(CP) British lawyer Andrea Williams warned tens of millions of South Koreans gathered for a worship service that the country might soon face devastating challenges similar to people who Western nations have encountered if it embraces laws that paves the best way for LGBT ideology to affect their every day lives.
“We have removed Jesus from public life,” Williams, founding father of Christian Concern and the Christian Legal Centre, declared to an estimated 1.1 million South Koreans gathered in Seoul on Reformation Sunday.
“People have no idea who Jesus is,” she continued. “They have no idea that He is the Savior of the world. We have removed Him from the classroom, and we’re embarrassed by our Christian heritage. We have legislated for the correct to kill our unborn children, 10.4 million. We have legislated to redefine family and marriage by saying two men and two women could be married and have children. We have legislated to say that a person can change sex to be a lady and a lady to a person. Our equality, diversity, anti-discrimination and hate laws enshrined this as the brand new normal.”
Williams warned that within the U.K., if people refuse to evolve to those laws, “you’re punished,” adding: “Sin is protected in law and godliness is punished. Street preachers are commonly put in jail. Workers can lose their jobs for offering Bibles or prayer. Doctors, nurses and oldsters are being reported to their employers, the police or terrorism squads unless they promote the LGBTQ agenda … bank accounts are closed and charity status is removed.”
She further stressed that the cultural trajectory of the U.K. serves as a cautionary tale for countries considering legal protections for LGBT-identified individuals: “If Korea adopts the identical anti-discrimination laws, the results will come much faster,” she warned.
Williams also lamented the shortage of response from British churches as these shifts took place, saying that many have remained silent and even endorsed ideologies that when were considered contrary to traditional beliefs.
“In Korea, you’re fast. Perhaps it could occur in two or three years. The Church within the U.K. has been largely asleep, silent, while this has happened,” she emphasized. “Evangelical leaders within the church are openly endorsing queer ideology within the church. Do you’re thinking that this cannot occur to you?”
The backdrop for the large-scale worship service was a proposed anti-discrimination law in South Korea, which many Korean Christian leaders imagine may lead to legalized same-sex marriage and the promotion of gender ideology in schools.
One landmark ruling this past July allowed same-sex couples to share medical insurance advantages, an acknowledgment of LGBT partnerships that Christian leaders imagine will result in further legal recognition.
Continuing her message, Williams cited Jeremiah 2:13, which reads: “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their very own cisterns, broken cisterns that can’t hold water.”
“The battle is global,” she said. “It’s a battle between good and evil, between God and the devil, between life and death, truth and falsehood, Heaven and Hell. Korea, God is raising you up to point out the world His way. If God is for you, who could be against you? In the name of Jesus, and by the ability of His Holy Spirit, stand up, oh Church. As we within the West are sad in our sin, may the church of Korea shine so shiny, so shiny that every one the world will seek King Jesus and switch to Him. In Jesus, all hope is found, not only for me and for you, but for families, communities, cities and nations.”
The gathering’s purpose was twofold: to specific concern about legal changes that would challenge Christian values in South Korea and to create an area for dialogue and reflection amongst believers.
Throughout the event, which was attended virtually by an extra 1 million viewers, Church leaders sought to bridge divides and rally the community to guard what they view as essential values.
“This service will remain as a very important moment for the Korean church to reflect on its social responsibility and the essence of religion,” the organizing committee stated in a final address, “and as a milestone that implies the direction and role the Church should take.”
The Rev. Jung-Hyun Oh, senior pastor of Sarang Church and one among the event’s organizers, expressed hope that the gathering would encourage not only the Korean Church but the worldwide Christian community.
“Through this worship service that we provide today in spirit and truth, I hope that families and churches will live and that the Korean Church and the world church will experience a recent revival,” he said.