver between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him." (1 Kings 18:21) "Salvation is found in no-one else (but Jesus Christ), for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)
Article VII
We affirm that the Bible teaches that practising homosexuals will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
We deny that the Bible offers any hope of salvation to an unrepentant, practising homosexual. We further deny that one who is a practising homosexual is following Jesus Christ, or that such a one may properly be called Christian.
"Do you not know tht 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.... will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)
Article VIII
We affirm that repentant homosexuals who, recognising the reality of their sin, call upon Jesus Christ for His salvation, leaving off homosexual practices, and become born again, are saved from eternal judgment, including judgment for homosexual sin, and may confidently expect to spend eternity with God and His saints in Heaven.
We deny that practising homosexuals have any Biblical reason to suppose they are born again, or that they will not be condemned for their sins, or that they have any reason to expect to spend eternity with God, but may only reasonably expect to spend eternity in hell, separated from God and His saints who are in Heaven.
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:8-10)
Article IX
We affirm that the Gospel of Jesus Christ holds promise of eternal life for all repentant homosexuals.
We deny that there is no hope for homosexuals, or that homosexuals cannot be forgiven if they are repentant and leave off homosexual practices.
"There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent." (Luke 15:7)
Article X
We affirm that God has called heterosexual men and women into leadership in Christ's Church.
We deny that a practising homosexual may be a pastor, a teacher, or hold any other office of service in Christ's Church, or be a communicant member.
"The overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled... He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him..." (1 Timothy 3)
Article XI
We affirm that Christians and Christian churches ought to eagerly share Christ's love for the homosexual, urging them to repent and be washed from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ.
We deny that Christians ought to hate or reject homosexuals, or that Christians ought to ignore homosexual sin as if it were a sin not needing repentance.
"We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one does not touch him." (1 John 5:18)
(Taken from "The Pink Agenda", by Christine McCafferty with Peter Hammond)
Bible texts (NIV) added by D Scarborough.
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Communism on Man -
"[Man] - the herd of apes which grasp sticks." Lenin 1)
"From the first animals were developed... the numerous classes, orders, families, genera, and species of animals; and finally mammals, the form in which the nervous system attains its fullest development; and among these again finally that mammal in which nature attains consciousness of itself - man." Engels 2)
"Man makes nature serve his ends... This is the final, essential distinction between man and the other animals." Engels 3)
Christianity on Man -
"And God said, 'Let us make man in our inage, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing... So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." (Genesis 1:26-27)
"The LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." (Genesis2:7)
"What is man that thou art mindful of him?... For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet." (Psalm 8:4-6)
Communism on Nationality -
"International culture... now already being systematically created by the proletariat of all countries, does not absorb 'national culture' (no matter of what national group) as a whole, but accepts from each national culture exclusively those of its elements that are consistently democratic and socialist." Lenin 4)
"Even the natural differences within the species, like racial differences... must be done away with historically." Marx 5)
"Socialism... is promoting and greatly accelerating the drawing together and fusion of the nations." Lenin 6)
Christianity on Nationality -
"God that made the world and all things therein... hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the boundaries of their habitation." (Acts 17:26)
"When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to... the children of Israel." (Deuteronomy 32:8)
"The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it (the new Jerusalem): and the kings of the earth bring the glory... of the nations into it." (Revelation 21:24-26)
Communism on Class -
"Whoever conceives of the transition to Socialism without the suppression of the bourgeoisie is not a Socialist... It is essential to suppress the bourgeoisie as a class." Lenin 7)
"All past history, with the exception of its beginnings, is the history of class struggle... These antagonistic classes of society are always the results of the modes of production and exchange, in a word, of the economic conditions of their times." Marx 8)
"Social class will vanish, for class cannot exist in a communist society, for indeed, the whole organisation of society will preclude the existence of different classes." Engels 9)
Christianity on Class -
