A Sad State of Affairs

I recently joined (and have since left) a facebook page for pastors about Christian ministry.  The reasons for leaving are pretty simple, really.  It was not about Christian ministry, but about appealing to some bland, faceless, nameless worship of some generic god.  It demonstrated clearly that such things as the sovereignty of God, absolute truth, salvation through Christ, and the like, are simply lost on too many, including those shepherds who ought to know better and should be about certain convictions and certainties when it comes to the Christian faith.  It was a sobering indictment of the state of clergy today.  Sadly, the following exchange is becoming all to common in today's "Christian" world.

This is the thread that precipitated my quick departure from the page.  The original post was a question:  "On Thursday I must conduct a funeral for a 21 yr. old transgender girl who committed suicide yesterday. I am transgender myself so I understand the issues surrounding this situation. I am asking for words/ prayers to use for the service."

Now many responses simply offered prayers and thoughts, in a spirit of compassion.  But from there, it descended into paganism, as one response went thus (red comments are mine, in case it is not obvious):  "In Genesis 1, we read that God created male and female in God's image. This means God is male and female  (NO, it Doesn't). Our transgender siblings may very well resemble God more than I (cis), as their "image of God" bodies are complex and less definable... like our God."

Another response went like this:  "I have often times wondered this. If the pronoun Ze (Uh, "ZE" is NOT a pronoun...)  that is preferred by some transgender are more theologically accurate for God as well."  And from there it continued to descend:  "And a gentle reminder to all not to use the phrase "committed" suicide. Preference is for "died by suicide." It is not a criminal act, but a sad and tragic one."  There was more than one posting grasping at such trivial and pointless semantics.

Explicit references to Christ were absent, with the exception of some very pagan prayers offered, such as this one:

Jesus, as a mother (But he was a man?)  you gather your people to you:

You are gentle with us as a mother with her children;

There were two glaring exceptions to this appeal to a bland, generic god, and both of which came from Lutheran pastors within the "North American Lutheran Church."  They both commented that what was needed was to preach Christ alone, and also asked why the need to bring transgender into it at all?  Here is the dialog on one such comment:

Q:  Why the need to bring "transgender" into it? It is a death of a child of God. Preach to that, in the name of Christ Jesus.
R: Because being Transgender was an important part of who she was and the family has requested I do so.
Q: My point is that being transgender did not save her. Neither does my not being so save me. It is Christ who saves and Christ alone, in the midst of things the world cannot ever understand. That's what ultimately matters.
R2:  Why the need to put transgender in quotes in your original post? That makes it seem like you don't believe transgender is a real thing.
Q:  Oh good grief. really? Grammatically, that is the way the sentence should have been written is all. Did you happen to notice that in my followup where it is not enclosed by quotations? I'm guessing not.
R3: Being a woman or being 21 didn't save her, either, so does that mean those shouldn't be mentioned, either? Where is the line?

This whole, surreal denial of salvation through Christ culminated with the original poster and this comment:  Thank you for all your wonderful support and comments. I used many sentiments in writing the service. I am also Transgender and spoke of my own experiences. The family is Druid and I led a Druid Death Ritual which comforted the family greatly. Your support through this unbelievable tragedy was really appreciated.

Seriously?  A pagan ritual offers more comfort than salvation through Christ?  For those that think so, it is clear that they do not know Christ Jesus at all.  If in the midst of tragedy, some clergy turn to all manner of pagan rituals which deny the death and resurrection of Christ, then the state of pastors in America is in dire trouble (and the church is on a parallel track to it's own collective demise as a result).  I'm reminded of a quote by evangelist John Stott recently, who said "The modern world detests authority but worships relevance. Our Christian conviction is that the Bible has both authority and relevance, and that the secret of both is Jesus Christ."  Yes.  Simply yes.  That conviction is the supremacy of Christ Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords.

This is just the tip of the iceburg in observing the sad state of the Christian church today.  Paganism, apostasy, lawlessness, and cheap grace abound.  They abound because a majority no longer have the capacity to comprehend that God stands above us all.  When we are  no longer mastered by God, we become masters of our own carnal lusts and desires.  I weep for the Christian church as it descends into 21st century paganism.  And I, like the psalmist, pray "How long, O Lord?"