Wait! Just a minute before you consign this proposal to oblivion! There was an ad -- the signatories to the ad called on President George W. Bush to "repent from domestic and foreign policies that are incompatible with the teaching and example of Christ!"

The full page ad, "A Prophetic Epistle from United Methodists Calling Our Brother George W. Bush to Repent," was placed in Christian Century Magazine on April 5, 2003. There were 120 United Methodist leaders who signed the message, including 7 who are bishops. These persons feel that the president is guilty of a number of offences and thus the challenge, as they see it, of the need for the president to turn from his sinful ways of leadership and policies which he has pursued!

Now if you happen to be one who is not real familiar with the shenanigans taking place within the leadership of the United Methodist Church you might be inclined to say that these people really are acting in the tradition of John the Baptist or the prophets of the Old Testament. Oooops! There happens to be a major problem here -- it's sort of a different wrinkle to what was pointed out when we Americans were so self righteous with our "Amens" at the time Saddam Hussein was held up to be the world's #1 bogey man -- guilty of indescribable brutality and cruelty inflicted upon the citizens of Iraq! To refresh your memory go to:

Pointing the Finger at Saddam OR A Case of the Pot Calling the Kettle Black!
Saddam's Infamous "People Shredder" -- We Americans and Others Were Mortified!
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Of course those United Methodist leaders who signed the ad message would like to think they are acting in a "prophetic" sense as claimed by the title, but they have about as much grasp of that as a 2-year-old toddler has of piloting a Boeing 747 jet aircraft.

And here are a few reasons why:

Within the leadership of the United Methodist Church are persons who cannot or will not accept the inspired record and authority of God's special revelation to us concerning the basic root problem of the human race and the one and only solution provided by God for that problem in the Person of His Son, Jesus Christ.

At least one of the signers urging Bush to repent cannot accept Jesus Christ to be all that the Scriptures reveal Him to be in terms of His deity, miraculous birth, sacrificial and substitutionary atonement for human sin, literal resurrection from the dead, and promised return to rule the world as King of kings and Lord of lords!

Among the UMC leadership exist those who direct another slap in the face of Jesus Christ by taking a position that we ought not try to convert those of other religions in the world or suggest that they are in error and guilty of teaching falsehood. Jesus gave a precise commandment before He left this world in the 1st Century to return to His Father:

"All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV)

Now then -- which path do you believe it is wise to follow -- Jesus' commandment to confront the world with the message about Himself and the salvation he offers to each human being, or a UMC bishop whose statement provides ample proof that he is as blind as a bat?

There is the position of the UMC bishops on children. For years there has been an emphasis by the bishops in regard to children and the problems which create hardship and suffering for children such as poverty, lack of food, proper medical care, etc. No one would dispute such an effort but the bishops are very prejudiced -- in fact, extremely biased and partial -- they intentionally omit one very significant group of children and have never raised their voices in protest nor attempted to initiate action which would help those children. Who are these children that the bishops so willfully neglect giving attention to as in the case of others? They are the thousands of unborn children who are destroyed in their mothers' wombs each week of the year -- about 100,000 per month! Uh -- uh -- uh -- now don't go saying that these aren't really children -- they're just "fetuses" -- just to correct your misguided thinking on that, why don't you check out how God regards the unborn in Jeremiah 1:5 and Psalm 139 -- you do believe God has the last word on these things, don't you?

And now take a look at the little one below who was a victim of this carnage which takes place each day on U.S. soil:



Now then, does that really look like a "fetus" to you? Maybe it would be helpful if some way the UMC leadership was forced to look at such scenes for about 8 hours straight without food or water -- just maybe it would help them in their thinking and clarify their vision a little bit.

When was the last time you heard a chorus of voices thundering forth from the UMC leadership demanding, "We've got to stop the wholesale slaughter of unborn children for whom God has a high and holy purpose!"? The answer is simple -- you haven't and probably never will.

