Conversion Sunday This Weekend: John MacArthur Takes Flak

Canadian pastors are staging a “Conversion Sunday” on Jan. 16, publicly preaching Biblical sexuality in defiance of Bill C-4 that redefines Christianity as a myth. John MacArthur popularized it in USA. Then he started taking flak for being over the target!

A Stand on Biblical Sexual Morality

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By John MacArthur, 28 December 2021

I write to you this Christmas season to call your attention to an urgent matter in which the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is under attack.

On December 22, I received an email from Pastor James Coates of GraceLife Church of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. You will remember that he was recently imprisoned for keeping his church open during COVID-19 lockdowns. James is a graduate of The Master’s Seminary and co-author (with Dr. Nathan Busenitz) of an excellent new book—God and Government (to be released March 2022). James’s recent email gave me insight into the Canadian government’s decision to pass Bill C-4, which “directly comes against parents and counsellors who would seek to offer biblical counsel with respect to sexual immorality and gender.” James indicates that it could be used to “criminalize evangelism.” To clarify the bill, James forwarded this email from Pastor Andrew DeBartolo:

“Pastor John,

“Thank you so much for your willingness not only to shine a light on the situation here in Canada but also your partnership in calling other men to preach on biblical sexuality on January 16 in unity and solidarity with ministers here in Canada. I (and we) are truly grateful for your ministry and service.

“Bill C-4 passed through the House and the Senate without opposition. Not a single dissenting vote was cast by any member of the conservative party. It received Royal Assent on December 8, which means it will come into Law after January 8, 2022. The Bill will amend the Criminal Code in Canada to ban conversion therapy. It will criminalize, among other things, “causing another person to undergo conversion therapy; promoting or advertising conversion therapy.”

“In the Preamble of the Bill, it says that the belief that “heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth are to be preferred over other sexual orientations, gender identities and gender expressions” is a “myth.” According to Canadian law, as of January 8, 2022, the belief in God’s design for marriage and sexuality will now be seen as a myth.

“The Bill defines conversion therapy as, “a practice, treatment or service designed to change a person’s sexual orientation to heterosexual; change a person’s gender identity to cisgender; change a person’s gender expression so that it conforms to the sex assigned to the person at birth; repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behavior; repress a person’s non-cisgender gender identity; or repress or reduce a person’s gender expression that does not conform to the sex assigned to the person at birth.”

“The definition is intentionally broad, and it can clearly be used against any preacher or elder who either speaks against homosexuality/transgenderism or who counsels a person to obey Christ and abandon their homosexual/transgender actions and lifestyle. This means as of January 8, 2022, it will be against the law to preach, teach, or counsel regarding God’s design for marriage and sexuality.

“Everyone who knowingly causes another person to undergo conversion therapy – including by providing conversion therapy to that other person – is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than five years.” Similarly, “Everyone who knowingly promotes or advertises conversion therapy is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term of not more than two years.”

“On January 16, 2022, faithful men across this country (and many in the United States as well) will be preaching on God’s design for marriage and a biblical ethic of sexuality. We will be doing so illegally, declaring to the State that there is one God and one Lord over His church, and that Christ alone gets to both define marriage and dictate what is required in the pulpit. We are honored that our American brothers will be joining us in this.

“Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions or require any more information.

“Yours in Christ,

“Andrew DeBartolo
Teaching Elder, Encounter Church”

I changed the boldfaced from the original to emphasize that this Sunday is the big day. If I had to choose the one thing I hate most about professional journalists, among their many and malicious faults, it’s their habit of never talking about anything until it’s too late for normal people to get involved. What’s the point of being informed without the opportunity to act?

I am eager to support our Canadian brothers and to preach on biblical sexual morality on January 16, and I invite you as a faithful pastor to do the same. Our united stand will put the Canadian and the U.S. governments on notice that they have attacked the Word of God. We are all well-aware of the evil power and destructive influence of the homosexual and transgender ideology. Our government is bent on not only normalizing this perversion, but also legalizing it, and furthermore criminalizing opposition to it.

In 2012, California passed Senate Bill 1172 banning “gay conversion” (alongside New York, New Jersey, and Nevada). In doing this, the California government sought to prohibit any correction of an unbiblical view of sexual identity, because “California has a compelling interest in protecting the…wellbeing of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals.”

At the Pentecostal church I attended at the time, the pastor’s wife quietly circulated a petition against the bill. No sermon or official notice was made on the topic.

