I came across this essay recently: Bad Religion
It got me thinking about how I feel about the Christian reaction to homosexuality in our culture.
I’ve read the Bible through a couple of times. I’ve specifically researched God’s position
on homosexuality. I believe I could make
a good argument for homosexual activity being regarded by God as a sin.
But I won’t.
I’m alarmed by the mainstream Christian community’s focus on
homosexual behavior in this country. I
have seen Christians point fingers and judge gay men and women while engaging
in sinful behavior of their own. Homosexuals
seem to have become the scapegoats for a sinful society.
If homosexuality is a sin, is it worse than adultery? Many Christians would say that it is. But, if homosexuality is a sin, then it’s a
private sin. The only people directly
affected are the gay partners themselves.
Adultery often destroys families, breaks trust, harms children, and
ruins finances. Homosexuality does none
of these things. So why is adultery
better accepted that homosexuality by so many Christians?
If homosexuality is a sin, then it’s really only a sin for
Christians.
Many Christians forget that non-Christians are not bound by
God’s rules. Not really. They are already lost. If you don’t know Christ, and are already
condemned to Hell. Will you be more condemned
to Hell if you kill, steal, or bear false witness? Prior to salvation, a person’s behavior is
not really relevant. People must be
saved first. Personally, I find that
judging people and condemning them doesn’t open many doors to discussions of
salvation. I find it much more
productive to focus on the sinner rather than the sin. To explain God’s love for us rather than his
punishment for our sinful nature.
If homosexuality is a sin, I believe that as a Christian, it
is my responsibility to love the sinner.
It’s my job to tell people about Christ.
It’s my privilege to help people discover saving grace in Christ. It is not my job to judge and condemn. I have a responsibility to inform a person of
their sin if I believe they are unaware.
I shouldn’t enable sin. I should offer support to people who are struggling with sin. But I’m
not supposed to separate myself from fellow Christians by focusing on their
sin. Especially when I consider the sin
burden I have in my own life.
If homosexuality is a sin, then I love sinners. I love my fellow Christians regardless of
their sexual orientation. I encourage
all Christians to read the Bible and discover what changes God would like them
to make in their lives. If homosexuality
is a sin, then I trust God to love, support, strengthen, and change the sinner. I don’t believe it’s my job to do that for
Him.
God has charged me to love, not to condemn. We all have sin in our lives. We are all in different places in our walk
with Christ. If we love and support one
another, we are all more likely to grow in Christ. As we grow, He will change us. We can trust God to form us into the image He
has for us.
I am not completely sure that homosexuality is a sin. I do know that I was taught in church that I am not suppose to judge others, and I surely do not want others to judge me. I was always taught that only God is supposed to judge. Also learned in a class that I had a few years ago, that most people are not opposed to same sex marriages.
ReplyDeleteGod is perfect, so then that means that he makes no mistakes. Most homosexual people are born the way that they are, so how can they be a mistake?
I will not judge them.
It most certainly a sin, the bible specifically addresses homosexuality. This goes back as far as Leviticus, Leviticus 20:13 "if a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a women, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
DeleteGod is perfect, and he makes no mistakes, however, he created us all to make our own decisions. Which allows us to sin. Homosexuality is a decision, regardless of the popular idea. If you are born a man, you are a man. Born a women, you are a women. The bible tells us to act as so. As I stated below, i believe God finds it no worse than any other sin, of any nature.
Then do what the bible says. Still do not believe that we are the judge of others.
DeleteThe argument is that if homosexuality is part of a person's inate nature, then this is an additional challenge for that individual rather than a license to engage in the behavior.
DeleteI've never taken a strong stand on this issue. If it's a sin, then it's not one that affects me in any direct way. I trust God to direct the individual in His will.
Excellent arguement Rich.
DeleteI completely agree with you on this. I told the kids a few weeks back, Jesus showed us that we are to love everyone, equally. I went as far as telling them to love extreme murderers like Osama Bin Laden. It’s ok not to like what he has done, but it is definitely not our place to judge others and their sins. I believe that God hates all sin equally. Sin simply separates us from him. And we all do it. The difference is, repentance. Understanding your sin and taking it to the Lord. With Jesus, he has promised forgiveness. Homosexuals are no worse off than anyone else who has yet to find the Lord. If anything, they stand out more because of their lifestyles, which could make it easier to strike up the conversation. I do find it unfortunate that homosexuality is becoming more “popular” and accepted in society. But it is no worse than any other sexual impurity. We need to love everyone, and know and understand that everyone has the opportunity to find the Lord. It’s ok to feel remorse, but never judge.
ReplyDeleteLuke 6:31 – Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.
Bobby
Good for you Rich. I was afraid to read this one, but decided to see what you had to say. Pleasantly surprised, thank you.
