Presbyterian Seminary President Rips in ‘Parable of the Wedding Banquet,’ calls it ‘Disturbing’ and ‘Inflammatory’
Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, Jr is the President of Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA, one of the 12 seminaries belonging to the heretical Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Previously serving as the Associate Dean of Institutional Diversity and Community Engagement at Princeton Theological Seminary (PCUSA), Aloyo recently preached a barnburner of a bad sermon at Saint Luke’s Presbyterian Church in Dunwoody, Ga.
Here, Aloyo ripped into the parable of the wedding banquet in Matthew 22, explaining, “If what we hear in today’s gospel is really what the kingdom of heaven is like, friends, then I am not interested.”
Describing it as “disturbing” and “inflammatory,” he reveals that he is “mystified by the behavior of characters in this bizarre little story,” saying that it does not fit the image of the kingdom of heaven. Later, he calls it a “complex and painful text” and insists “there are too many contradictions and inconsistencies to take it at face value.”
About Author
How much of these anti-parable sermons are the result of “pastors” realizing that Jesus is speaking about them just like the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 21:45? They are blind guides of the blind and everyone who follows them will find themselves in the pit alongside these blind guides. (of course, the PCUSA leaders would probably find that blind leading the blind analogy Jesus spoke in Matthew 15:14 “ableist” and accuse Him of being a problematic meanie for not referring to them as “ocularly-challenged person”)
Well-stated.
As a PCUSA minister and seminary president, he has embibed not only the old liberal theology, but the neo-orthodox existential liberalism of more recent times. For him, and his ilk, there is no wrath in God, only love (as they misunderstand it). But he is misinterpreting what is a parable. His error was that he was interpeting it literalistically rather than as Jesus intended it. A parable paints a picture so that people could more easily understand what He was saying. Sometimes parables were told by Jesus to hide the truth. But you can be sure of this, that those who are in spiritual darkness cannot make good sense of anything Jesus teaches. The whole emphasis of this parable is the graciousness of the king as he invites guests to his banquet. All are invited but only those with the proper spiritual attire can be allowed to stay in. Those who enter with their own robes of [self]righteousness will be excluded, while those who have the robes that the king provides are admitted. In other words, God’s Kingdom has standards for entry and for remaining. Neo-orthodox or existential theology has cancelled the essence from the Gospel and replaced it with man’s foolish and spiritually dangerous ideas.
An unregenerate man is not interested in the kingdom of heaven? Shocker. Unfortunately, he masquerades as a servant of God and leads people astray.
I have tried to find the original video of the sermon this clip came from, but to no avail. I think the church may have taken it down due to his trash talking God. Too bad. I would have liked to have been able to download that video. Still and the same, great article (as usual).