Then the righteous will shine
The voice of a brave man who protects family and marriage
Interviewee/Li Yanguang
Interview/Yang Hanjiahua
▲In mid-autumn of 2008, five thousand people gathered in front of the Los Angeles City Hall and shouted "Yes on 8!" to defend marriage. The world has never forgotten them, and God also remembers them.
“Yes on 8!” “Yes on 8!”
The sound of thousands of people shouting slogans in unison almost shook the heaven and earth. Wearing bright red shirts and holding slogans, they gathered one by one on the lawn in front of the Los Angeles City Hall. The dark clouds above our heads gradually dispersed, and the warm sun of mid-autumn spread golden gauze, covering these warriors with armor.
In the 2008 U.S. election, both parties invested a total of more than 70 million US dollars in order to amend the California State Constitution No. 8: "defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman." In the months leading up to the election, polls were in a tug-of-war, with those who protected traditional marriage and favored No. 8 seemingly losing ground.
The war situation became urgent, so the "Southern California Chinese Christian Monogamy Alliance" and the "Alliance to Protect Marriage and Family" gathered the strength of Chinese churches and societies in Los Angeles, as well as Hispanics, Indonesians, Koreans and other ethnic groups and religions, This rally of thousands of people was held on the afternoon of November 2nd.
─Excerpt from "Gideon Warriors Defending Marriage" written by Lin Minwen, Kingdom of God Magazine, Issue 15, 2009
There is nothing new under the sun. Five years later, at the end of autumn, warriors on the precious island of Taiwan took to the streets to defend marriage and family. This magazine is honored to have a written interview with Pastor Li Yanguang, the main leader of the "Alliance for the Protection of Marriage and Family" at that time. From his open-hearted and sincere sharing, we hope that readers can pick up a series of crystallizations of wisdom, which can be comfort, encouragement and echo. , is a blessing. "Virtue is never alone, it has neighbors." Let us support and watch each other in Christ, and rely on the truth to fight and win.
1. In the smoky California, with tears in your eyes and blood in your heart, you fought bravely with your comrades for the referendum on Proposition 8, and finally narrowly won with 52%. What impact did this experience have on your service? The impact and changes brought about by life?
On that day, when the "Proposition 8" referendum was won, it was truly the most exciting day in all these years of being a Christian. We were like dreamers. The blood, sweat, tears, prayers, propaganda, and efforts of our co-workers and brothers and sisters, Brain power, physical power, and spiritual power flowed in front of my eyes one by one. I saw our dreams come true.
We also saw the power of church unity to influence the community, so starting from 2010, we gathered this power and started the annual "Global Day of Prayer". For four consecutive years, this movement has grown to 60 churches and more than 100 people. Pastors and thousands of people participated in the prayer meeting in the park next to the city hall. These churches became "walking churches," unified churches with no distinction between tradition and modernity; no disputes over the gospel or charismatics. We are all God’s people. We all need prayer, the Holy Spirit, revival, and the desire to preach the gospel.
Taking to the streets and making noise is a way to reveal the gospel. Telling people: "God loves the world" is the gospel, and "God hates sin" is also the gospel. Because God hates sin, he sent his Son to personally deal with the curse of sin. This is really part of the whole gospel.
▲A promotional sticker in favor of No. 8.
As for me, I only promote prayer in the church and have never taken to the streets. Instead, I have become a pastor who takes the lead in shouting on the streets. In just one month, God has led me to see my own altar and the mission of the Chinese church. For me, this is an adjustment. Mind, an integration and leap in transforming theological views.
After co-workers prayed, preached, united, and evangelized, although "Proposition 8" was rejected by the U.S. federal judge, our churches have since gained more encouragement and vision, and have worked together in California to accomplish many significant and meaningful things. of ministry. In particular, I would like to mention that some pastors invest in the cultivation and training of young people. We have deliberately connected with groups of Asian young people and have co-organized some worship services, missionary conferences, and spiritual training meetings. Because this is the key to tomorrow's decisive battle. We have lost too many young people and their groups (including the Internet generation, the media, the legal world, the entertainment industry, sports stars, education, and politics). How to regain and master the power of the enemy? The dominance of the battle has become the key to life and death.
This aspect is so important, but we still do too little, and the awakening is not enough. We should repent, spend time and energy on young people, work ten times harder than before, find strategies, contribute money and wisdom, and most of the talents Get involved in youth evangelism, otherwise you will just sit there and wait for death. This is my unforgettable understanding, and I would like to encourage the church of God: We should be alert!