And on August 18, 2020, the Democratic Party declared at the National Convention that it would “ban harmful conversion therapy practices.” The Obama administration appointed more than 250 LGBTQ+ people to serve in the government. The Biden administration has promised to increase that number, and they have done so thus far.

As aggressive as this political priority is to make perversion safe from criticism in the United States, Canada is even further ahead. On November 29, 2021, The House of Commons passed Bill C-4 with a completely unanimous vote, amending the code to include “conversion therapy.” Since this law takes effect on January 8, 2022, faithful Canadian pastors are going to preach on the issue…

YES! Win! O Canada!

…calling for a biblical understanding of sexual sin, the eternal judgment that falls on the unrepentant and gospel-rejecting sinners, and the grace of God in the gospel which offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe in Christ.

Godspeed, eh, my Canuckian brothers! What a relief that the organized Church is FINALLY sprouting a backbone!

Also sending his respects, in his own way, is the Prince of Lies:

Christian conservatives respond to John MacArthur comparing ‘religious freedom’ to ‘idolatry’

h ttps://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-respond-to-john-macarthurs-religious-freedom-comments.html

By Ryan Foley, 14 January 2022

Prominent pastor and theologian John MacArthur has come under fire after a video resurfaced of him taking issue with the idea of “religious freedom,” with some Christian speakers debating whether his comments were taken out of context.

A video of one of MacArthur’s sermons from early last year at California’s Grace Community Church resurfaced over the weekend after Matthew Sheffield, who describes himself as a “former right-wing activist, now working to elevate new topics & voices against fascism,” shared it on Twitter.

That says it all. As terrified as Globohomos are of the white supremacists about to overrun our dumbocracy and install Cheeto Pinochet, one would think they wouldn’t advertise their politics on social media so prominently.

“Extremist Christians love to claim they’re all about ‘religious freedom,’ but the truth is that they hate the idea,” Sheffield, the editor of The Flux and host of the “Theory of Change” podcast, wrote.

“Sometimes when they’re in a safe space, they admit this,” he added. Sheffield cited the video, taken from a January 2021 sermon, as an example of what many Christians “really think” about the topic of religious freedom.

A year-old sermon is resurfacing the week before a rare, coordinated effort against the world government’s sodomy mandate? Not a coincidence. This was obviously a hit piece waiting in a file cabinet for the next time John Mac did a thing.

That’s what Jeebus would do! Keep dirt on people for character assassination purposes! Down with them fascists!

In the video, MacArthur asserts that “I don’t even support religious freedom.” He went on to allege that “religious freedom is what sends people to Hell.”

“To say I support religious freedom is to say I support idolatry. It’s to say I support lies. I support Hell. I support the kingdom of darkness. You can’t say that. No Christian with half a brain would say ‘we support religious freedom.’” MacArthur suggested that Christians should proclaim that “we support the truth” as the crowd erupted into applause.

Hmm. I want context before saying anything.

He warned his congregation that “if the new administration supports religious freedom, get ready.” “Persecution will be ramped up because the more supportive they are of the devil’s lies, the less they’re going to tolerate the truth of scripture.”

Hello, sweet context! Yes, religious freedom is BAD when permitted to Satanists and atheists. If our tyrants were any more Tolerant, they’d make Christianity a hate crime.

Oh wait, Trudeau just did that.

He vowed that “We’re not going to lobby for freedom of religion,” asking, “what kind of nonsense is that?” The clip concluded with MacArthur maintaining that “we are in the world to expose all those lies as lies.”

Preach, Brother John!

Prominent Christian commentators quickly condemned MacArthur’s remarks, including former National Review writer and current senior editor of The Dispatch David French.

Shut up, Wesley!

Lamenting MacArthur’s analysis as “disturbing,” French took to Twitter to slam “the astonishing arrogance in his statements and an astonishing lack of respect for dissent from his version of the truth.”

French pushed back on the idea that MacArthur’s words were taken out of context.

“My recent tweets critiquing MacArthur referenced his words in context, and in context he really did say ‘I could never really concern myself with religious freedom. I wouldn’t fight for religious freedom because I won’t fight for idolatry.’”

Context doesn’t mean “quote them a second time”.

Brooke Medina, vice president of the conservative think tank John Locke Foundation, reacted to MacArthur’s comments by tweeting that “Christian martyrs over the past two millennia would beg to differ, John.”

