Religion and sexuality – Page 124

Another possible US connection to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill: Disciple Nations Alliance and Stephen Langa

Stephen Langa has been one of the public faces of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda. He organized the ex-gay conference in Kampala which brought Scott Lively and Caleb Brundidge to the Ugandan Parliament. He organized the post-conference citizens’ meetings which led to calls for new legislation. He was present in the gallery when the Anti-Homosexuality Bill 2009 was introduced. And he was one of the debaters present to defend the bill in a public forum held at Makerere University. Along with Martin Ssempa, he is probably the most visible non-governmental defender of the bill to outside observers.

Throughout the saga of this bill, observers outside Uganda have been looking for US connections to those heavily involved in introducing or defending the bill. Among many influences and connections, I have looked at New Apostolic Reformation teachers, the College of Prayer and the Fellowship Foundation. The post introduces another possible player. I say possible only because I have not been able to confirm the extent to which the Disciple Nations Alliance (DNA) is aware of Stephen Langa’s anti-homosexual activities in Kampala. One thing is certain, Langa is an affiliate and vital aspect of the DNA mission in Africa.

I have looking into since a commenter here provided a link to the DNA website. In response to an email, Scott Allen director of the DNA office in Phoenix wrote to say that would not have a comment until he studied the matter. However, while waiting, I can post some links and articles as background

Here is a description of that relationship from the DNA website:

Affiliate Spotlight: Transforming Nations Alliance

11/18/2009

The Disciple Nations Alliance is a worldwide movement of individuals, organizations and networks united by a common conviction: The necessity of Biblical Truth, expressed through church-based wholistic ministry for social and cultural transformation. DNA “Global Affiliates” are self-governing organizations that share a common purpose, and adhere to the same core beliefs and operational principles. There are currently ten affiliates in Asia, Africa and the Americas. The DNA affiliate in Uganda is called Transformation Nations Alliance.

The first DNA Vision Conference in Uganda occurred in 2000. It was facilitated by Bob Moffitt and Scott Allen, and several of the key leaders of the influential Kampala Pentecostal Church (now called Watoto Church) attended. The second conference held the following year (facilitated by Darrow Miller and Bob Moffitt) was hosted by a committee led by Watoto Church elder Stephen Langa. Today, Stephen is Director of Transformation Nations Alliance and Moses Mengwau is Head of Operations.

Stephen Langa is a member of the Africa Working Group of Samaritan Strategy Africa, the network whose objective is to spread DNA training across the continent of Africa. In addition to serving as an Elder at Watoto Church, he also provides leadership to the Family Life Network, a pro-family advocacy organization. He also serves as Director of the Uganda Youth Forum, a youth ministry organization founded by the First Lady of Uganda in 2001.

The mission of Transformation Nations Alliance is to engage and disciple all sectors of society, through a biblical worldview centred, holistic approach to ministry, leading to the restoration of God’s original plan for creation. Towards this end, TNA has trained and mentored a team of certified Ugandan trainers who regularly facilitate Vision Conferences throughout the nation. Hundreds of Ugandan church leaders have been impacted. In addition, these trainers have been called upon to train the local staff of several large mission and development organizations, including World Vision and Compassion International.

Churches that have been impacted by TNA have gained a new vision for their role in society, and as a result, have begun to reach out and bring healing to their communities.

In an article about Stephen Langa’s church Watolo Community Church, Langa is noted as one of the leaders.

Today, Watoto church leaders such as Stephen Langa and Pastor Franco Onaga are extending the influence of the church into the various spheres of Ugandan society, including government, family, and even training programs for the Kampala police force. Watoto is truly a model church that is bringing the light of Christ and the healing of His Kingdom to Uganda, Africa and the whole world.

And then in 2006, Darrow Miller, co-founder of DNA recounts Stephen Langa’s efforts to overturn the inclusion of homosexuality in the Equal Opportunity Bill. Miller describes Langa as a “co-laborer and good friend.” Langa notes that those trained by DNA helped to mobilize Parliament to defeat the inclusion of homosexuality as those eligible for equal opportunity.

As I was finishing up this post, I noticed that Gay City News broke this story here. There is more on this there with additional reporting about Langa’s work with Food for the Hungry.

I hope to have comment from DNA in a follow up post.

