{"id":2161648,"date":"2024-01-29T07:50:02","date_gmt":"2024-01-29T12:50:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-christians-who-love-their-gay-and-trans-neighbors-wont-attend-their-weddings\/"},"modified":"2024-01-29T07:59:17","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T12:59:17","slug":"why-christians-who-love-their-gay-and-trans-neighbors-wont-attend-their-weddings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-christians-who-love-their-gay-and-trans-neighbors-wont-attend-their-weddings\/","title":{"rendered":"Christians who support their LGBTQ+ neighbors won&#8217;t attend their weddings"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwhy-christians-who-love-their-gay-and-trans-neighbors-wont-attend-their-weddings%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2161648&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"article-content\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Alistair Begg&#8217;s Dangerous Advice on Attending LGBTQ+ Weddings<\/h2>\n<p>Alistair Begg, a 71-year-old evangelical Scottish pastor of Cleveland\u2019s Parkside\u2062 Church, who has\u200d an influential\u2063 radio ministry called \u201cTruth For Life,\u201d \u200bshould repent of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?app=desktop&#038;v=rXDYYPLwgYE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the dangerous advice he gave on his program<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In response to a question \u2064from a grandmother as to whether she should attend \u200bher grandson\u2019s wedding to \u201ca transgender person,\u201d Begg said that, so \u2063long as the grandson\u2064 knows that she\u200b \u201ccan\u2019t countenance \u2026 the choices that he has made \u2064in\u2062 life,\u201d \u200bshe should \u201cgo \u200cto the \u200cceremony\u201d and \u201cbuy them a gift.\u201d\u200c The context of Begg\u2019s\u2063 advice indicates it applies also to \u2062gay unions. \u2064Indeed, a wedding involving transgenderism\u2064 invariably entails a homosexual component, for the \u201ctransgender person\u201d is \u200beither the\u2064 same sex as the spouse \u2062or pretending to be \u2064so.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2-long d-flex justify-content-center\" style=\"margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center; \" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-2145041550\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1379703300879-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f443f5b863fe719daf151de633328fb0 fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f443f5b863fe719daf151de633328fb0\"><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Not an Agree-to-Disagree \u200cIssue<\/h2>\n<ol><\/ol>\n<p>From \u2063a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/if-youre-not-indoctrinating-your-children-then-someone-else-is-allie-beth-stuckey-on-woke-education-entertainment-and-self-love\/\" title=\"\u2018If You\u2019re Not Indoctrinating Your Children, Then Someone Else Is\u2019: Allie Beth Stuckey On Woke Education, Entertainment, And \u2018Self Love\u2019\">biblical perspective<\/a>, attendance at a gay or transgender wedding \u200dis no more \u2063an agree-to-disagree point of \u2063practice\u200c than is a Christian attending the marriage between a\u200c man and his mother, or a Christian going to \u200ban idol\u2019s temple as\u2063 a non-worshipper to maintain\u2062 contacts. There is no faithful early Christian leader who would have\u2064 advocated such attendance. Remember that in a\u200c transgender or gay union, the parties declare their intent to \u2062sin without remorse as long \u200cas they live and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/michigan-state-university-teaching-conference-includes-discussions-segregated-by-race-with-white-people-forced-to-accept-their-white-privilege\/\" title=\"Michigan State University Teaching Conference Includes Discussions Segregated By Race, With White People Forced To Accept Their \u2018White Privilege\u2019\">invite attendees<\/a> to celebrate that commitment\u200d with them.<\/p>\n<p>Nor is it loving to attend such a ritual event, since \u200cthe attendance \u2064speaks\u2062 louder than any words claiming disagreement. Attendees are expected to offer expressions of joyful affirmation at the ritual and\u2063 reception: applaud, smile, congratulate \u200bin a receiving \u2062line, lift one\u2019s glass\u2064 repeatedly with others to toast the \u2062couple, share in a festive meal, and likely dance. The whole atmosphere conveys \u200bthe celebration of a good, which one\u2019s presence and participation\u2063 acknowledge tacitly, if not directly. By\u2064 attendees lending\u2063 tacit acceptance, those engaged in this sacrilegious parody of a true wedding are led further down the path of sexual self-degradation and ultimately destruction.<\/p>\n<p>Given Begg\u2019s status as an elderly and \u2062trusted spiritual \u2064leader, his advice is\u2063 a sign of\u200d how deeply LGBT rot has seeped into the evangelical \u200chouse. It shows the degree to which many Christians are ill-informed about clear scriptural guidance on a homosexual\u200c or\u200d transgender \u200bwedding, unskilled at analogical reasoning, and so\u2064 captivated by \u2064cultural influences that\u2063 they balk\u2063 at the scriptural\u200c view that homosexual practice and\u2064 transgenderism are worse \u2062than even adult-consensual incest.