Thursday, May 2, 2019

EU Unraveling


Elections for the EU Parliament are scheduled for May 23, 2019. The “reform movement” is huge. Sovereignty groups are demanding an end to destroying European culture. Leaders of these groups in the Czech Republic, Netherlands, UK, Italy and France are included in the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) political group in the European Parliament.  Poland and Hungary led the way in rejecting the EU Muslim invasion scam. See article below.
 European Elections: "The Battle for Europe has Begun", by Soeren Kern, 5/2/19.
"We are fighting for Europe to remain European, with European values...." — Tomio Okamura, President, Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies.

"My friends, we are gathered here today to stand up for our freedom and our sovereignty. The most precious things we have. Because without a strong nation state, there is no democracy. And without democracy there are no liberties.... My friends, our countries are strong nations. Based on a Jewish-Christian and humanistic civilization. That should never change. So, we want to control our own borders again. We do not want mass immigration. And we do not want to be invaded by a tyrannical ideology." — Geert Wilders, leader of the Dutch Freedom Party (PVV).

"However, my friends, it isn't easy to leave the EU, as the British have found out. Despite a majority voting for Brexit, the establishment and the EU have colluded to stop us." — Janice Atkinson, British MEP, who is also Vice Chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) political group in the European Parliament.

"Immigration must be stopped, and the Islamist ideology must be eradicated.... Islamization and globalism are new totalitarianisms that threaten European countries." — Marine Le Pen, Prague Press Conference. The leaders of several European nationalist parties campaigned in Prague on April 25, ahead of the European Parliament elections set for May 23-26.

The rally was sponsored by the Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), a pan-European alliance of nine nationalist parties dedicated to stopping mass migration and recovering national sovereignty from the European Union.

The Prague event was organized by the president of the Czech Freedom and Direct Democracy Party (SPD), Tomio Okamura, who was joined by Dutch Freedom Party (PVV) leader Geert Wilders, French National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen, the President of Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF), Gerolf Annemans, and British MEP Janice Atkinson, who is also Vice Chair of the Europe of Nations and Freedom (ENF) political group in the European Parliament. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, leader of the anti-mass migration League party, sent a video message. They spoke to a crowd in Prague's downtown Wenceslas Square. Following are some excerpts of the keynote speeches:

Tomio Okamura, President, Freedom and Direct Democracy party (SPD) and Deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies:
"Dear friends, dear guests, dear Marine, dear Geert, dear colleagues, I warmly welcome you here in the historical center of the Czech capital. We stand here symbolically at the statue of St. Wenceslas. Under the banner of St. Wenceslas, our ancestors fought more than a thousand years of hard struggle for the freedom and sovereignty of the Czech crown countries....
"Today, Europeans are once again fighting for their survival. It is not just the migration of colonists from Africa and the Arab countries that is changing the face of Western Europe. It is also the growing assault from Brussels on the sovereignty of Europe's nation states in the name of a multicultural superstate.
"For those who downplay this warning, I would like to mention a quote from the former President of the European Union, Herman Von Rompuy: 'The time of the homogenous nation-state is over. Each European country has to be open for different cultures.'
"In contemporary Europe, the Brussels aristocracy has no place for nations, and no place for democracy either. The former President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz, has been quoted as saying: 'It is not the EU's philosophy that the crowd can decide its destiny.'
"And for those who are still not sure about Europe's ambitions, German Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Roth has called for replacing the principle of unanimity in EU decision-making with qualified majority voting.
"Dear Citizens, the mass immigration of millions of Africans and Muslims to Europe is no coincidence — it is a targeted liquidation of traditional European nation states, as well as the targeted destruction of traditional European values — hence the concept of the traditional family is being liquidated, and patriotism becomes a rude word, because these values ​​are the biggest obstacle to the demolition of nation states.
"It is up to us to decide whether we give up all that our ancestors have sacrificed their lives for, whether we will savor their memory, or defend their heritage....
"I say clearly that the current EU must end! I remind you that at present, European Union directives and regulations outrank the laws of the EU's member states....
"The European Parliament is the only place where we can change Europe. Come to the polls! Together across Europe we advocate a return to the original model of European cooperation, without regulation from Brussels, when sovereign nation states had a common market and free movement of citizens of European nations. And each state was at the same time a sovereign in its territory, adopting its own laws and, if necessary, protecting its borders.
"We are fighting for Europe to remain European, with European values....
"Dear citizens, dear friends, we say a clear 'NO' to further restrictions on the rights of citizens, including the right to own a gun. NO acceptance of Euro currency by the Czech Republic. NO transferring further power from state to EU....
"We are not alone. National patriotic parties are on the rise all over Europe, promoting freedom, democracy and the sovereignty of their peoples.
"We are not alone and together we have a tremendous historic opportunity to win and change the European Union from the Brussels dictatorship to the Union of Free European States, which cooperate on the basis of mutual equality and mutual benefit.
"These elections, if we want, can be a real referendum on the European Union."

