I have hesitated on writing about this. The story has now been around for several days and is causing no small stir. But since I have written so often about celebutards in general, and this guy in particular and his moronic remarks about Jesus, I thought I would give it a miss.
But since the story is still bubbling along, I guess I can throw my two cents worth in here. I refer to aging homosexual rocker Elton John. As I say, I have written about him on various occasions in the past, including this piece when he said some really stupid things about Jesus: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2010/02/19/elton-john-is-a-super-unintelligent-gay-man-and-jesus-wasn%E2%80%99t/
Well he has been at it again, making very public and very appalling remarks about Jesus, Christianity and his immoral lifestyle. This is not unexpected of course. All sinners who have hardened their hearts against God and truth will seek to justify their sin, and do so by the most flagrant of lies and falsehoods. Consider how one news item reports this:
Elton John argued Sunday that Jesus Christ would support the idea of two gay priests tying the knot and that the celibacy vow among clergy is an “old and stupid” rule that should be abolished. “The new Pope has been wonderful; he’s excited me so much,” the 67-year-old Grammy winner told Sky News. “He’s stripped [the Church] down to the bare bones and said it’s all basically about love.”
Mr. John, who hopes to marry David Furnish some time next year, said gay clergy should be allowed to marry and have sexual relationships. “These are old and stupid things. If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen,” he said. “He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together, and that’s what the church should be about.”
So what can one say? On the one hand, we of course fully expect brainless and immoral celebs to say brainless and immoral things. No surprises here at all. Just another big time pop star who is pontificating on things he is utterly clueless about. So in one sense it is barely worth wasting time on these num nums.
But given how much influence they have worldwide, I guess a quick reply may be in order. Not that Elton will likely take any heed. But those who may have been mentally and morally swindled by his dopey remarks might be able to hear a bit of truth, so here goes…
First, I will skip discussing the Pope. Suffice it to say that when folks – including Catholics – ask me what I think of him, I say that he seems to be all over the place, and he can be a real worry at times. And many Catholics agree with me. But here I restrict myself just to the foolishness of Elton, so please, no sectarian warfare here.
As to the notion that the church is “all about love,” well, baloney. It is about a whole lot more than that. God is a God of love, but it is a holy love, a just love, a pure love. It sure ain’t about the depraved lust of sodomy. The love of God is just one of his attributes, and his holiness, justice, and purity must never be separated from it.
When these guys talk about “love” they of course mean nothing about the biblical understanding of love. Biblical love is always about willing the highest good for the other person. And willing them to remain in a dangerous, unhealthy and perverse lifestyle has nothing to do with love at all.
And sorry Elton ol’ boy, but Jesus was not just about ‘bringing people together’. His entire life and mission was in fact one of division and separation, as any quick reading of the gospel accounts will reveal. Wherever he went and whatever he said, he caused division and contention. Consider just a few (of many) passages which speak to this:
Luke 12:51-53 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.
Luke 3:17 His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire [John’s prophesy about the division Jesus would bring to Israel]
John 7:40-43 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.” Others said, “He is the Christ.” Still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? Does not the Scripture say that the Christ will come from David’s family and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” Thus the people were divided because of Jesus.
John 9:16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others asked, “How can a sinner do such miraculous signs?” So they were divided.
Of necessity Jesus brought division. Those who acknowledged who he was, repented and forsook their sins, would enter the Kingdom. Those who would not bow the knee to Christ would stay excluded from it. Indeed, they would hate Jesus and ultimately crucify him.
And the idea that Jesus would support homosexual marriage is near to blasphemy of course. Jesus was the holy Son of God who came not to abolish the law but fulfil it. He is the one who affirmed the divine plan for heterosexual marriage announced way back in Genesis 1 and 2 (see Matthew 19:5 for example).
Jesus knew full well that homosexuality was an abomination and a sin to be forsaken. He never would bless nor condone any form of sin or that which is evil. Anyone making such a claim is not only biblically illiterate but speaking Satan’s thoughts, not God’s thoughts.