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Misguided Justification of Future Evangelism<\/h2>\n<ol><\/ol>\n<p>Begg justified his \u2064response by appealing to an alleged evangelistic hope:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Your love for them may catch them off\u2063 guard,\u200b but your absence will simply reinforce the\u200c fact \u200dthat they said, \u2018These people are\u2064 what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.\u2019 And\u200d it is a fine line, isn\u2019t it? \u2026 \u2062We\u2019re going \u2064to have to \u2063take \u2062that risk \u2062a lot more if we want to build\u2062 bridges \u2064into the hearts and lives of those who don\u2019t understand Jesus and \u200cdon\u2019t understand that\u2063 He is \u2063a King.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>If Christians want to convey love,\u2062 there are other \u2014 and truer \u2014 ways of doing so than attending a celebration\u2062 of sin. Contact can be continued \u200dafter the event\u200c in shared meals and expressions of concern for well-being that do not entangle the Christian \u2062in the formal endorsement of immorality.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, Jesus ate with sexual sinners and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lets-get-our-filibuster-history-right\/\" title=\"Let\u2019s Get Our Filibuster History Right\">tax collectors<\/a> who were \u2063interested in \u2063his message. Yet that\u2019s a world of \u200cdifference from attending \u200ba ritual \u200dcelebration of the \u2062tax collectors\u2019 economic exploitation or going to a ritual celebration of \u200ban immoral and unnatural sexual\u2062 union\u200c where the participants are committing themselves to engage in this immorality lifelong.<\/p>\n<p>Even apart from\u200c the first and\u2063 foremost concern of offending God, attendance at a gay or trans wedding is far more likely to have a negative effect on the Christian\u200b attending than to\u2063 have a salutary effect on\u2063 those \u200dtying the\u2062 knot to accept a true \u200cgospel.<\/p>\n<p>In the case Begg cites,\u200b although the grandson \u201cknows\u201d his grandmother doesn\u2019t agree with\u200b the\u200c marriage, her\u2064 attendance\u2062 at\u2064 the ceremony and reception conveys she can\u2019t be <em>that<\/em> opposed to\u2062 what\u200c is happening. Else, she \u200dwould\u200b be weeping at \u200bthe ceremony, \u2064not making merry\u200b.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3e5d3dd6db1c08a297bc39da53d8cca fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-10\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-d3e5d3dd6db1c08a297bc39da53d8cca\"><\/div>\n<p>This\u200c then\u2064 becomes the basis for \u200cthe grandson to extort from the\u2062 grandmother acceptance of the relationship in the future. Knowing the grandmother has already caved on her \u201cprinciples\u201d by attending their celebration, the grandson can presume further concessions \u200cby using her desire\u200c for \u200ba continuing relationship as a form of blackmail.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, the\u200d grandmother is more likely to be \u200dinfluenced to accept\u200d the validity of the union than the grandson is to be influenced\u2064 to renounce his immorality. Through her attendance, she has \u200bbecome desensitized to the idea of a\u200b homosexual or transgender union. Her conscience has been seared\u200d to\u2062 some extent.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, the \u2063grandmother would be stumbling other believers, especially the young, for they can see that attendance implies limited acceptance, whatever the grandmother might say. Those peddling such an evangelistic or missionary justification,\u200d knowingly or not, have become partners \u200b(<em>koinonoi<\/em>, 2 Cor.\u2063 6:14) to evil, compromised Christian morality, offended God, and stumbled the weak\u200b.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Biblical Analogy<\/h2>\n<ol><\/ol>\n<p>The \u2063closest analogue to a trans or gay\u200c wedding would be an adult-consensual incestuous wedding. Incest is a comparably severe offense, \u200band both involve \u200dpeople who are too much formally or structurally alike (one as regards kinship, the other as regards sex or \u201cgender\u201d). Can anyone \u2062imagine Paul giving Begg\u2019s advice to the situation described \u200din 1 Corinthians 5, where a self-professed \u201cChristian\u201d man is sleeping with his\u2064 stepmother?<\/p>\n<p>To claim Paul gives us no advice \u200din 1 Corinthians 5 about attending an incestuous wedding, just\u2063 because it isn\u2019t explicitly\u2064 discussed, would be misplaced. It is inconceivable that Paul would countenance attendance at an incestuous wedding\u200c as a means\u2062 to building an evangelistic bridge, after demanding \u201cin the name of \u200cthe Lord Jesus\u201d that they cease to associate with the incestuous man, noting how abhorrent the behavior is to God, and insisting that they mourn rather \u2062than celebrate an unrepentant sinner facing eternal exclusion from God\u2019s \u2064kingdom.