2. On June 26, 2013, nine justices of the Federal Supreme Court unexpectedly ruled 5 to 4 that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was invalid, and also ruled that Proposition 8 (Proposition 8) was unconstitutional and invalid, restoring California's previous Same-sex marriage bill passed. Looking back on November 2, 2008, in front of the Los Angeles City Hall, the crowd’s shouts of “Yes on 8” seem to still be loud. May I ask: What are your feelings and mood? What prayers do you pray to the Lord?
In 1989, on the eve of June 4th, the Hong Kong Xinhua News Agency's "Wen Wei Po" newspaper published only four words on the entire page: heartbroken; when Nehemiah heard that the city wall was destroyed and the city gate was burned by fire, he sat down to cry, mourn, and forbid. Eat and pray; when Mordecai heard the announcement of the genocide, he tore his clothes, covered himself in sackcloth and ashes, and walked around, weeping and wailing. None of these are enough to describe how sad I was when I heard the verdict of the U.S. Supreme Court...
But I still want to say that God established monogamy. Homosexuality is not only not a right, but a sin against nature, and I will not stop praying for America. If homosexuals have spent nearly fifty years starting from the 1970s to "change from the wrong to the right" today, can't we, followers of the truth of Christ, gather the strength of perseverance and resolve to "return to the right way"?
▲Powerful propaganda touches people's hearts and adheres to universal family values.
3. What attitude should Christians have towards the current situation and the chaos caused by gay activists in California schools and public places? I would like to ask: What will be the future direction of “marriage after God’s heart” in California, what challenges will the Chinese church face, and how will God’s children respond?
Christians cannot keep silent, let alone echo others out of fear of trouble. They should explain gently but firmly: This is not a doctrinal issue, but a universal family value. Someone must speak up, so that only those who understand the error have a chance to know and find a way back to normality. . Christians should take back the initiative in education and do a good job in family education, godly education, and ethical education. They should not allow the deviation of American education to destroy families and destroy churches.
Faced with an endless stream of bills that require signatures, referendums, and publicity, we do our best to do our best. When faced with the increasing number of illegal things, love must be preserved so as not to grow cold. Sign when it is time to call and complain, and go to the streets when it is time to preach; be courageous when preaching the gospel, and do your best when it is time to care. , this is the normal life that Christians in the United States, including Chinese, should have in the future!
Don’t just remember the time when you were intoxicated with religious freedom and live in peace and quiet, because we have exhausted the spiritual blessings left by our American ancestors. The next round of religious persecution has quietly begun, and our American ancestors can take advantage of " "Mayflower" to escape to the new world, where can we escape? What reason is there to run away? Live in isolation, break away from public schools, and become the Amish of the next century?
The next generation has been completely brainwashed, and our generation has also been chronically brainwashed under the constant attacks from the media, audio and video, and celebrities. The situation in the future will be even more difficult.Only the people who know God will be strong and act. In fact, we don’t need to be afraid or panic. The good news is that the gospel still needs to be preached greatly.The righteous will rise up and shine, didn’t the Lord say it earlier? The wheat and the tares will grow together, both the good and the bad, until the time of harvest and judgment comes at the last day to separate the good from the evil.
▲A promotional poster in favor of No. 8.
4. You happen to be in Taiwan during this gathering at 1130 Ketagalan Avenue in Taiwan. What are the similarities and differences between the media’s reporting and fairness and your experience back then?
The media likes to be unconventional. If it is all formal and traditional, it is not news and has no readability. The more counterintuitive it is, the greater the market for news. There are very few media people who have an upright conscience, are willing to uphold good social customs, and know their choices. And homosexuality is a shocking and sensational subject, so I don’t have too many unrealistic expectations about the impartiality of the media. That year, we paid venue fees, meals, and drills, and held a press conference, hoping to explain to the public and express our stance on safeguarding traditional marriage. Unexpectedly, the reporter "automatically" interviewed gay people in the name of "balanced reporting" and reported The length of the article was actually longer than what we paid the reporter to write, and a certain self-righteous Chinese politician claimed that "all Chinese" support same-sex marriage... We really feel that we have spent money in vain, and it has only increased the other party's exposure. Rate. However, when it comes to gay events, parades, riots, and marriages, you can't find "balanced reporting" that supports our side.
