First, I believe that the God of heaven, the God we read about in the Bible, created the universe and all that is in it, through His son Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:15-18). It all belongs to him. He is also the Lord and Master over all his creation. He has the right to command and demand of that creation. Even those of that creation who choose to deny His existence are ultimately still subject to His power and authority.
Second, I believe that the Bible is God’s inerrant communication to mankind. It tells us of his power, love, and grace, but also of his judgment. It tells us of what he wants from his creation, but also what he does not want. It is by the words of that book that the entire world will be judged in the end of material existence—even those who rejected those words (John 12:48).
Third, I believe these things not simply because I need a “faith system” to keep me going. My faith is not a crutch—it is based on reason and reality. It is my reason for living. Jesus is the way, he spoke the truth, and the kind of life he came to give is the only one worth living (John 14:6). I believe this partly because the men who wrote the words of the New Testament were eyewitnesses of the things they wrote about (2 Peter 1:16-21), and they were willing to suffer and die for them (1 Corinthians 4:9). In fact, many did. You would have to be crazy to die for something that you knew was a lie, wouldn’t you? Of course there are many other reasons beyond this, but those are for another article.
So for me… no, scratch that…
For everyone, what the sovereign God of the universe has said are the words of (absolute) “truth and reason” (Acts 26:25; John 17:17)—even if you choose to reject them.
This means that if I am going to be consistent in what I believe, I have to speak out against sin. Just because you don’t believe in God’s existence or that the Bible is his word doesn’t mean that it does not apply to you.
If I know that God will judge the deeds of every man and woman at the end of time, then I am compelled to speak about the matter. I have to persuade people to stop doing the things that are against God’s will, and that will ultimately harm them physically and spiritually (2 Corinthians 5:10-11; Ephesians 5:11).
Think of it this way.
You are my neighbor. If I knew that you were about to step into danger, but instead of warning you I just stood back and let you be harmed, what kind of neighbor would you think I am?
If I knew the truth and claimed to live by it, but I allowed you to be deceived and harmed by a lie, what kind of person would I be?
Let me answer that question for you—a hypocrite.
So when Paul warns in 1 Corinthians 6:9 that those who practice homosexuality “will not inherit the kingdom of God,” i.e., go to heaven, it requires that I take a certain course of action—a warning against the danger!
You see, the truth is not made to be kept hidden and silent (Luke 8:16). Christianity isn’t a “private faith,” but rather Christ is to be acknowledged and his words lived out before all men (Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 9:26).
So in order to be consistent with what I believe, I must speak out against homosexuality.
In order for YOU to be consistent in what you believe, YOU must accept that I am going to speak out against homosexuality.
Yet that position is impossible.
The modern message of tolerance is a false, empty gospel. It promises peace, but it is logically unattainable. True tolerance would leave no room for outrage over “intolerant” views like mine. But the modern flavor tends to pick and choose what to tolerate, and what to be intolerant about. In practice, it tends to look more like this: “I’ll tolerate your beliefs unless you don’t tolerate mine—then I will become your worst enemy.” Obviously that can make a person very hypocritical!
So ask yourself this—just how consistent in your own beliefs of tolerance are you? Really?
You might think my beliefs to be ignorance, bigotry, and discrimination. You think I am against you. You think I just don’t want you to be happy. You couldn’t be more wrong.
Have you actually taken the time to ask me the deeper reasons as to why I believe homosexuality to be wrong, and why I will speak against it? Maybe you should.
You see, I’m actually for you. I only want the best for you. I don’t want harm to come your way. I am more “tolerant” than you think—and maybe even more tolerant than you.
Practically speaking, what does all of this mean?
I’ve never said that you should “pray the gay away.” That is an awful misrepresentation, and a terrible piece of propaganda. I know, and you need to know, that should you choose to repent of homosexuality (as many in Corinth did, 1 Corinthians 6:11; Acts 17:30) that you might struggle with the temptation of same-sex attraction for the rest of your life. But a temptation is not an identity.
We are all tempted by past sins. A former drunk may still be tempted to drink, but that doesn’t make him a drunk now. A former thief may be tempted to steal, but that doesn’t make him a thief now. A former drug addict may be tempted to shoot up, but that doesn’t make him an addict now.