Geert Wilders, MP and Chairman, Party for Freedom:
"My friends, we are gathered here today to stand up for our freedom and our sovereignty. The most precious things we have. Because without a strong nation state, there is no democracy. And without democracy there are no liberties.
"Today, we are fighting for our existence. And the biggest threats to our survival and our freedom are the European Union, mass immigration and the Islamic ideology of submission and violence.
"First, let's talk about the European Union. An undemocratic superstate. It is forcing its commands on the peoples of Europe. It is trying to take away our national sovereignty! And we want to be sovereign, don't we?
"The European Union is attempting to erase our nation states. But we say; no more! Let's say it loud and clear: no more! Our nations are shaped by their own history, culture, language and identity and therefore they are impossible to erase!
"My friends, our countries are strong nations. Based on a Jewish-Christian and humanistic civilization. That should never change.
"So, we want to control our own borders again. We do not want mass immigration. And we do not want to be invaded by a tyrannical ideology.
"You Czechs are — as a matter of fact — an example to us all. Because you are opposing the EU asylum policy. You are opposing the Islamization of Europe. You say: Ne, Nikdy [No, not ever]. Your resistance inspires us!
"Let me tell you something about my country, the Netherlands. A few weeks ago, a jihadi attack took place in one of our major cities, Utrecht. Four innocent people were killed in broad daylight in a tram by a jihadist. And in the three largest cities in the Netherlands, the majority of people under the age of 25 are non-Western immigrants. Mostly Islamic. Our people are already a stranger in their own town and country. The Netherlands is given away by the elites. On a silver platter. In many western European countries, it is just like that or even worse.
"The European Union has been pampering Islam for decades now. But Islam is a medieval cult that denies freedom to others. So why should we grant Islam any liberties? We should not, we should stop Islam. By depriving Islam of the means to destroy our identity, we are not violating freedom; we are preserving our identity and guaranteeing freedom.
"As we have seen, the free world has been the victim of many terror attacks in the last few years. From New York, Madrid, Paris, Brussels and Nice to Barcelona, Manchester, Berlin, Stockholm and Marseille innocent people were murdered by Islamic inspired terrorists that hate us and cherish death more than life. And a few days ago, innocent people died on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, where Christians in churches and westerners in hotels were attacked and brutally slaughtered. So, Islamization comes with a very high price. One we are not willing to pay.
"Freedom obviously also has a price and we must be prepared to pay it: a choice has to be made. The choice between Islam and freedom. There is no middle way. Because nothing is more precious than liberty and freedom.
"Defending our freedom, defending our way of life, requires all of us to be vigilant, courageous and audacious. It requires all of us to raise our voice. To raise our voice against the enemies of freedom. Against the tyranny of Islamization. Against everyone who tries to silence us!
"The European Union and many governments facilitate Islam and Islamic immigration. Why are they facilitating a totalitarian ideology? Why are they accommodating an intolerant dogma? It is as if they have surrendered. It is as if they have capitulated. But not on behalf of the people. Not on behalf of you.
"We will never apologize for being free men. We will never surrender. We stand on the shoulders of giants. And there is no stronger power than the force of free men fighting for the great cause of liberty. Because freedom is the birthright of all men. And Islam and freedom are incompatible.
"Unless there are radical changes to the present policies towards migration, over 30% of Sweden will be Islamic by the year 2050. And almost 20% in Germany and France. And it will only get worse in the next decades, because the population of Africa is exploding. According to the United Nations, the population of Africa will grow from one billion people to 4 billion Africans by the end of this century. Many of them will want to come to Europe. Many of them will come from Islamic countries. My friends, Europe is on the brink of cultural suicide.
"The European Union will never defend our national interest and our freedom. So, we need strong nation states. And we need brave leaders who care about the freedom and security of their own people. Who are not afraid to speak the truth about the dangers of mass immigration.
"That is why it is so important to have a huge group of political allies working together in the next European elections. That's why it is so important that brave leaders as Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini have our support.
"And that's why it is so important to have one of the bravest politicians of all Europe on our side, a hero who is not afraid to speak the truth about the EU and Islam: Tomio Okamura!
"My friends, we are the patriots! And we will win! Long live the Czech Republic! Svoboda! Thank you."

