D.L. Foster takes a historical look at how sex in the church has been something like the 600 pound gorilla that everybody knows about, but will not honestly discuss. In his latest post, he uses an excerpt from the Thaddeus Russell article entitled “The Color of Discipline: Civil Rights and Black Sexuality.”
“Almost sixty years ago the late Harlem US congressman Reverend Adam Clayton Powell Jr. wrote an article entitled, “Sex in the Church.” Appearing in the November 1951 issue of Ebony Magazine, the article first spoke about the need for sex education in the African-American Church. Revered Powell told a story about an unidentified pastor’s grief over the death of his handsome and talented personal male assistant. Powell described the funeral of that of a scene out of Arabian nights with a lavish spread of flowers and a very expensive coffin. But what Powell found most disturbing was the preacher’s quavering voice, tear soaked eyes and shaking body. The pastor even attempted to leap into the casket! He went on to write that the minister’s broken sobs were those of someone who had just lost his lover. As it turned out, the two had been involved in an unnatural relationship for a number of years and the entire congregation knew about it. Today this “man of God” is one of the most powerful and respected Negro pastors in all America. The preacher Powell was referring to was Detroit Prophet Jones (James Francis Jones) and his longtime companion James Walton. Jones was said to be very flamboyant and exhibited feminine tendencies. And he himself admitted that he lived differently from other men!”
While it may be easy to describe homosexuality as sin, those of us who are WHOLE bible-believing Christians must also be just as fervent when it comes to self-professing Christians who rationalize sex outside the confines of marriage. As Foster pointed out in his piece, Powell was no saint when it came to marriage.
Calling out sin is what Christ did in his ministry. But to suggest that one sin is worse than the other is nothing more than self deception.
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Sex In The Church
by Duane on March 28th, 2010 at 9:49 amD.L. Foster takes a historical look at how sex in the church has been something like the 600 pound gorilla that everybody knows about, but will not honestly discuss. In his latest post, he uses an excerpt from the Thaddeus Russell article entitled “The Color of Discipline: Civil Rights and Black Sexuality.”
While it may be easy to describe homosexuality as sin, those of us who are WHOLE bible-believing Christians must also be just as fervent when it comes to self-professing Christians who rationalize sex outside the confines of marriage. As Foster pointed out in his piece, Powell was no saint when it came to marriage.
Calling out sin is what Christ did in his ministry. But to suggest that one sin is worse than the other is nothing more than self deception.
Sphere: Related Content