Christians United Condemns The Nashville Manifesto

Not everyone in the Christian community is on board with yesterday’s Nashville Statement.
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) put together the document. It includes a preamble and 14 articles on human sexuality.
It blatantly discriminates against the LGBT community and affirms the beliefs of a heteronormative society. The statement also condemns Christians who support the community.
People were quick to criticize the manifesto and 150 religious leaders who signed it. They especially took issue with the document’s release during Hurricane Harvey.
However, other members of faith are explicitly standing up against it.
Christians United is a new manifesto signed by over 300 religious leaders, educators, and activists. Anyone can sign this statement at the website.
It too includes a preamble and several articles. These, however, preach ideas of acceptance and inclusiveness.
Its first article, for example, reads:
‘WE AFFIRM that every human being is created in the image and likeness of God and that the great diversity expressed in humanity through our wide spectrum of unique sexualities and gender identities is a perfect reflection of the magnitude of God’s creative work.

WE DENY any teaching that suggests God’s creative intent is limited to a gender binary or that God’s desire for human romantic relationships is only to be expressed in heterosexual relationships between one man and one woman.’
In a time when more LGBT people are being killed in the United States, declarations like the Nashville Statement are especially heinous, if not altogether surprising.
A show of defiance against such discrimination is crucial.
The Liturgists, a self-described ‘collective of artists and creators who create sacred art and experiences for the spiritually homeless and frustrated’, released their own statement on the matter.
In it, they express the belief ‘all people have full autonomy over their bodies, sexual orientations, and gender identities, and the diversity of identities reflects the creative power of a loving God’.
And they also ‘stand in solidarity with LGBTQ folks, and commit to standing alongside them in the work of resisting those who persecute them’.

While the Nashville Statement certainly had its share of supporters, many slammed it. Several people now are also criticizing the Christians United and Liturgists statement, but numerous are also supporting them.