Letters to the Editor

Published and Unpublished

Church of Christ - Duluth

318 N. 18th Ave. E.

Duluth, MN  55812

(218)728-1087

Evangelist:  Kieran Murphy

Please feel free to email us with your Bible questions or comments.

Unpublished - To the editor of the Sun of Lowell - 5/29/02: An Open Letter - Homosexual Priests.

To My Catholic Friends and Neighbors:

Many of you have been spiritually crushed not only by the sexual scandal inundating your Church but also by how it has been handled by the hierarchy. For the first time some of you are seriously questioning whether or not your Church is holy and apostolic.

If she were an apostolic church many things would have been done differently. According to apostolic tradition, for example, it was required that pastors (who were also known as either elders or presbyters) “be above reproach” and “have a good reputation with those outside the church” (1 Timothy 3:2, 7). Any pastor guilty of sexual immorality with a minor child or even a consenting adult forfeits both qualifications! In apostolic times such a man would never be allowed to continue as a pastor in a church of Christ because these qualifications, as with all the others mentioned in 1 Timothy, were not optional but necessary – he “must” possess these things.

Has it escaped your attention that with all that has been said by the hierarchy about this scandal, no appeal has been made to the sacred scriptures for the solution? Then again, submitting to these writings has never been a strong point of the Catholic Church, especially as it pertains to the pastorate. For not only do the New Testament scriptures insist that a pastor “be above reproach” and “have a good reputation,” but they also say he “must be … the husband of one wife” and “one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity” (2 Timothy 3:2, 4; cf. Titus 1:5-9). But the Catholic Church disregards these apostolic traditions! She forbids her pastors from marrying and having children and then allows them to remain pastors even when they have brought reproach upon themselves and sullied their reputations through sexual immorality.

The Catholic Church is not an apostolic church! For apostolic churches were known for their devotion to the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42) and for holding firmly to their traditions (1 Corinthians 11:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:15). But the Catholic Church is notorious for disregarding these traditions and not only with regard to the pastorate. Apostolic tradition, for example, teaches that God is the only proper object of worship (Matthew 4:10) and that Jesus is the only mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5-6). But as a Catholic you are taught that that Mary is also a mediatrix between God and man who deserves to be honored in ways that can only be described as worship. So what are you to do?

Dear friends, can you really love Jesus and not do what He has commanded through the inspired apostles who walked and talked with Him in that special time? Can you be loyal to Him and in fellowship with God the Father while refusing to obey His apostles? In answer to the first question, Jesus says “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments … He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me … If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word …” (John 14:15, 21, 23). In answer to the second, Jesus told the apostles “…if they kept My word, they will keep yours also” (John 15:20) and John said, “We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:6).

Friend, you cannot be in love with Christ nor can you be His loyal follower while being in a Church that is in such rebellion to apostolic tradition. So what do you need to do? “Come out of her … so that you will not participate in her sins” (Rev 18:4). Your soul’s destiny stands at the crossroads. Its time for you to make a decision. For more of the information you need please contact us.

With love for all,

Kieran Murphy

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Published in the Duluth Budgeeter News - 2/11/06: Accepting Homosexuals

Sarah Fleener reports (2/6/06) that some area churches accept “full participation of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered … persons.” This is in stark contrast to what churches of God did under the direction of inspired men.

Homosexuality was uncommon in the apostolic age. Furthermore, while homosexuals were often converted, none of the churches consisted of homosexuals. How could it be otherwise? For through His apostles, Jesus teaches: “the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

What became of the homosexual converts? They stopped being homosexuals! Notice the words of Paul: “Such WERE some of you” (vs. 11). The apostle was not addressing “homosexual Christians,” but former homosexuals who were NOW Christians. What a contrast between the apostolic times and what Ms Fleener reports in her article. However, it does illustrate how far some churches have distanced themselves from what Jesus taught through His inspired spokesmen.

The same sex controversy deserves more attention than I can give it in a brief letter to the editor. Therefore, I welcome any further discussion that would allow me to defend and clarify the Bible’s message about homosexuality.

Yours sincerely,
Kieran Murphy – evangelist
 

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