Charisma Magazine reports on 7 mountains teaching and Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Last week, Charisma Magazine published an online article as a follow up on my reporting on the views of New Apostolic Reformation teachers in relation to the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Other observers claim the bill may be the result of charismatic teaching on the seven mountains of cultural influence. Popularized by such leaders as Texas Bible teacher Lance Wallnau and pastor Johnny Enlow of Daystar Church in Atlanta, the teaching exhorts Christians to build God’s kingdom by taking dominion in the areas of business, government, religion, family, media, education and entertainment.

In a blog posting, Christian counselor Warren Throckmorton noted that Ugandan Bishop Julius Oyet, founder of Life Line Ministries and a strong supporter of the bill, included possessing the seven mountains of culture as part of a 16-year ministry vision he outlined in 2004.

Oyet, also head of the Born Again Faith Federation, which claims more than10,000 affiliated churches, reportedly prayed with fellow Ugandan pastor Martin Ssempa outside Parliament after the anti-homosexuality bill was introduced in October, thanking God that Uganda would not be destroyed because its leaders were in obedience to God on the issue.

“I think that the theological soil for at least some of the proponents is that a nation’s laws about private consensual behavior must reflect Christian teaching in order for the culture to be preserved, reclaimed and reformed,” Throckmorton wrote.

“American teachers are exhorting their followers that national salvation is more vital to the mission of the church than individual salvation. Ideas have consequences. If the Ugandan believers viewed individual salvation as more vital, I wonder if the Ugandan proposal would have been advanced.”

Despite teaching which could lead many listeners to believe governments should reflect apostolic teaching on sexuality, Lance Wallnau and Peter Wagner both denounce the approach of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill.

Wallnau:

In a statement to Charisma, Wallnau, author of The 7 Mountain Mandate: Impacting Culture, Discipling Nations, said the seven mountains message is not about imposing laws but liberating spheres of influence. Although “the government in its sphere must enforce sanctions,” he said the proposed anti-homosexuality bill “seems like a severe sanction.”

He said Christians who crusade for social reform should consider the outcome of the Prohibition Act, which outlawed alcohol but also fueled organized crime.

“Christians had made a massive impact in the ‘temperance movement’ to stop drunkenness. Then they overreached with draconian legislation called the Volstead Act, and the backlash legalized alcohol,” Wallnau said. “To my brothers in Uganda I would say, ‘Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves.'”

Wagner:

Although he commended Ugandan lawmakers for attempting to stand for biblical principles, he said legislating morality is not feasible. If Uganda wanted to legislate biblical principles, it would have to criminalize adultery and premarital sex and not single out homosexuality, he said.

“My position is that this is not a good way to do it,” Wagner said. “To legislate against sexual orientation is probably crossing the line. It’s like making a law whether parents can spank their children or not. It’s much too much of a personal ethical issue. … I would support raising up a national conscience against homosexuality and allowing the Holy Spirit to work that way.”

Wagner’s statement is interesting because he endorsed Johnny Enlow’s book on the 7 mountains teaching which essentially called for criminalization of homosexuality (Enlow also rejected the Anti-Homosexuality Bill).

In any case, I think these statements might be of more importance to many of the pentecostal teachers in Uganda than Rick Warren’s statement. The difference in coverage is unfortunate give the relevance of these religious leaders to the story still unfolding in Uganda.

Richard Cohen’s contribution to pass the Anti-Homosexuality Bill

One of the major reasons Ugandans give for their support for the Anti-Homosexuality Bill is to stop recruitment of children and young men to homosexuality. Despite the lack of evidence demonstrating a systematic recruitment effort, the view of child abuse and homosexuality being about the same persists in the rationale given for the bill.

Scott Lively promotes this idea and he has been a colleague of Stephen Langa since at least 2002. Thus, when Langa wanted people to come to Uganda to whip up public calls for a new law, he asked Lively to return. He also asked Richard Cohen’s assistant Caleb Brundidge to speak. Cohen was there in spirit however in the form of Brundidge and his book Coming Out Straight. During the Rachel Maddow Show last night, Cohen’s book was display by Stephen Langa and Cohen was labeled an authority. No wonder, homosexuality is considered a disorder in this book, albeit a curable one. However, the book also contains dark and sinister descriptions of homosexuals, which no doubt played well into Langa’s designs.