Gerolf Annemans, President, Movement for a Europe of Nations and Freedom (MENF):
"I stand like all of you on this central spot of the continent, not only on the crossroads of Europe, but also and more than ever we stand at the crossroads of European history.
"The European Union has become an institution that crushes the peoples of member states because the big bosses of the European Union want to put their organization to become the one and only superstate on the continent.
"Our proud nations will become powerless provinces if we let this happen. What this all means for the future of our children can be seen in the way the European Union put mass migration in motion on the continent.
"Under EU rules, mass migration became a historic icon of wild migration. We have to resist this chaos. We are the resistance. Our political family has the image of Matteo Salvini, who showed as Italian minister that to reverse migration you need one thing and one thing only, the political will to do so. Nothing more, but unfortunately, these days, nothing less.
"Putting this political will into the center of politics is our goal.
"I ask you, did the brave Czech people fight for their freedom to become oppressed by disappearing in the European Union? Did we, did you fight the USSR to get a similar threat in return? Tell us, yes or no?
"No, of course. We fought, you fought for freedom. We stand for freedom. And in this historical election of May 2019 the battle for our freedom will be decisive.
"We are the resistance. Matteo Salvini, Marine Le Pen, Geert Wilders, my party president Tom Van Grieken of the Flemish party Vlaams Belang, and all the others, we are proud to have you and Tomio as strong allies in Central Europe of what will become a force for change in Europe.
"For our homeland and for our freedom, let us join forces and let us stand strong. No matter how strong our opponents could be, we will be stronger because we have the strength of our conviction, and we are the hope that the people of Europe have in us.
"Long live the Europe of nations. Long live the Europe of freedom."

Janice Atkinson, British MEP and Vice President, Europe of Nations and Freedom:
"My message to the Czechs and for the citizens of the EU is to vote for the parties that will take you out of the EU. It is the evil empire. Vote for the parties that will tear down the EU state, so that power is returned to the nations of Europe and freedom.
"The EU is the dictatorship of the unelected, the failed politicians of their own nations, as they suck the lifeblood of democracy out of our countries. These unelected dictators have imposed mass uncontrolled immigration on our countries. They have failed to secure our external borders. They have failed to stop migrants arriving by foot, by boats and via people smugglers.
"The Schengen system allows them to walk freely, to live and work where they choose — even though it is not what we choose. They have unleashed terror on our streets. They have the rape and sexual assault of women on their hands. They have Europe's blood on their hands.
"They have changed our cities and our streets and towns so that they are unrecognizable, and we are foreigners in our own lands. They encourage radical Islam, which has brought into our lives Sharia law, female genital mutilation, child marriage and medieval clothing such as the burka. Enough. No more!
"Do not accept that this is Europe's fate. It is reversible and can be stopped. If you value your freedoms, your way of life, your rule of law, your culture and heritage, the EU has to be stopped. The only way to do this is to vote for Tomio Okamura and his party, the SPD. Tomio, together with my colleagues, Geert Wilders, Marine Le Pen and Matteo Salvini can change the course of Europe.
"The SPD will also give you the freedom for Czexit, a referendum on whether you want to stay in the EU. I hope you follow the British and vote to leave. However, my friends, it isn't easy to leave the EU, as the British have found out. Despite a majority voting for Brexit, the establishment and the EU have colluded to stop us. And that's the trouble. We have elected MEPs and MPs who have given control of our lives and our countries and our day to day life and our future to the people who do not believe in the nation state, sovereignty and control over our own laws.
"In these EU elections, you have the change to save the Czech Republic and to save Europe. Do you want to be robbed by unelected bureaucrats such as Jean-Claude Juncker, Frans Timmermans or Donald Tusk? No!
"My friends, we are at a tipping point in Europe. You can save our continent."

