Posted by
Playful Walrus on Thursday, March 17, 2011 7:56:46 PM
(UPDATE: I heard the leader of the church, Robert Schuller's daughter, do a live radio interview. It sounds to me like either the elder Schuller was reacting to misleading portrayals of the the document, or is being misquoted or quoted out of context.)
Robert H. Schuller, founder of the Crystal Cathedral, said Wednesday that he strongly disapproves of an anti-gay covenant his own church administrators asked choir members to sign, stating that it goes against the principles of tolerance, acceptance and positive thinking on which he built his 50-year-old ministry.
This is exactly why Schuller is criticized in the Christian community. Churches are supposed to have acceptance for
people, not for
sin. And the document is not anit-gay.
Go read it for yourself. No matter how positive someone is, it is folly to deny that sin exists and it is to be resisted and we are to repent, turning our backs on sin.
"I have a reputation worldwide of being tolerant of all people and their views," he said. "I'm too well-educated to criticize a certain religion or group of people for what they believe in. It's called freedom."
Well of course we have freedom of religion. However, that does not mean a church should not have standards and should never draw a line. A church is a hospital for the soul. If someone comes into a hospital having a heart attack, should the doctors do nothing about it? As far as being well-educated – if you've read the Bible, you know that Christians are repeatedly called to make distinctions between truth and error.
Schuller said he supports the view of homosexuality as detailed by the covenant.
"That doesn't mean that we are going to start a crusade against homosexuals," he said. "But if my church members required covenants, they would no longer live up to the principles of being positive that marks the history of the ministry of Robert H. Schuller."
What about the ministry of Jesus Christ? What is the problem with the document? It doesn’t say that committing sin means expulsion. It is stating what the church teachers.
"We have never been for covenants or definitions," Robert Schuller said. "We don't test anyone who comes to our ministry. We don't require them to be Christian. We would not demand that they be born-again Christians."
Why not? Shouldn’t Christian ministers at least present themselves as Christians?
His daughter, Carol Schuller Milner, said her father's statements in no way lessen his support of Coleman's ministry or leadership.
"There are going to be times when he might have done something differently," she said. "As he is less and less involved in management, this is going to happen more. His personal views may not coincide with the management's view. But, the organization and his voice are no longer seamless. It can never go back to being that way."
The Church belongs to Christ.
Anne Waltz, who sang in Schuller's first ever choir in the drive-in theater, said she is glad Schuller spoke his mind on this issue.
"This is the man we came to hear and we all believe in," she said.
Don't believe in any man but Christ.
"My pastor (Dr. Schuller) always said that the church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners. I'm glad that he still believes that."
Hospitals help people get better.
The
Los Angeles Times picked up the story, too.
This is the article by Nicole Santa Cruz.
The headline?
Crystal Cathedral Sex Covenant Stirs Controversy
Misleading, much?
The Crystal Cathedral church in Garden Grove is involved in another controversy, this time over a covenant that choir members were asked to sign stating that God intends sex to be between married heterosexuals.
Although it says a man and woman, nowhere does it say anything about their sexual orientation. But you know, the Bible also makes it clear that marriage is between a man and a woman and that sex is for marriage. Should the Bible not be allowed in the Cathedral?
The church is supposed to call on people to repent of sin and lead holy lives. The people raising a stink need to either 1) work on their reading comprehension skills; 2) take "insensitivity" training so that they realize that not everything is all about celebrating them and their personal feelings, or 3) admit they are deliberately pulling a stunt to try to keep the church from maintaining a Biblical teaching and practice when it comes to sexuality and marriage.