Watch the clip again here and note Langa’s references to the book at about 2:50 in:

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In Coming Out Straight, Cohen refers to the efforts of Paul Cameron to claim gays are more responsible for child abuse than straights. Actual data are mixed on the subject but there is no confirming evidence that adults gays are disproportionately responsible for child abuse. The Catholic Church committee researching this point came to the same conclusion recently.

On page 49, Cohen writes:

Homosexuals are at least 12 times more likely to molest children than heterosexuals; homosexual teachers are at least 7 times more likely to molest a pupil; homosexual teachers are estimated to have committed at least 25 percent of pupil molestation; forty (40%) percent of molestation assaults were made by those who engage in homosexuality.

This statistic was taken from the following reference:

Paul Cameron, “Homosexuality and Child Molestation,” Psychological Reports, 58 (1986) 327-337, as quoted in M. Maddoux, Answers to the Gay Deception. 62-63.

Stephen Langa told me in March that Lively, Brundidge and Schmierer were recruited because:

they each have unique expertise which we feel will address the needs we have in Uganda and Africa in general on the subject of homosexuality.

Apparently, one need was to mislead the Ugandan people. Thus, it is no wonder that, in the words of Scott Lively, Mr. Langa was “overjoyed” with the results. Here is Lively’s assessment of his efforts in Uganda.

On the positive side, my host and ministry partner in Kampala, Stephen Langa, was overjoyed with the results of our efforts and predicted confidently that the coming weeks would see significant improvement in the moral climate of the nation, and a massive increase in pro-family activism in every social sphere. He said that a respected observer of society in Kampala had told him that our campaign was like a nuclear bomb against the “gay” agenda in Uganda. I pray that this, and the predictions, are true.

Now my attention is turned to equipping the activists in Uganda with helpful materials. I have given them permission to make unlimited use of Defeating “Gay” Arguments With Simple Logic, and Seven Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child (a much-esteemed book among the Africans). I still want to send them my remaining stock of about 100 or so copies of Seven Steps, but I didn’t raise any money toward this in my last appeal.

Like a nuclear bomb? Guess the “respected observer” was right.

Is Uganda’s Anti-Homosexuality Bill part of reclaiming the 7 mountains of culture, Part Two

(Yesterday I posted the first part of this article examining the “Seven Mountains Strategy”)

On the Reclaiming 7 Mountains website, articles are offered which describe what reclaiming a mountain means. One article called “Girgishites and the Mountain of Government” is a chapter from Johnny Enlow’s 2007 book The Seven Mountain Prophecy and the Coming Elijah Revolution. The book has been endorsed by C. Peter Wagner. According to Wagner, this book is exemplary in describing how to reclaim the seven domains.

No one to date has better revealed to the body of Christ the natural and the spiritual challenges for fulfilling God’s plan in each of the mountains than Johnny Enlow. I believe that every kingdom-minded leader, whether in the church or in the workplace, needs to make this amazing book required reading!

Peter Wagner

Founder, Intl Coalition of Apostles

Uganda’s Julius Oyet has spoken on at least two occasions at Johnny Enlow’s Daystar Church in Atlanta and prophesied that Elijah’s Revolution would begin in Atlanta. In part because of that prophecy, Johnny Enlow believes Atlanta is a pivotal place in the New Apostolic Reformation, saying in 2007:

What does the USA’s 2007 look like?

I will prophesy that an Elijah Revolution will begin this year in the USA and that it is a sure thing. I believe that “The Call” in Nashville on 7-7-07 is a very key piece of the puzzle in all that will explode upon the USA in this year. Prophetic words and decrees coming out of Charlotte are also a key piece of the puzzle. A proper spiritual aligning of Charlotte, Nashville, and Atlanta will expedite and intensify this Elijah revolution. “As Atlanta goes, so will the South go.” I believe that, as she steps into her destiny, she will flourish and, within ten years, become the prime city of America and maybe the nations. Several prophets have come into Atlanta and have prophesied that the “revolution” starts in Atlanta that will touch the whole nation. Julius Oyet from Uganda has prophesied that it will be an “Elijah Revolution.”

While connections are not especially close recently, they are real and the men seem to share the same theological outlook that the church should reclaim the government based on Christian teaching via a movement called Elijah’s Revolution.

