Renowned Los Angeles pastor John MacArthur has issued an open call for ministers to preach on sexual morality in light of new a Canadian law that criminalizes conversion therapy.
The Christian Post reported that the pastor and theologian is calling on pastors to preach against a Canadian legislation outlawing treatment for unwanted sexual desires and gender confusion.
MacArthur, one of America's best-known pastors, has specifically issued the public invitation for "ministers of the Gospel" to join him on January 16 in preaching about what he calls "a biblical view of sexual morality."
According to MacArthur, "faithful Canadian pastors are going to preach on the issue, calling for a biblical understanding of sexual sin, the eternal judgment that falls on the unrepentant and gospel-rejecting sinners, and the grace of God in the gospel which offers forgiveness to those who repent and believe in Christ," citing 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
In fact, when Pastor James Coates of Edmonton's GraceLife Church, a graduate of MacArthur's The Master's Seminary, was imprisoned for holding in-person services in violation of government lockdown orders, MacArthur revealed that he got a letter from the pastor.
According to Coates, when the Canadian House of Commons and Senate enacted Bill C-4 earlier this month, it "directly comes against parents and counselors who would seek to offer biblical counsel with respect to sexual immorality and gender."
Another minister, Andrew DeBartolo, teaching elder of Encounter Church in Kingston, Ontario, also informed MacArthur in a letter that "the belief in God's design for marriage and sexuality will now be seen as a myth" starting Jan. 8.
The new law states that "heterosexuality, cisgender gender identity, and gender expression that conforms to the sex assigned to a person at birth" are all "myths" that should be debunked.
Not surprisingly, detractors characterize conversion therapy as counseling or efforts to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity via religious-based psychotherapy or more contentious methods like shock treatment.
Consequently, some Christian counseling organizations and ministries are worried that their services for people who are experiencing unwanted same-sex attraction are being misunderstood. Others alleged that conversion therapy is a politically charged word meant to deceive the general public about the work that certain Christian counseling groups and ministries conduct.
Therefore, critics of Bill C-4 argue that the idea that conversion therapy is like electric shock therapy has become a "straw man" to support "one-sided and biased counseling methods," which are already considered "barbaric and unethical."
For others, the word is very broad and might effectively prevent religious leaders from teaching Biblical ideas on sexual ethics and marriage, counseling a person with unwelcome impulses, or stating that homosexuality is sinful.
Some states throughout the U.S. have passed bans on conversion therapy including the one where MacArthur resides- California. According to MacArthur, the California government "sought to prohibit any correction of an unbiblical view of sexual identity" by passing such legislation.
Nevertheless, he stressed that "our calling as gospel ministers is to preach the truth, confront sin, and call all men to repentance and obedience to the gospel-the good news that achieves soul conversion and saves sinners from eternal wrath."
