Christian College Takes Stand and Cancels Group's Concert, Citing the Contradiction of Scripture
One of the biggest problems that our culture faces — and it appears irreparable at times — is the propensity of many to willfully distort Holy Scripture so it fits their wants and feelings.
It’s as if words can mean whatever one wants them to mean. If somebody claiming to be Christian feels like same-sex relationships are well and good, then all Christians must bow down to those feelings, no matter what the Holy Bible teaches.
Take, for example, Pensacola Christian College in Florida. The school canceled a scheduled performance by the British a cappella group The King’s Singers “upon learning that one of the artists openly maintained a lifestyle that contradicts scripture,” as reported by the Christian Post.
On Feb. 13, the college announced on Facebook that it had canceled a scheduled performance by the group. The statement stressed that the independent Baptist college was “founded upon and guided by the Bible,” adding, “the college cannot knowingly give an implied or direct endorsement of anything that violates the Holy Scripture, the foundation for our sincerely held beliefs.”
The statement was polite in tone and content, stating that “The highly talented musicians were treated with dignity and respect when informed of the cancellation. The artists stated their understanding and acceptance of the change and were given full remuneration.”
According to the school’s mission statement, Pensacola Christian College was established to “promote the cause of Christ by providing a distinctively Christian-traditional, liberal arts education that develops students spiritually, intellectually, morally, culturally, and socially” and “produce Christian leaders who are knowledgeable, articulate, moral, dedicated to excellence, and committed to serving Jesus Christ as they learn to influence the world by applying biblical principles in their chosen field and daily life.”
That’s pretty straightforward. So are the articles of faith that the college abides by.
The seventh article of faith reads, “We believe that God created man and woman in His image and instituted marriage between one who is genetically male and one who is genetically female (Gen. 2:18‑24). Marriage is a sacred, exclusive union between a man and woman and serves as a picture of Christ’s relationship with the church (Matt. 19:3‑12, Eph. 5:22‑33).”
“We believe that God has commanded that sexual activity be exclusively reserved to a man and a woman who are legally married to each other; and that Scripture forbids any form of sexual immorality including adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography (Matt. 5:27‑28, 15:18‑20; 1 Cor. 6:9‑11 & 18, 7:1‑5; Heb. 13:4).”
It is plain from these statements that the college — upon learning that at least one of The King’s Singers is gay, according to the New York Times — made a mistake in booking them in the first place. They couldn’t very well go on with the concert and at the same time honor their mission and maintain their faith.
It seems like an open-and-shut case.
The comments under the college’s announcement, however, were mixed, though most were supportive of the college’s decision.
Jason-Kristie Valentin commented, “We know this was a very hard decision that has already resulted in tremendous backlash online, and we pray for PCC. Thank you for making the difficult decision and for voicing it here with kindness.”
I’m not sure why it was a “very hard decision.” All the college officials had to do was read their mission statement and articles of faith.
Rebekah Marie Ratliff wrote, “I’m thankful PCC took a stand. I know that wasn’t an easy decision, but they defended their beliefs and that is admirable. The real concern is when did we become a culture that feels they have a right to comment on someone else’s decision within a company? This was a PCC biblical cultural decision for their institution. They had the right to make it. Let them carry on in peace.”
Again, why wasn’t it an easy decision?
But not everybody was applauding.
Charles E Sheppard commented, “This is not an act of piety but protection of their golden calf of IMAGE. There is no dignified or respectful way to reject, isolate, and exclude an image bearer who was merely there to share a gift given to him by the creator. What an awesome opportunity to show these men the love of God. Instead they’ll remember the time they were rejected by a Christian College. Very disappointed.”
Richard Ketterer wrote, “The school’s disgraceful conduct and these comments prove exactly what I’ve always known-the main attraction of religion to a large segment of ‘Christians’ is the opportunity to look down on and judge other people to feed their own egos. The exact opposite of the actual Christ’s teachings. Absolutely disgusting. There is no hate like Christian ‘love.’ “
The King’s Singers posted their response on Facebook. “It has become clear to us, from a flood of correspondence and from students and members of the public, that these concerns related to the sexuality of one of the members of our group,” the statement added. “We have performed at Pensacola Christian College before and we entered into the engagement in the knowledge that this is a fundamentalist Christian institution. Our belief is that music can build a common language that allows people with different views and perspectives to come together.”
“[T]this is the first time that anything other than bad weather, the pandemic and war has caused a cancellation in our 55-year history,” the statement continued. “[W]e are disappointed not to have been able to share our music and our mission of finding harmony with over 4000 students of the college and the wider Pensacola community.”
The group expressed hope that “any conversations that follow might encourage a greater sense of love, acceptance and inclusion.”
I wonder if The King’s Singers took the time to read the college’s mission statement or articles of faith before they performed there the first time. I also wonder if the college knew then what it knows now.
Needless to say, the comments under The King’s Singers post were decidedly against the Pensacola Christian College decision to cancel the concert. And needless to say, it is highly unlikely many of the disgruntled commentators were familiar with the college and its professed beliefs.
It’s also unlikely that many of the dissenters are familiar with the Bible. “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God,” Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10.
In 1 Timothy 1:8-11 Paul wrote, “We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.”
In just one example from the Old Testament, Leviticus 18:22 reads, “Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.”
I could go on, but you get the point. The outrage and disappointment from those who disagreed with the college’s decision are misplaced. Pensacola Christian College was merely trying to honor Holy Scripture and stand by what they believe. Why they found the decisions difficult — if that is the case — is puzzling, to say the least.
In its Facebook statement, the college made clear that “everyone is created in the image of God and should be afforded the dignity of kindness.” Any Christian familiar with scripture would agree.
The problem is too many would-be Christians are either unfamiliar with Holy Scripture or willfully distort it to fit their cultural agenda. This is decidedly against what Jesus actually said.
When Jesus predicted his death in Matthew 16:21-28, Peter rebuked him. Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
In a culture inundated with relativism, human concerns trump all things holy. This should not have been a difficult decision for Pensacola Christian College, but, in the end, they did the right thing.
As for the non-Christians who disagree with the college’s decision to cancel the concert: It’s none of your concern.
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