The entire picture found in Scripture of Yahweh and Israel, or Christ and the church, is based on the complementary nature of male-female marriage. This theme runs throughout the Bible, and it is a gross perversion to somehow think that a sodomite relationship is in any way equivalent.
But as I say, we expect such moronic remarks coming from our immoral celebs who are simply seeking to justify their own sinful lifestyles. But when they seek to so twist Scripture and so distort who Jesus is, then they are playing hardball, and their actions will be dealt with quite severely when they stand before their righteous judge.
In the meantime we of course can pray that Elton and others like him see the light. But if they refuse to repent and bow the knee, then the just judgment of God will be their only reward. I would not want to be Elton standing before the real Jesus Christ one day if he does not turn.
I concur Bill, Jesus came to bear witness to scripture and at no time made any claim to challenge the will of God but to endorse it as he often said that it is God’s will and not his be done.
In this, we need only acknowledge Leviticus 20:13 to acknowledge God’s intention and will regarding the act of homosexuality.
If you think of homosexuality in terms of its typical sexual behaviours it really brings home how batty Elton John’s idea is. The idea that Jesus, his disciples and Paul would have endorsed such behaviour is so out of contact with reality that it’s insane. Elton John’s “thinking” is a good example of how homosexuality can distort perception.
As for gay marriage, according to the Roman poet Juvenal a few Roman citizens tried it, possibly to thumb their noses at tradition, but it did not catch on. Even the Greeks with their reputation for paederasty were not interested.
Celebrities have a lot to answer for in changing community standards for the worse and destroying Christianity.
Yes, it’s another round of “what would Jesus say” games. Elton John and his like are merrily twisting Scripture to make it say exactly what they want it to, to justify their lifestyles….trouble is, millions of his followers don’t know the Bible and therefore are unlikely to contradict him. It’s like “if Elton says it then it must be true”. This is how the warped thinking continues to spread, via me-me-me celebrities and many of those prominently in the spotlight.
On a slightly different note; I am amazed that once again, my reading for the day has come up in a blog…Luke 12.51; I just read it less than half an hour ago! This has happened several times during the past month or so, on this blog and one or two others. Must surely be The Lord reinforcing His Word!
Not disagreeing, Jo, but surely much of the blame should be on those who take notice of what the celebrities say. They may be great singers, actors, or etc., but why do people treat them as any sorts of experts on theology or politics or the like?
Interesting that Elton commented on Jesus, “and the great person that he was”. I have heard this sort of remark by celebs made before. Would be interesting to find out just why Elton thinks Jesus was “a great person”.
We think He was great because we have read the Bible and are gratefully accepting of His life and sacrifice for us. But how much does Elton know of Jesus?? Why does Elton think he was “great”?
Well, I guess Elton’s half right – Jesus does love the gays – that’s why he would be honest with them and tell them that their lifestyle is sinful and ultimately self-destructive.
Mr John refers to Jesus of Nazareth ” as the Christian person that he was”. Perhaps Mr John does not realise that this Jesus IS the Christ, the Son of the living God – or maybe he believes Jesus is a follower of someone else who really is the Christ. The founder of the Christian faith does not become a follower of himself. Does a king then also become a subject in his kingdom? Also his identification in the past tense suggests he may be awaiting the eventual discovery of Jesus’ bones in a burial site somewhere. Apparently their wealth and influence only encourages celebs like these to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt their bone-headed theological ignorance.
What is so loving about two men acquiring a son by IVF deliberately hiding the identity of the boy’s real mother by using first a female egg doner and secondly a female to gestate said fertilised egg? I would call that a violation of the boy’s human rights. And they have two boys. And what were these women thinking of? A collusion of selfish adults to mess up a child’s life.
Dear Bill,
Thank you for including the words: “In the meantime we of course can pray that Elton and others like him see the light . . . .”
Rightly the climax of your remarks.
Surely that is what we are here for, more than anything else.
