The emerging apostate churches of the last days
Updated: Sep 4
Disregarding Biblical Morality: Denomination Faces ‘Sharp Internal Backlash,’ Arguing That A Monogamy Requirement For Pastors Would Be ‘Harmful’
If your definition of morality is not rooted in the authority of Scripture, ultimately anything goes. And the very progressive denomination PCUSA is currently highlighting this truth in full color as the church will soon vote on a “monogamy requirement” for pastors that is “facing sharp internal backlash.” Yes, leaders within the denomination are upset that the denomination might require its pastors to have only one sexual partner at a time because such a rule would “regulate the private lives and relational structures of individuals in ways that risk harm rather than healing.”
But ultimately, there is no reason for only two in marriage, except that marriage itself comes from the Bible. Even though they use other arguments, they really know marriage is for only two! Oh, and saying “only two” means that one is taking that part of the Bible literally.
Ironically, according to reports, the proposed rule is not because the denomination—which “has allowed for the ordination of openly gay clergy since 2011”—is clinging to a shred of biblical truth. No, it’s because “the practice of polyamory or polygamy can create ‘power imbalances, emotional harm, and spiritual confusion,’ particularly for women, children and historically marginalized persons.”
So some leaders think polyamory and polygamy can be damaging—but others think that ruling against these practices is what is damaging:
In its official response, the Advocacy Committee for Women and Gender Justice claimed that requiring pastors to be monogamous attempts to “regulate the private lives and relational structures of individuals in ways that risk harm rather than healing.” The committee further argued that a monogamy mandate could “unintentionally reinforce systems of shame, silence, and spiritual coercion.”
The Advocacy Committee on LGBTQIA+ Equity also argued that the monogamy rule reinforced White privilege. The group claimed the mandate imposes “a narrow, culturally specific understanding of family” that “privileges a dominant cultural framework over the lived realities of communities of color and global Christians.”
Another activist group within the denomination said such a rule is because of “narrow and culturally bound definitions of relationships that have historically been used to exclude, police, and harm queer bodies and lives.”
And so the debate continues, because morality for the PCUSA denomination is not based on the unchanging doctrines of Scripture. Rather, it’s based on man’s interpretation of “harm” and a woke worldview that elevates every desire of the supposedly “oppressed” as good and worth celebrating. It’s a mess of opinion because there is no ultimate authority!
And this kind of moral relativism is what will happen to every denomination that abandons God’s Word as the authority and embraces man’s word instead. If God’s Word is not the authority, ultimately anything goes because morality becomes subjective and arbitrary based on human opinion (man’s word).
It’s the same battle that’s been raging for 6,000 years. Satan undermined the authority of God’s words and got Eve to doubt what God had said: “Indeed, has God said . . . ?” (Genesis 3:1)
And then he tempted her to be her own god: “You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).
We face the same temptation today (it’s the same attack, just manifested in a different way in our modern era): Will we start with God’s perfect, authoritative Word or will we ignore God’s Word and start with our own fallible human wisdom?
Proverbs has a warning for those who ignore God’s Word: “There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death” (Proverbs 14:12).
𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐃𝐀 '𝐏𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑' 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐎 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍: 𝐈 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐉𝐄𝐒𝐔𝐒 𝐀𝐒 𝐁𝐈𝐒𝐄𝐗𝐔𝐀𝐋
A self-described pastor preaching in Florida used the pulpit to float a theory about Christ's sexuality — dressed up as an open theological question.
“𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯'𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢 𝘸𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘩𝘶𝘴𝘣𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵. 𝘐 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥, 𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥 𝘓𝘢𝘻𝘢𝘳𝘶𝘴.” Then came the part that wasn't really a question: “𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘪 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭? 𝘐'𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵.”
Being undefined in scripture doesn't make it 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 — a congregation didn't sit down for a sermon to hear a preacher's personal theory about Christ's love life dressed up as theology.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐲. 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐩𝐢𝐭.
At Christ Episcopal Church in Dayton, Ohio, a recent Pride celebration featured rainbow-colored communion bread instead of the traditional plain loaves, drawing heavy fire from critics who argue it introduces contemporary cultural and political messaging into Christianity's most revered sacrament.
As Canada allows more and more people to opt for “MAiD”—Medical Assistance in Dying, their government euthanasia program—churches are faced with a pastoral problem: What do you do if someone in your church decides to end their own life at the hand of a doctor? Well, according to the Anglican Church of Canada, you go to their bedside with a liturgy ready to go.
