The Bible says the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were dripping hot wax on each other, flogging each other, and zapping each other with electricity? Wow! I MUST have missed that part. Please point it out, because *that* CERTAINLY must have been ripped out of any copy of the Bible *I* have ever seen. It sounds way better than any of the erotica in the Song of Solomon! :)Touche - but what I was implying is that the story of Sodom and Gomorrah indicated that "debauchery" was rampant. I took that to mean that activities such as this (of course, electricity wasn't present at that point, but I think you know what I mean).
It doesn't sit right with me, and I stated as much previously. Unfortunately, a Church has a right to do what it wants, and the only people who can tell it otherwise are the people who make up the Church. If you can't get the Church you attend to stop supporting stuff (either through direct sponsership, or by letting their facilities be used) you don't like, then you have to vote with your feet, and find a new place to go...This is true, but is this truly a church given that point?
In his article, the author never says if the MCC directly sponsered this stuff, or merely let the groups use their space. Trust me, you MUST know churchs allow groups not affiliated with them to use their space. My monthly Unreal Tournament LAN party group meets at the local Methodist church, for instance, but we never get anything more than the use of the space.Point well taken - but I'm sure that activities that run counter to the beliefs of the church would not be permitted. And as long as you don't camp and pick off the newbies, I'm sure the Unreal party works as well...[g]
If they are killing children....well DUH!!! Of course one would want it shut down immediately, and the sickos involved brought to justice. You can't even begin to compare killing children to a couple of consenting adults spanking each other, for crying out loud.Funny you mention this - the House of Prayer case here in Atlanta just had a trial date set for September. This very question is coming into play with that case. (for those who don't know, a somewhat charismatic preacher has imposed his own form of child rearing and discipline - including flogging of errant children by church members during church services - on the church. The preacher also arranges marriages for members, marrying off girls as young as 14; he promotes an isolationist mindset to his members; the church actually borders being a cult -- the preacher and some members are going on trial on child abuse charges)
After some honest thought, I can't answer the question you raise regarding whether or not this is sanctioned. My initial (albeit knee-jerk) reaction is that the church is flat-foot wrong, though.