The Case Against Cultural Relevance
July 24, 2009
As some of you know the Episcopal Church USA has taken serious steps toward fully embracing homosexuality (see HERE). This of course is nothing new for this denomination. The ordination to bishop of openly homosexual Eugene Robinson.
Interestingly, but not surprisingly the denominations that are mocking God by embracing homosexuality are declining fast. This trend is cited by Dan Gilgoff in an article in U.S. News and World Report. Gilgoff quotes Mark Silk who defends the church's embrace of homosexuality:
In a word, the Episcopalians are moving with all deliberate speed to fully normalize the status of gays and lesbians within their church. More conservative religious bodies will of course regard this as surrendering to the culture, but the truth is that all religious bodies must slow march to the beat of the culture if they expect to remain relevant to the lives of their members — that is, unless they want to relegate themselves to sectarian status. The Episcopalians are more willing to own up to this than most; indeed, they are doing so precisely by citing the changes in civil law respecting same-sex marriage.
When the church takes its cues from the culture rather than God's unchanging Word then the church will surely cease to be the church. The first calling of the church is to be a light to the world not to be conformed to the world. The world, which loves darkness, will not enjoy the light. It does not embrace the light. The church is not called to have "open minds" but minds conformed to the Word of God. If relevance means adopting the standards of the world then irrelevance will be the church's true gift to the world.