Now the document doesn’t appear to celebrate MAiD. Read what it says in the introduction to this 60-page Pastoral Liturgies at the Time of Death in Contexts of Medically Assisted Dying document:
“Many of the conversations around what constitutes a good death seek to enshrine dignity of the dying person as the highest value. Very often, the understanding of dignity is tied to one’s autonomy in agency—being able to think, act, and make decisions on one’s own. Human dignity, however, rests in our being created by a loving God. It is not something to be tied to a question of worth to be determined according to standards that place autonomy as the highest value of dignity. God has given us dignity and worth as part of who we are as God’s creatures. Our agency in health care decisions is, furthermore, something that we need to entrust to God in our discernment. We do not make decisions alone, but in the presence of God.“
Of course, we would agree with much of that—autonomy is not what gives us dignity, rather God endowed us with dignity when He created us in His very image (interestingly they say “God’s creatures,” rather than being made in God’s image. That’s not surprising given that, by and large, this liberal denomination accepts evolutionary ideas). But instead of stopping there and denouncing euthanasia as to what it is—the intentional killing of a human being (murder)—and urging people to start their thinking with Scripture on this issue, they say: “It is not our intent to enter into the ethical arguments regarding MAiD, nor to provide a moral argument for or against MAiD. This resource is about responding to pastoral needs of those who are dying.”
In other words: “It might be right; it might be wrong. Who are we to say? But here’s a resource to give you prayers and Scripture readings at the bedside of someone ending their own life.” They go on to suggest some pastors might not be okay with seeming to bless MAiD, but don’t worry, you can “walk the challenging path” of choosing and adapting prayers so as not to imply God blesses the procedure:
“A critical consideration for some pastors will be the question of whether or not in pronouncing God’s blessing on the person who is dying, they are blessing the act of the decision towards or blessing the procedure itself. To some following some Dioceses’ guidance or their own consciences, it will be important to walk the challenging path in choosing and adapting prayers in this resource that do not imply that the procedure, the medical assistance in dying itself, and the decision to employ MAiD, are not being given God’s blessing. It is, however, a normal part of pastoral care to be praying for and to offer God’s and the Church’s blessing on the person who is dying.”
However, after all these careful caveats, the introduction then says this:
“People who choose MAiD freely and without coercion may indeed be ready to go. They have been living with and suffering through complex health challenges and they want the pain to stop. They want to be able to sleep. They desperately do not want their families and loved ones to watch and wait, wondering how much longer? They have exhausted all medical options, and they know, everyone knows, that there is no cure. Some wish, most of all, not to be alone at the time of their death, and to die well. Some, who are Christian, also desire not to be alone at the time of their death, and to die well, and with the grace and blessing of God and with the presence of the Church at their side.”
That reads an awful lot like a stamp of approval on MAiD from the writers of this liturgical guide!
The guide then gives prayers, confessions, and Scripture readings, along with instructions for communion, to be administered before and after the physician gives the lethal injection and the person’s life ends.
This guidance is an example of someone using the Bible and very Christian-sounding language without actually believing the Bible or having their worldview shaped by Scripture. They have an “appearance of godliness” in their Christianized language, but in reality, they are claiming that it is a person’s choice whether or not to end their own life and pastors have a duty to be there when that person dies to walk them through it—not to persuade them otherwise or show them from God’s Word that murder is wrong but to participate in their death through the liturgy.
It certainly appears compassionate, but only because they use euphemisms to obscure what is really happening: A physician is murdering a patient. Just because the patient has requested to be murdered doesn’t make murder okay!
In a fallen world, we will all suffer, but we do not hold the authority of life and death over our own bodies. We are not autonomous. God is our Creator, and He holds our lives in His hands and has sovereignly written in our book the number of our days. We look to Him, not our own fallible human wisdom, for what is right and good.
Whether they want to admit it or not, a euthanasia liturgy is the church blessing the choice of self-murder. It is the church condoning evil. Those who are suffering need palliative care from the medical profession—not a lethal injection—and compassion, kindness, and love from the church (and the gospel if they don’t know Christ!). What they don’t need is approval of a sinful choice that takes control into our own hands instead of trusting in the Creator who numbers our days.
"God Had A Wife? When Pastors Trade Scripture For Mysticism And Fables"
A striking example comes from Glendale Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee, where co-pastor Zach Helton recently presented his congregation with an extraordinary claim: the God of Israel once had a wife named Asherah, and later religious authorities essentially erased her from the biblical story.
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