Liberal Methodist Leaders Call Bush to Repentance

AgapePress ^ | April 17, 2003 | Jody Brown and Bill Fancher

[Willie Green]

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Those Whose Stance Falls Outside Traditional Methodism Take President to Task

(AgapePress) - Several officials of the United Methodist Church (UMC) are calling one of their fellow Methodists to repentance. While that, in and of itself, may not be unusual, it is noteworthy that the call appeared in a full-page magazine ad -- and the person called to repentance is President George W. Bush.

The April 5 edition of Christian Century magazine contains a full-page ad titled "A Prophetic Epistle from United Methodists Calling Our Brother George W. Bush to Repent." The ad, signed by several United Methodist bishops and the head of the denomination's lobby office in Washington, D.C., denounces the president for contributing to "spiritual forces of wickedness" and calls for him to "repent from domestic and foreign policies that are incompatible with the teaching and example of Christ."

Among those signing the ad are UM Bishops Joseph Sprague and Melvin Talbert, and Board of Church and Society general secretary Jim Winkler. The officials accuse President Bush of "threaten[ing] the very earth and all its inhabitants with open discussion of the use of nuclear weapons," and promoting "redemptive violence" in his policy towards the "sovereign nation of Iraq."

In addition, it claims that the president's domestic policy is "incongruent with Jesus' teaching" and falls short of the compassion of which Jesus spoke, despite Bush's claim to be a "compassionate conservative."

The ad concludes with the statement: "May our call to repentance speak to your conscience."

Mark Tooley heads the United Methodist committee of the Institute on Religion and Democracy. He says that first of all, the signers of the ad "are hardly symbols of strong, mainstream" United Methodist beliefs. He points out that Bishop Sprague denies that Jesus Christ is eternally divine, Bishop Talbert has endorsed same-sex "marriage," and Winkler is a pacifist.

Mark Tooley

According to Tooley, the UMC affirms Christ's full deity, opposes same-sex unions, and is not pacifist. "Yet these church officials claim it is President Bush who is violating his own church's teachings," he says.

"These [church] officials are effectively telling the president he is not a good Christian because his policies do not match their own left-wing beliefs," Tooley continues in a printed release.

"Bush is supposedly a bad Christian and a bad Methodist because, like most Methodists, he does not agree with these church officials in their equation of compassion with a large federal welfare state and in their opposition to a strong military defense for America."

Tooley says it is "nonsense" for the UMC officials to "equate their brand of politics with Christianity, and assume that political disagreement is a sign of spiritual apostasy."

Anti-War Academics
Religious leaders are not the only anti-war faction in the news these days. It can also be found in the world of academia.

Anti-war demonstrators are composed primarily of college-age students, both in America and in Europe. Paul Weyrich of the Free Congress Foundation says that is because anti-American feelings permeate the world of academia -- and always will.

"The academics identify with academics abroad," Weyrich says, "and of course, the academic community [abroad] is very anti-American and believes that George Bush is a greater problem than Saddam Hussein or anybody else you can name."

Weyrich says that anti-American attitude is transferred to the students on a daily basis. "They believe that they need to expose the student community to the anti-American point of view; hence, the kind of people that they are really featuring in their various programs."

Weyrich says that is why students are on the front line of various types of anti-American demonstrations.

[hellinahandcart]

Nope, Manhattan. Even more remarkable.

[crz]

See post 153.

Whoever acknowledges the son has the father also.

Looks to me as if they acknowledge the son.

I believe you might be the one to reconsider.
I'll end it at that. As it says..3 times.

[c-b 1]

My relatives are turning over in their graves. This is not the Methodist Church of old.

As are mine.

[69ConvertibleFirebird]

There is a reason why people are leaving the UMC and other mainline churches in droves.

Yes, I would actually call them non-believing churches rather than mainline. I was raised Methodist and finally got tired of arguing with the pastor at the church that I left 1 1/2 years ago. He was trying to convince people to NOT believe the Bible. Just believe the liberal line that he espouses...

[man of Yosemite]

Some of the independent, Spirit-filled churches are well to the right. You might label us as holy rollers , but there is some sanity among us. Did not Jesus say that he would put the sheep on his right hand and the goats on his left? Many of us who are "born again" have moved well to the right. In recent days, those words of Jesus are speaking louder and louder, as I watch the left losing their minds.

[Krodg]

Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is Heavenly Father’s Only Begotten Son in the flesh.

