Methodist Church On Edge Over Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Union
BY OUR CORRESPONDENT – The Methodist Church global family is on the verge of a major faith crisis with the vexed issue of gay marriage or same-sex unions threatening the peace hitherto enjoyed within this age-old Christian fold.
And the United Methodist Church Episcopal Area in Nigeria (UMCN) is not mincing words in its threat to break out from the Church’s body worldwide peradventure the same-sex marriage is formally approved at its 2022 General Conference.
The UMCN’s threat is against the backdrop of dramatic developments across the globe with increasing social acceptance of marriage equality and LGBTQ rights in the past several decades.
LGBTQ is an acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer or questioning.
A top official of UMCN, Bishop John Wesley Yohanna said with Nigerian laws strongly opposed to gay marriage, the issue is one that the Church in Nigeria will never condone.
Speaking at a media briefing in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, Bishop Yohanna warned that; “If the plan succeeds at the forthcoming conference, we will not be part of UMC that will change the language of the Book of Discipline to accommodate same-sex marriage.
“Our unalloyed loyalty is with Jesus Christ and nothing can change that fact.”
The clergyman, who acknowledged that the debate on recognising and accepting homosexuality or gay marriages within the Church started long ago, said the controversy over the issue dated as far back as 1972.
Bishop Yohannah however said the majority vote then was against gay marriage and homosexuality within the Church system.
According to him, votes cast again in year 2019 also stood against homosexuality and same-sex marriage as being incompatible with Christian teachings.
He said based on Biblical principles, the Church in Nigeria will not bend backwards to accommodate whimsical and sinful postulations by some groups and individuals seeking to satisfy their selfish and evil desires.
Generally, the Methodists believe that God gave to humanity the gift of sexuality that should exercised only within the boundaries of covenanted, monogamous, heterosexual marriage.
The Church also considers sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex as immoral and sinful.
But with the European and American sections of the Church tilting dangerously towards the LGBTQ community, the issue of gay marriage is now becoming a thorn in the flesh of most Christian denominations worldwide.
Quite disturbingly, the body of global orthodox churches in Nigeria is going through tough times as their more liberal global counterparts continue to openly sanction the idea of gay marriages or unions.
With no recorded case of conviction under the law signed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014, the country’s existing laws still frown at homosexuality or same-sex unions.
The penalty for defaulters is facing imprisonment terms of almost 14 years upon conviction.
Despite a deep-rooted public aversion for homosexuals or people of other sexual preferences and orientations, the rising number of members in the LGBTQ community in Nigeria is becoming hugely alarming.
Offended by the agitation over the development, UMC, which is the second-largest Protestant denomination in the US, has been pushing for her split agenda following years of dispute over LGBTQ issues and marriage equality.
The Church leaders revealed the plan is to protect its members worldwide by creating a new “traditionalist Methodist” denomination to maintain a strict ban on ordaining LGBTQ clergy and same-sex marriage.
With its roughly over 13.5 million members globally as at 2018, the UMC is the largest denomination within the wider Methodist movement of approximately 80 million people across the world. – With agency reports