ReplyDeleteAre you surprised MB? My views are somewhat fiscally conservative, but I'm fairly moderate to liberal on social issues.
DeleteI don't align well with any of the standard political models. I'm about as politically independent as they come...
If homosexuality is a sin, then they are sinning and that's between them and god. Why are we involved?
ReplyDeleteOur government should not be in the business of any type of civil unions. No marriages, marriage licenses, etc. Two people decide they are married, make their vows to one another, and that's it. It's a union between people, not people and the state.
That means no tax benefits or penalties, no benefits or penalties whatsoever. If a company is willing to subsidize the employee benefits to a spouse, then so be it. If the company or employer has their own moral/ethical code and dont want to extend employee benefits to a homosexual spouse, then so be it. The person can go work elsewhere.
It isn't discrimination at all, it's freedom to choose, and freedom to stick to one's convictions.
That's kind of a separate issue.
DeleteShould we create laws governing behavior based solely on the morality of that behavior? If homosexuality doesn't directly affect society at large, what is the rationale for creating laws in an attempt to control the behavior?
Why is the government involved in marriage at all? Why does it define marriage? Why does it define the family? What are the parameters for that definition? Is the maintenance of traditional vales enough reason to legislate private decisions?
Might be a good topic for another post.
Sounds like Love Thy Neighbor 101 to me, Rich, but I suppose that's because that's what I've been taught at church and it makes the most sense to me.
ReplyDeleteWhen I read Bobby's comments, I just wonder if we can practice what we preach. We understand the command and concept, but who among us LOVES Osama (or even Obama). If you kill 5,000 to 10,000 Americans, I am not only not going to like your act, but we will probably not be friends anymore. I may even quit speaking to you. It is certainly not agape or eros love, and phileo love would be extremely difficult. When you tell us and them to "never judge", can you honestly say that is true of your life? That seems ingrained in our sinful nature to judge others based on what we see. I've seen plenty of Christians since I became one myself say "They "claim" to be a Christian, but..."
One more thing, Bobby, I know what you meant by this: "Homosexuals are no worse off than anyone else who has yet to find the Lord.", but does this mean you believe homosexuals have not found the Lord? There are whole churches of homosexual people. I've heard it said they have not found the Lord because they live an unrepentant lifestyle, but I'm sure there are other unrepentant "lifestyles" out there that God does not approve of. I'm not asking you to judge, but in your opinion, have these people "found the Lord"?
If I truly love my brother, I will be concerned with the hurt he causes himself through his sin. If I'm being truly Christ-like, I will continue a relationship with him even if he hurts me, in the hope that I can help him to overcome his sinful nature and return to righteousness.
DeleteI am not this Christ-like. I tend to protect myself. I probably would not associate with the Bin Ladens of the world. But, hopefully, I am growing enough in my faith everyday that eventually I will reach that level of love.
I'm with you, brother.
DeleteMy point was, you cannot set limits on your love. You can't choose to love those who sin-less, more than others? Sure it has to be one of the toughest things to overcome as a Christian, but if we are truly trying to live Christ-like lives, we have to, like you said, follow the commandment and "love thy neighbor". That commandment doesn't say, love thy neighbor who treats you good, who brings you cookies, or keeps his lawn mowed. We need to love the neighbor on the other side, who lets his grass grow into seed, who never talks to you or even says hi, just as much, if not more than the other! Remember what Jesus said about loving our enemies, Matthew 5:43. Thats where I was going with that. We are all sinners and deserve Hell. None of us deserve it less or more than others. By repenting our sins, and following Jesus, we are forgiven and given eternal life in Heaven.
DeleteAnd to comment on your question, Romans 6:1-2 addresses this issue clearly. Dennis has always said, "you cannot be committing sin and be in the spirit at the same time. They simply cannot exist together." and I agree. But, I cannot judge the faith of others, that's for God to handle when they reach the gates. My opinion is, I don't know how it can work, unless they were "ex-homosexuals" and trying to recover from their sinful pasts... That's a tough one though...
Seems to me that Pastor Don's doctoral thesis was on how harming homosexuality is to our society, in both a biblical and secular sense. I don't know if it was written from a view from inside or outside the church, but I do remember him talking about it a couple different times.
ReplyDeleteI also remember Pastor Jim Kirkland going into detail on the subject of homosexuality and the difference between sins of occassion and sins of habit. His point was that a homosexual relationship is a habitual sin and shall be judged differently than a homosexual "one-night-stand" as it were.
In Leviticus, God condems men having sex with men in the same way as adultery and beastiality, which is to be judged the same as thieves and drunkards and murderers. Not judged by mankind, but by God. Sin is sin and unless we confess our sin and repent (turn away) from it, we will be judged the same.