“According to the measure in which the love of God takes possession of our heart, it creates and nourishes in us an ever increasing love for our neighbor; this love, being supernatural, seeks only the supernatural good for our fellow men . . . .” *
“He prizes one soul which . . . we may have gained for Him, more than all the other services we can render Him” *
And we must pray in humility for our own salvation as well.
“Behold Lord, You are a God of mercy; have mercy upon this poor sinner . . . Behold my desires, my God, and the tears with which I beg this of You; forget my sins, for Your Name’s sake . . . .” *
( * all quotes from Saint Teresa of Avila)
Thanks Arnold. Yes prayer is vital here. But it certainly is not all we must do. We must both pray and work. We must pray for these people and their salvation and pray against all their destructive influences, but we also must work on a public, social and legal level to resist the various militant agendas, be it the pro-abortion crowd or the homosexualist agenda, and so on.
As a clear example, if a brothel or a drug lab was seeking to set up shop immediately next door to you and your family, of course you would pray about it. But you would be grossly irresponsible if you also did not do all you could on a practical level to ensure that these nefarious things did not go ahead. We must put feet to our prayers in other words.
This is always the biblical pattern, and that of church history. William Wilberforce of course prayed against the evil slave trade, but he also worked like mad against it in parliament. So too the rebuilding of the wall in Nehemiah’s day, where prayer and action were both utterly necessary. See here eg:
But you would know all this, since you are (or at least once were) a great letter writer, speaking up for life, marriage and family in the public arena, while you prayed at the same time.
Love is an outgoing giving thing, not covetous. If a child’s biological parents are separated a price is paid and that price is their own child’s broken heart.
About “brainless and immoral celebs”…
They probably are, but their handlers are manipulating the Western world with very deliberate planning and stunning success.
“If I told you what our music is really about, we’d probably all get arrested,” Bob Dylan told an interviewer in 1965.
So pumping the anti-Christ spirit is not just the domain of rock stars who dress like strippers and zombies. The evil sweet songs can be just as deadly – if not moreso.
Elton’s tirade is receiving continued publicity because, in true Beattlesque fashion, it has been organised so.
P.S. Bill – guess who’s been watching that Fabian socialism video from a few posts back? I’m pretty wary of conspiracy theories, but that one isn’t a conspiracy – it’s an agenda.
So Elton John quotes the agenda-speak, and puppet media milk it for all it’s worth.
You tell me that God will punnish me for who I am, what he made me. I say to you: Not my God. I dont know this God you speek of and I don’t care to. My god doesn’t make mistakes and he gave me a gift. I see the world, not in black and white but in all its tecnicolour glory, I have gotten to know some of the most remarkable people on this planet, pwople who you would likley never give the time of day because they don’t fit in your black and white world. And I pitty you in your black and white world, while I’m over here in glorious tecnicolour knowith all of these beautiful people who you know nothing about.
Thanks Laura. Umm, no I did tell you any of that. We choose to punish ourselves when we reject God and tell him his is wrong in his designs for us. By our rebellion we hurt ourselves in this life and in the next. And of course the “my God” that you speak of is simply the fabrication of your own mind, someone made in your own image. But of course the real, living God of the universe is altogether different
And no he did make you as you now are. We live in a fallen world and sin results in all of us being born with a orientation away from God and toward self. In that sense, people can be born with an orientation toward overeating, or anger, or what have you. But the good news is that God has not left us stranded in our predicament. He sent his own son to take our place at Calvary so that we can find forgiveness of our sins and newness of life through faith and repentance in Christ. And that of course is our choice. We can agree with God, thank him for his provision for a way out of our dead end, or we can keep shaking our fist in defiance against him. We have that choice. My prayer is that you choose wisely, as so many others have, including the tens of thousands of former homosexuals who have been gloriously set free in Christ.
Oh, and your paean to technicolour is of course just a euphemism for moral relativism, where there is no right or wrong, and people just decide for themselves. It means telling God he cannot be God, and that we will take his place, and just make things up as we go along. Sorry, but it just does not work that way. I will take the black and white of truth any day of the week.
So we will pray that you make some wise choices here.