So how do we reclaim the mountain of government and what does it mean? Reading through the chapter of Rev. Enlow’s book on the mountain of government, we get a glimpse:

This apostolic positioning will increase more and more among the nations of the world as the mountain of the Lord’s house is exalted above all others. One reason we haven’t advanced as far as expected in this area is that “Christians” who have come into power in various national governments haven’t always been apostolic Christians. By apostolic Christians, I mean that they have made it to the top of the mountain without carrying apostolic authority. Apart from apostolic anointing, there is no displacement authority. Therefore many of these Christians have fallen to the same corruption as their predecessors. Lucifer and his corrupting Girgashites have not been spiritually displaced by the angels that would normally accompany a true apostle.

The goal is not just to have Christians in high places, but rather to have Christians who are called to be in high places step into that role. And wearing a “Christian” label on our sleeve isn’t the point. We need to learn to be “as wise as serpents and harmless as doves” and realize that stealth authority and influence are much preferred over overt authority and influence. A low profile diffuses resistance from the opposition. Political righteousness isn’t determined by whether someone calls himself a Christian or not anyway. That’s established by whether the political values they are prepared to defend or establish are actually righteous. A Christian who espouses abortion rights or the validity of gay marriages, for example, is worthless as a “Christian” candidate. If candidates don’t understand righteous politics, they aren’t anointed for this mountain. They may have enough Christianity in them to enter heaven, but they don’t have enough Christianity to bring the rule and reign of God down to earth.

This will change as the Elijah Revolution is released upon the nations. Sons and daughters of the King who understand the call to take the seven mountains will rise to the mountaintops. More important than their confession of faith will be their understanding of Kingdom issues. Do they understand God’s redemptive plan for Israel in these last days? Do they understand that “if you touch Israel, you touch the apple of His eye”? (Zechariah 2:8). Entire nations will be severely judged or highly blessed and favored based on this issue alone. Governing cannot be done by the flesh anymore, as the issues will be increasingly highly charged spiritual matters that God will directly address—often through devastating judgments (Isaiah 26:9).

The world will come to learn, for example, that though God passionately loves every homosexual, remaining in that sin will cause someone to fall under the sword of His judgment. Feelings don’t validate a homosexual lifestyle any more than they validate a murderer’s desire to kill. We are all born with feelings that we must curb and cut off, and the sooner we embrace God’s standards, the sooner we have a chance to be at peace with Him. It is well understood that any child, when left to his or her own standards based on a feeling, will become a spoiled, unruly brat. What comes to us naturally is sin. We will lie, cheat, fornicate, dishonor our parents, and commit every other form of sin when we define righteousness by whatever we think we were born with. The sooner we understand that God expects righteousness—regardless of what our innate tendencies tell us—the sooner we will be able to eliminate His judgments from our personal and corporate lives.

One of the primary roles of future government leaders will be to instruct in righteousness. The more God’s judgments are poured out on earth, the more explicitly will they be able to give that instruction.

Recall that these thoughts are presented in a chapter of his book which deals with the reclamation of government. When Enlow says, “the world will come to learn” that “remaining in that sin [homosexuality] will cause someone to fall under the sword of His judgment,” it sounds to me like he believes that the reclaimed government should prosecute homosexuals. I asked Johnny Enlow via email, and on the record, if that was his teaching. At his request, I am providing his full answer to provide full context.

I do believe that the practice of homosexuality is a sin. It is not part of God’s original design. We don’t even need to quote specific scriptures of the Bible to validate this, as nature itself reveals the self-evident truth that homosexuality is an aberrant manifestation of original intended sexuality. Having said that, I do not believe that most homosexual feelings are chosen – though all homosexual practice is in fact chosen. Homosexual feelings are an aberration of normality brought on by a number of aggravating realities such as rejection, sexual abuse etc. The practice itself is a significant sin that reaps its own judgment or consequences- such as all sins do. Therefore as a rule God doesn’t have to release a “sword of judgment” on it or other sins. Sin begets its own reward. However when there is an aggressive promotional agenda connected to a sin behavior such as homosexuality it can come to the place where it elicits a unique response of God that is beyond the normal reaping of consequences. The Biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah is such an example with a city so aggressive in this sin that the ground itself cried out for a judgment.