"My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. For if a man with gold rings and in fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and you pay attention to the one... while you say to the poor man, 'Stand there,' or, 'Sit at my feet,' have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?" (James 2:1-4)
"Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God... There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord... Now are they many members, yet but one body." (1 Corinthians 12:4-27; 7:17-24)
"There is neither Greek nor Jew... Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all." (Colossians 3:11)
Communism on Revolution -
"The Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things... They labour everywhere for the union and agreement of the democratic parties of all countries." Marx & Engels 10)
"The changing of men on a mass scale is necessary, a changing which can only take place in a practical movement, a revolution; this revolution is necessary... because the ruling class overthrowing it can only in a revolution succeed in ridding itself of all the muck of the ages and become fitted to found society anew." Marx & Engels 11)
"A revolution is certainly the most authoritarian thing there is; it is the act whereby one part of the population imposes its will upon the other part by means of rifles, bayonets, and cannon - authoritarian means, if such there be at all." Engels 12)
Christianity on Revolution -
"There were giants (fallen ones) in the earth... The same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. God saw that the wickeness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually... And God said, 'The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; behold, I will destroy them with the earth.'" (Genesis 6:4-13)
"When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed." (John 6:15)
"Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2)
"I exhort that prayers... be made for all men; for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness." (1 Timothy 2:1-2)
Communism on Peace -
"Every 'peace program' is a deception of the people and a piece of hypocrisy unless its principal object is to explain to the masses the need for a revolution, and to support, aid, and develop the revolutionary struggle of the masses that is starting everythere (ferment among the masses, protests, fraternisation in the trenches, strikes, demonstrations...)." Lenin 13)
"You must understand... that we live in an epoch when one system is giving way to another... A process is taking place in which the people want to live under a new system of society; and it is necessary that one agree and reconcile himself with this fact." Khrushchev 14)
"The growing superiority of the socialist forces over the forces of imperialism, the forces of peace over those of war, will make it actually possible to banish world war from the life of society even before the complete victory of socialism on earth." 1961 New Party Program of the USSR. 15)
Christianity on Peace -
"Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given... and his name shall be called... the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end." (Isaiah 9:6-7)
"Behold, thy King cometh unto thee: He is just, and having salvation: lowly, and riding upon an ass... and he shall speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall be... to the ends of the earth." (Zech. 9:9-10)
"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer: I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)
Footnotes: 1. Lenin: The State and Revolution, in Wetter, Philosophie und Naturwissenschaft in der Sowjetunion, p. 97. 2. Engels: Dialectis of Nature, in Marx & Engels: On Religion, pp. 166-7. 3. Engels: The Part Played by Labour in the Transition from Ape to Man, in Marx & Engels: Selected Works, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow, 1951, II, p. 82. 4. Lenin: Theses on the National Question, in Lenin: Collected Works, XIX, pp. 246-7. 5. Marx: in Marx & Engels: Selected Works, V, p. 403; cf Bloom: The World of Nations: A Study of the National Implications in the Work of Karl Marx, Columbia University Press, New York, 1941, pp. 14-15. 6. Lenin: The Discussion of Self-Determination Summed Up, in Lenin: Collected Works, XXII, pp. 324-6. 7. Lenin: Report on the Party Program to the VII Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolshevik), 1919, in Lenin: Selectd Works, VII, p. 355, in US State Dept.: Soviet World Outlook, p. 13. 8. Marx: Der historische Materialismus, II, p. 185; cf Minier, p. 522. 9. Engels: Principles of Communism, Qn. 20, in Ryazanoff, pp. 334-6. 10. Engels: Principles of Communism, in Marx & Engels: Werke, V, p.374. 11. Marx & Engels: The German Ideology, Lawrence & Wishart, London, 1965, p. 86 (of Feuerbach); cf North: Marx's Religion of Revolution, Craig Press, Nutley, N.J. 1968, p. 33; cf. Lee: Communism versus Creation, Craig Press, Nutley, N.J. 1969. 12. Engels: On Authority, in Marx & Engels: Selected Works, I, p. 639; cf Tucker: The Marxist Revolutionary Idea, Norton, New York 1969, p. 69. 13. Lenin: 1916 Central Committee Proposals Submitted to a Socialist Conference, in Lenin: Selected Works, V, p. 237, cf. U.S. State Dept: Soviet World Outlook, p. 179. 14. Khrushchev: 1958 Conversation with Adlai Stevenson, in Scholtz, p. 530. 15. 1961 New Program of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, in Kuusinen, p. 464, cf. Khrushchev: The Road to Communism, Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow 1961, p. 505.