Well he has been at it again, making very public and very appalling remarks about Jesus, Christianity and his immoral lifestyle. This is not unexpected of course. All sinners who have hardened their hearts against God and truth will seek to justify their sin, and do so by the most flagrant of lies and falsehoods. Consider how one news item reports this:
“If Jesus were alive today…..”
Hello !!. He is, Remember?
I concur Bill, Jesus came to bear witness to scripture and at no time made any claim to challenge the will of God but to endorse it as he often said that it is God’s will and not his be done.
In this, we need only acknowledge Leviticus 20:13 to acknowledge God’s intention and will regarding the act of homosexuality.
If you think of homosexuality in terms of its typical sexual behaviours it really brings home how batty Elton John’s idea is. The idea that Jesus, his disciples and Paul would have endorsed such behaviour is so out of contact with reality that it’s insane. Elton John’s “thinking” is a good example of how homosexuality can distort perception.
As for gay marriage, according to the Roman poet Juvenal a few Roman citizens tried it, possibly to thumb their noses at tradition, but it did not catch on. Even the Greeks with their reputation for paederasty were not interested.
Celebrities have a lot to answer for in changing community standards for the worse and destroying Christianity.
Yes, it’s another round of “what would Jesus say” games. Elton John and his like are merrily twisting Scripture to make it say exactly what they want it to, to justify their lifestyles….trouble is, millions of his followers don’t know the Bible and therefore are unlikely to contradict him. It’s like “if Elton says it then it must be true”. This is how the warped thinking continues to spread, via me-me-me celebrities and many of those prominently in the spotlight.
On a slightly different note; I am amazed that once again, my reading for the day has come up in a blog…Luke 12.51; I just read it less than half an hour ago! This has happened several times during the past month or so, on this blog and one or two others. Must surely be The Lord reinforcing His Word!
Not disagreeing, Jo, but surely much of the blame should be on those who take notice of what the celebrities say. They may be great singers, actors, or etc., but why do people treat them as any sorts of experts on theology or politics or the like?
My point exactly. The ill informed and often depraved celebrities have too much weight of opinion and many people have been brainwashed into looking to them for the norms and standards they follow.
Here’s another example http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/box-seat/ryan-kwanten-begged-for-true-blood-gay-sex-scene-20140701-zss17.html Feel free to comment on the way the gay agenda is pushed into every news story by “celebrities”
Interesting that Elton commented on Jesus, “and the great person that he was”. I have heard this sort of remark by celebs made before. Would be interesting to find out just why Elton thinks Jesus was “a great person”.
We think He was great because we have read the Bible and are gratefully accepting of His life and sacrifice for us. But how much does Elton know of Jesus?? Why does Elton think he was “great”?
Well, I guess Elton’s half right – Jesus does love the gays – that’s why he would be honest with them and tell them that their lifestyle is sinful and ultimately self-destructive.
Mr John refers to Jesus of Nazareth ” as the Christian person that he was”. Perhaps Mr John does not realise that this Jesus IS the Christ, the Son of the living God – or maybe he believes Jesus is a follower of someone else who really is the Christ. The founder of the Christian faith does not become a follower of himself. Does a king then also become a subject in his kingdom? Also his identification in the past tense suggests he may be awaiting the eventual discovery of Jesus’ bones in a burial site somewhere. Apparently their wealth and influence only encourages celebs like these to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt their bone-headed theological ignorance.
What is so loving about two men acquiring a son by IVF deliberately hiding the identity of the boy’s real mother by using first a female egg doner and secondly a female to gestate said fertilised egg? I would call that a violation of the boy’s human rights. And they have two boys. And what were these women thinking of? A collusion of selfish adults to mess up a child’s life.
Dear Bill,
Thank you for including the words: “In the meantime we of course can pray that Elton and others like him see the light . . . .”
Rightly the climax of your remarks.
Surely that is what we are here for, more than anything else.
