“Other prominent Christian leaders unwelcome in Vancouver churches include a chap with no surname calling himself Jesus, who alienated ecclesiastical panjandrums by calling them snakes and Saul of Tarsus who demonstrated a worrying, dehumanizing insensitivity when he invited his opponents to remove their own testicles.
A growing number of Christians in Metro Vancouver want to stop U.S. evangelist, Franklin Graham, from leading a major crusade next month in the city.
Several church leaders, including the homosexual Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Peter Elliot, are opposing the crusade in Vancouver by Graham because, supposedly, he “regularly denigrates Islam, homosexuals, Democratic party politicians, and atheists”. Graham says he is there to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, just as his father did.
The fact that Graham is coming not to talk about Islam, homosexuals, the Democratic party or atheists, but to preach the Gospel with the intent of saving souls is beside the point: he must be stopped because liberal inclusion simply isn’t inclusive enough to cope with a different point of view — diversity be damned, writes David of Samizdat, an orthodox Anglican blogger.
“Other prominent Christian leaders unwelcome in Vancouver churches include a chap with no surname calling himself Jesus, who alienated ecclesiastical panjandrums by calling them snakes and Saul of Tarsus who demonstrated a worrying, dehumanizing insensitivity when he invited his opponents to remove their own testicles.
“Thanks to the vigilance of Vancouver’s church leaders, the city will remain a Christian free zone, a safe space for Islam, homosexuals, Democratic party politicians, and atheists.
“If Franklin Graham is not allowed into immigration friendly Canada, he will have the singular honor of being just about the only foreign national prevented from entering our borders.”
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson recently met with evangelical, Catholic and mainline Protestant leaders to discuss concerns about the visit of Graham, who, he says, regularly denigrates Islam, homosexuals, Democratic party politicians and atheists.
Provocative statements by Graham have become increasingly worrying to many Metro Vancouver Christians, since the evangelist presided at the January inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, who criticizes Muslim immigrant, and after a lone gunman was charged last month with murdering six Muslims in Quebec.
“The mayor is concerned about safety. The kind of statements Graham makes about Muslims and gays can really inflame the situation,” said Vancouver City councilor Tim Stevenson, who coordinated the meeting and is also the first openly homosexual person ordained by the United Church of Canada.
Among the 14 Christian leaders attending the gathering with Robertson on Feb. 10, were Vancouver Catholic Archbishop Michael Miller; Regent College academic dean, Paul Spilsbury; Richard Topping, president of Vancouver School of Theology; Jonathan Bird, president of the evangelical organization City Gate Leadership Forum, and Peter Elliot, Dean of Christ Church (Anglican) Cathedral.
Others who attended the meeting did not want their names made public at this time. Similar privacy concerns currently surround a petition circulating among clergy, that calls on Festival of Hope organizers to find a replacement for Graham at the March 3 to 5 event, which is expected to draw more than 25,000 people.
“Franklin Graham’s recent public comments compromise Jesus’s mission of justice and love for all. For instance, he has said that all Muslims should be banned from the United States because Islam is a ‘very evil and wicked religion’ at war with the Christian West,” says the petition.
“He dehumanizes the LGBTQ+ community, urging that gays not be allowed to enter churches or even come as guests into Christian homes.”
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