Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 November 2011 22.00 EST
A tiny church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its congregation, pitting members against each other in an argument over race.
Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Kentucky voted on Sunday on the resolution, which says the church "does not condone interracial marriage".
The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair".
"I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil about a race," said Thompson, the church's former pastor who stepped down earlier this year.
"That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not."
Dean Harville, the church's secretary, disagreed - he said the resolution came after his daughter visited the church this summer with her boyfriend from Africa.
Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni, now her fiancé, visited the church in June and Chikuni sang a song for the congregation. The two had visited the church before.
Harville said he was counting the church offering after a service in August when he was approached by Thompson, who told him Harville's daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.
"If he's not racist, what is this?" Harville said.
The vote by members last Sunday was nine to six, Harville said. It was taken after the service, which about 35 to 40 people attended. Harville said many people left or declined to vote.
The resolution says anyone is welcome to attend services, but interracial couples could not become members or be "used in worship services or other church functions".
Stella Harville, a 24-year-old graduate student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, called the vote "hurtful".
"I think part of me is still in shock and trying to process what's been going on the past few days," she said. "I really hope they overturn this."
The church's pastor, Stacy Stepp, said on Wednesday he was against the resolution. Stepp said the denomination's regional conference will begin working on resolving the issue this weekend.
The National Association of Free Will Baptists in Tennessee has no official position on interracial marriage for its 2,400 churches worldwide, executive secretary Keith Burden said. The denomination believes the Bible is inerrant and local churches have autonomy over decision making.
"It's been a non-issue with us," Burden said, adding that many interracial couples attend Free Will Baptist churches. He said the Pike County church acted on its own. Burden said the association can move to strip the local church of its affiliation with the national denomination if it's not resolved.
"Hopefully it is corrected quickly," Burden said.
Associated Press
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 November 2011 22.00 EST
A tiny church in rural Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from joining its congregation, pitting members against each other in an argument over race.
Members at the Gulnare Free Will Baptist Church in Kentucky voted on Sunday on the resolution, which says the church "does not condone interracial marriage".
The church member who crafted the resolution, Melvin Thompson, said he is not racist and called the matter an "internal affair".
"I am not racist. I will tell you that. I am not prejudiced against any race of people, have never in my lifetime spoke evil about a race," said Thompson, the church's former pastor who stepped down earlier this year.
"That's what this is being portrayed as, but it is not."
Dean Harville, the church's secretary, disagreed - he said the resolution came after his daughter visited the church this summer with her boyfriend from Africa.
Stella Harville and Ticha Chikuni, now her fiancé, visited the church in June and Chikuni sang a song for the congregation. The two had visited the church before.
Harville said he was counting the church offering after a service in August when he was approached by Thompson, who told him Harville's daughter and her boyfriend were no longer allowed to sing at the church.
"If he's not racist, what is this?" Harville said.
The vote by members last Sunday was nine to six, Harville said. It was taken after the service, which about 35 to 40 people attended. Harville said many people left or declined to vote.
The resolution says anyone is welcome to attend services, but interracial couples could not become members or be "used in worship services or other church functions".
Stella Harville, a 24-year-old graduate student at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana, called the vote "hurtful".
"I think part of me is still in shock and trying to process what's been going on the past few days," she said. "I really hope they overturn this."
The church's pastor, Stacy Stepp, said on Wednesday he was against the resolution. Stepp said the denomination's regional conference will begin working on resolving the issue this weekend.
The National Association of Free Will Baptists in Tennessee has no official position on interracial marriage for its 2,400 churches worldwide, executive secretary Keith Burden said. The denomination believes the Bible is inerrant and local churches have autonomy over decision making.
"It's been a non-issue with us," Burden said, adding that many interracial couples attend Free Will Baptist churches. He said the Pike County church acted on its own. Burden said the association can move to strip the local church of its affiliation with the national denomination if it's not resolved.
"Hopefully it is corrected quickly," Burden said.
I think they may have a point,to ban interracial couples is correct as it is false to believe that everyone came from Adam,that Moses married an Ethiopian,is a an attempt to promote and encourage interracial relations.
There are races in the world,different races.Inter mixture destroys one race...people find it difficult to believe...or they just choose not to....
MOSES ETHIOPIAN WIFE
Many people would make false connections between modern Ethiopia and old Ethiopia.
Moses did not marry a black woman as that would contradict,the chosen people,Israel,who were chosen
''
above all people that are upon the face of the earth''
In Strong's concordance,Hebrew ''Ethiopian'' is defined as....
3571 Kuwshiyth koo-sheeth' feminine of 3569; a Cushite woman: -Ethiopian.
A Cushite.
Some Bibles like, the Message,English Standard Version,Amplified Bible,American Standard Version,New International Version,New Living Translation and New American Standard Bible,are some versions which have ''Cushite''
Who was Cush?
He was a son of Ham(Genesis 10:6)
The so called ''Ethiopian'' was not a black woman.
