Christians outraged after Colombia's Pres. Petro denies Jesus is Lord, claims He had sex with Mary Magdalene
During the reopening of a hospital in Bogotá, Colombia, President Gustavo Petro delivered a speech that sent shockwaves through the country's religious community.
In his speech, Petro said he refuses to call Jesus "Christ," arguing that it is a Greek name used to turn the figure of the Redeemer into a symbol of "power and king," something that, according to him, Jesus never was.
Petro defined Jesús as a "man of light, of truth and revolutionary," but he went further by speculating that Jesus "made love, yes ... perhaps with Mary Magdalene, because such a man without love could not exist."
These words, captured on video, unleashed an immediate wave of criticism for what is considered a political instrumentalization and a lack of historical rigor.
The Evangelical Confederation of Colombia (CEDECOL)and other Christian groups have expressed their "deep rejection" of Petro's statements.
CEDECOL, which represents thousands of churches and millions of believers, issued an official statement expressing its "deep concern and rejection" of the Colombian president's claims.
The organization also listed fundamental points for the defense of Christ's identity:
1. The Bible presents Jesus Christ as holy, upright and obedient to the divine purpose, and Mary Magdalene as a faithful disciple transformed by His grace, not as an object of sexual speculation.
2. Theological identity: The president's statements distort historical and theological truth by attacking the central figure of the Christian faith.
Between history and ideology
From the editorial opinion in the Christian sphere, voices such as that of Juan Sebastián Cortés have pointed out that Petro's words reveal an "alarming disconnection" with the history of the New Testament.
Cortés explains in a column published in Diario Cristiano Internacional that the term "Christ" (Χριστός) is not a distortion, but the exact translation of the Hebrew Moshiach (Messiah), a term that was already used in the Septuagint centuries before Jesus.
He also criticizes the president for trying to dismantle the kerygma (the announcement of the death and resurrection of Christ) to replace it with an "earthly and outdated ideology" based on a personalist interpretation of Liberation Theology.
For many, Petro's statements are not a legitimate academic reflection, but a trivialization that seeks to displace the transcendence of the Gospel for a manual of political activism.
The discomfort generated lies in the fact that, in a plural and democratic country, freedom of expression should not be an instrument to offend the faith of the majority.
While the government tries to advance its social agenda, this type of statement deepens its division with the Evangelicals and Catholics who demand leaders who honor the truth and respect the spiritual identity of the nation.
On Wednesday, Colombia’s Catholic bishops demanded Petro show respect for Christ and for the religious beliefs of all Colombians.
In a Jan. 28 statement, the Colombian Bishops’ Conference said that “no official nor other person is called upon to issue theological opinions on the religious or doctrinal convictions of citizens, and, on the contrary, the [civil authorities] have the obligation to protect people in their beliefs and maintain harmonious relations and mutual understanding with religious denominations.”
Originally published by Diario Cristiano, Christian Daily International's Spanish edition.
