ENGLAND: BRITISH EVANGELICALS DECRY JEFFREY JOHN APPOINTMENT

By David Phillips

Evangelical News

April 19, 2004

The appointment of Dr. Jeffrey John as Dean of St. Albans—announced April 19—has drawn sharp condemnation from evangelical leaders.

Though John claims celibacy in his long-term same-sex relationship, he has never repudiated the relationship itself—directly contradicting Scripture’s teaching on sexual morality.

The Bible is unequivocal: sexual intimacy belongs exclusively within heterosexual marriage. As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 6:9–10:

“Do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?… Fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, sodomites… none of these will inherit the kingdom of God.”

Attempts to reinterpret “sodomites” (arsenokoitai) as anything other than active homosexual practice have failed under scholarly scrutiny.

This is not merely about behavior—it is about salvation. To normalize what Scripture calls sin is to mislead souls.

Underlying the crisis is a deeper issue: the authority of Scripture. Classical Christianity affirms the Bible as God’s inspired, infallible Word. Liberalism—dominant in many Western churches—treats Scripture as a record of evolving human insight, placing the individual above divine revelation.

To install a leader who embodies this rejection of biblical authority is to institutionalize heresy.

David Phillips

General Secretary, Church Society

General Synod Representative, St. Albans Diocese

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