It also contradicts Numbers 25 and how the Israelites mixed with the Midianites,Midian who was related to Abraham was NOT A PART OF ISRAEL,and Phinehas received ''even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood'' for slaying an Israelite and Midianite,and the Midianites were related to Abraham!
Are we to say that Moses was allowed to have a black woman but an Israelite was not allowed to have a Midianite?
JEW IN GALATIANS 3:28
Galatians 3:28:There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
People quote that but fail to understand the meaning of ''Jew''
In that verse ''Jew'' is defined as,in the Strong's concordance,Greek...
2453. Ioudaios ee-oo-dah'-yos from 2448 (in the sense of 2455 as a country); Judaean, i.e. belonging to Jehudah:--Jew(-ess), of Judaea.
''Jew'' is a slang term which simply means ''Judaean'' which is a geographic address or at most ''belonging to Jehudah'' which is a tribe.
For example....
Matthew 4:25:And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from
Judaea, and from beyond Jordan.
There were many people who lived in Judea of many races,not Just Jews!
Galatians 3:28 could also be used to support same sex couples as it states ''there is neither male nor female''
DOGS
In the NT ''Dogs'' symbolizes Non-Israel.
Matthew 7:6 ''Give not that which is holy unto the dogs''
Matthew 15:26 ''It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.''
The woman of Matthew 15 was of Canaan(Matthew 15:22)
THE STRANGE WIVES OF EZRA
Ezra 10:11:Now therefore make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers, and do his pleasure:
and separate yourselves from the people of the land, and from the strange wives.
Ezra 10:10:And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them,
Ye have transgressed, and have taken strange wives, to increase the trespass of Israel.
Ezra 10:2:And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra,
We have trespassed against our God, and have taken strange wives of the people of the land: yet now there is hope in Israel concerning this thing.
Ezra 10:14:Let now our rulers of all the congregation stand, and let all them
which have taken strange wives in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter be turned from us.
Ezra 10:17:
And they made an end with all the men that had taken strange wives by the first day of the first month.
Ezra 10:18:
And among the sons of the priests there were found that had taken strange wives: namely, of the sons of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren; Maaseiah, and Eliezer, and Jarib, and Gedaliah.
Ezra 10:44:
All these had taken strange wives: and some of them had wives by whom they had children.
Ezra 9:2:For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons:
so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.
Did these strange women have polka dot skin?
Were they aliens from another planet?
What do you suppose ''mingled'' means?
DEUTERONOMY 23:2
Deuteronomy 23:2:A ******* shall not enter into the congregation of the LORD; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the LORD.
''******* '' is defined in Strong's Hebrew as...
4464 mamzer mam-zare' from an unused root meaning to alienate; a mongrel, i.e. born of a Jewish father and a heathen mother:--*******.
It does not mean born out of wedlock,as hard as it is to believe,it means ''mongrel'' someone who is born of a mixed race union.
Here are two meanings of ''mongrel'' on the fee dictionary..
2. A cross between different breeds, groups, or varieties, especially a mixture that is or appears to be incongruous.
adj. Of mixed origin or character.
CAIN IN GENESIS 4
In Genesis,we have Cain,after he murdered Abel.
In Genesis 4:14 ''that every one that findeth me shall slay me''
Who would find Cain,if only Adam and Eve were the only other people on the earth at that time?
In Genesis 4:15 ''And the LORD set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him.''
The mark was a mark of protection,he would not need the mark if only Adam and Eve were around,as they would know him by sight.
Again,who would kill Cain,that he would need to be protected?
In Genesis 4:17:And Cain knew his wife; and she conceived, and bare Enoch: and he builded a city, and called the name of the city, after the name of his son, Enoch.
Where did Cain get a wife if only Adam and Eve were around?
Why would he build a city for TWO people?
Seth was the one born after Cain,to Adam so who are all these other people????
JACOB/ISRAEL AND ESAU/EDOM
Malachi 1:2-3:
2I have loved you, saith the LORD. Yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Was not Esau Jacob's brother? saith the LORD:
yet I loved Jacob,
3And I hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness.
Romans 9:13:As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.
Genesis 36:1
:Now these are the generations of
Esau, who is Edom.
Obadiah 1:18
:And the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall kindle in them, and devour them;
and there shall not be any remaining of the house of Esau; for the LORD hath spoken it.
The Jewish Encyclopedia, 1925 edition, Vol.5, p. 41, says: “EDOM IS IN MODERN JEWRY.”
Christians/People want a simple answer,they Jump on you if you talk about race because it is forbidden.
They call you racist or White supremacist,and decide not to debate back,so have you a simple answer....
..do people want to believe what is false?
Is it more simple and easy to believe something that is false?
Equality for all?
This is not racist,Just read the post as well as the Bible and a Strong's Concordance.
I ask anyone to refute this?
I am not a nazi,I am a Christian who knows things....
FINAL THOUGHT!
Genesis 9:24-27:24And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him. 25And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren.
26And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
27God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.
