Is Courage's Basis of Faith Truly Evangelical?

Submitted by Alan Marsden on Tue, 03/01/2017 - 22:55
 
I recently came across the website for 'Courage', a British group that claims to be evangelical Christian yet affirming of homosexual relationships. Evangelicalism typically rejects homosexual relationships, though not homosexual people, as same-sex relationships seem contrary to scripture, which evangelicals claim is the highest authority. I therefore spent a little time examining their Basis of Faith. It reads (italics):

We believe in one God who is made known through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both human and divine. We believe that the Bible is inspired by God and an entirely trustworthy and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

A great start! Who could argue with this? 

We believe the Scriptures teach that we have all fallen short of the best God intended for us (i.e. to be like Jesus) 

Hmm, okay. This is correct though as unusual turn of phrase.

because we all sin. 

Sin is more than just something we do, it is a condition, a state. It is a disease which contaminates our entire being. This is where the basis of faith begins to falter.

But the good news Jesus taught affirms God’s unconditional love to all men and women.

I have no doubt that God does love us but it wasn't the main feature of Christ's teaching.

Through his power, Christ sets us free from the guilt, penalty and addictive control of sin and brings us to wholeness,

Through His power? What about His cross? What about the atonement? So here we have it. A gospel without a cross. Wholeness? We do become whole when we are saved but it isn't the Bible's most frequent word to describe the saved state.

when we turn to him in humble repentance and faith, entrusting and surrendering our lives to him.

At least they do use the words 'repent' which many Christian ministries do not. Presumably the people behind this website do not believe that homosexual relationships require repentance.

We believe the Bible makes it clear from the beginning that all men and women have a God-given need for companionship and belonging. For heterosexual people this finds its highest expression in a marriage blessed with children. For gay people we believe that finding a same-sex partner with mutual commitment, equality, respect and faithfulness is the alternative to celibacy. God may call a person to either state, but in both states all Christians must shun immorality.

So they are saying that God actually calls people to form gay relationships; this is going further than merely saying that God approves or accepts them. They are quite correct to say that immorality can be both heterosexual and homosexual. I am not however convinced, having read the statements of faith, that this group is evangelical. There is little wonder they left the UK's Evangelical Alliance.