Same-sex marriage, not biblical -Bishop Yohanna.
By OKERAFOR ATHANATIUS, JALINGO
The Bishop of the the United Methodist Church, (UMC) Nigeria Episcopal area, John Wesley Yohanna has continued to condemn the practice of same-sex marriage and/or homosexuality among UMC members saying such practices are not in conformity with biblical teachings.
Bishop Yohanna made his position known while responding to questions from Journalists shortly after a joint special call session of UMC, Nigeria Episcopal area held Saturday at the McBride UMC in Jalingo the Taraba State capital.
The Clergy said, from the beginning, God created man and when He discovered that man was actually lonely, He created a woman who accordingly gave joy to the man.
Bishop Yohanna, who reiterated that marriage was between a man and a woman further disclosed that God would have created a man as a suitable partner for man instead of creating a woman for a man had it been that it was right for him to do so. God could have created another man for man but He didn’t do it because it was wrong for Him to do so.
“God created a woman (Eve) and presented her to the man (Adam) and the man was so happy and they lived together joyfully”, he said.
Bishop John Wesley Yohanna was reacting to a resolution passed at the General Conference of UMC that homosexuality is compatible with Christian teaching.
“However, one of the resolutions that was passed at the general conference which was the removal of the compatible language which has been in our discipline for decades”,
“This particular resolution as I speak to you, I will continue to stand against it because it is not biblical”.
“Therefore, I reject that resolution of the General Conference and I stand against it”,
“I also call on all members of the United Methodist Church, Nigeria Episcopal area to reject such a resolution and stand by the biblical standard that marriage is between a man and a woman”, he added.
The man of God however, expressed dismay over what he described as disruption of the election that was to take place that morning at the UMC Episcopal Area McBride Magami by a faction of the church break-aways.
He said the break-aways were out to cause confusion among the brethren. “And you can see, we have not had the election only because of their disruption this morning”,
“However as a Bishop, one of the roles I have is to make sure that the people are united”, said Bishop Yohanna.
Referring to the break-away members, Yohanna said he was willing to have them back despite all odds done against him and the entire Episcopal Area.
