In York County, South Carolina, a group of 23 “pastors” (and yes, I use the term lightly) have gotten behind a push by a liberal PCUSA pastor to call Christians to view Islamists as “brothers and sisters.”
Sam McGregor, pastor at Allison Creek Presbyterian Church near Lake Wylie, spoke with Freedom Outpost following a local article that stirred up a hornets’ nest.
McGregor wrote the following letter:
“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells his listeners ‘Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God.’ We are 24 Christian pastors from various denominations across York County who stand with our Muslim brothers and sisters who live in and around the community called Islamville. We stand opposed to any acts of violence or threats of violence against anyone due to their religious affiliation. We stand with law enforcement as they seek to protect all residents of York County regardless of their race or religious expression. Any Christian who uses their faith as a basis for bringing harm upon another has completely misunderstood what it means to lift up the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We urge all Christians to unite together and speak out against any threats of violence against their York County neighbors in Islamville and throughout York County.”
While one can agree that we should not be instigators of violence against anyone, what Mr. McGregor fails to point out is the ideology behind Islam is responsible for over 20,000 Islamic jihad attacks since 9/11. Well, Mr. MacGregor, yours truly is speaking out. The Koran “your brothers and sisters” hold to issues threats of violence against all Christians. What will you do about it?
“If there is one God, one Creator, then we are all God’s children because God has created all of us,” McGregor told Freedom Outpost. “Because we all have the same parent, whether we acknowledge that, you know, whether we’re atheist,… deny it, whether we call God different names, whether we seek after different gods.”
Now, I did have him clarify that what he was referencing was the Created order. This is the idea that all men are created in the image of God.
“I affirm my belief in Genesis one and two that God created us all,” he said. “Therefore, since God created all of us… that means that every human being on this earth… is my brother or sister.”
He even went on to say that because of his belief he was able to learn of Allah from his “brothers and sisters” and they learn from him. “Together, we learn more about this God who created all of us.”
How is that? How are those who are anti-Christs able to teach Christians about the true God (1 Jn. 2:27)?
Far from calling Muslims (anti-Christs) his brothers, the apostle John, whom Jesus loved, penned the following:
And this is love, that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment, That, as ye have heard from the beginning, ye should walk in it. For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds. -2 John 1:6
Anti-Christ is not a person, it’s a doctrine, and John clears that up in his epistles. Islam rejects that God came in the flesh in the person of Jesus Christ (Jn 1:1-13; 1 Jn. 1:1ff). Therefore, they are anti-Christ’s and as such, Mr. MacGregor is not only deceived and engaging in deception, but is in the middle of a snake pit.
Yet, when asked if he viewed Muslims as brothers and sisters in Christ, he dodged the question, not once, but several times; and this is where the deception comes into play. He referenced books and other people, but not once addressed such passages as when Jesus said the religious leaders of His day were of their father the devil (Jn. 8:44). Not once did he address the apostle Paul when he wrote that we all were children of disobedience (Eph. 2:2-30) until we were adopted into the family of God and made brothers and sisters in Christ (Eph. 1:5; 2:12-20). He had no answer for the fact that it is Jesus who grants to men the power to become sons of God (Jn. 1:12-13).
All of this comes as the Gospel of the person and work of Jesus Christ is presented to sinners (yes, just like me) and God graciously works in their hearts through the power of His Holy Spirit.
When I provided the above references to Mr. MacGregor, he tried to point to the fact that Muslims, Christians and Jews trace their lineage back to Abraham as though it is the same religion. It is not. Islam began five centuries after Christ and though Islam claims to extend from Abraham through Ishmael, the covenant from God does not extend through that line, neither is it an “Abrahamic religion” because it does not follow the covenant religion. (See my previous address of this subject.)
He then dropped the bombshell that he just began to read a book that claims to correct “misapprehensions about Jesus in the Koran.” Immediately red flags go up. Consider that Mr. MacGregor has a PhD, so there is no excuse for his ignorance of history, Islam, the Christian faith or the Bible. I have read the Koran. I have read numerous commentaries on the Koran. MacGregor did not assert that he had even fully read the book he was referencing nor did he assert the fact that he had read the Koran fully. From the interview, I got the sense he is not familiar enough with the Christian Scriptures to answer basic theological questions. As one who calls himself Presbyterian, I’m sure John Calvin is rolling over in his grave.
The problem with Mr. MacGregor’s position in all of this is the fact that Scripture is not his final authority. Over and over I asked him why share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those he considers his brothers and sisters. He had no answer. When asked his purpose in sharing the Gospel, he had no purpose.
To further demonstrate that Mr. MacGregor does not adhere to God’s Word as the final authority, but rests in his opinion and “belief,” I asked him, since he is a part of the apostate PCUSA, if he agreed with women elders and marrying those who engage in sodomy.
He laughed and said those were “loaded questions.” However, they are simple “yes” or “no” questions. While he did affirm his approval of women elders, in spite of the specific commands from Scripture (1 Tim. 3; Titus 1), he would not elaborate on sodomy-based “marriage,” which tells me that he is in league with the apostates of his denomination in affirming what God calls an abomination.
MacGregor is in the snake pit and it won’t be long before he gets bit. Perhaps one day soon, when they are sawing his head off for all to see, reality will catch up to him. Until that time, I told Mr. MacGregor that it was my Christian duty to command him to repent of his sin and open deception concerning the Gospel, God and Islam. With that, he mockingly told me to “have a blessed day.”
If you want to know why America and the Church in America is in the position we are, you need to look no further than people like Sam MacGregor. Please warn your friends in the York, South Carolina area of Mr. MacGregor’s church and all those who promote the assimilation with the anti-christ religion of Islam.
Finally, according to Anna Douglas, there were at least two pastors who would not sign the letter because of the deceptive language of referencing Muslims as brothers and sisters. Good for them!
The following are other pastors in the area who are apparently leading their flocks astray:
Rev. Dr. Sam E. McGregor Jr.; Rev. Dr. Mark Verdery; Mr. Mike Conn, CRE; Rev. Dr. Barry W. Lambert; Rev. David Brown; Rev. Jeff Lingle; Rev. Chris Stoxen; Rev. Jeff Bryan; Rev. David D. McManus; Rev. Sonya Burns; Rev. Matthew B. Horne; Rev. Robert O. Moss III; Rev. James Carrot Williams; Rev. Rett Haselden, all of Rock Hill
Rev. Brandon Lazarus; Rev. John O’Kain; Rev. Dr. Douglass Key; Rev. Thelma Gordon, all of Clover
Rev. Trey Doyle; Rev. Neill McKay; Rev. Dr. Sheila Elliot, all of York
Rev. Dr. Joanne Sizoo of Tega Cay
Rev. Gayle G. Montgomery of Lake Wylie
Rev. Edgar McCall of Fort MillSource
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