Originally published June 12, 2023 9:46 am PDT
A German Lutheran pastor’s remarks during a sermon at the German Protestant Church Congress in Nuremberg have provoked controversy.
Quinton Ceasar, a leading Lutheran pastor, proclaimed, “God is queer,” to a congregation of 20,000, stirring indignation among conservatives and drawing criticism from public figures.
Ceasar’s address at the Congress in Nuremberg culminated in a series of radical left-leaning pronouncements, encapsulating hot-button issues like mass migration, LGBT rights, and the Black Lives Matter movement.
“We are all the Last Generation. Now is the time to say Black lives always matter. Now is the time to say that God is queer,” Ceasar stated, evoking the “Last Generation,” a reference to an extreme environmentalist group.
The pastor also urged for more support for economic migrants risking perilous journeys across the Mediterranean to reach European shores.
“We leave no one to die. We send a ship (to refugees) and much more. We welcome people with safe harbor,” he announced.
Expanding his message of inclusivity, Ceasar advocated for “safe spaces for all,” inviting those with “privilege” to employ it in fostering “more justice.”
He asserted, “We can be allies for each other. We are here. There are also many of us, and we are never quiet again.”
Ceasar’s blending of LGBTQ+ ideology with the doctrines of a religion that traditionally opposed homosexuality for centuries, led to a public outcry, with some commentators and citizens deeming his remarks as blasphemous, according to Remix News.
Jürgen Braun, a member of parliament for the emerging Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, branded the pastor as a “sad, stupid joke,” and expressed his disappointment with the religious institution with which Caesar is affiliated.
Braun criticized the pastor’s statement that “God is queer,” as “blasphemy.”
When asked about the declining membership in the Protestant Church during an interview, Braun blamed it on the Church being “un-Christian,” and its push of “Christianity into the background” in favor of “substitute religious cult acts, climate mania, worship of certain other forms of life outside of marriage.”
Furthermore, Braun claimed that sympathy for radical politics isn’t new within the Protestant Church, stating that “For decades, parts of the Protestant Church have had sympathies for radical left-wing violent criminals.”
He pointed to the Church’s historical leniency towards the Baader-Meinhof group, a terror faction of the Red Army, as proof of this.
Braun continued, “Just as the German Christians in the Third Reich played down or supported the rule of National Socialism. Similarly, today it is about supporting the ideology, the dangerous green-left ideology of the Green Party, instead of spreading the Christian faith.”
Public response on social media was predominantly negative.
One user wrote, “This church convention was the best, no, the very best advertisement to leave the church NOW at the latest. It’s unbelievable what rubbish they spout.”
Prominent figures also chimed in. Dr. David Berger, a noted German theologian, author and gay activist, remarked, “Having long since become godless, they no longer have any problems with such blasphemous statements.”
Julian Reichelt, a former leading editor of Bild, Germany’s largest tabloid newspaper, urged people to “cling to the liberating love of Jesus.”
The Lutheran Church’s increasing inclination towards left-wing politics and their support for issues like mass migration have led to a significant loss of members.
The institution’s involvement in funding NGO humanitarian vessels in the Mediterranean that aid economic migrants has also been controversial.
This shift in priorities has taken a toll on the Church, as a substantial decline in membership was recorded recently.
Last year, over 400,000 members exited the institution, expressing their dissatisfaction.
