The thesis of the evangelical preacher Ceasar, “God is queer”, made waves. The outrage within the church, however, is directed more at the criticism than at the claims, which are completely alien to the gospel.
Inhalt / Content
The memory probably sticks to “God is queer”.
What people will remember best from the 2023 Church Day of the Protestant Churches in Germany should not be the empty phrases of a Steinmeier, de Maizières or a Baerbock (all politicians), but only 3 words of the evangelical pastor Quinton Ceasar. “God is queer,” is his claim, based on whatever. But the spectators present at his political speech (it wasn’t a sermon) in Nuremberg gave cheering applause and were obviously touched. The Bible points out in several places that God has refuted the thesis of heterosexuality, according to another claim. But the pastor failed to provide the source. The organizers of this evangelical church congress described this gathering as a closing service.
Thesis did not go unanswered
This statement was not without consequences. It was also only a day before the media reported a surge of hatred against the pastor on social media. As if there had only been “yelling and angry insults”, there was no statement, let alone a defense of the steep “queer thesis” for the time being. The preacher and disseminator of strange messages received support from the political camp. Their representatives condemned the “anger comments” against Ceasar in the strongest possible terms and generally labeled the comments as racism. The controversial pastor is a native South African.
Half-hearted opinions
A denial of a theological nature against the claim “God is queer” came with some delay from the Evangelical Church of Anhalt and probably only as a reaction to the wave of outrage. The president of this regional church, Joachim Liebig, told the “Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk” (TV broadcaster) (MDR) that God “is of course not queer”. In fact, this assertion is a limitation and does not do justice to God in any way. In addition, the Church Day motto: “Now is the time” was misinterpreted by Ceasar. The time is not when Caesar says so, but when God sees fit. If a preacher thinks he can set the right time for a certain topic himself, then he overestimates his own abilities and this is a fundamental theological error, according to the church president.
The regional bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, Friederike Spengler, explained to MDR that Ceaser’s words were not appropriate in a sermon. Calling God “queer” would pose a problem for some believers, Spengler said.
Real denials are not to be expected
These statements by representatives of the evangelical church seem to simply want to take the wind out of the sails instead of jumping into the front row in the spirit of the gospel. In view of the church event, which is reminiscent of an ordinary folk festival with political performances in the beer tent, a representation of the gospel is not to be expected either.
The regional bishop’s statement that “some believers” could take offense at this statement is more pathetic than poor. This explanation is probably based on the reflex of wanting to protect a supposed minority without first clarifying their need for protection. The theologian never even gets the idea that it could be the majority that rejects the ideology of a micro-minority.
From the corner of the regional church in Anhalt, the criticism is directed more at the “unfortunately chosen point in time” than at the blasphemous thesis itself. There is no talk of any consequences anyway, although approved preachers take an oath to exclusively preach the teachings of the gospel. Swam over it. This church now carries the label “Lutheran Evangelical” only because it has stuck to it.
The spiritual emptiness and darkness in and around this church is unmistakable. But such theses of a “clergyman” could also represent a test balloon in order to be able to dose the future firing of the opposing camps in a targeted manner.