That's very nice but it is not what the Book of Mormon teaches. Have you studied their beliefs? Lucifer was the brother of Jesus...Jesus had the better plan for occupying earth...Mormons will all be gods...some will be here on earth and some in heaven. The rest of us won't make it...too bad..too sad...

Mormons hate it when major flaws are found. Mormons excommunicate people who beleive in multiple marriages (God must've joking when he gave Joseph Smith the right to do the same)...Mormon's didn't like black people for years (read your book).......

If the Mormon's could just get rid of their beginnings and their teachings, the Christian world would see them as brethren. They do wonderful work....and most are great people.

[c-b 1]

Anyone know a good rightwing church? I'm getting pretty tired of hearing from all the hypocritical, commie-loving, Bush-bashing ones.

There are a few out there, you have to search for them, I found one, it took several years.

Two weeks ago the sermon started with:

If you expect this to be politically correct, you better leave now, because it AIN'T gonna happen. A few minutes later it turned to the need for the private ownership of firearms, and the lies the gun grabbers will be using in their attempt to disarm the country. It ended with the call to pray for the President, and the Military.

[Krodg]

Whoever acknowledges the son has the father also.

Does this mean (according to the Mormon church) when I see Satan, I see God???

[crz]

You guys must really have a problem with the Jews then hey? Or the Roman Catholic Church.

[Wondervixen]

You have your Churches and then you have your social clubs.

[ahadams2]

LOL! I live in VERY conservative part of Missouri (the one democrat elected from this are is both pro-life and pro-second ammendment) and I have a friend who is a Methodist minister. I think that I, as an Anglican (that's Episcopalian to those of you with limited theology background) am one of the few people who gives him comfort in the fact that being a conservative Anglican/Episcopalian in the United States is one of the few things rarer than being a truly conservative Methodist! :-)

[Krodg]

You guys must really have a problem with the Jews then hey? Or the Roman Catholic Church.

I was talking about the Mormon's believing that Jesus and Satan were were brothers.....where did you get that I had a problem with Jews??? You couldn't be further from the truth on that statement! I also don't recall saying anything about the Catholice church.....what's your problem?

[Matchett-PI]

"You guys must really have a problem with the ..." ~ crz

The subject has changed to us having a problem with something??

Getting back to the subject:

You wrote: "Whoever acknowledges the son has the father also. Looks to me as if they acknowledge the son."

So I can believe that Jesus is the created spirit brother of Lucifer, and as long as I acknowledge him as "the son", I have the father also?

Neato! Hahahaha

[Ciexyz]

....there are cells of left wing self styled Christians in most major denominations.

Yes, the Presbyterians have the same problem. There are cells of left-wing church members who attend and monitor the Presbyterian Church (USA) national assembly and also local assemblies, insisting that left-wing issues be promoted, protesting and wearing down the delegates until a certain percentage give in and accede to their agenda.

[crz]

This is the last time I will post to the likes of you. As I originally said. I am not a member of the LDS church. And I certainly will never ever expose myself to the hate and filth you and your partner are exposing on this thread.

I have done quite a lot of research on this subject and have come to this conclussion. You seem to be of those who make their business of beating down people that do not agree with you in total. So now. Because you want to sell books by those who make their living by claiming to expose cults, then sell them to someone else. Matter of fact. I did a search on what Billy Graham had to say about the Mormon Church and to my shock, I found hundreds of sites slandering Billy Graham as well as the LDS. BTW. When Ol Billy or Franklin (his son) is preaching and I manage to get to watch them, I pay attention, because he is the patriarch of America, IMO.

[Jimmy Valentine's brother]

These same people stood quietly by while BJC cavorted in the White House.

[bmwcyle]

Liberals get is wrong so often that you wonder if they live on the same planet.

[bmwcyle]

It is tuff even in my own church. It is time the liberals read more of their Bible and stopped just feeling.

[aruanan]

These same people stood quietly by while BJC cavorted in the White House.

AND they helped to facilitate the return of Elian to captivity.

[kb2614]

I grew up in the UMC, but my family left it in the late 70's because it was getting bad then. I go to a Baptist church now. No church is perfect. But if a church does not believe that the Bible is the word of God and that Jesus is the Son of God, then it's time to find a church that does. Mainline churches are in trouble and its there own fault. What's the point of watering down the Christain message so it conforms to the ways of the world. I might as well stay home.