By the way, note how many unborn have been destroyed since the Council of United Methodist Bishops met at Southern Methodist University in Texas starting April 27, 2003:

The Number of Unborn Children Brutally Mutilated & Murdered in USA since United Methodist bishops met to focus on children & poverty April 27, 2003 Southern Methodist University Texas

Finally, the one thing that is probably driving more pastors and laity from the ranks of the United Methodist Church than any other issue is the "stamp of approval" that a number of UMC bishops are placing on the practices of sodomy and lesbianism! Rather than going into detail at this point, see documentation at:


UMC Episcopal Endorsement of Same Gender Coupling!
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The problem of growing acceptance of the practices of sodomy and lesbianism within the ranks of the United Methodist Church and its leadership actually has a direct relationship to the growing disregard for the authority of the holy Scriptures -- i.e. the Bible is merely a human manufactured series of documents containing numerous errors and is subject to any interpretation we choose to employ in regard to human sexuality, relationships, and responsibility!

It is no longer unusual to hear voices within United Methodism speaking of "new revelation" coming from God which sanctions a redefinition of sexual relationships, marriage, and family. According to these apostates, who have a larger following than we may want to admit, it's perfectly OK for 2 men or 2 women to live together in loving and committed sexual relationships as though they were married until such time as they can "legally" marry in the eyes of church and state, adopt children, and live in a community as a legitimate "family!"

So then -- before the United Methodist Church leadership jumps on fellow United Methodist, George W. Bush, and calls him to repent of his wayward ways, they first ought to seriously consider some personal repenting such as:

blatant unbelief concerning God's clear revelation on all matters relating to His creation and the place of humans in that creation -- and the absolute authority of that special revelation on all matters having to do with faith and the practicing of that faith as centered in Jesus Christ and His absolute demands on all members of the human race!

rejection of Jesus Christ and His command for us to confront the world with the claims and call of Jesus.

silence and indifference to the mass destruction of unborn children, the total at this point in time being over 42 1/2 million!

rejection of God's clearly defined boundaries on human sexuality, marriage, and family.

Anyone want to take out a signed ad in the Christian Century magazine with a message calling the United Methodist Church leadership to repent for such reasons as previously stated above?

Oh, just one more thing -- if you are an active pastor in the UMC you ought to consider using an alias. Some of those UMC leaders have been known to retaliate with a vengeance which challenged by those serving within their jurisdiction!

It is time for You to act, O LORD, for they have regarded Your law as void. Therefore I love Your commandments more than gold, yes, than fine gold! Therefore all Your precepts concerning all things I consider to be right; I hate every false way. Psalm 119:126-128 NKJV

June 11, 2003
Clayton D. Harriger
Elder in Full Connection
Western PA Annual Conference
The United Methodist Church
and presently pastor of
Gipsy Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Gipsy, PA

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In addition to links above, see moral & cultural issues at:

• Imploding Our Culture by Destroying the Young!
• Trashing Sacred Gifts - 21st Century Style!
• Missing: Millions of Contributors Who Could Have Made a Significant Difference!
• By the Way, Did You Know???
• A National Rage Against Violence, BUT Not Always!
• Atrocities? Well, It Depends on Your Definition of What Is or Isn't!
• Baby Parts for Sale!
• Weapons of Mass Destruction? Why Does Bush Not Include ALL of Them?
• Portrayal of U.S.A's Hidden Horrors!
• President Bush's "Selective" War Against Terrorism!
• United States Holocaust Gallery!
• Is the United States Going Down the Same Path As Samson?
• Popular Deities of American Culture!
• How to Dismantle a Culture in 3 Easy Steps!
• When God Uses the Heathen As a Whip!
• RU-486 -- The Final Nail?
• Justice Denied!
• Why So Heavy on the Abortion Issue Anyway?
• Forget the Terrorists -- the 21st Century Canaanites Are a Greater Threat!

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