A day after evangelical leaders released a manifesto railing against same-sex marriage and the LGBTQ community, hundreds of Christian leaders and thousands of other concerned citizens have come forward with strong messages of inclusion. “We stand in solidarity with LGBTQ folks, and commit to standing alongside them in the work of resisting those who persecute them,” read a statement released by The Liturgists, a faith-based artists’ collective that produces a popular podcast by the same name. The affirmations were a response to Tuesday’s “Nashville Statement” by a coalition of over 150 evangelical leaders. “There are many ‘evangelicals’ who are trying to convince other evangelicals that homosexual immorality is a special case,” wrote Denny Burk, one of the architects of the Nashville Statement, in a defense of the document. “Anyone who persistently rejects God’s revelation about sexual holiness and virtue is rejecting Christianity altogether, even if they claim otherwise.”The divisive and bizarrely-timed statement drew harsh criticism from many other Christians, members of the LGBTQ community and even the mayor of Nashville.

Source: Huffington Post August 30, 2017 23:26 UTC