If you repent, you may be tempted by same-sex attraction, but that doesn’t mean that you are a homosexual. No, when you repent and obey Jesus, you become a new creation in Christ—the old “you” is gone (2 Corinthians 5:17). Even the sticky goo those labels might leave behind is eradicated. You will be a Christian, and a child of God the Father.
If you don’t change, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to treat you any differently than any other human being. I will let you cut my hair and serve my food in a restaurant. I will sit next to you in a hospital waiting room. I will hold the door open for you or pick up something that you dropped. I will be cordial, friendly, gracious, and normal in the way I behave toward you—just as God expects me to be. That’s the essence of what it truly means to not judge (Matthew 7:1-5).
I will behave in that way toward you, even if you are “creeped out” by what I believe, and don’t behave in that way toward me. It’s not because I’m better than you, but because Christ is better than all of us, and I follow him.
Don’t be the person to make things weird. I won’t—unless you consider my sincere expression of my beliefs to be weird or unacceptable (which would be very, very intolerant).
I’m not going to stop telling the truth. Neither are those who are like me. The decision is yours as to whether you choose to accept, criticize, or ignore said truth. I’ll love you whatever you choose.
Just keep this in mind:
(13) The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. (14) For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NASB)
—Daniel
Awesome! So many seem to think that because we as Christians see homosexuality as wrong we hate the person. You explained it so well. I have gay friends and students and I pray for them daily. I still treat them the same and teach them the same. Many say "I'm born this way." I was born to want a man. If I want a man that is not my husband I have to make the choice or effort not to act on that because I know that is wrong. Thank you for your post.
ReplyDelete"Don't be the person to make things weird." Love that. So often this is not even a topic for conversation for me until someone else instigates it.
ReplyDeleteThe only problem with this is most people in the United States are aware that the Bible calls homosexuality a sin. By choosing to proclaim that those who practice this one sin are going to hell, Christians are telling homosexuals they are a lesser human being. There are a multitude of sins that can separate a person from Christ, so why the preoccupation with homosexuality. There are far more verses that speak against greed, but I have yet to see an outpouring of criticism against those people who drive luxury cars because they are letting money separate them from Christ. Just something to think about.
ReplyDeleteI can only shake my head at the amount of things that are wrong with this piece. And it has little to do with the fact that you are either christian or heterosexual. First, I can accept that you honestly believe in god and that being gay is wrong. Where I shake my head that according to christianity it is GOD who will judge everyone, in other words it's up to him to judge other not you. If you choose to be judgmental to others on the basis of your beliefs, that is your perogative. You can however not turn around and say that you actually respect gay people. That would be like me saying I respect who you are, but I don't respect your heterosexuality, ' cause I believe that heterosexuality is sinful. If I don't respect a core aspect of your being (your heterosexuality) I can't say I respect you. It's incredibly dishonest to make this claim. Especially not when you are telling gay people in this article that by avoiding temptation and accept christ they magically become not-homosexual. You are saying they need to change. You may claim to do this out of love, and I believe that you actually believe you do. The problem is you fail to see how disrespectful this is to an individual. If I came in here as an atheist and started telling you, you were completely and utterly wrong, and more immoral for it, and that I am only telling this because I love you and wish you to see the truth, how would you feel? Disrespected right? What you are saying in this article is EXACTLY the same thing. Until you understand that, you can tell homosexual people that you don't hate them till your blue in the face, but no-one is going to believe that when you obviously do not.Take this however you will, but know my intention has been to give honest feedback, not to belittle you.Regards,
ReplyDeleteFritsP.S. I'm gonna be a little cheeky and suggest that you do some serious reading in peer reviewed theology, because respected theologians of all backgrounds do agree that all of the gospels were written at least 100 years after jesus' reported death (I could go on about the historicity of jesus, but I won't) and the idea that the writers of the gospels were eyewitnesses to jesus' life is widely accepted by christian and non christians theologians alike NOt to be the case. Don't take my word for it, do some digging.
Very well stated.