“According to the measure in which the love of God takes possession of our heart, it creates and nourishes in us an ever increasing love for our neighbor; this love, being supernatural, seeks only the supernatural good for our fellow men . . . .” *
“He prizes one soul which . . . we may have gained for Him, more than all the other services we can render Him” *
And we must pray in humility for our own salvation as well.
“Behold Lord, You are a God of mercy; have mercy upon this poor sinner . . . Behold my desires, my God, and the tears with which I beg this of You; forget my sins, for Your Name’s sake . . . .” *
( * all quotes from Saint Teresa of Avila)
Thanks Arnold. Yes prayer is vital here. But it certainly is not all we must do. We must both pray and work. We must pray for these people and their salvation and pray against all their destructive influences, but we also must work on a public, social and legal level to resist the various militant agendas, be it the pro-abortion crowd or the homosexualist agenda, and so on.
As a clear example, if a brothel or a drug lab was seeking to set up shop immediately next door to you and your family, of course you would pray about it. But you would be grossly irresponsible if you also did not do all you could on a practical level to ensure that these nefarious things did not go ahead. We must put feet to our prayers in other words.
This is always the biblical pattern, and that of church history. William Wilberforce of course prayed against the evil slave trade, but he also worked like mad against it in parliament. So too the rebuilding of the wall in Nehemiah’s day, where prayer and action were both utterly necessary. See here eg:
https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/06/17/nehemiah-doing-the-work-of-god/
But you would know all this, since you are (or at least once were) a great letter writer, speaking up for life, marriage and family in the public arena, while you prayed at the same time.
Love is an outgoing giving thing, not covetous. If a child’s biological parents are separated a price is paid and that price is their own child’s broken heart.
About “brainless and immoral celebs”…
They probably are, but their handlers are manipulating the Western world with very deliberate planning and stunning success.
“If I told you what our music is really about, we’d probably all get arrested,” Bob Dylan told an interviewer in 1965.
So pumping the anti-Christ spirit is not just the domain of rock stars who dress like strippers and zombies. The evil sweet songs can be just as deadly – if not moreso.
Elton’s tirade is receiving continued publicity because, in true Beattlesque fashion, it has been organised so.
P.S. Bill – guess who’s been watching that Fabian socialism video from a few posts back? I’m pretty wary of conspiracy theories, but that one isn’t a conspiracy – it’s an agenda.
So Elton John quotes the agenda-speak, and puppet media milk it for all it’s worth.
You tell me that God will punnish me for who I am, what he made me. I say to you: Not my God. I dont know this God you speek of and I don’t care to. My god doesn’t make mistakes and he gave me a gift. I see the world, not in black and white but in all its tecnicolour glory, I have gotten to know some of the most remarkable people on this planet, pwople who you would likley never give the time of day because they don’t fit in your black and white world. And I pitty you in your black and white world, while I’m over here in glorious tecnicolour knowith all of these beautiful people who you know nothing about.
Thanks Laura. Umm, no I did tell you any of that. We choose to punish ourselves when we reject God and tell him his is wrong in his designs for us. By our rebellion we hurt ourselves in this life and in the next. And of course the “my God” that you speak of is simply the fabrication of your own mind, someone made in your own image. But of course the real, living God of the universe is altogether different
And no he did make you as you now are. We live in a fallen world and sin results in all of us being born with a orientation away from God and toward self. In that sense, people can be born with an orientation toward overeating, or anger, or what have you. But the good news is that God has not left us stranded in our predicament. He sent his own son to take our place at Calvary so that we can find forgiveness of our sins and newness of life through faith and repentance in Christ. And that of course is our choice. We can agree with God, thank him for his provision for a way out of our dead end, or we can keep shaking our fist in defiance against him. We have that choice. My prayer is that you choose wisely, as so many others have, including the tens of thousands of former homosexuals who have been gloriously set free in Christ.
Oh, and your paean to technicolour is of course just a euphemism for moral relativism, where there is no right or wrong, and people just decide for themselves. It means telling God he cannot be God, and that we will take his place, and just make things up as we go along. Sorry, but it just does not work that way. I will take the black and white of truth any day of the week.
So we will pray that you make some wise choices here.