She alleged that by stating opposition to the idea of religious freedom, the pastor does not “believe your fellow image bearer is worthy of agency.”

“It means you think so little of the kindness of God, which leads us to repentance, that you would prefer the force of the State. It also means you prefer outward conformity over inner charge. History is littered with bloody, heinous examples of powerful people who used their opposition of religious freedom to imprison and kill their detractors.”

Next week: Quod Erat Demonstrandum! These Canadian pastors are risking their freedom and livelihoods in order to oppose the devil’s “religious freedom”. Brooke rushed to judge MacArthur in a way that might not look good in a few days.

Christianity is not optional. America is freedom to worship Christ as you wish, not freedom to worship Allah or the Talmud. Does Brooke truly think that religion makes so little difference, that it doesn’t really matter which one you believe? I bet John Locke didn’t!

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Adam Greenway shared the Southern Baptist Convention’s teaching on religious liberty, emphasizing that “few commitments are more intrinsic to our Baptist identity than this one.”

The teaching cites more than a dozen Bible passages when asserting that “The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends.”

Hold this thought, that a Southern Baptist leader is faulting MacArthur for his rejection of religious freedom.

After viewing MacArthur’s entire sermon, conservative radio host Erick Erickson offered his interpretation of MacArthur’s analysis.

“He was not talking about the ability of different faiths to worship in a multi-ethnic country of different faiths. He was talking about Christians believing Christianity is true and all other religions are false and don’t really give you freedom.”

My interpretation, informed by the Daily Wire, is… Sheffield edited the video clip to make MacArthur look bad.

Clip Of Pastor John MacArthur Had Critics Pouncing…Turns Out It Was Edited

By Megan Basham, 11 January 2022

Fast and effective work, Megan!

A one-minute-and-forty-seven-second clip of influential pastor John MacArthur speaking about religious liberty began circulating on social media Monday. Some critics claimed it proved the longtime teacher of the Grace To You radio ministry doesn’t believe the U.S. should protect religious freedom. Others insisted his words meant he advocates for fascism, state religion, and forced conversions.

The clip gained traction after being posted to a Twitter account belonging to Matthew Sheffield, a self-described “former right-wing activist” now working to amplify “voices against fascism.” It was taken from a sermon immediately after President Joe Biden’s inauguration in January 2021. MacArthur shares that he wasn’t impressed by an evangelical publicist who assured him the new administration would uphold religious freedom.

“I don’t even support religious freedom,” MacArthur says in the video. “Religious freedom is what sends people to hell. To say I support religious freedom is to say I support idolatry. It’s to say I support lies. I support hell. I support the kingdom of darkness.”

MacArthur then appears to take aim at the political lobbying arm of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest protestant denomination in the nation.

Under the previous head, Russell Moore, the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission filed an amicus brief in favor of a Muslim community’s effort to build a mosque, with the rationale that supporting religious freedom broadly helps protect liberty for Christians. Moore also vocally defended devoting SBC resources to supporting the rights of Muslims at the denomination’s annual convention in 2016.

MacArthur seemed to contrast his church with Moore’s approach, saying it has no plans to lobby the government. “We’re not going to lobby for freedom of religion. What kind of nonsense is that? We are in the world to expose all those lies as lies,” he said.

Remember that held thought? Greenway was a peer of Russel Moore until the latter resigned from the Baptist leadership in May 2021. He was in an excellent position to know that MacArthur had not been talking about religious freedom for Christians but instead, talking against Baptist support for Islamic freedom. It seems that MacArthur is not a fan of sanctioning Islam in the name of Christ… and neither am I!

I’d wondered why Moore resigned. None of the explanations offered at the time made sense. But this, formally using Christ to advocate Mohammed, would be an excellent and Godly justification for forcing him out. Which makes Greenway playing dumb about MacArthur’s statement look even worse.

Dozens of political and religious pundits reposted the video to their large social media platforms. Political commentator David French tweeted the clip out to his more than 266,000 followers, calling it “disturbing.” He added in a second post, “There’s an astonishing arrogance in [MacArthur’s] statements and an astonishing lack of respect for dissent from his version of the truth.”

Economist editor Jon Fasman said, “What does he support instead of religious freedom? Forced conversions? The banning and criminalisation of any faith other than his?”

Good questions! Did you check, like I did? *crickets*

Numerous other SBC leaders, including Southwestern Seminary president Adam Greenway, Christianity Today editor Ed Stetzer…

Russell Moore’s current boss.

