So Matthew Wright (Channel Five's 'the Wright Stuff') thinks he's the Pope. Well, nothing else can quite explain his ex-studio pontifications on what the Christian faith says, in today's case, about homosexuality. Peter and Hazelmary Bull, who were ordered to pay damages yesterday for refusing a homosexual couple a double bed, are following the 'Old Testament', because it is only in the Old Testament where homosexuality is out of order, proclaimed the infallible presenter.
And what a wonderfully unbalanced programme it was this morning! Young media students should take note. To make sure the secularist boat didn't get rocked, there was no-one to stand up for righteousness coherently, with the sneering Stephen K Amos leading for the gays.
And so off it went, with these smug TV-people wallowing in ignorance about the law, the Bible, Christian theology and the position and person of Jesus Christ. Amos gave the impression that the law against discriminating against homosexuals in hotel accommodation is as old as the laws of the Medes and Persians, and that the Bulls set up their B&B in full knowledge that they would be breaking it. The truth is, as Mr Wright said in an unguarded moment, the law is the state's 'new found' bit of goal-post shifting, and the Bulls were in business ages ago.
A couple of things Wright got right - it really is gays vs Christians, and it is a new case of throwing Christians to the lions. They are financial lions these days, but the root issue is the same as in Roman times. The State thinks it is autonomous, but Christians say there is a higher law and a King of kings to whom every knee should bow.
Wright suggested the Bulls give up their B&B, that 'equality has got to be better than discrimination', that 'the line man shall not lie with man is very Old Testament,', that the New Testament is the guiding principle for Christians, and 'Jesus Christ said love everybody and that's not what the Bulls are doing.'
Duh! Jesus told his followers to 'Love one another' and reminded them that the Old Testament says 'Love thy neighbour as thyself'. However, if we are truly to love the ghastly Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy who set up the Bulls, our Lord said that our love should be expressed in showing them their sin and giving them the opportunity to hear the Gospel and repent of their evil ways. True love does not stand by and let your friend drive his car over the cliff.
More Wright gems: 'We have a long tradition of religious tolerance in this country going back to Elizabeth the First' and surely 'the tolerant thing' for the Bulls to do 'would have been to tolerate the gay couple and offer them a bed'.
Now, would that be the same Elizabeth the First who had her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, beheaded, persecuted the Puritans and would have had any practising sodomite burnt at the stake?
But what about a bit of tolerance from the gays, then? Oh, sorry, it's only Christians who have to tolerate what to them is intolerable, everyone else is there to demand tolerance of their dirty habits from the people of Jesus Christ.
Stephen Amos pounced on the 'Old Testament' motif, saying that to avoid trouble the Bulls should have advertised their hotel as that kind of establishment. That's exactly what they did, and that's why they were picked on by Stonewall, Amos! 'They can practise their beliefs', he said, but just open their home up to everyone. But that's not practising their beliefs, Amos! That's suppressing them.
According to the third and last panelist, rapper Aggro Santos, 'everyone knows you can't go into a night-club in trainers.' Now that's something I didn't know, but it shows night clubs can discriminate. In fact Aggro almost spoilt the tone at the end of the piece, by recalling that his heterosexual friends have been turned away and even beaten up by bouncers for trying to enter gay night clubs.
Taking a sideways look, why is 'discrimination' such a dirty word? Part of being human is discriminating between better and lesser, this policy or that policy, these goods or those, this decision or that one, this life partner or that one.
A woman in a red dress called Janet Ellis thought: 'The best way to practice your religion is the way you show it and not what you do.' Erm, so how exactly do you show it except by what you do?
Wright suggested that there was room for establishments where 'You pay with tablets of stone and eat fish,' but that the Bulls were 'Selective about which Bible passages they use'. It was 'God not Jesus who despises homosexuals', he said.
When people start using Old Testament rules to inform Christian belief they were on a rocky patch, thought the exalted theologian. Yes, Matthew, they are on the Rock of Ages!
Email the programme at wrightstuff@five.tv
And here is a little of what the New Testament says about this subject, starting with Jesus Himself (using the King James or 'Authorised' Version of the Bible):
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5:11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Matt 5:12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
Matt 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mar 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Mark 10:6 But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. Mar 10:7 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; Mar 10:8 And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh.
Mark 12:29 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: Mar 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.
John 7:24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
Now the Lord's Apostles:
Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Rom 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. Rom 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
1Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 1Co 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 1Co 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
1Timothy 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 1Ti 1:10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine; 1Ti 1:11 According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
Jude 1:7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
Revelation 22:14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. Rev 22:15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
It’s socially acceptable to criticise Christians, Mr Wright must be aware that Jesus said “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them" Mathew 5:17
ReplyDeleteIn this age we have to expect criticism fom the media. What right do we think we have to Sympathy? And do we realy think we have the right to impose Christian standards of behaviour on those who dont acknowledge Christ? Stephen Green presents an unrecognisable gospel that only shouts judgementalism not Grace! He certainly wont win any homosexuals, or anyone else for that matter, to Christ with this style! Finally, don't we follow a Jesus who let a prostitute wash and anoint his feet and failed to condemn an adulterous woman! (Thogh, yes, he did tell her to "go & sin no more" - but that was after he'd sent the judgementalists away!).