Marine Le Pen, President, National Rally:
"The battle for Europe has begun. In these elections, the supporters of globalism stand against supporters of the nation state. The globalists against the localists.
"European federalists support total deregulation, the complete abolition of borders, the free movement of migration across the planet and the weakening of nation states for the benefit of oligarchs, civil servants and experts. On the other hand, there are us patriots from all across Europe.
"We have chosen our nations, nations whose diversity is the richness of Europe. They must remain themselves and cooperate freely with each other....
"We do not want to seal the borders, but we want to put the doors back to our home....
"My country offers a sad example of migratory submersion. If you are not careful, it will be your future. Whole neighborhoods have become non-French areas!....
"The democratic push of the patriots in all the countries of Europe will make it possible to recast the European framework....
"Today, the European Union does not have the capacity to send tanks on the streets or to fire on the crowd... Yet the goal is the same: to reduce our political, legal, and national identity — our capacities of resistance....
"We, the French and the Czechs, will be at the rendezvous of history on May 26! Long live the Czech people! Long live the French people! Long live the Europe of sovereign nations!"
During a press conference, Le Pen added:
"What we see here, before our eyes, is the emergence of a new European harmony that sees the national parties coming together to offer 500 million Europeans a new framework of cooperation, a new project and a new momentum for the future.
"Immigration must be stopped, and the Islamist ideology must be eradicated.... Islamization and globalism are new totalitarianisms that threaten European countries."
In a video broadcast at the Prague event, Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini said:
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am sending a greeting to my friend Tomio Okamura and the Czech friends at the SPD. I hope, and in fact I'm sure that after May 26, after the European elections, we will finally be working together in a new Europe that defends borders and our children against immigration and Islamic extremism, which must be stopped."
Salvini is trying to unite nationalist parties scattered across the 28-nation European Union to join forces in a new political alliance. On April 8, Salvini was joined in Milan by representatives of Germany's Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, the Danish People's Party and the Finns Party, to launch a new alliance called "Towards a Common Sense Europe." Salvini hopes that the new bloc will emerge as the largest in the 751-member parliament after the elections in May.


Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Climate Hoax in GA


The Global Warming scammers have tentacles everywhere, despite the fact that this politically transparent scam is an expensive unproven theory. In the US, we have improved air quality. 

Smog clogged cities in China should be able to improve their own air quality. I believe the carbon releases in our volcanoes and forest fires are more than sufficient, but there is no link between carbon and climate. Our historic warming periods were celebrated with better crop yields. Its “much ado about nothing”. Sloppy decisions at Southern Company will disadvantage Georgia’s ability to attract industries.

As a Georgia Power customer, I disagree with replacing 1 to 3 cent/kwh power generation with the 14 cent/kwh generation costs paid with wind and solar. I prefer hydro at under 1 cent/kwh and believe we need the reservoirs. I support coal at 2 cents/kwh, but want the slurry waste recycled. I support nuclear at 2 cents/kwh, but want cheaper expansion costs. I support natural gas generation at 3 cents/kwh. 

I do not support wind and solar expansion for Georgia Power, because it results in unnecessary consumer costs.

Wind, solar and thermal should be reserved for remote areas that can live off the grid, like large ranches. This expensive equipment should be paid for by the owners of these properties.

I doubt that man-made climate change is anything but a hoax. I have seen no proof and believe it’s a scam. If you think the Board of Southern Company is smart, you missed how they bungled the Vogtle Nuclear expansion.  See below.

NEW: Pay of skeptical Atlanta CEO now linked to greenhouse gas reductions, by Matt Kempner, 4/26/19, AJC.

A number of public companies are under pressure from shareholders to reduce their carbon footprint. Relatively few corporations, though, have tied those efforts to CEO pay.


For years, utility giant Southern Company treated proposed government climate-change regulations like they were teetering trees threatening power lines.


But, whether he’s convinced of the emissions harm or not, Fanning now has a personal financial stake in reducing them.

Southern’s board of directors recently disclosed it plans to link part of his pay to success in making further cuts in greenhouse gases discharged by Georgia Power, AGL and other holdings of the Atlanta-based company.

Up to $2 million of Fanning’s annual incentive compensation could be affected this year, according to a recent company filing. His total compensation last year was $13.1 million.
That Southern will be one of them has amazed some, given that the company had been one of the most potent fighters against government attempts to force businesses to cut emissions. The company said such regulations were overreach, too demanding and too costly for consumers and businesses. Southern also has been among the heaviest spenders on lobbying Congress and the federal government.

