Churches which condone same-sex marriage 'belong to Satan' according to author and pastor John MacArthur.
The pastor of Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, told TheBlaze in a recent interview that liberal-minded congregations "have no allegiance to the Bible".
"You go back to every one of those seminaries...for a century [they] have been deniers of biblical authority, they have no relationship to scripture, they are the apostate church, they are Satan's church," he said.
MacArthur, famed for his conservative views, has previously referred to biblical readings which support homosexuality as "warped" and "completely irrational".
"God's condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear – he opposes it in every age," he wrote in an article entitled 'God's plan for the Gay agenda'.
"As a Christian, you must not compromise what the Bible says about homosexuality – ever. No matter how much you desire to be compassionate to the homosexual, your first sympathies belong to the Lord and to the exaltation of his righteousness. Homosexuals stand in defiant rebellion against the will of their Creator who from the beginning "made them male and female" (Matthew 19:4).
"Don't allow yourself to be intimidated by homosexual advocates and their futile reasoning – their arguments are without substance," he continued.
"Homosexuals, and those who advocate that sin, are fundamentally committed to overturning the lordship of Christ in this world...As you interact with homosexuals and their sympathizers, you must affirm the Bible's condemnation."
MacArthur's latest bout of criticism is therefore unsurprising. In the same interview with TheBlaze, he insisted that "the young generation has bought into the corruption and lack of ethic morals by media entertainment" and suggested that the wrath of God, as described in the book of Romans, is upon America as a result of its liberalisation.
President Barack Obama has been a strong supporter of same-sex marriage, the right to abortion and other issues which has alienated the religious right.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul says "God gave them [sinful humanity] over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another," and MacArthur indicated a belief that a similar situation is now present across the US.
"Romans 1 describes exactly what is happening in America...it defines the wrath as God giving them over, giving them over, giving them over," he declared, urging Christians to stand up for their beliefs and defend conservative religion.
This isn't the first time that MacArthur has sparked controversy. He held a conference last year entitled 'Strange Fire', during which he strongly condemned the charismatic movement, arguing that it has "opened the door to more theological error than any other theological aberration in this day".
According to MacArthur, spiritual gifts are "corrupt worship" and attribute "to the Holy Spirit the works of Satan" and he denounced those who promote and encourage their use. At this same conference, in a strange twist, charismatic pastor Mark Driscoll turned up and began handing out free books but was eventually thrown out by security.
Driscoll later invited MacArthur to join a discussion at his own conference "about the person and work of God the Holy Spirit," but the request was turned down.
Watch MacArthur's response to the place of religious conscience in business below:
