I've been pondering long and hard how to write this all out,
and I know it will offend many. Not all
will agree with me and some may even de-”friend” me on facebook.
But I have to speak out. This is a crazy and mixed up world we live in. In a politically heated climate, we have many people supporting homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
I intend on making other posts about this, this one being on
religion. Others may be on the legal
aspects, medical aspects, and even on secular arguments against same sex
marriage.
Yes, I've said it. I'm
against same-sex marriage. This is
enough to cause anybody to be infuriated and I can see people sharpening their
claws, getting on their computers based on that idea alone.
Can we be civil though?
This is for the people on both sides of the debate. I've seen anger and hatred spew, and there is
no room for that. It's not
constructive. Instead, I ask that we
consider each other; respect each other, with open minds and open hearts.
I'm going to do the best I can to present this in a
reasonable and logical way throughout all my posts. I don't claim to be perfect. Where people can point out serious logical flaws
in what I bring forth, I promise to do my best to correct my posts. If you are
simply being nit picky, don't bother.
For those who want to come after me with how I'm judging
others and how I'm not supposed to as a Christian, I simply reply with this:
The lack of biblical literacy scares me. If you want to come after me with the bible,
please know what you are talking about.
Keep things in context. The
English language often doesn't do the original Hebrew and Greek of the bible
justice. That said, there is a big
difference between judgment (recognizing something for what it is) and
condemnation (to pass sentence and mete out punishment, like a judge over a
criminal proceeding) There are quite a
number of bible verses I could go into, but that could take up a whole topic of
a blog like this, and it's beyond the scope of where I'm going so let's move
on.
Ultimately the bible calls Christians to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) Yet many fail to understand what this “love” really means. Agape is the Greek word found to describe the highest form of God's love towards man, and the highest form of love we can have for one another. It means to hold others best interests higher and above our own, this is why it's considered a self-less love. When we say God is love, this is the kind of love that allowed Jesus to die on cross for our sins. This is what it means to do unto others as that part of the “golden rule.”
In a more practical way, this means that if I'm doing
something harmful to others, or even to myself (and I've had my times), the
most loving thing is for somebody to intervene and stop me. This is why Christians should be speaking
against sin. It's the loving thing to
do. Proverbs 27:5 says that “Open rebuke
is better than hidden love.” Ultimately
it means to speak out and confront somebody is better than holding love in your
heart for that person and doing nothing.
Ephesians 5:11 states, “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works
of darkness, but rather expose them.” As
Christians, we are called to rebuke sin, to speak against evil, but so many sit
in the church pews, they hear the words, and they go home for the week and
never act on what they hear. We need to
take a stand for love and truth, instead of worrying whether or not we will
offend somebody. News flash: The bible is already divisive and
offensive. Jesus has words that divide
people and He knew it. (Matthew 10:34-39)
I love Jesus. He's my
Lord and Savior. I can think of how my
life would be without Him based on how I've lived when I've strayed. I'm a sinner redeemed by His blood. I'm not
perfect. I've pursued sexual sin more
than I'd like to admit, but I'm not here to air my dirty laundry. The point is that we all need Him, and we all
need to repent of sin.
All that said, it's time to get into the bible about what it
says about homosexuality, marriage and the like.
First of all, it's important to note that while the word
“homosexual” didn't exist when the bible was written and that “sexual
orientation” is a phrase fairly recent to our culture, it's absurd to attack
the bible based on that. It's enough
that the concept was around then. They
had different words in the Greek/Hebrew to describe those who engaged in those
actions.
That said, let's take a brief look at some of the bible verses
that have been looked at by many others and consider them.
Genesis talks about the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah – in recent
times, there have been those trying to say that the city was destroyed because
of its “inhospitality”. While attempting
to force homosexual rape on the angels certainly is inhospitable, we need to
remember that God had already said he was going to destroy the cities because
of their grave sin. The Jews saw the
context as can be seen in the oft-overlooked book of Jude which spoke of them
as being under judgment because of sexual immorality and having gone after
strange flesh.
Many people supporting homosexuality as being compatible with
Christianity try to redefine what strange flesh is, but their criticisms are
answered based on language and context, see Dave Miller Ph.D. on Homosexuality and “Strange Flesh”
Regarding Leviticus 18:22 and homosexuality, there is plenty
of evidence that this is a universal moral standard, not just for the Jews, and
while I belive the context is clear, I want to post a link here: http://www.tektonics.org/lp/lev18.html
And from Dr Michael Brown who was born a Jew and his degrees
in Hebrew and Near Eastern languages gives him a solid understanding – and
taking into context about Levitical laws and how it applies to homosexuality is
excellent.
For more detailed view, here was a blog response to a video that also
levied criticisms against the bible and Christianity with regard to homosexuality.
Other criticisms answered on
Dr. Rob Gagnon’s site.
One may call me lazy for linking, but I don’t see a need to reinvent the wheel here. I must add in one other thing. If somebody tries to justify themselves by what is perceived as being sin – levies a criticism – and that criticism is answered – then they need to abandon their view and repent. Anything else is putting self over God in my opinion and isn’t being honest.
This all aside, even without those verses, it really wouldn’t
matter when it comes to marriage. Even
without those verses, we can still look at what Jesus had to say about marriage.
Jesus didn’t miss teaching opportunities. When approached about him healing on the Sabbath – He gave
examples about how it's lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matthew 12) He also showed the purpose of the Sabbath, that it was made for
man, not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2)
He could have given different answers when asked about
marraige, but I think the best comes from here:
4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Now Jesus could have said something along the lines of
(especially given Greek culture), "It's about two people who love each
other" - or "all consensual relationships are blessed" or even,
"Love is love."
That said then, how are Christians to view gay marriage? Is it loving, is it the “right” thing to
do? The bible makes it clear that being
friends with the world means making God an enemy. (James 4:4) In that sense, supporting and approving of
sin in order to make Christianity more palatable is fighting against God. To go and give into the world’s views and
philosophies about homosexuality and choice is under the same condemnation. While there are some reasonably stated
arguments to pass it, as a Christian, I’m to seek what is right according to
God’s eyes, not the world’s. We are to
reprove sin, not legalize it.
So to the Christians first – We need to speak the truth in
love, we need to be compassionate – not by agreeing with what people do, but by
loving people – meeting them where they are.
Not in disgust, and never be surprised when the world acts like the
world. When people say they have no
choice – in one way, they are right. If
you are a Christian and are reading this, I want you to consider
something. Think back onto the times
before you were a Christian – when you were one with the world, how sin came
quite naturally. Remember what you
needed to be saved from, the vices you had – and the ongoing sanctification and
it should come as no surprise when a person says they can’t be changed, that
they can’t help themselves.
To a non-Christian reading this, especially if you are
dealing/struggling with homosexuality, when you say choice and when we say choice, we mean
two very different things. Granted, I
can understand as well as anybody as I’ve been involved in sexual sin myself. The sex drive is undeniably powerful, and it
feels good. But feeling good doesn't equal being right. You need saved,
through the redeeming blood of Christ.
He can change you and your eternal destiny. There is a better way, and ultimately
holiness is better than the life you have now.
For those struggling with homosexualty and same sex
attraction – one who understands you, where you are coming from better than
anybody I know – may I point you to Matt Moore’s site here? http://moorematt.com/