“It is kind of remarkable in a lot of ways in terms of where we first started,” said Sister Patricia Daly, a Dominican nun, Southern shareholder and environmental activist based in Montclair, N.J.

She and others have been pushing Southern to deal with carbon for decades. They gained steam when shareholders nearly passed a 2017 proposal, fought by the company, requesting a report on how to make steep carbon cuts to meet international guidance. Daly described Southern’s latest moves as just a first step, but also a serious shift.

Already cutting carbon - Despite its resistance on the regulatory front, Southern has been curbing its carbon footprint in Georgia for years. That’s the result of shifting economics that led Georgia Power and other utilities to switch from heavy reliance on coal to cheaper natural gas, which tends to have significantly lower CO2 emissions. Under pressure from state regulators and business customers, the company also has put more emphasis on carbon-free solar power.

And Southern is boosting nuclear energy with the expansion of Plant Vogtle, south of Augusta. The project is years behind schedule and billions of dollars over budget, costs that are likely to be passed on to Georgia consumers and business. But the two new reactors will produce more carbon-free power.

Additional carbon cuts are on the horizon. A year ago, Southern unveiled its first companywide goals to reduce CO2 emissions.

By 2030, the company said, discharges will be half of what they were in 2007. The company had accomplished much of that goal before it was announced, having sliced greenhouse gas emissions in the preceding decade by 36 percent. It still emitted more than 97 million metric tons of the gases in 2017.

Southern’s commitment for “low- to no-carbon emissions” by 2050 may be a far steeper challenge.

The company said it expects to close more coal units and rely more on natural gas-fueled plants, nuclear power, renewables, energy efficiency and research into fresh options.

“Southern Company is focused on developing and deploying technologies that reduce greenhouse gases while making sure that energy remains clean, safe, reliable and affordable,” a spokesman wrote in an emailed statement. “We believe this is the most responsible approach for our customers, our communities and our shareholders.”

Still, Georgia Power didn’t specifically factor in its parent company’s reduction goals when it updated long-range energy plans, one of the utility’s executives recently said in a hearing with state regulators.

Growing pressure - Dan Bakal, a senior director at Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit that works with investors, said Southern’s 2030 goal “is not that ambitious” and the later goal is a bit vague. Nonetheless, he said, “I do commend Southern Company for taking this step.”

While other large U.S. companies include greenhouse gas reductions in broad scorecards about health, safety and the environment, “very few tie it formulaically to short- or long-term CEO compensation,” according to John Roe, head of ISS Analytics, an arm of Institutional Shareholder Services.

Among the few that do are Verizon Communications, Alcoa and Xcel Energy, Roe wrote in an email.

But pressure is growing. Royal Dutch Shell announced that next year it will link executive compensation to cutting emissions. And Chevron said reducing methane and flaring intensity would become part of a scorecard tied to pay, according to Reuters.

Past doubt - Even as Southern uses money to motivate its CEO on climate change issues, Fanning has left differing public impressions about his own thoughts on the causes of climate change.

Two years ago, during an appearance on CNBC, he was asked, “Do you think it has been proven that CO2 is the primary climate control knob?”

“No, certainly not,” Fanning replied. “Is climate change happening? Certainly. It’s been happening for millennia. That’s not the issue.”

But a month later, when talking about human-caused climate changes, Fanning said: “Does anthropogenic CO2 emissions influence global warming? Well, most science says it does. Absolutely.”

While there is debate related to how much temperature change might be involved, he said, “I would say that generally people believe – I believe – that anthropogenic CO2 emissions do impact global warming.”

Asked by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to clarify specifically whether Southern’s leaders believe carbon is the main driver of climate change, a company spokesman didn’t give a clear affirmative or negative.

He wrote: “Southern Company recognizes the importance of climate change for our nation and our world and is committed to our low- to no-carbon goal.”


Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Wind Solar Unworkable


Batteries cannot make renewables reliable, by David Wojick, 4/26/19, CFACT.

Utilities are starting to experiment with adding batteries to wind and solar projects. These storage projects are feeding the mistaken belief that batteries can cure the intermittency that makes wind and solar unworkable as a reliable source of power.

The reality is that these battery projects are trivial in size compared to what would actually be needed to make wind or solar reliable. The cost of battery based reliability would actually be stupendous, far more than we could ever afford.
Here are some simple numbers to make the point. The reality would be far more complex, but the magnitude would not change much.

