The problem is that the United Methodist Church has drifted away from teaching the scriptures and has fallen into the trap of interpreting socio-political issues. Such interpretation is not needed if the church is doing its job.
The Bible speaks for itself. The job of the church is to teach
the scriptures in order to enable people to apply the teachings to everyday
life. It is not the job of the church to rule on socio-political issues.
The only way anyone can know what anyone else’s
socio-political beliefs and lifestyle are is if he is told. You cannot look at
a person and tell whether they are heterosexual or homosexual, liberal or
conservative, educated or uneducated, or even whether they are believers or non-believers.
Remember, “churches are hospitals for sinners, not museums
for saints” (Abigail Van Buren). All should welcome those who wish to attend. Let God,
through His scriptures, do the healing. The church’s responsibility is to find
the best way possible to teach the scriptures to those who are so starved for
the Word.
When I was in college, I studied political science. Needless
to say, some students were aching to draw classes into political discussions
about the anti-war movement, among other issues. Our professors did not allow
those discussions to take place in the classroom. They would say, “This is not
the time or place for this discussion,” then would open their lecture notes and
start class. If the students wanted to preach their beliefs on the issues, they
would have to wait until after class – and they did!
Don’t let socio-political causes cast a shroud over God’s
word. We all need his Word far more than we may realize.
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