\u2064 Telling the Corinthians to\u200b \u201cflee sexual immorality (<em>porneia<\/em>)\u201d (1 Cor. 6:18)\u2063 is antithetical to attending the ritual celebration of incest\u200b.<\/p>\n<p>Homosexual practice and\u2064 transgenderism are worse than incest because they\u200b violate what \u2064Jesus\u2064 defined as the foundation\u200d upon which all other sexual standards are predicated: \u201cmale and\u200b female [God] \u2063 made them\u201d (Gen. 1:27) and, \u201cFor this reason \u2063a man \u2026 will become joined to\u200b his woman, and they [later: the two] shall become one flesh\u201d (Gen. 2:24).<\/p>\n<p>Granted, Paul is dealing\u2063 with a self-professed Christian engaged in \u2063the behavior. \u200dBut Begg doesn\u2019t even \u2063inquire whether the grandson is a self-professed Christian. Not that the Christian profession of the offender would make any difference in\u2063 Paul denouncing the celebration of sin.<\/p>\n<p>Evangelical leaders\u2062 who seek to persuade fellow believers that it is permissible to attend a transgender or gay wedding have, at least on this particular point,\u200b been influenced \u200cmore by their culture than\u2064 by God\u2019s Word\u200b. This is especially true of an elder statesman of the evangelical world\u200c like Alistair Begg. His\u200c ministry should not be supported until he repents\u200b of \u2062this well-intentioned \u2063but sinful\u200c advice.<\/p>\n<div class=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f34d9aaa76854cc3dd6503002a5162b6 fdrlst__b89e9-after-post-content\" id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-f34d9aaa76854cc3dd6503002a5162b6\"><\/div>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<\/div>\n<p> <\/p>\n<h2> Why is attending a gay or trans wedding\u2062 not considered a loving act\u200d by the author?<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Er?\u2063 Would Paul say, \u201cAs long as \u2063the man knows that you can\u2019t countenance the choices he has made in life, go to the ceremony \u200band buy them a gift\u201d? Absolutely not. Paul\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trial-over-2015-france-terrorist-attacks-begins-20-men-accused-of-involvement-with-jihadist-rampage\/\" title=\"Trial over 2015 France terrorist attacks begins, 20 men accused of involvement with jihadist rampage\">clear instruction<\/a> was\u200c for the Corinthian church to \u201cpurge the evil person from among you\u201d (1 Corinthians 5:13).<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, attending \u200ca gay or trans wedding is not a loving act, despite what Begg suggests. Love involves speaking \u2063the truth in love \u2063and pointing others to repentance and\u200d faith in Jesus Christ. It does not involve \u2063celebrating or endorsing sinful behavior.<\/p>\n<p>It is also important to address Begg\u2019s claim\u200b that attending such \u2064weddings is\u2064 a means of building bridges and evangelizing. While \u200dit is true\u2064 that Christians are called to engage with \u200cthe world and be a light in the darkness, attending a gay or trans wedding does not achieve this goal. It instead sends a mixed message and\u2064 compromises the clear message of \u200dthe gospel.<\/p>\n<p>As Christians, we are called to love all people, including those who identify as LGBTQ+. However, love does not mean \u200dendorsing or affirming their choices. Love involves speaking the truth in love and pointing others towards the hope and transformation found \u200din Jesus Christ. This may involve difficult conversations and\u2064 decisions, but it is the only way to faithfully follow Christ and\u200c uphold biblical truth.<\/p>\n<p>In \u200cconclusion, Alistair Begg\u2019s advice on attending LGBTQ+ weddings is dangerous and contrary to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/macarthur-the-end-of-frivolous-religion\/\" title=\"MacArthur: The End of Frivolous Religion?\">biblical teaching<\/a>. Christians should not compromise their convictions\u200c and\u200d participate in celebrations of sin. Instead,\u2062 they should seek to\u200b love and engage with all people in a way that points them towards the truth and\u200d hope found in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Alistair Begg, a 71-year-old Scottish pastor of Cleveland\u2019s Parkside Church, known for his radio ministry &#8220;Truth For Life,&#8221; should reconsider the harmful guidance he provided on his show. When asked by a grandmother if she should attend her grandson&#8217;s wedding to a transgender individual, Begg&#8217;s response was concerning<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2781,"featured_media":2161649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2161648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161648","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2781"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2161648"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2161648\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2161649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2161648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2161648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2161648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}