ReplyDeleteTim Coad says "And do we really think we have the right to impose Christian standards of behaviour on those who dont acknowledge Christ?" but he is missing the point. It was christians being imposed upon, being approached, being goaded (Stonewall asked the couple in advance about their policy, a couple of days before the two men showed up), not the other way around.
ReplyDeleteTo rephrase his sentence: "And do people really think they have the right to impose their standards of behaviour on those who follow Christ?" As many have said on this topic, there is not a squeak in the mainstream media about all the gay B&Bs who refuse heterosexuals a bed, double or otherwise. And are proud to do so - advertise it, rejoice in it, revel in it. Tolerance is an overused, one-sided word.
"Criticism from the media" is one thing, prosecution under law is another. Should Christians tolerate that? No we should not.
I agree with all that Stephen Green said. Tim Coad distorts the Word of God for Christ did not send the judgementalists away, they left by their own accord when they were convicted by their own guilty consciences! However, Christians must expect people to be confused as some Christian denominations ordain ministers who are practicing homosexuals. The Christian message must be clearly and plainly proclaimed that homosexuality is a sin and no practicing homosexual will enter heaven. However homosexuality is not unpardonable.
ReplyDeleteMartyn Hall and Steven Preddy were used by Stonewall, who want to legalise paedophilia. If there are people in that organisation who do not want to legalise paedophilia, they had better either tell their leaders that, or get out of that wicked organisation.
ReplyDeleteSo if any of these people who are so quick to snigger and sneer at Christian ethics have any child in their family raped by paedophiles, they won't really have anything to moan about, because they are fuelling the fire to do away with moral values.
When the Lord comes, all these God hating people will final;ly get what they want, as according to the Bible those who love the Lord will be gathered up to meet him, presumably leaving behind all the ones who detest him, which ought to make them all very happy, after all, thats what they want, isn't it?
But somehow, I think that once the Christian folk have gone, the world might not be a better place for it. There won't be any turning the other cheek and forgiving thy neighbour then, will there? It will bge eye for eye and tooth for tooth, which is going to lead to rather a lot of blind toothless folk!
But no-one will be able to blame God and vsay "It isn't fair". Now is the time to repent, there's enough people saying it, the Bulls were saying it in the gentlest way possible, but the lightbearers always get persecuted and mocked. No-one will ever be able to reproach the Lord for being unkind, impatient or unjust.
The wicked sinfulness of homosexuals continues unabated. They set out to cause individuals reproaching them the most damage possible.
ReplyDeleteBut as they set out to hate, not love God, they have already been judged and will find reckoning by God Himself,on them.
They should remember that even the Gates of Hell will not stand in the way of our Lord, when He returns!
For so they treated our Lord, and he will act as our advocate before God for us, but not for them who hate Him.
He has said He comes to implement God's Law, not to abolish it and woe unto those who stand against Him!
Almighty God never changes!
ReplyDeleteMatthew Wright should really study God`s word, the Bible!
God is the same yesterday, today and forever!
That says it all!!
The world may change but God`s word stands forever, otherwise He would be a liar which is impossible as God is Holy and righteous!
Thats an interesting discussion! Is the Tim Coad the same I knew years ago (PTLeague?) If so, would love to catch up with you. Try my Facebook or leave your email here. Peter J Honour!
ReplyDeleteI used to watch a bit of "The Wright Stuff" to see what people had to say about the news but soon realised that it was so predictably ignorant of God's truth that there were better ways to spend those few minutes.
ReplyDeleteHowever much these sort of programmes annoy us we must remember that these people are ignorant, without hope and lost. We need to preach the Gospel to these poor souls, not merely argue for our rights.
To put up with sin is to condone sin, to condone sin (and let sodomites sleep in our homes) makes us guilty of the sin surely??
ReplyDeleteAs for Tim Coad, well why do perverts have the right to impose their disgusting standards on us??
I think some Bible study classes might help you to understand God's word and Christ's truth and set you free!!
We must hate the sin but love the sinner, however that does NOT mean inviting them to come sin in your home and Christians have a DUTY to say so.
"HE was oppressed and HE was afflicted,yet HE opened NOT HIS mouth.HE is brought as a LAMB to the slaughter.And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb "SO HE OPENETH NOT HIS MOUTH"~WHAT A LESSON TO BELIEVERS WHO CAST THIER PEARLS BEFORE SWINE~LET THEM EAT THE HUSKS AND WALLOW IN THIER OWN FILTH!Walk not as other gentiles walk in the vanity [vacuum}of thier minds sucking in all the muck of this defiled world!~T.F.W.
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