Orthodox Reflections

It is Woke dogma that LGBTQ+ individuals are marginalized. This is defined as “relegated to an unimportant or powerless position within a society or group”. LGBTQ+ have no power. They can never be aggressors, only holy and blameless victims of the oppression of others who are “dominant” in society. The biggest culprits of said LGBTQ+ oppression are traditional Christians, of course. Traditional, heterosexual Christians have all kinds of power and privilege, which they routinely use to the detriment of the long-suffering LGBTQ+ “community”.

As is often the case with ideologically-driven dogma, this is a grave distortion of reality. The power and privilege lies on the LGBTQ+ side, while traditional Christians are daily finding out just how “marginalized” they really are. In mid-January 2023, we got a great example of Christian vulnerability when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman, Ivan Provorov, chose to not participate in his team’s LGBTQ+ “Pride Night” on account of his Orthodox Christian beliefs. The backlash against him was immense, even extending to calls for him to be deported. “Hate” (in this case being unwilling to publicly endorse holy sodomy) has no place in America.

Many hockey fans rushed to Provorov’s defense, even completely buying out his jersey. The fans were about the only ones who showed up for him. Christian leaders, including bishops of his own Orthodox Church, mostly had more important things to do than defend a fellow Christian from a Woke lynch mob. Despite all the vitriol against him, at least Provorov has so far gotten to keep his job. The fact that he is a highly-valued athlete in a very “unWoke” sport (hockey) has saved him so far.

Regular Christians are not nearly so lucky. Just ask Jacob Kersey, a 19 year old former police officer from Georgia. Kersey felt pressured into resigning following an investigation into a Facebook post in which he stated what was, just a few short years ago, widely acknowledged by almost everyone:

“God designed marriage,” Kersey wrote in the post that was flagged by his superiors following “an anonymous complaint,” according to a Jan. 13 letter of notification first reported by the Daily Signal and provided to Fox News Digital. “Marriage refers to Christ and the church. That’s why there’s no such thing as homosexual marriage.”

Everyone on both sides of the political aisle used to say the same thing – there is no such thing as homosexual marriage. In fact, we were repeatedly promised that there never would be, if we were willing to compromise on so-called “civil unions”. Now homosexual marriage not only exists, support for it is obligatory for everyone, especially for those in any kind of government service.

After the investigation, Kersey’s department did ask him to come back to work. However, he chose not to do so, because the terms under which he would be allowed back set a horrible precedent. It would clearly only be a matter of time before the department managed to fire him, and Kersey was smart enough to know that:

Kersey wasn’t fired after the investigation, but he said he decided to quit because he was told he could face termination for future social media posts that others find offensive. He said he has spoken with a law firm about possible legal action.

 

In his letter to Kersey, Maj. Bradwick Sherrod explained that while the department’s investigation into his social media posts “did not find sufficient evidence to establish a violation of any policies,” his posts regarding “protected classes” such as the LGBTQ community “could raise reasonable concerns regarding your objectivity and the performance of your job duties when a member or suspected member of the LGBTQ+ community is involved.”

 

“As we have discussed previously, please be reminded that if any post on any of your social media platforms, or any other statement or action, renders you unable to perform, and to be seen as able to perform, your job in a fair and equitable manner, you could be terminated,” the letter reads.

 

“I did nothing wrong, and they told me that,” Kersey said of a meeting he later had with department leadership. “That’s the reason they did not fire me. They wanted me to come back to work, but they were trying to create a new department policy that would prevent me from saying anything that someone somewhere could consider offensive.”

 

He said he was told that he could post direct Scripture quotations but not his interpretation of them.

 

“That is such a dangerous precedent: that if you’re off-duty on your own time, that you could say anything — even something religious, even something at church — if someone somewhere gets offended, you can get fired for it,” he said.

 

“In America, most of us will not be called to face physical death for our beliefs,” he said. “But we might be called to face the death of our dreams, we might be called to face the death of our reputation, or we might be called to have other people think bad things about us. But what’s important is what God thinks about us.”

A police officer could post anti-Christian rhetoric on social media, and it is doubtful that anything would happen to him or her in even the reddest of Red States. But offend the LGBTQ+ “community”, even in small town Georgia, and you are put on administrative leave, investigated, and even if “cleared”, you are warned to put a muzzle on or else.  Who has the power here? Certainly not former officer Kersey.

Nor does any traditional Christian. We can confirm this fact with the case of another traditional Christian, this time in the UK. Izzy Montague is a devout Christian mother whose four-year-old son was compelled to take part in an LGBTQ+ “Pride” event. Her son’s school sent a letter to parents inviting them to partake in a Pride march and “celebrate the differences that make them and their family special”. A week later Mrs. Montague contacted the school and asked for her son to be excused from attendance on the day of the march. She was concerned about him “being involved of a public display of adherence to views which she did not accept.”

Mrs. Montague’s request was refused by headteacher Susan Papas, who told the mother that her son could not opt out of the event in June 2018. Mrs. Montague is now suing in a case that marks the first time a UK court will consider the legality of imposing LGBTQ+ ideology on primary schools.

Four-year-old children are barely potty trained. They know nothing of sexuality and related topics. Yet, in schools all over the Western world, they are expected to celebrate perversions which they cannot possibly understand, and to which many of their parents are religiously opposed. From the standpoint of the schools, this is apparently not only normal, but mandatory, as parents are frequently not informed such things are happening, or if informed are not given a choice to opt their children out.

