What is the Nashville Statement and why is there so much controversy surrounding it? If you are not familiar with the fourteen articles of the Nashville Statement, it can be boiled down to this. We believe the Bible to be the only and true word of God, and God has revealed through His word that sex is reserved for marriage. Marriage is a sacred institution ordained by God to be a lifelong covenant between one man and one woman. All sex outside of marriage is sinful. God has also revealed that there are only two genders and these genders correspond to the biological sex. Thinking of oneself as a woman trapped in a man’s body is the result of a sinful and depraved mind and not based in reality.
This statement should not be controversial. The church has been teaching this for two millennia. Just like the saints of the Old Testament did for thousands of years before Christ founded the Church.
So this isn’t anything new. It is just the church reaffirming to the world that they believe what God has declared in His word. So why is there such controversy over a doctrine that goes back thousands of years?
Some might think that it is about LGBT rights and anything that runs counter to their movement must be stopped. The truth is this has nothing to do with LGBT rights at all. All this is an attack on Christ, His word, and His Church. Let me show you why.
Let’s change the name of this statement from the Nashville Statement to the Mecca Statement. Or better yet, let’s make it the Dearborn Statement to give an American ring to it and make a few changes.
WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian Islamic faithfulness and witness.
WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians Muslims should agree to disagree.
Let me ask you a question. Do you seriously think if this statement came out from a group of Imam’s that you would get the progressives and their political allies to come out and condemn this statement?
Of course, they would, (insert long and uncomfortable pause) right? It would be like that time when the feminist organized a march and protested Islamic countries treatment and subjugation of women. Or that LGBT march against certain Islamic countries, like our ally Saudia Arabia, which may punish homosexuality with being stoned to death.
Remember those marches and how the progressive left and their politicians came out screaming and rioting in the streets? Neither do I because this never happened.
You see it’s not about LGBT rights. It’s about fighting the common enemy, and that common enemy is Jesus Christ.
You can call Christianity and the Nashville Statement hateful and bash on Christianity all day long, and the Left will love you. Dare to come out against Islam, and you will be shut down.
Take for instance the darling of the Left, atheist, and evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins. A man who has gained notoriety by relentlessly mocking Christianity. No progressive college campus or media outlet would ever deny him access in furthering his message of hate for Christianity. As long as he is bashing Christianity, we are all for it.
But what happened to Richard Dawkins? He dared to step out of line, and in his intellectually consistent hatred for all religions he came out and called Islam, “the most evil religion in the world.” Dawkins is a bad boy now, and we must punish him.
In a recent effort to promote his new book, “Science in the Soul.” Dawkins began doing speaking engagements. His next stop, uber liberal Berkeley, CA. Berkeley would seem like a perfect venue for Dawkins. They are just as anti-God as he is, and his anti-God message would be welcome. Or at least if that God is the God of the Bible and not Islam, Allah, or the prophet Mohammad.
The event sponsor and host KPFA-FM in Berkeley would not tolerate his Islamaphobia and canceled the event. Their reasoning. KPFA does not endorse abusive speech.
“While KPFA emphatically supports serious free speech, we do not support abusive speech…We apologize for not having had broader knowledge of Dawkins’ views much earlier.”
Dawkins responded in an open letter to KPFA and stated:
“I am known as a frequent critic of Christianity and have never been de-platformed for that. Why do you give Islam a free pass? Why is it fine to criticise Christianity but not Islam?”
Mr. Dawkins, the reason Islam gets a free pass, and Christianity doesn’t, is that the enemy isn’t religion, it’s Jesus Christ.
There is a spiritual battle going on and a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand. The goal of the progressive left isn’t to destroy religion, it is to destroy all things, Christ, and as long as faithful Christians proclaim His word, they will attack you.
Christ said it clearly in John 15:20:
“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
The reality is there is nothing new under the sun going on here. The backlash to the Nashville Statement is just the latest target of the Christ haters. Christ promised us that if you stand with Him, you will be mocked and persecuted. If you expect the world to react another way, then you have completely misunderstood how offensive the Gospel is to an unbelieving world.
The Nashville Statement is not a political statement or a legislative agenda. It simply is a statement for the church to remind them not to be conformed to the progressive, Christ-hating religion of the world.
Therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised when politicians like Nashville Mayor Megan Barry or liberal “so-called Christians” like Jen Hatmaker come out against the Nashville Statement. If they do, they might just find themselves alongside Richard Dawkins.