ReplyDeleteI apologize for how long this is going to be.I would like to state my opinion on this matter for anyone who cares to listen. I know there are probably a lot of people who, like me, have struggled with this issue; trying to reconcile their faith in Christ and his teachings as well as wanting to respect and actually LOVE their gay brothers and sisters. I spent a lot of time on this. It became a near obsession of mine, simply because it just didn't make sense to me, the average explanations of fellow Christians (exactly like this article). So here's what I've come to understand and believe.There are a handful of passages in the Bible that speak to "homosexuality", it would seem. I can address them all, but for the sake of brevity and relevance, I will only speak to verses in Corinthians referenced in the article.Paul wrote the letters to Corinth and Timothy (the same passage is also in 1 Timothy 1:10) in an effort to calm the people down. He had seen the vicious division in Corinth and Ephesus (much like the venomous tone of current debates) and was basically scolding the guys, saying basically "You know how to act right! You can read the laws from the scripture and see what to do and not to do!" He lists several commands from the Old Testament, and also mentions the Greek words "malokois" and "arsenokoitai".Malokois in the first century Greek most likely meant something like "hairless young boys that are used for sex by dirty old men" some use the phrase "catamite" or "effiminate boys" but you get the idea.Arsenokoitai however was actually coined by Paul. It is a word that has no historical accounts of being used before this point. Scholars have somewhat come to an agreement that Paul is most likely using this term to speak to those who use these "malokois", what we might call a pedophile, or child molester. (or those catholic priests who made headlines by their disgusting acts)Unfortunately, in the 1950s, someone decided to translate that word into "homosexuals", and viola... You now have a generation of people reading that "Homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God", when that is most likely not what Paul meant, at least not in the way that we understand homosexuals today (consenting adults that is). In the KJV the translation is "...nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind" The Geneva Bible from 1599 reads "...nor wantons, nor buggerers" I say all this just to point out that if we read deeply, study the context, history, culture, and language in the scriptures... We may well find out that the author actually meant something different that what we think we're reading. Admittedly, I'm not a Biblical Scholar, far from it. However, an issue like this that affects so many of God's children in such a profoundly painful way, I believe deserves some study. Adolescents who are feeling the first urges of sexuality, and adults who are homosexuals, in a committed, consensual, long-term relationship both are hearing hate from a lot of us Christians. We may not INTEND it that way, but when you suggest that their natural desires are one step away from bestiality, it sounds like hate. When you say that they should not have the right to marry the person that they love, it sounds like hate. When you say that you "love" their person, yet "hate" their "sin", they hear that you hate a fundamental slice of who they are AS a person.I don't believe that anyone deserves to feel like that. I also can't believe that my God, creator of the earth and stars, who loves all His children enough to sacrifice His Son, could possibly want us treating some of his children this way.
ReplyDeleteNot liking sin is not the same as not liking the person! Yes everyone sins....everyone also has something they are passionate about & this is obviously Daniel's stand. Why is it that everyone in America enjoys the freedoms that our forefathers bestowed upon us, yet reject the foundation of those freedoms, God! We all have our beliefs, our areas that we take a stand on, our likes & dislikes! But at the end of the day, we all are imperfect humans!
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent article explaining the right way we should talk to someone when trying to teach them about God's word. To Frits Onland (previous comment) and many other people who say we aren't supposed to judge, isn't that exactly what you are doing to us when they say that to us? The truth of the matter is that when we show them, from God's word, what the Bible teaches, that is not us judging, but we are simply stating/showing what God has said. If we can't show anyone, according to God's word, that certain things are wrong, then who is anyone to say that anything anyone wants to do is wrong? If that's the case, then does that mean no one can tell anyone else that lying, stealing, murder, etc. is wrong? Thanks, Daniel, for an excellent, much-needed article.
