Nagaland church group says LGBTQ+ lifestyle is unacceptable

The apex church body in the Christian-majority state of Nagaland has said the LGBTQ+ lifestyle is unacceptable according to Biblical principles.

LGBTQ+ extends to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and all other sexual orientations.

A statement released by the Nagaland Council of Baptist Churches (NBCC) on March 12 expresses opposition to LGBTQ+ lifestyle, and extremist group urges “community propagandists” to withdraw from Naga-inhabited areas. The announcement was made a week after the request to do so.

The demand from the Niki Sumi faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Kaplan) was in connection with the first LGBTQ+ conference held on February 29 in Dimapur, the commercial hub of the state.

NBCC General Secretary Rev. Zellhou Kehoe emphasized the church's responsibility to stand firm against issues that challenge faith and morals, which are rooted in unchanging Biblical standards.

“We are not against people who suffer from the LGBTQ+ lifestyle. Loving the person but hating the sin should always be our approach. We also do not criminalize and stigmatize them. “The church's position is simply that our lifestyle is contrary to the teachings of our faith and practice,” his statement reads.

Pastor Kehoe expressed concern about a shift in society that seeks to measure everything by personal happiness rather than God's holiness. The church's role, he said, is to ensure a community of grace that shows love and understanding to people with different orientations, without being judgmental, but without supporting or defending their actions. Ta.

These social changes are forcing the church to take Biblical morals and ethics more seriously and to be less judgmental and more compassionate towards people who struggle with their sexual orientation, he said.

Meanwhile, the NSCN faction said that LGBTQ+ culture is alien to Naga society and that propagandists of such sexual orientation are “corrupting the minds of the Naga people, especially the younger generation, from our cultural and religious concepts.” , trying to pull them apart.” belief”.