Evangelist Franklin Graham, eldest son of the late Billy Graham, chastised the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom for a "language guide" that instructs ministers and church-goers to shun "hurtful" terms like "husband and wife."
Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, slammed the U.K. church for "trying to edit what the Word of God says."
"Shame on the Methodist Church," Graham wrote on a Facebook post last week. "These are Biblical terms — and marriage between a man and a woman is Biblical truth."
The Methodist Church in the U.K. has released an "inclusive" language guide urging parishioners to avoid certain words that make "assumptions" about family life, the Western Journal reported.
"Terminology such as 'husband' and 'wife' may sound inoffensive, but it makes assumptions about a family or personal life that is not the reality for many people," the church said, suggesting "neutral" words like "parent," "partner," and "carer" as a "good place to start."
Graham blasted the guidance.
"They are in essence trying to edit what the Word of God says and teaches to be more appealing to the changing whims of culture," he wrote in his Facebook post. "We are warned against that in Scripture. As Christians, we aren't called to avoid what might offend people — we are called to share the Truth of God's Word that can guide and direct us through every step of life."
According to the BBC, the same church in 2021 voted overwhelmingly to redefine marriage to include homosexual couples and officiate same-sex weddings. Those permissions are not given in the Church of England or the Roman Catholic Church, the outlet reported.
Last month, Graham also rebuked Pope Francis' document allowing priests to bless same-sex couples, declaring it "has no meaning whatsoever" because at some point, "we're still going to have to stand before God," he told Newsmax.
"Any type of sexual relationship outside of that is sin ... there are millions of Catholics that believe what I believe and stand where I believe, and I think what the Pope has done is brought a lot of division into the Catholic Church," he said. "And … I don't think the church wants that [or needs that]."
Fran Beyer ✉
Fran Beyer is a writer with Newsmax and covers national politics.
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