A few days ago, Gary posted an article by me about CGI’s obsession with the subject of homosexuality (as evidenced by three articles dealing with the subject in their sixteen-page church magazine). One of the responses to that piece caught my attention:
Anonymous said...
well Lonnie, we have a saying down here...."hurt dog hollers"
guess you got stung.
and no, we in The Church are not afraid of homosexuals, we fear for them.
God does not accept that behavior, and no amount of whining will change that.
repentance is an option, though.
March 17, 2020 at 7:43 AM
I suppose the initial sentence was meant to refer to my final separation from the Church of God International. For those who may be unfamiliar with the circumstances surrounding that event, I would like to elaborate on exactly what happened.
After attending worship services with Seventh Day Baptists and an unaffiliated Church of God Seventh Day for many years, Darlene and I began attending services at the Fayetteville CGI shortly after we moved to Arkansas from Alabama. The pastor of that congregation was aware that I had regularly spoken to both groups and asked me to begin speaking to his congregations (he was also the pastor of note for Fort Smith). I reluctantly agreed to do so to help him to better shoulder his responsibilities, but I also made it plain to him that I had no burning desire or need to speak before anyone. During this same period, I also wrote several articles for The International News on a variety of topics. In both circumstances, I NEVER contradicted CGI’s statement of beliefs – NOT ONCE! Moreover, I NEVER received ANY compensation for ANY of the things which I contributed to that church (I even refused the small stipend for writing articles which was customary at the time).
Even so, after a few years of doing this, an opportunity opened to me to publish an article for Dixon Cartwright’s The Journal, which would explore my views on human sexuality. That article, along with a subsequent article, were independent projects of my own and were NEVER submitted to ANYONE at CGI for their perusal, opinion or commentary. Nevertheless, I knew that my comments in that publication would not go unnoticed (or be well-received) by the folks at CGI. If anyone ever needed proof that what is published by the ACOG dissidents is closely monitored by those organizations, here is a case in point!
Although I hadn’t been able to speak for many months (due to a thyroid condition), it was made clear to me that my speaking and writing abilities would not be needed anymore after the articles were published. I guess that’s what the commentator which I quoted above is referring to when he/she suggests that I got “stung.”
However, as I hadn’t sought the limelight or responsibilities which had been given to me, I never felt any sting when they were withdrawn. I did feel hurt by the social distancing that we were subjected to thereafter by folks whom we had regarded as friends for many years. I will let all of you decide whether or not it’s appropriate for a Christian to be rejoicing over some hurt which they have inflicted on one of their brothers/sisters.
As for whether the Church of God International is afraid of homosexuals, I would suggest that their subsequent writings and statements on the subject indicate that they are afraid of being seen as supportive of homosexuality. Those same writings and statements seem to indicate that they’re afraid of the impact that homosexuality (and gay marriage) is having on American society. In fact, those statements seem to imply a fear that homosexuals have infected the ranks of Christianity itself, and that they must consequently defend “traditional values” against the sinister encroachments of the gay agenda (whatever they think that is). Their statements also seem to suggest that they are fearful regarding the potential consequences for the Israelites (America and Britain, according to them) who condone such behavior. At any rate, by almost any objective standard, that sounds like FEAR to me!
Anonymous said...
well Lonnie, we have a saying down here...."hurt dog hollers"
guess you got stung.
and no, we in The Church are not afraid of homosexuals, we fear for them.
God does not accept that behavior, and no amount of whining will change that.
repentance is an option, though.
March 17, 2020 at 7:43 AM
I suppose the initial sentence was meant to refer to my final separation from the Church of God International. For those who may be unfamiliar with the circumstances surrounding that event, I would like to elaborate on exactly what happened.
After attending worship services with Seventh Day Baptists and an unaffiliated Church of God Seventh Day for many years, Darlene and I began attending services at the Fayetteville CGI shortly after we moved to Arkansas from Alabama. The pastor of that congregation was aware that I had regularly spoken to both groups and asked me to begin speaking to his congregations (he was also the pastor of note for Fort Smith). I reluctantly agreed to do so to help him to better shoulder his responsibilities, but I also made it plain to him that I had no burning desire or need to speak before anyone. During this same period, I also wrote several articles for The International News on a variety of topics. In both circumstances, I NEVER contradicted CGI’s statement of beliefs – NOT ONCE! Moreover, I NEVER received ANY compensation for ANY of the things which I contributed to that church (I even refused the small stipend for writing articles which was customary at the time).
Even so, after a few years of doing this, an opportunity opened to me to publish an article for Dixon Cartwright’s The Journal, which would explore my views on human sexuality. That article, along with a subsequent article, were independent projects of my own and were NEVER submitted to ANYONE at CGI for their perusal, opinion or commentary. Nevertheless, I knew that my comments in that publication would not go unnoticed (or be well-received) by the folks at CGI. If anyone ever needed proof that what is published by the ACOG dissidents is closely monitored by those organizations, here is a case in point!
Although I hadn’t been able to speak for many months (due to a thyroid condition), it was made clear to me that my speaking and writing abilities would not be needed anymore after the articles were published. I guess that’s what the commentator which I quoted above is referring to when he/she suggests that I got “stung.”
However, as I hadn’t sought the limelight or responsibilities which had been given to me, I never felt any sting when they were withdrawn. I did feel hurt by the social distancing that we were subjected to thereafter by folks whom we had regarded as friends for many years. I will let all of you decide whether or not it’s appropriate for a Christian to be rejoicing over some hurt which they have inflicted on one of their brothers/sisters.
As for whether the Church of God International is afraid of homosexuals, I would suggest that their subsequent writings and statements on the subject indicate that they are afraid of being seen as supportive of homosexuality. Those same writings and statements seem to indicate that they’re afraid of the impact that homosexuality (and gay marriage) is having on American society. In fact, those statements seem to imply a fear that homosexuals have infected the ranks of Christianity itself, and that they must consequently defend “traditional values” against the sinister encroachments of the gay agenda (whatever they think that is). Their statements also seem to suggest that they are fearful regarding the potential consequences for the Israelites (America and Britain, according to them) who condone such behavior. At any rate, by almost any objective standard, that sounds like FEAR to me!
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