During the demonstration and rally that year, five thousand of us gathered in front of the city hall. The largest local Chinese TV station did not even report a word on that day. So how can you expect the media to be fair? The good news is that the decline in media impartiality in Taiwan is not as serious as in the United States. Currently, Taiwanese celebrities in the entertainment industry and Christians still have great influence.
5. On the main stage of the gathering were 50 representatives of the "Protecting the Family Alliance" from 18 religious groups, including Christians. Previously, leaders of various faiths had held a press conference together. I would like to ask: Christians and other religious groups Is it appropriate to work together? What attitude and stance should Christians hold?
The Los Angeles conference in support of Proposition 8 also abandoned "Christians" and used "multi-ethnic" as its rallying call. Therefore, other religious groups came to inquire about joining. We had no objection, but we must be sure that our co-workers are all Christians. Christians, participating in individual capacities on the same theme, do not involve religious activities. Some people may say, "Belief and unbelief cannot be equally yoked." When a flood strikes and everyone joins hands to save a drowning person, you wouldn't say that these are all pagans and stay aloof and refuse to lend a hand. Nor would you say to someone: "Sorry, you worship Mazu and cannot participate in the rescue!" When the homosexual disaster strikes, it is appropriate to increase the number and strength of the gathering as long as there is no flaunting of religion. Traditional family marriage is a universal value and is not exclusive to Christians, but it is absolutely not allowed to compromise on faith.
Another advantage of this is that homosexuality should not be opposed to Christianity. Instead, homosexuality should be opposed to universal family values. Otherwise, points will be lost in both failure and victory, and the gospel will be stigmatized. It’s also good to break ranks with other religious groups when necessary. The Lord’s principle is the wisest: do not forbid, for whoever is not against you is for you (see Luke 9:50).
6. Based on your experience in the battle against polyamory, what kind of talents, experience and resources does Taiwan need? Please give Taiwanese Christians your suggestions and advice after five years of hard work.
A. Raise the level- It must be promoted as a referendum. Taiwan does not have a US justice system, so the referendum has a high chance of winning. The future of voting in the Legislative Yuan is uncertain. Many politicians only pursue political interests and do not listen to the voice of conscience.
B. Increase the number of people- As mentioned above, you must unite all people with the same values and become a social movement, reducing the number of bystanders. You must stand with everyone. Win or lose will not affect the spread of the church’s gospel.
C. Take the initiative—In the Chinese world, with our talents, we are confident that we have the ability to propose a bill regulating same-sex marriage. For example: first cut the bill into pieces, overturn and remove more terrible evils such as "decriminalizing adultery, legalizing doping, multiple families, human beasts...", and then defeat other bills one by one. We can't just deny and condemn it, we need to define it in a framework. Although we don't agree with their behavior, we should fight for the benefits they deserve (which may require us to sacrifice some), and give them a name, such as "alternative family", "same-sex family" "Imitate family", clarify "family" and "marriage" from their misuse, replace "marriage" with "partner", replace "family" with "start a family, imitate a family, a household, etc." and so on. Once the definitions are confused, the battle will be unwinnable. Benefits can be given, but the definition cannot be changed.
D. Witness boldly- Christian medical scientists, sociologists, psychologists, and human rights fighters all came out to explain that homosexuality is not natural, is harmful to society, and is not part of the civil rights movement.
7. Can Chinese Christians in North America and around the world do anything to contribute to Taiwan’s long-term war? What is your blessing for families, marriages and the children of God in Taiwan?
Pray, pray, pray again... In addition to praying, what other action can better turn the situation around and please God? This is the greatest power God has given.
Also, exchange resources - powerful propaganda and outstanding talents, and do not hide anything private from the Lord.
If God is for us, who can be against us? It depends on whether we surrender to God and actively do what God wants us to do: pray, preach the gospel, repent, educate, change society, change public opinion, and change the atmosphere. I sincerely wish all the children of God in Taiwan to rise up, believe in God alone, and rely on God!
Interviewee profile Pastor Li Yanguang, Master of Divinity from Zhengdao Theological Seminary, has been pastoring for 26 years. He is currently the senior pastor of Arc de Triomphe Christian Home. He was the convener of "Save the Next Generation" and the director-general of "Protection of Marriage and Family Alliance" for four terms. The convener of the "Southern California Chinese Rally" on the Global Day of Prayer, and the initiator of the "One Association Loves One Nation" missionary mobilization. He and his wife Zhu Lili have one son and two daughters. A life-long commitment to unity and renewal. Be passionate about prayer, revival, missionary work, and participation in social justice.