The founder and Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International in Ghana, pastor Dag Heward-Mills has caused massive controversy in South Africa over a sermon on homosexuality.
Bishop Heward-Mills who was preaching at a well-known church in Soweto, the Grace Bible Church described homosexual as “unnatural” and “unbiblical.”
“…You don’t find two male dogs, two male cats, or two male lions…even lizards, two male elephants, there is nothing like that in nature, it is unnatural, yes, there is nothing like that.”
But his sermon angered a popular South African choreographer and radio personality Somizi Mhlongo who is also a known homosexual.
He stormed out of the service and later posted a video on Instagram saying he wasn’t going to sit there and be offended. The video has been viewed more than 62,000 times and has attracted almost 1,000 comments.
Mr Mhlongo said the congregation had been cheering as the Ghanaian pastor said homosexuality was “sinful and disgusting”.
“This is who I am. I am a gay man. Get it into your skull. My soul is all right with my God.
“I’m disappointed at all the gay men and women who sat there and listened to him offending us and didn’t do anything about it. I walked out and visibly so,” Mr. Mhlongo said.
Meanwhile The South African church that invited rev. Dag Heward-Mills to preach has distanced itself from the sermon shared by Dag Heward-Mills on his visit to the Church after it incensed a lot of people.
Dag Heward-Mills was invited by the Grace Bible Church as a guest pastor to their 9am service.
In a sharp contradiction, the Grace Bible Church have emphatically made it known that they do not share the views of Bishop Heward-Mills on his homosexual stance.
In an interview with a South African media organisation, the spokesperson of the Grace Bible Church, Rev. Ezekiel Mathole, indicated that the Church is open to all manner of people with different views and opinions and different ways of life and will never discriminate against people with a variant way of life.
“The only thing we want to say as a Church is that we don’t discriminate against gay people and we will never do and have never done that. What was prevalent yesterday was that there was a contrary view that is out there. If you look in the Church it’s an open secret there are people who are pro-gay and there are people who are anti-gay”.
“We as a Church have stated that we welcome all homosexuals into the church and we don’t discriminate against people.”
The Church was also quick to add that this may not be the end of the relationship between the Grace Bible Church and Bishop Heward-Mills, despite the controversy he has generated as he will be called upon when the need be.
The remarks have outraged lots of people and have begun a homosexual rights debate in South Africa. Dag Heward-Mills is the founder and Presiding Bishop of the Lighthouse Chapel International.