…and high-profile Southeastern Seminary professor Karen Swallow Prior tweeted and retweeted statements about religious freedom that appeared intended to criticize MacArthur.

Heh heh, “Karen Swallow Prior”. I must see!

CANNOT UNSEE!!!

Segue

Karen Swallow Prior, a Southern Baptist #MeToo leader, makes first Nashville visit since being hit by a bus

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By Holly Meyer, 28 September 2018

The last time Karen Swallow Prior visited Nashville she was hit by a bus.

There IS a God! The stories that one can find on the Internet!

So, the author and English professor at Liberty University in Virginia was a bit nervous to return to the city this week for the first time since the May 23 accident that nearly killed her.

“It’s been a redemptive kind of return,” she said.

Prior, a leading voice in the Southern Baptists’ own #MeToo moment, which was building as the bus hit her, spent a lot of this visit talking about her new book. “On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books” looks at how great literature can teach readers about virtues and good character.

The timing of the wreck was uncanny. Prior was in the midst of raising the voices of thousands of Southern Baptist women calling out Paige Patterson, a revered leader in the evangelical denomination, for his past counsel to abused women and crude remarks about a teen girl’s appearance. Patterson apologized for his past comments.

The day the bus hit her, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary removed Patterson as its president and gave him emeritus status. As Prior recovered at her home in Virginia, the controversy surrounding Patterson continued to play out.

Eventually, he was ousted from the Southern Baptist seminary in Texas over his mishandling of past allegations from students who told him they were raped. Patterson disputes that he mishandled abuse reports. He has since returned to the pulpit, according to a Washington Post report.

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A white shuttle bus carrying seven people for a Civil War tour hit Prior. She did not have the right of way, the bus did, according to the crash report provided by the Metro Nashville Police Department.

No one else was taken to the hospital and the sightseers were able to complete their tour as scheduled with another bus and guide, said Chuck Abbott, the CEO of Gray Line of Tennessee.

“We’re sorry this person was hit. We spend a lot of time talking about safety and always being aware of your surroundings,” Abbott said. “We always hate when something like that happens, but some things are sort of outside our control.”

Paige Patterson’s ousting was, basically, a color revolution within the Baptist hierarchy. Alas that God could not reach Mizz Swallow even with a party bus.

End segue

It turned out, however, that along misrepresenting the context of a more than hour-long sermon, the brief clip itself was edited to remove a middle portion that would have further clarified MacArthur’s remarks.

No way that was an honest mistake!

In the full, unedited clip, after MacArthur says, “If the new administration supports religious freedom, get ready; persecution will be ramped up because the more supportive they are of the devil’s lies, the less they’re going to tolerate the truth of Scripture,” he adds this:

“We condemn every lie, and we call every person to this: there’s one true God, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. You’ll have no other gods before Me.’ Right? There’s salvation in one name and one name only: that’s Jesus Christ.”

Amen!

This, along with the rest of the sermon, suggests that MacArthur was speaking about who the church should look to for protection — not earthly powers, but God. Grace to You executive director, Phil Johnson, confirmed that this was part of MacArthur’s intent.

“MacArthur is certainly not advocating the theonomic notion that Christians today should commandeer governments in order to force Christianity on the world,” Johnson told The Daily Wire. Referring to Matthew 20:25-27 and Revelation 2:27, he further clarified the intent of the clip:

“Because Christ is perfectly righteous, He has the right and the authority to rule the whole world without tolerating the kind of spiritual free-for-all that people today call “religious freedom.” But because human governments are run by fallen people who tend to misuse power, we do not believe Caesar should have authority over people’s consciences when it comes to the question of whom and how they worship.”

The Daily Wire reached out to French to ask if he was aware that the clip was edited when he circulated it but did not receive a response. Stetzer and Medina also did not respond by the time of publication. Greenway offered a statement through a seminary spokesperson…

There it is. A continent-sized Christian protest against literal Globohomo is coming up this Sunday! Hoping to derail it, false priest Matthew Sheffield photoshopped an old sermon of MacArthur’s and circulated it after soliciting quotes from his fellow false priests infesting the Baptist hierarchy. None of whom explained their sentiments later on.

Congrats, Pastor MacArthur! God’s grace be up you, brave clergy of Canada! Taking flak means you’ve over the target! And I might just go to church this weekend.