As to the question of whether governments should criminalize homosexuality as part of taking the mountain of government- this would only be a second best method of bringing awareness that the behavior of homosexuality is wrong. This becomes a necessity only when the moral fiber of society has become so degraded that society itself is in need of knowing right and wrong. For me, the point of criminalizing homosexuality is not to bring punishment to homosexuals but rather to inform society of right and wrong. I would be against harsh punishments against homosexual activity between consenting adults and would not endorse capital punishment for this scenario. Society does need to know that homosexual behavior is wrong but it would not be defensible to execute homosexuals anymore than it would be to execute rebellious children- which is espoused to some measure in Leviticus. There is a greater grace assigned to the new covenant understanding of the New Testament. Rebellious children are still wrong in their rebellion and homosexuals are still wrong in their behavior but we do not need the extreme punishments of the Old Testament. I personally believe that most who suffer from homosexual feelings are worthy of great compassion because as a rule it tells us they have suffered some significant traumas in their lives. It would not express the heart of God towards them for there to be government-sponsored “witch hunts” against them. Our fractured homes and fractured society greatly contribute to the presence of homosexual realities and individuals who manifest the marks of societal decay cannot be made to pay the full price for a greater societal ill. They are responsible for personal choices but there must be margin for compassion when fully understanding the causal effects. The in-your-face activist homosexual agenda is of course generating it’s own strong repercussions and backlashes and to the degree that they insist on forcing upon society their aberrations to that degree they will see increasing measures to limit their activism of a sin behavior.

I wonder if Ugandan legislators believe they are reclaiming the mountain of government via the Anti-Homosexuality Bill? Does Julius Oyet support this bill because it would help reclaim the mountain of government in accord with his Vision 2020 (see points 8 & 9)? I wrote Lifeline Ministries to ask but have not yet received a reply.

I want to state clearly that I do not believe anyone in the 7 Mountains movement prompted the Ugandan legislators to write and offer this bill as an expression of the 7 mountains teaching. However, according to Rev. Enlow, the concept of criminalization is consistent with his Apostle Wagner endorsed view of reclaiming the mountain of government. Could leaders and members of the Ugandan Born Again Federation view this bill as a means to a Kingdom end? Or even the fulfillment of a prophecy? Earlier this year, Julius Oyet placed this prophecy for 2009 on his website:

God will judge evil in 2009 as mob justice will kill and destroy witches, thieves and evil people. There will be lots of manifestation of Satanists and exposition of homosexuality and other evils in the Church, human sacrifice and all sorts of evil will manifest in the nations. God’s people will rise in full authority and dominion! The righteous will march against evil and triumph over them all.

Apostle Oyet links severe punishment of those he believes to be evil with God’s people rising in “authority and dominion.” According to an ex-gay blogger from Uganda, both Oyet and Martin Ssempa seem to see the Anti-Homosexuality Bill as being a kind of national protection for Uganda against the judgment of God. This post was provided by a witness to the introduction of the motion to introduce the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in April of this year. After the motion was unanimously passed, Apostle Oyet, Martin Ssempa and followers prayed outside the Parliament in thanksgiving for the bill.

We congregated in the twilight outside and had a prayer led by Oyet. I remember him thanking God that Uganda would not be destroyed now that its leaders were in obedience to Him on this issue. There we were, Catholic and Pentecostal of various stripes and others, standing hand in hand in prayer! What a moment of unity.

The final blessing was when Pastor Martin Ssempa said that since the death of the Uganda Martyrs and the spilling of their blood on this soil, Uganda has been anointed for leadership in this area. Amen to that.

There are many precursors to the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill. I have examined several of them and I think that the theological soil for at least some of the proponents is that a nation’s laws about private consensual behavior must reflect Christian teaching in order for the culture to be preserved, reclaimed and reformed. American teachers are exhorting their followers that national salvation is more vital to the mission of the church than individual salvation. Ideas have consequences. If the Ugandan believers viewed individual salvation as more vital, I wonder if the Ugandan proposal would have been advanced.

Rachel Maddow discloses statements of opposition to Anti-Homosexuality Bill from key US lawmakers (video)

Rachel Maddow here gives a helpful summary. Of necessity hits the high spots and misses a few important nuances but provides new information regarding key politicians in the US. Provides statements of opposition from these key legislators. Check it out. Both Andrew Marin and I were called in relation to the segments the last couple of nights and we were able to provide background for the show. I appreciate the coverage…

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