If the situation were reversed, would a “gay” parent be told his/her child could not opt out of a gathering celebrating the Christian Faith? It is impossible to even ask that question with a straight face. A public school would never celebrate the Christian Faith (too offensive), nor would it ever knowingly offend LGBTQ+ parents and students. Offending Christians, on the other hand, is perfectly acceptable to all the powers that be.

Again, just who is marginalized here?

It is not just secular teachers and administrators, however, that are free to offend Christians. To accommodate the world, more and more “Christian leaders” are redefining the Faith to be “affirming”. They can do this and keep their power, prestige, positions, and salaries.

Some are using an argument from authority (accept what we tell you), examples are “affirming” bishops in liturgical churches such as the Anglican Church, Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Church, etc:

Homosexuals must no longer be chaste in order to lead godly lives, Bishop of London sayshttps://t.co/BiYE1WpoyD pic.twitter.com/YiTZcfwKug

— Anglican Ink (@anglicanink) January 21, 2023

Others are saying that non-LGBTQ+ affirming Theological and Scriptural frameworks are based on fear, are crude, and lack “nuance”.

Most homophobic Christians aren’t monsters. They’re enslaved to a theological system that lacks depth and nuance, one that cannot account for life’s complexity. They’re afraid of gay people because they’re afraid of losing their faith. https://t.co/JGCthU6ceB

— Bridget Eileen Rivera (@TravelingNun) January 30, 2023

Still others are simply re-interpreting the Bible to explain away verses often read as prohibitions on gay sex.

The screenshots above do more to demolish the case for sola scriptura than anything else I have seen in decades. This man’s abuse of the Bible is exactly why the Orthodox Church does not allow private interpretations of scripture. If this man were correct, then gay sex would have been perfectly fine in both Old Testament Israel and the early Christian Church. At some point, the “plain meaning” of the scriptures, as explained by “Dr. Young”, must have been lost and replaced with all that LGBTQ+ intolerance.

Where and when did that great, sodomy-affirming faith change into the intolerance of sin we currently associate with “traditional” Christianity? Who knows? But thankfully, a Protestant Theologian is here to set us straight that it absolutely must have happened. We need to figure out how to let the Patristic Fathers know, because even though they were there, they missed the whole thing.

All of the above kinds of things are being tried by unfaithful hierarchs, clergy, Theologians, and academics in the Orthodox Church as well. Unlike their Protestant and Roman Catholic co-conspirators, however, “Orthodox” traitors will not get very far. To succeed, they would have to effectively transform the traditional interpretation of key Bible passages, Apostolic writings, iconography, the Orthodox Wedding ceremony, writings of many important saints, and get multiple, independent local Churches on board with it all to finally create an “affirming” Orthodoxy. Of course, it would be way easier to just become Episcopalian, either individually or, perhaps, via the apostasy of one of the weaker local churches / jurisdictions. Nevertheless, no matter how daunting this task is, they don’t seem to be giving up any time soon.

So again, who has the power? You can get rich and famous offending Christians and twisting the Christian Faith into a “gay-affirming” pretzel.

But, actively offend the LGBTQ+? Fail to enthusiastically celebrate the holiness of sodomy? Defend the Christian Faith once delivered to the Apostles? Try to shield your child from LGBTQ+ indoctrination in primary school?

Then welcome to modern, Western Christian Martyrdom – you will probably survive, but your reputation, career, employability, finances, and peace of mind likely will not. Just thank God that this is not the world that really counts.

Some final notes to Christians, if I may. There will be no peaceful compromise with the Alphabet Mafia. They demand nothing short of your unconditional surrender. This is a holy war, and you are the infidels. Do not expect to live and let live. That is not an option. If you yield on anything, they will be back immediately with increased demands.

Please don’t start excusing homosexual sin because homosexuals and Transgenders are “born that way”. If people really were, it would not be necessary to groom children into this sinful lifestyle. You can see that in this article, in which even a pro-gay writer acknowledges grooming. For a background on how gay activists manipulated and bullied the psychiatric profession to gain acceptability for their perversions, download and read this PDF titled The “Trojan Couch: How the Mental Health Associations Misrepresent Science”. To hear directly from a repentant former homosexual who was abused as a child and groomed into homosexuality, click here to learn more about Joseph Sciambra. The LGBTQ+ will falsely play on your sympathy to lead you astray. Don’t let them. True love for homosexuals is expressed by helping them repent and embrace lives pleasing and acceptable to God. Affirming them in their sin is the last thing they need.

Why are gay activists still trying to convince children that they were born gay? An adult telling a kid: "Don't worry; you were born gay." That's the original groomer line. #LGBWithoutTheT

— Joseph Sciambra ☦ (@JosephSciambra) February 2, 2023

Above all, please do not fall for this whole “marginalized” trap. In our society, LGBTQ+ are at the top of the social hierarchy. They are coddled, protected, and lionized. You’re the one looking over your shoulder, not them.

Don’t believe me?

Then just step out of line. You’ll understand quickly enough the true nature of power in our society. God protect you when that happens.

Nicholas – member of the Western Rite Vicariate, a part of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese in America