Posted on 12/31/2023 4:34:52 PM PST by Morgana
The Methodist Church in Great Britain released an "Inclusive Language Guide" this month advising Methodists to avoid using gendered terms such as "husband" and "wife" because such allegedly assumes what is not "the reality for many people."
"As Christians, we need to have the courage for conversations that can sometimes be difficult, to recognize that we sometimes exclude people, to listen with humility, to repent of any hurtful language and to take care with how we listen and what we say or write, in the Spirit of Christ," says the guidance, which will be updated every six months.
The guidance offered as a general principle the idea that there is "infinite variety in the way that God’s creation is expressed in human life," and offered "husband" and "wife" as examples of terminology that "may sound inoffensive but it makes assumptions about a family or personal life that is not the reality for many people."
The guidance offered the words "parent," "partner," "child," and "carer" as suitable alternatives.
The guide goes on to list extensive categories of people with whom Methodists are advised to use "sensitive and inclusive" language when addressing minorities that have been "marginalized and/or demonized by common culture."
The guide urges steering clear of "ageism" by avoiding terms like "old people," to embrace "anti-racist language" by encouraging use of "ethnicity" instead of "race," and to avoid language that negatively emphasizes a person's immigration status or English skills.
Antisemitic and Islamophobic rhetoric are also discouraged, and the guidance also encourages Methodists to tread carefully with their terminology when addressing "disabled and neurodiverse people" and those with mental illness.
The guide emphasized why its important that the U.K.-based Methodist Church "uses language that is inclusive of LGBT+ people," and advised using the language an individual prefers, including the pronouns by which they choose to identify.
The denomination passed resolutions in 2021 to approve the blessing of same-sex unions and recognize cohabitating couples.
"Using the language that individuals use for themselves shows that we care as a Church and that we affirm them as a child of God," the guidance says.
The guidance concludes by pointing readers to nonprofits that include the left-wing Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and Stonewall, an LGBT charity in the U.K. whose guidance found its way into schools throughout the country.
“We are proud of our Inclusive Language Guide," a spokesperson for the denomination told The Christian Post. "It helps the Church hold conversations without making assumptions or inadvertently causing upset. Some find this especially useful when talking with those who may have had a different life experience to their own."
Regarding whether gendered language would still be used in Methodist marriage ceremonies, the spokesperson said: "Couples getting married in a Methodist Church will discuss with the minister how they wish to be referred to during their service. This ensures that the ceremony reflects who they are."
Father Calvin Robinson, who has been outspoken in fighting progressivism in the Church of England, blasted the U.K.-based Methodist Church for its guidance and suggested it's symptomatic of a neo-Marxist attempt to effectively destroy it.
"This is not Christianity," Robinson wrote on X. "It is Critical Theories: 'smash heteronormativity.' It is no longer enough to acknowledge disordered lifestyles. Everything normative and ordered must be demolished for fear of causing offense."
"Critical Theories is neo-Marxism. It is a communist ideology, antithetical to the Christian faith. It is not possible to be a communist *and* a Christian. One must make a choice. Embrace the ways of this trendy yet toxic ideology, or embrace God’s order," he continued, and urged the Methodist Church to "pick one."
Why? It didn't work the first time.
“Jesus Met The Woman At The Well” was a great leadoff Ian and Sylvia song from the 1963 Four Strong Winds LP.
Well said.
You are correct.
This is the reason the formerly well-attended and large Methodist Church in our little town is close to closing its doors.
Well, that might offend somebody if you tell them they’re an unsaved sinner.
The Wesleys are spinning in their graves.
Didn’t they also change “commandment” to “suggestion”?
The UMC and its counterpart in the UK are not Christian churches. They are apostate, heretical, schismatic abominations.
There are about 200,000 Methodists in the UK and, if their attendance mirrors that of the Church of England, this proclamation is on the order of a tree falling in the woods without someone there to hear it.
ping
So be it! Jesus is the blade that cuts between soul and spirit. That’s for Him to sort out.
“God made man in His own image and man has been trying to return the favor ever since” Voltaire. “man is at the summit of becoming man’s image of GOD and somehow God will return the favor” L.Star
They’re not interested in anything related to repentance & apparently believe they can satisfy God with their so-called good works.
Isaiah 64:6 comes to mind.
Blind leading the blind.
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