The Briefing with Albert Mohler Thursday, May 2, 2024
May 2, 2024
Ruth Graham, writer for The New York Times, discusses the United Methodist Church's decision to reverse its ban on practicing gay clergy and the implications for the denomination. They also tackle the slippery slope argument regarding women pastors and dive into the protests at college campuses, questioning the delay in police intervention.
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Methodist Shift Is A Major Denominational Turning Point
- The United Methodist Church has reversed its decades-old ban on practicing homosexuals and same-sex marriage by an overwhelming vote of 692 to 51.
- This shift reflects a wider liberalizing trend in mainline Protestantism and a decisive moment in modern church history.
Pandemic Timing Changed The Vote Outcome
- COVID-19 delays meant the 2020 General Conference met in 2024, shifting the political balance and allowing liberals to control the denomination.
- Many conservative churches left earlier, leaving a liberal-majority vote that enabled the doctrinal reversal.
Clear Doctrinal Language Was Overturned
- The denomination's previous book of discipline stated, 'The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching.'
- That explicit wording was removed, signaling a uniform doctrinal departure rather than a minor policy change.