First comes the cost of utility scale battery facilities. This is much more than just the cost of the batteries. At utility scale these are large, complex facilities. Connecting all of the batteries involved and getting them to work properly together is a big challenge in itself. AC-DC-AC conversions are also a big deal, plus there are buildings, transmission stuff, etc.

In many cases these costs are proprietary, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration has surveyed a number of these facilities. See their “U.S. Battery Storage Market Trends,” May 2018.

The reported costs are pretty wide ranging, but the average is close to $1,500 per KWh, so let’s use that round number.

Note that this is the cost per KWh of storage capacity, not the KWh cost of energy from the batteries taken over time, which is a very different matter. There is a lot of confusion on this point. The KWh cost of juice goes down as the batteries are cycled more often, but the cost of the battery facilities themselves does not change. In fact the cost may go up because batteries that can be cycled faster cost more.

At utility scale we are talking about megawatts, not kilowatts, so the battery cost is $1.5 million per MWh. By coincidence, $1.5 million per MW is also roughly the cost of a wind farm. Much follows from this.

A smallish wind farm might have generating capacity of 100 MW, so costing around $150 million. The cost of the batteries to make this farm a reliable power generator turns out to be much, much greater.

Suppose we want to store enough juice to back up the wind farm for just one day, when the wind speed is too low to generate any power. Let’s say we simply need 100 MW for 24 hours, or 2,400 MWh.

At $1.5 million per MWh that is a whopping $3,600 million or $3.6 billion. In short, the batteries cost 24 times more than the “backed up” wind farm costs. In fact in this case the battery cost will be the number of hours times the wind farm cost.

This huge cost certainly makes the wind farm unaffordable, but it gets much worse. Under standard conditions a wind farm produces no power around 25% of the time, due to low wind conditions. Low wind periods of up to a week are fairly common, created by stagnant huge high pressure systems. The power battery system has to be big enough to accommodate these long periods of no wind power.

A week has 168 hours so we need 16,800 MWh of battery storage capacity, at the enormous cost of $25.2 billion, just to make a $150 million wind farm reliable. This would obviously be absurd, which makes the whole idea of battery backup absurd. Even if the cost of batteries were to come way down, say by 90%, the cost would still be wildly prohibitive.

The battery systems that are being announced by major utilities are nothing like real backup. They seldom store even an hour’s worth of generated power (at great price). But they are often touted as being a big step toward making renewables reliable. This is either deep ignorance or pure deception.

Batteries simply cannot make renewables reliable. They cost too much.


Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Methodist Church goes Conservative


UMC won’t be supporting the Gay Agenda. See below: 

United Methodist Court Upholds Traditional Plan, Allows Liberals a 'Gracious Exit', by Tyler O’Neil, 4/20/19.

On Friday, the Judicial Council of the United Methodist Church (UMC) — the denomination's highest court — upheld the key provisions of the Traditional Plan, the conservative policy upholding traditional Christian teaching on sexuality, and upheld the "Gracious Exit" policy, enabling dissenting liberal churches to leave while still holding on to their property.

These decisions finalize an unprecedented move in increasingly liberal mainline Protestant denominations. The Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (USA) have rejected the traditional Christian teaching that marriage is between one man and one woman and that homosexual activity is sinful. Liberals in the UMC wanted that denomination to move in that direction, as well.

Yet in February, in a special meeting of the UMC General Conference, the denomination passed the conservative alternative. White liberals accused black Africans of using bribery to uphold the traditional Christian teachings, but no evidence of any such activity came to light. No, the conservative position prevailed, fair and square.

In recent decades, as mainline Protestant denominations started rejecting the clear teachings of scripture, many congregations decided to leave. My church, the Falls Church Anglican, left the Episcopal Church in December 2006, following Nigerian bishops who remained devoted to the Bible. The Episcopal Church had ordained openly homosexual clergy, but it also had firmly rejected the Bible's teaching that Jesus is the only way to reconciliation with God and eternal life.

While the congregation — not the Episcopal Church — owned the church building (with a history tracing back to George Washington), the denomination claimed the building. In 2012, the Supreme Court awarded the historic property to the Episcopal Church. My congregation lost the building, worshipped in school auditoriums, and only recently raised enough money to construct a new church building, which is still under construction.

