The decision by the United Methodist Church's global general conference to embrace homosexuality has divided the church in Zimbabwe, with former leader Reverend Forbes Matonga and a handful of elders withdrawing their membership in protest.
This church's global general conference held last year in the United States of America resolved to allow homosexuals among its congregants with effect from May 3.
Addressing journalists in Harare Friday, Matonga said by accepting homosexuality the church had committed a cardinal sin forbidden in the scriptures.
“We believe homosexuality is not only incompatible with Christian teaching. It is also illegal in most of our African countries and a taboo in all African cultures we know," he said.
“Sin is universal. It cannot be forbidden in one place and accepted in another in the same church. We believe sin knows no racial, national, ethnic or tribal boundaries. It is a universal human condition. The same is true with righteousness. God is Holy. God cannot be domesticated by human beings regardless of colour."
The former cleric added: “We reject the de-classification of the sin of homosexuality through a smokescreen called regionalisation invented by American progressive/ liberal bishops and forced upon The United Methodist Church via the general conference.
“We know most of our members here in Zimbabwe are not aware of what actually was passed by the general conference of 2024. Even most of our clergy members are in the dark. We who were delegates to the general conference waited and did not get the opportunity to report.”
Matonga said the new Book of Discipline (The Church Law Book) has been published and is set to replace the 2016 Book of Discipline that frowned at homosexuality as " incompatible with Christian teachings."
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“This sad development where bishops of the United Methodist Church went into full throttle assaulting both The Holy Bible and The very Book of Discipline they must uphold frustrated The American Conservative United Methodist who then left the denomination in 2022. The African bishops made sure that African United Methodist members never knew or understood what was going on. The departing brothers and sisters were castigated as colonial and power hungry the same way we shall be characterised and classified following our principled decisions,” he added.
He said the so-called regionalisation was meant to stifle debate on homosexuality in the church.
