EVANGELICAL Alliance Youth International president Moses Lungu has urged Religious Affairs Minister Godfridah Sumaili to stop condemning people based on their sexual orientation and sinful nature because she is not God.

Religious Affairs and National Guidance Minister Sumaili’s has banned the South African gay presenter and singer Somizi Buyani Mhlongo from performing in Zambia.

According to Rev Sumaili, Government would not condone a situation where organisations are inviting people with questionable characters that might compromise the morals of the land.
“Every country has laws. Here in Zambia, we have a Constitution that guides

citizens on morals and Christian values. We do not condone gayism . It is a crime and inviting such people means we are slowly accepting the vice,” she warned.

But Rev Lungu argued that the basis of the Christianity religion is not the law of the land(National Constitution).
He reminded Rev Sumaili that the Bible says that Jesus never condemned anybody who came to him but rather welcomed and transformed their lives.
He said Rev. Sumaili, being a Christian, must differentiate between being in the world and being in heaven.

“When the Church has no power, when the Church is void of authority of the Lord Jesus, we tend to resort to the means of fresh to sort out problems which is very wrong. Remember the teaching of the Bible that Jesus never condemned anybody who came to him. The only difference is that when people went to him, Jesus managed to change their lives. Christians must differentiate between being in the world and being in heaven. We are on this Earth…yes, we appreciate that Zambia has been declared a Christian Nation but it is not automatic that people with questionable characters will become born again. We need to reach out to them so that they can encounter Christ who is in us. The Bible is very clear; it is not for the Christians to judge those who are in the world. You should judge those that are within your Church but even before we judge, we should know that God has given us authority. This is why when you go to TB Joshua’s Church, instead of condemning, he provides solutions so that people are restored to their normal being where they are able to reason properly. If you think the sexual orientation of a brother or sister is a wrong one, do not shun them away, reach out to them so that you can convert them to the Kingdom of God and that is our mission. We are not in the Kingdom to condemn; we are not in the country to condemn,” Rev Lungu emphasised.
He said it is unfortunate that despite numerous appeals, Rev Sumaili has not come up with a Council of Clergies who would give Biblical advice when such matters arise.
“I have called upon the Minister of Guidance and National Affairs to come up with the Council of Clergymen, those that have different theological persuasion so that issues of such matters, can thoroughly be consulted with the word of God to avoid being misunderstood. The basis of our religion is not the law of the land, the Church has a mission to serve the Lord, to heal the sheep, to show cause for not being homosexuals. We are not here with a whip like some religion…to judge or to condemn anybody that comes to Christ. We need to be very careful so that we don’t lose our mission of being in this world. This world is not our home, we are just passing by. I don’t care about that gay individual but what worries me is do I have sufficient power and authority to transform that gay person?” Rev Lungu said.

He emphasised that the Church is not in the mission of judging people of different sexual orientation but to transform their lives.
“… If there are homosexuals out there, it is not our right to condemn them or judge them but our mission is to transform their lives and preach to them that salvation is in the Lord Jesus Christ,” Rev Lungu said.
He urged the Religious and National Guidance Minister not to drift away from the teaching of the word of God and not to create an impression that will make it very difficult for the Church to enjoy meaningfully interaction with non-believers.
“We have an obligation to reach out to the world, to bring the lost sheep to Christ and not to condemn them,” Rev Sumaili said.
But National Revolution Party leader Cosmo Mumba justified Sumaili’s stance of banning the performance Somizi in the country.
“As a Reverend, I don’t support homosexuality and as a party, our position is very clear on the matter…we totally condemn homosexuality. We therefore commend Government for banning that South African gay from entering our country,” Dr Mumba an ardent critic of Rev Sumaili said.