Sunday Thoughts: Has God Gone Woke?

A United Methodist Church in Florida hosted a session where children were told drag queen ideology aligns with the Bible, in what many are calling a blasphemous perversion of Christian principles. The Methodist Church has been struggling with LGBTQ issues which have left some congregations to split – see here – but a topic for another time.

Meanwhile, in a clip highlighted by Twitter user @WokePreacherTV, two young girls sat on the steps of the altar in front of the church’s congregation while a preacher explained which Bible verse pertained to drag queen Ms. Penny Cost’s degenerate lifestyle. Roll the video below.

The church’s woke preacher said to the girls, “One of the things I think is great about Ms. Penny Cost is she reminds us that we follow a God that calls us to not conform to things of this world, that we’re supposed to be transformed by the renewal of our minds.” The preacher suggests in a bizarre twist that normal traditional families are of the world, and going “woke” is coming out of the world. He cites Romans 12:2.

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

The woke preacher, in an effort to make God cool says, “That means that what I think today may have to change tomorrow if I continue to renew my mind. And it’s so cool that we serve a God that calls us to continue to grow and continue to change into something new and to not be bound by the ways that the world confines us sometimes, that we’re supposed to live differently.” More astonishingly, it appears the priest is aiding in the grooming of children toward these alternative lifestyles.

So is God constantly changing and gone woke to be cool?

Trannies in churches seem to be the latest attempt of many Christian preachers to fill up their pews. We won’t even go into a rant about LGBTQ and their lifestyles – this is another topic on its own. What caught many people’s eye is the caviler approach this particular religious leader uses Biblical text to justify his belief. This “situation ethics” approach to morality is not the first time to be proposed.

Situation ethics holds that moral judgments must be made within the context of the entirety of a situation and that all normative features of a situation must be viewed as a whole. Situation ethics was developed by American Anglican theologian Joseph F. Fletcher, whose book Situation Ethics: The New Morality (1966) arose from his objections to both moral absolutism (the view that there are fixed universal moral principles that have binding authority in all circumstances) and moral relativism (the view that there are no fixed moral principles at all).

The term situation ethics is somewhat passé, but its ideas today are alive and well. When the preacher discussed trannies in churches, he used the justification of Romans 12:2. In a twist of the text that tries to say “any” change, or a change that does not conform to today’s norms, is good. But is this what this text says?

In 1 John 5:19, it states, “And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.” So in Romans 12:2, when it says, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world …,” it refers to coming out of the wickedness of this world. This is just one passage that states this, but there are many more with this same theme – see here.

Of course, this is not speaking of new ideas that are set within an existing absolute moral framework. So, what about this idea of shifting moral ethics? What is said Biblically of God’s changing of morality? There are examples of entering into new dangerous “strange teachings.” Consider the following in Hebrews 13:7-9.

“Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. ⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. ⁹ Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings …”

Some might suggest, well, wait a minute, didn’t God change from the Old and New Testament thinking of a moral code? But was this really a change or a mere amplification of an existing moral code? We can see this in Christ’s sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, wherein it states in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill [make complete] them.” Christ goes on and gives several examples of this. Consider below one example where Christ amplifies the sixth commandment not to kill in Matthew 5:21-22 and does NOT change the law.

^{“21 “}You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment. ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment …”

But man is clever at twisting and turning Biblical scriptures for their own use. Non-Biblical believers especially love to do this to trap believers in “gotcha moments.” The secular world actually spends a great deal of time dabbling into Biblical notions – here was one recent; “Biden Warns “Nuclear Armageddon.” Of course, none of these coopting the Bible attempts are new. We leave you with one last consideration in Ecclesiastes 1:9 below.

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

Has God gone “woke?” No, but some of his supposed preachers have. Give us your thoughts on whether God has an absolute vs. changing moral code (i.e., situation ethics) or trannies in churches are a wonderful “new thing” in the comment section below.

See more Sunday Thoughts posts.