Swedish novelist Jonas Gardell has claimed that his homosexuality is a “gift from God” in response to remarks from a pastor critical of same-sex marriage and gender identity ideology.
Gardell, who is known in Sweden for his novels, several plays, and two screenplays that have been made into feature-length films, has also enjoyed a highly successful stand-up comedy career and is open about his homosexuality.
In an open letter published by the newspaper Expressen, Gardell states: “My homosexuality is a gift from the God who created me so excessively wonderful, and it is not up to you to deny or despise His creation.”
The letter is a response to an article written by Swedish Evangelical pastor Stefan Sward, who questioned how modern gender ideology could fit with the theology of the Bible.
Not Woke Enough: Swedish Church Removes Gay Painting, Not Pro-Trans https://t.co/a8to3AdNRs
— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) December 14, 2019
“How to define a human being is a fundamental theological question. According to the Bible, the Creator has made us a man or a woman. I cannot find any other form of gender identity or sexual identity in the biblical worldview,” Sward wrote.
Gardell, meanwhile, admonished Sward for questioning same-sex marriage and gender ideology and claimed that while Sward quoted St Paul, he acted more like Saul, the name St Paul was known by as he was persecuting Christians, prior to his famous vision on the road to Damascus and conversation to Christianity.
While some in Sweden, such as Pastor Sward, continue to question gender ideology as it relates to Christianity, the state Church of Sweden has largely embraced LGBT issues and the LGBT movement.
Stockholm’s Archbishop Eva Brunne is well-known as the world’s first openly lesbian archbishop, and in December 2019 a Malmö church displayed an altar painting featuring same-sex couples and transgender individuals in a scene in the Garden of Eden.
The Church of Sweden has been forced to permanently close 104 churches, as some speak of repurposing the buildings as mosques. https://t.co/4UnWlNEzEl
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) December 25, 2019
While the Church of Sweden has embraced LGBT ideology and other liberal issues, it has seen a sharp decline in membership in recent years.
In December 2019, it was revealed that the church had seen 104 churches permanently close in 20 years. Similarly, a 2018 report claimed that the Church of Sweden was set to lose a million members or more within a decade as its membership continues to dwindle.
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