I snagged this from another friends FB page, and thought it was fitting for here -
Every sinner deserves Hell, but a way of escape is offered in Jesus Christ. He has died for every sinner, paid every debt, offered mercy and pardon to every guilty soul. Those who come to God by faith in Christ, His crucified Son, have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
The Book of Life contains not the names of good people, but the names of bad people who have been forgiven. The Book of Life does not contain the names of those who have earned Heaven, but the names of those deserving Hell but who have been freely pardoned and whose sins are under the blood of Christ.
So here [judgement] the Book of Life is brought; and against every sinner after his record book is opened and he has confessed all his sins and bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, the last witness is brought out--and that is the Book of Life. They search through those pages, and their names are not there!
How solemn it must make us to realize that Heaven or Hell is not decided at the great white throne judgement but here in this life. It is only now while we live and are moved by the Spirit and led to repentance and faith in Christ that men have their names written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
-Dr. John R. Rice, "When Skeletons Come Out of Their Closets"
Amen!
DeleteIn response to Bad Religion:
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things that come up for me as a Christian, and then as a homosexual, but the one thing that keeps coming up for me every time I hear this "argument" is where is the One Commandment: "Love one another as I have loved you"?
“It’s true that Jesus himself does not specifically say anything about homosexuality. But neither does he revise the male-and-female model for sexuality; if anything, his teaching on divorce only strengthens it.” Bad Religion, by Ross Douthat. This author would have us believe that the teachings about divorce are Jesus’ way of addressing homosexual relationships? Wait… did I read that right? Hmmm… I believe that theory to be a reach at best. Jesus didn’t make errors when He was teaching. If Jesus wanted us to know that homosexual relationships are a sin He would have made it as clear as the rest of His teachings. He didn’t…
Some believe, “No one sin is greater than another”. I disagree with that. The bible talks about how some sins are more punishable than others, but ANY sin will separate us spiritually from God. With this in mind I would not want to be the Minister that denies homosexuals a blessing for their relationship, and then bless an abusive heterosexual relationship. Why? Because I made a judgment. While life calls for “judgment calls”, it doesn’t call for us to judge others. Jesus may not have talked about homosexuality, but He DID talk about judgment, and it applied to all of us.
While I commend a minister/pastor for standing by their beliefs, I question their ability to minister to those in need if they first judge whether one is worthy of a blessing or not. Jesus tells us not to judge others. That applied to ALL of us. Doesn't it take judgment to tell someone they are not worthy of a blessing? I pose these questions: Am I a bigger sinner than the minister who denies me a blessing, and if I am a bigger sinner, don’t you think I need a blessing? If my soul is condemned to hell would Jesus Himself turn away from me when I need him most?
I am commanded to love others as Jesus has loved me. As a matter of fact Jesus said this is the only commandment. So love me, pray for me, and pay attention to your own sins as much as you pay attention to what you deem as mine.
I just want to point out that my statement about how God sees no Sin greater than another is correct. Refer to James 2:10.
DeleteAll sin separates us from God, but the Bible does suggest there are different gradations of sin.
Deletei.e. When Jesus tells Pilate that the Jewish crowd is guilty of a "greater sin".
What would Jesus do? Well if I believe this officer of the church I guess I would punch a bunch of gay kids. :(
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_c3#/video/us/2012/05/09/ac-mattingly-sean-harris-church.cnn
I've seen this story. I fond this guy's interpretation of Christ's teachings to be about as accurate as those of the Westboro Church.
DeleteBTW: I don't recognize the handle... What's your first name? Do you believe this story is representative of the typical American Christian?
I wrote a blog post about this same topic the day Obama declared his support for gay marriage:
ReplyDelete"There has been a lot of talk today about our President's stance on gay marriage. I think about all of the Christians who ridicule, persecute and alienate homosexuals. Why do people think that they are so superior... is it because this happens to be the one sin they don't have an issue with?
Tonight I started to list all of the sins that I am guilty of. I stopped after 40, but easily could have kept going & going. What right would I have to pick on anyone else's life when my own is full of wrongdoing, both past & present? Wouldn't I want to be loved and accepted anyway? Wouldn't someone who was constantly pointing out my faults make me want to run away from them and everything they represent? Absolutely. "
Enjoying your blog. I have always respected your point of view.
Thanks Jes. I just wrote a post on gay marriage the other day if you haven't seen it.
DeleteHope you are doing well. You're still in my prayers.
--Rich
Found this today on CNN - it is another interesting analysis of the topic
ReplyDeletehttp://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2012/05/15/my-take-what-the-bible-really-says-about-homosexuality/?hpt=hp_c2
(P.S. - I'm surprised you don't recognize the handle Rich - we shared a bit of the Oni-koroshi when visiting Reynolds Sensei back in the early 90's)