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Nigerian Evangelical Anglicans and Methodists on Same Page Over Homosexuality
Both churches applaud spilt in worldwide churches to maintain orthodoxy
Deepening collaboration continues between the two churches
By David W. Virtue, DD
www.virtueonline.org
March 26, 2021
Nigerian Methodists made it clear this week that they support the split in the United Methodist Church in America over that church's acceptance of homosexual practice.
The Nigerian United Methodist leaders' statement strongly supports the "Protocol" proposal for the separation of our denomination into at least two new ones and rejects the perspective of the more liberal "African Voices of Unity" group.
The Nigerian UMC leaders declare, "we are traditionalists rooted in the Biblical Christianity," "strongly believing that homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."
Nigerian United Methodists describe themselves as standing with the Africa Initiative as well as U.S.-based United Methodist renewal groups, specifically naming IRD/UMAction, Good News, the Confessing Movement, and the Wesleyan Covenant Association (WCA).
The Nigerian leaders' statement makes clear that they felt prompted to make their own declaration in response to the attention paid to the "Africa Voice of Unity" group of just ten more liberal African individuals, that has recently been promoted by some liberal Americans.
The Anglican Church of Nigeria is still a member of the Anglican Communion led by Archbishop Justin Welby. Nigeria is a founder member of GAFCON, the (Global Anglican Future Conference) that formed as a counter point to the revisionist/liberal/progressivism of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. It is only a matter of time before they add the Church of England, which is rapidly heading in the same direction as the North American provinces on homosexuality.
The Nigerian Anglican province is a leading light in GAFCON and the most strident voice for orthodoxy in faith and morals in the Anglican Communion. They, too, have applauded and supported the split in The American Episcopal Church over homosexuality which resulted in the birth of the Anglican Church in North America.
The Nigerian primate and his bishops will not be attending the next Lambeth Conference in 2022.
Despite a recent dustup over a statement put out by the ACNA over what appeared to them to be a compromise over homosexuality, the relationship remains firm between the two Anglican provinces.
The Nigerian province remains the toughest and most determined in its defense of heterosexual marriage and their refusal to compromise with homosexuality and homosexual marriage is absolute.
The Nigerians view Presiding Bishop Curry's intent to push the pansexual agenda of the Episcopal Church into Africa as nothing short of evil, aided and abetted by the U.S. Government. The situation brought out this line from Primate Ndukuba, "...homosexuality is a "deadly virus" and "[homosexuality] is likened to a Yeast that should be urgently and radically expunged and excised lest it affects the whole dough". He also stated that "secular governments are adopting aggressive campaign for global homosexual culture." (sic)
They Nigerians will have no truck with any Western Church or Government that aids and abets pansexuality and the LGBTQ movement. They view it as undermining traditional marriage and entry into to the Kingdom of God and they see the wrath of God against such sin.
They were a key province in the formulation of Lambeth Resolution 1:10, which upheld marriage between a man and a woman, forbidding homosexual practice. The vote was 520 to 70 with 45 abstentions. It was overwhelmingly passed by 80 percent of the communion's bishops, and they will hold Archbishop Justin Welby's feet to the fire should he tip his province over the edge and into the homosexual abyss.
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