What’s Wrong with the United Methodist Church? (UMC Beliefs)

I’m relatively new at being a Christian. So, when choosing a local church to attend, I chose the nearest one- it was right around the corner from my house. I met some wonderful people there, and learned how to worship God the United Methodist way- sitting like a statue, and quiet as a mouse. And when church was over, everyone went out the door in two minutes flat, including the pastor. I knew I was missing something but I didn’t know what, yet.

The pastor was a soft-spoken man who was careful not to offend anyone. His sermons were always exactly 40-minutes long, and usually about how much God loves us, or why we love Him. He was very genuine and believable. However, although this church was loving and inviting, that was it. There was no actual Bible learning, no Holy Spirit, no miracles, no testimonies (other that two I heard in private), and no talk about what the Lord has done.

I started to wonder why he never preached on the inerrancy of Scripture, the authority of God’s word, how infallible it is, or how to be filled with the Spirit. I longed to get closer to God, to learn to trust Him, and this church kept us at a distance from Him.

I have this theory: I figure if you believe in Him, that doesn’t mean you simply know He exists. It means you believe He will do what He says He will do, that His word was His bond and His promises to us, and could be counted on every time. But I wasn’t getting that. All I got was God loves us, and we love Him, that’s why we come here once a week for exactly one hour.

So I thought, maybe the corporate headquarters of the United Methodist Church makes the pastor follow certain guidelines, and that includes not offending anyone, so they have to shy away from certain scriptures, and certain topics. So I browsed the main website of the United Methodist Church and read about their corporate stances and visions. And I was shocked by what I saw.

The United Methodist Church doesn’t teach the authority of Scripture:

And for good reason- because they don’t believe it. Well, some do of course, but there is a lot of debate going on at the corporate level. Some of their social and political stances are exactly the opposite of what the Bible teaches.

They got the love part down, but that’s it.

I’ll back this up with links to their statements, and compare those to Scripture.

• On the death penalty, the United Methodist Church teaches:
  

  We believe the death penalty denies the power of Christ to redeem, restore and transform all human beings… we oppose the death penalty (capital punishment) and urge its elimination from all criminal codes. Source

  But here’s what the Bible says:
  Genesis 9:6 ESV
  “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

  Exodus 21:12 ESV
  “Whoever strikes a man so that he dies shall be put to death.

• On overpopulation, the United Methodist Church prefers liberal propaganda over Scripture:
  

  Since the growing worldwide population is increasingly straining the world’s supply of food, minerals, and water and sharpening international tensions, the reduction of the rate of consumption of resources by the affluent and the reduction of current world population growth rates have become imperative. Source

  .

  You don’t have to be a Bible-believer to know this is propaganda. All you need is some math skills. (Overpopulation myth.) However, this is what the Bible says:

  Genesis 1:28 ESV
  And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

  Psalm 127:3-5 ESV
  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one’s youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! He shall not be put to shame when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

  Psalm 127:3 ESV
  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

• The United Methodist Church on abortion:
  

  We therefore encourage our churches and common society to: safeguard the legal option of abortion under standards of sound medical practice; make abortions available to women without regard to economic standards of sound medical practice, and make abortions available to women without regard to economic status. Source.

  What the Bible says:
  Exodus 20:13 ESV
  “You shall not murder.

  Jeremiah 1:5 ESV
  “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

  Psalm 127:3 ESV
  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.

  John 16:21 ESV
  When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.

  3 John 1:4 ESV
  I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

  Matthew 18:10 ESV
  See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven.

• The United Methodist Church on gay marriage: Current church law bans United Methodist clergy from performing, and churches from hosting, “ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions.” It also bans “self-avowed practicing” gay individuals from serving as clergy, even though many do.

  However, they are working on changing that:

  The Connectional Table, one of The United Methodist Church’s governing bodies, has decided to draft legislation that could change church law “to fully include LGBTQ persons in the life and ministry of the church.” Source.

  What the Bible says about homosexuality:
  Leviticus 18:22 ESV
  You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 ESV
  Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

  1 Timothy 1:10 ESV
  The sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

• The United Methodist Church stance on evolution:
  

  “We find that science’s descriptions of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology. The Church also opposes introducing theories such as Creationism or Intelligent Design into public school curriculum.” Source.

  The Biblical view on creation/evolution: Clearly, the Bible teaches the fact that God made man. Man didn’t evolve from a single-cell organism:
  Genesis 1:26 ESV
  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

  Genesis 1:27 ESV
  So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

• The United Methodist Church supports Palestine over Israel, siding with Palestinians and Muslims over Jews and Israel:
  

  We join with Palestinian Christians as well as our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters in feeling a deep sense of rootedness to the land that has special meaning for our three religious traditions. We celebrate the diversity of religious customs and traditions throughout the Middle East. Source

  .

  Clearly, the Bible supports Israel, God’s chosen people:

  Genesis 12:3 ESV
  I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

  Psalm 122:6 ESV
  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem! “May they be secure who love you!

  Isaiah 41:11-12 ESV
  Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all.

  Numbers 24:9 ESV
  He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”

• The Bible clearly teaches that men and women were created differently, and for different purposes. Women are not supposed to be in authority over a man, and yet, the United Methodist Church has a woman (Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe) General Secretary of the Board of Church and Society, who by the way, is praised by Georgetown University for these accomplishments; “Since coming to Emory in 1991, she has focused on fostering interreligious dialogue and advocating inclusiveness of all beliefs.” Source. Inclusiveness of all beliefs? The Bible says Jesus is the only way.
  
  Here’s what the United Methodist Church says about her:

  For 16 years, Henry-Crowe served as a member of the United Methodist Judicial Council, the denomination’s “Supreme Court.” She was the first woman elected president of the Judicial Council… Source

  
  But here’s what the Bible says:
  1 Timothy 2:11-15 ESV
  Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.

• The closer you look at the United Methodist Church you see a worldy church, one that believes everything the world teaches, even extreme liberal views as you can see. They make it very clear on their website.

  The Bible teaches us not to be worldly, but to be transformed:

  Romans 12:2 ESV
  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

I think that last Scripture quote sums it all up very nicely.

The United Methodist Church is a worldly church. They put politics over religion. They continually change their Christian religion to meet their liberal worldview, instead of believing God’s Word, and transforming their politics to meet their religious convictions.

To all the Methodists that may be reading this, I love you all, but you are being deceived. Please, don’t fall for it any longer. Believe God, not a corporate church with so many anti-Christian, anti-Bible beliefs. His word is always true. You can test Him and try Him, He is always faithful.

Renew your mind, and grow closer to God. You can always change your mind. But you can’t change Scripture. The truth is found in the Bible, not on a corporate church website.

---

Ken Skaggs is an author, educator, entrepreneur, radio announcer, web designer, web marketer, musician, trucking safety expert, SEO specialist, and business owner- in other words, a dreamer.