ReplyDeleteFrits, God is the final judge, the one who decides whether we go to heaven or hell. God's word is the standard God has said will be used when He judges us (John 12:48). Christians are expected to let people know what the Word says so that they can avoid God judging them to be worthy of going to hell. Not warning someone about this would be an act of hatred, not of love. As a parent, I teach my children that stealing and murder, etc. are wrong so they don't end up in jail someday. Am I hating them and disrespecting them by telling them that a certain behavior is deemed by the government to be wrong and that they will be punished by the government if they choose to do it anyway? Can you seriously say that would be an act of hate and disrespect? Yes, I understand you don't agree with the Bible calling homosexuality a sin just like some today don't agree with the government saying it is wrong to go 80 mph in a 50 mph zone, but that doesn't mean people who believe the government truly exists and who want to follow its laws and avoid its consequences and encourage others to do the same are judgmental hatemongers. This is pure common sense. Those who think the Bible teaches Christians are never supposed to judge certain behaviors to be sinful have never read the Bible in full and/or are not basing their interpretation of it on the book as a whole, in a way that is in harmony with everything else that it says. They are just picking out the parts they like and ignoring the parts that they don't like, which is ludicrous.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if an atheist came to me and told me he believed my Christian religion is "completely and utterly wrong, and [I am] immoral for it, and that I am only telling [you] this because I love you and wish you to see the truth," I would respectfully tell him that I understand the perspective he is coming from, that if there is in fact no God as he believes that he would be absolutely right about my attempts to spout my religious beliefs as being absolute truth as being wrong, and that at the same time I totally disagree with his claims because I am looking at this issue from a totally different perspective. I would also thank him for attempting to show me love based on his current understanding of reality, which is all any of us can and should do. I would then ask him if he would like to know why I believe God truly exists and why I believe the Bible is absolute truth. If he said no, I would tell him that if he ever changes his mind, please let me know and that I will be praying for him. And I would think and hope that would be all that would need to be said. I would not hate him for telling me what he believes based on his current understanding of reality and I would not feel as if he had maliciously wronged me in some way. I would feel he was ignorant of the truth, that somewhere along the way in his life he may have been done a disservice by many people who should have represented Christianity to him in the way God intends and yet maybe because of their failure he was tempted to reject Christianity altogether. I would then begin praying that this person be given opportunities to become enlightened to the truth and to change his thinking and practices and that he accept, love, and strive to obey Jesus so that he can be forgiven of the sins that we all as humans commit and be given the hope of salvation. That is how a free, truly tolerant, and democratic society can and should work. I would not demand that this atheist be kicked off the TV show he starred in which from the very beginning made it very clear that he was an atheist, simply because I do not agree with his atheism. I would not demand that society become outraged at his beliefs and publicly denounce him as a hatemonger and ensure that he and all like him be punished and silenced. He has a right to be an atheist and to communicate atheist views. He has freedom of speech and religion just like Christians do. The only time when I would expect him to be stopped by society and/or the government is if he decided to try and force others to agree with him and change--not just tell others they should do this, but to try and FORCE others to do this by way of giving those who disagree with him extreme consequences for doing so (e.g. physical abuse, hate speech/intentional and malicious verbal abuse, fines, imprisonment, death, etc.) You know, kind of like A&E seems to be trying to do by basically firing a man from a show for expressing beliefs they disagree with despite the fact that he made his religion clear from the very beginning of the show. This is intolerance. This is Marxism/totalitarianism. This is a message that A&E does not respect Americans' rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion. They only respect speech and religion that conform to the leftwing, liberal agenda of the media.
ReplyDeleteKnow true theologian or historian, no matter if the are Christian or not, denies the existence of Jesus. What they deny is his deity. There is more historical proof that he exist than there is that Shakespeare existed.
ReplyDeleteIt is not judging for a Christian to state biblical fact just the same as it is not judging to state someone is breaking the law by speeding if in fact they are.
Since the Bible seems to be a stumbling block to some or at least an excuse to not listen to a well written article lets use everyday facts.
1. Homosexuality goes against nature. Homosexuals cannot reproduce.
2. Homosexual men live an average of 20 years less than other men. Multiple medical issues due to the act of homosexuality lessen lifespan and/or lower quality of life.
3. The average homosexual man has well over 50 partners in a lifetime.Those are just some of the facts we could go on but it would be to lengthy.People want to ban smoking because it is deadly but they want homosexuality to be a normal sexual act and also treat those who engage in these sexual acts to be listed like a race of people when it is an action not a gene.Let's help people live longer healthier lives and stop encouraging them the other way.