The UMC move to allow dissenting congregations to keep their property is extremely generous, given this recent history. While liberal denominations fight tooth and nail to take property away from local congregations who wish to uphold the Bible's teaching, the conservatives in the UMC not only upheld biblical teaching on sexuality but also approved a plan to let dissenting congregations leave the denomination with their property intact.

Many have attacked the UMC policy as "anti-LGBT," but the policy explicitly holds to the principle of "inclusivity" in addition to Bible teaching on sexuality.

"The United Methodist Church acknowledges that all persons are of sacred worth," the policy states. "All persons without regard to race, color, national origin, status, or economic condition, shall be eligible to attend its worship services, participate in its programs, receive the sacraments, upon baptism be admitted as baptized members, and upon taking vows declaring the Christian faith, become professing members in any local church in the connection."
Yet the UMC does not cave on the Bible's clear condemnation of homosexual activity.

"The practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching. Therefore self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church," the policy states. "Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be conducted in our churches."

In defending the Traditional Plan, the UMC's Judicial Council struck down seven of the 17 petitions, leaving the most influential policies intact. Clergy who engage in homosexual activity or identify themselves as actively homosexual will be disciplined when the plan comes into effect next year.
The Traditional Plan defines a "self-avowed practicing homosexual" as a person who is "living in a same-sex marriage, domestic partnership or civil union or is a person who publicly states she or he is a practicing homosexual." Such persons are not eligible for leadership in the United Methodist Church.

Despite the passage fo the Traditional Plan in February and this recent decision upholding the plan last Friday, liberal members of the UMC are not yet leaving the denomination. The UMC General Conference will meet again next year, and liberals have decided they will attempt to fight back at this conference. If the Traditional Plan again prevails — as is likely — a mass exodus will begin.

When these liberal congregations decide to leave, at least they will hold on to their property — and they will not even have to wage a long legal battle like my church did.
It is tragic that Christian denominations like the UMC face such divisions. However, Christians must follow Jesus, no matter how counter-cultural His teachings are. Those who reject traditional Christian doctrine are distancing themselves from the gospel, especially if they reject the historic bodily Resurrection of Jesus or the unique saving power of the gospel.

The church should always be a welcoming place for struggling people — those with homosexual attractions and gender confusion emphatically included. However, that does not mean that churches must embrace LGBT identities and practices. Christians must preach the message of love and repentance — love and inclusion for those who struggle, but repentance from what the Bible clearly defines as sin.

Christians must constantly examine our hearts. We must offer love and grace, but without abandoning the scripture, the very basis for that grace and love. Jesus calls us to uphold traditional teaching while genuinely caring for those who struggle with same-sex attraction and gender confusion. Liberals cannot afford to reject truth, and conservatives cannot afford to reject love. Yet liberals must not pretend that holding to biblical teaching is somehow a rejection of love.

The UMC shows how conservatives can win with grace and love. Allowing liberal congregations to leave with their property is a gracious act, one befitting followers of the man who told His disciples to pray for their enemies.


Comments

Gays deserve to be left alone and so do we.

Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader

Gay History in CA


(VIDEO) California Teaching Pedophilia as a Sexual Orientation, by Tori McNabb, 4/28/19.

Why in the world would you ever teach pedophilia as a sexual orientation when pedophilia is illegal in all 50 states?

I can only think of one reason. They want to normalize the practice by teaching the young and impressionable that it’s a perfectly acceptable practice. Once they do that, they can pass a law legalizing pedophilia. That’s all we need is hundreds of thousands of pregnant 4th and 5th graders and boys who are traumatized by their physical education teacher or scoutmaster with nothing to stop the practice.

From The Freedom Project - Government school officials in California think it is “really important” to teach children about pedophilia and pederasty in the classroom because it is a “sexual orientation.” That is according to a top official for California’s Brea Olinda School District, who admitted to parents that it was being done and that it would continue, despite the outrage.

The implications are mind-blowing. The stunning admission came after a parent-information meeting last month for the Brea Olinda Unified School District (BOUSD). Stephanie Yates, founder of Informed Parents of California, asked school officials why they were “teaching pedophilia in school to 9th graders.”

But instead of a denial that such an atrocity was taking place, a top school official confirmed it was happening and acted like there was nothing wrong with it. 

“This is done because we are talking about historical perspectives of how gender relations and different types of sexual orientations have existed in history,” said BOUSD Assistant Superintendent of Curricula Kerrie Torres in a matter-of-fact way, sounding almost oblivious to how the bombshell might sound to normal people. 


Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader