Christianity and Homosexuality

The homosexuals and lesbians have gained considerable political and social momentum in America. They have "come out" as the term goes, left their closets, and are knocking on the doors of your homes. Through the TV, Radio, Newspapers, and Magazines, they are preaching their doctrine of tolerance, equality, justice, and love. They do not want to be perceived as abnormal or dangerous. They want acceptance and they want you to welcome them with open, loving arms, approving of what they do.

In the California State senate, several bills have been recently introduced by the pro homosexual politicians to ensure that the practice of homosexuality is a right protected by California law. Included in these bills are statements affecting employers, renters, and schools. Even churches would be required to hire a quota of homosexuals with "sensitivity" training courses to be "strongly urged" in various work places. There is even legislation that would make the state pick up the tab for the defense of homosexuality in lawsuits, while requiring the non homosexual side to pay out of his/her pocket.

The Christian church has not stood idle. When it has spoken out against this political immorality, the cry of "separation of church and state" is shouted at the "religious bigots." But when the homosexual community uses political power to control the church, no such cry of bigotry is heard. After all, it isn't politically correct to side with Christians.

The Bible, as God's word, reveals God's moral character and it shapes the moral character of the Christian. There have been those who have used the Bible to support homosexuality, taken verses out of context and reading into them scenarios that are not there. Quite simply, the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. Let's look at what it says.

Lev. 18:22, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination"

Lev. 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them"

1 Cor. 6:9-10, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."

Rom. 1:26-28, "For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper."

With such clear statements against homosexuality, it is difficult to see how different groups can say the Bible supports homosexuality. It doesn't. But when a group wants acceptance and the Bible is the Christians' handbook on morality, the homosexual agenda must try to make the Bible agree with its agenda. But it doesn't work.

Unlike other sins, this sexual sin has a severe judgment administered by God Himself. This judgment is simple: They are given over to their passions. That means that their hearts are allowed to be hardened by their sins. As a result, they can no longer see the error of what they are doing. Without an awareness of their sinfulness, there will be no repentance. Without repentance, there will be no forgiveness. Without forgiveness, there is no salvation.

In this politically correct climate that relinquishes morality to the relativistic whims of society, stating that homosexuals should not marry is becoming unpopular. Should a woman be allowed to marry another woman? Should a man be allowed to marry another man? Should they be given legal protection and special rights to practice their homosexuality? No. No. No.

The Bible, of course, condemns homosexuality. It takes no leap of logic to discern that homosexual marriage is also condemned. But our society does not rely on the Bible for its moral truth. Instead, it relies more on a humanistic and relativistic moral base upon which it builds its ethics.

Homosexuality is not natural. The male and female bodies are obviously designed to couple. The natural design is apparent. It is not natural to couple male with male and female with female. In fact, if such couplings occurred in the animal world as a predominant practice, species would quickly become extinct. Nevertheless, some argue that homosexuality is natural since it occurs in the animal world. But this is problematic. In nature we see animals eating their prey alive. We see savagery, cruelty, and extreme brutality. Yet, we do not condone such behavior in our own society. Proponents of the natural order as a basis for homosexuality should not pick-and-choose the situations that best fit their agendas. They should be consistent and not compare us to animals. We are not animals. We are made in God's image.

Political protection of a sexual practice is ludicrous. I do not believe it is proper to pass laws stating that homosexuals have 'rights.' What about pedophilia or bestiality? These are sexual practices. Should they also be protected by law? If homosexuality is protected by law, why not those as well?

Of course, these brief paragraphs can in no way exhaust the issue of homosexuality's moral equity. But, the family is the basis of our culture. It is the most basic unit. Destroy it and you destroy society.

Just because someone is a homosexual does not mean that we cannot love him (or her) or pray for him (her). Homosexuality is a sin and like any other sin, it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible. It needs to be laid at the cross, repented of, and never done again.

As a Christian, you should pray for the salvation of the homosexual the same you would any other person in sin. You should treat them with the same dignity as a person made in the image of God, that you would any other person. However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin. Don't compromise your witness for a politically correct opinion that is shaped by guilt and fear.

I personally don't think it flies to twist Scripture to support a behavior clearly not the way things were designed by the Designer.

By the same token, believers of all kinds have addictions of all kinds that don't just go away with prayer--even years of prayer and earnest effort. Does the food-aholic or the ragaholic or the chronically arrogant or power hungry or money addicted have grounds to look down on homosexuals? I don't think so.

I have compassion for you--enormous compassion for you. I can easily understand the tornness and the compelling pressures to seek at least some semblence of peace in the conclusions you've reached. I don't believe they are lastingly supportable based on The Scripture.

And I can certainly understand that total abstinance and isolation from folk who communicate warmth and understanding would be a very, very hard cross to bear. I don't think most believers understand the difficulties of such a cross when they presume to be so righteous as to throw rocks.

Alas, many of us have hard crosses to bear. Many with your particular cross are enormously creative, artistic, etc. It seems to me that God has presented blessings and challenges to all of us. Are they equal? I don't know. But HE IS exceedingly fair. Somehow when all is said and done--from His perspective--and even from my 55 year perspective--he is truly fair. Life may not be fair. But God is.

In any case--this is one believer who would be free and glad to give you a warm hug and wish you well and growth in your relationship with God. I will leave to God His assessment of how you juggle your various serious flaws with His demands on your life. I do encourage you to listen keenly to Him. . . and not some sanitized, self-pleasing, maybe neutered version of him conujured up as an escape hatch to great pain.

In my experience the only valid, durable, lasting escape hatch to great pain is the Blood of Jesus and His arms. Even if I fall 7 X 70 in a day, His Blood and His arms are still Supreme. By the way, I hope you are familiar with Dennis Jernigan's music. His song about wanting God the Father to "just hold me." is priceless. You are better equiped than most believing men to have a great and deep understanding of God's Love as you listen to that song.

Blessings, Dad Bo in Taipei

It's an interesting research question and I don't know if it's been done.

But I'd wager, that cold, harsh, narrow, rigid, distant, stern, perfectionistic, UNaffectionate heterosexual male Christian fathers would produce a LOT MORE homosexual sons than homosexual partners as parents.

That does NOT mean I'm in favor of homosexual parents having children. I'm not. Kids have enough challenges in this age without that on top of the rest of them.

But I don't believe most believing male heterosexual parents are aware of their own serious errors and sins in their parenting. Until they are, they might be cautious about throwing rocks at anyone.

Another stupid response from someone trying to act "intellectually superior".

Another unthinking response from someone trying to act "morally superior"

... Radical homosexuals are trying to STRONG-ARM the political and educational system etc. etc.

That's why libertarians want to be rid of government regulations with regard to free association, and use of private property, which they never had legitimate authority to enact in the first place. Government causes these problems by making laws to favor, or disfavor, certain groups. It should not have this power. If it didn't, then no one could force such things on you.

Homosexual activism and promotion destroys a country's purity and integrity

Bullfeathers. What destroys a country's integrity is its public officials selling it down the river, by passing laws they have no valid constitutional authority to make, in pursuit of their own power and self-aggrandizement.

and it invites the judgment of the Lord God.

That's as may be. Don't you think you might want to let God decide what to do about them?

Laws must be re-enacted against sodomy because that is the only way to keep this contained and publicly unacceptable.

Utterly ridiculous. You do realize that homosexuals are not the only people who practice sodomy, right? As long as people do it in private, the State has no business interfering. If they do something obscene in public then lock them up for that, homosexual or not.

Those of you who think Jesus would accept and promote homosexuality as a valid lifestyle choice are reprobates and unscholarly - JESUS CHRIST had NO TOLERANCE for lifestyles of sin and debauchery.

Yes, I remember well all those passages in the Gospels where Jesus was ranting against sin, and calling for all sinners to be imprisoned and/or killed. Let he who is without sin cast the first stone. I guess Jesus must not have said that; must have been some other guy, eh?

I could care less what happens between adults.

Our culture is defined by what we allow - the norms of our society. And our culture protects us as individuals - everything we are is based upon our culture from our rights to our laws. True, the rights should be ours as given by G-d, but the only way we can ensure that is with a culture that is based on truth. Homosexual attraction is a lie. Our society can not continue if it supports that lie.

We should care very much what happens between adults.

Shalom.

"As a Christian, you should pray for the salvation of the homosexual the same you would any other person in sin. You should treat them with the same dignity as a person made in the image of God, that you would any other person. However, this does not mean that you are to approve of their sin. Don't compromise your witness for a politically correct opinion that is shaped by guilt and fear. "

This has been the Christian principle taught and espoused by the Catholic Church, but the Catholic-Bashers refuse to believe it because it doesn't fit their hate-ladden agenda.

Excellent post.

EODGUY

Legalizing drugs will dramatically increase the number of addicts and the number killed by addicts.

Ridiculous. What idiot would run off and addict themselves to drugs just because they're legal? Should we make it illegal to stand on top of buildings, since we might go near the edge and fall off?

You never answered my previous question. Is it your premise that alcohol must be criminalized?

If so, then how do you suggest we pay for all the police and jails that would be needed to enforce such a prohibition? Perhaps FedGov should take 75% of our income in taxes to accomplish this wonderful drug and alcohol free Utopia?

If not, then why do you suppose that criminalizing the use of drugs other than alcohol works any better than Prohibition did?

Even churches would be required to hire a quota of homosexuals with "sensitivity" training courses to be "strongly urged" in various work places.

This position is completely untenable. The state should not be involved in the religious practices of a church.
However, the Church should not use the state to prohibit private activity, in which, consenting adults engage and undue harm is not caused to another individual.

Homosexuality is not natural.

Neither is God, but I do not hear many people arguing against his existence, nor his goodness, on the basis that God is not natural. The agrument that just ignorant; many things are "unnatural," but that does not make them worng.

And you probably think your conservative in your views. There are concrete truths which govern a healthy society.

You obviously don't care about the society in which your children and grandchildren will live. You should care, because you have an obligation as a citizen to pass on a healthy, safe enviornment for normal development. Teaching youth that two men smearing excrement on each other is the same as a nuclear family is morally and concretely wrong. However, one has to acknowledge objective truths and concrete morals---and to face reality instead of dwelling in relative libertopia.

What about reaching for the optimum instead of encouraging vices. What benefit will it bring to our children? You encourage that kind of behavior?

Q: Why should society be involved in personal issues such as (marriage, drug use, homosexual sex, etc.)?
A: People exist in society not by convenience but because people are social by nature.

We do not exist well in a vacuum. Part of the function of our society is to maintain norms of interaction that will allow us to survive. We call these norms our culture. Historically, cultures must be based on concrete fundamental truths. They can't be based on the whims of the moment or they will fall apart. In fact, historically, those cultures that have lasted the longest were based on concrete fundamental truths and they fell only when the societies stopped enforcing those rules. To date, only one culture in all of human history has been able to reconstruct itself after it fell, and that was because it returned to those concrete fundamental truths and cherished them until it could regain its land. I'm talking about Jewish culture and Israel.

America was founded on concrete fundamental truths. France was not. Both governments had similar ideals, but America had a culture to sustain those ideals and the government has been working here for over 250 years. You can't say the same for France because their culture is not based on concrete fundamental truths. If America lets those truths go, we will go the way of France, which is headed for the same fate as Babylon or Ninevah or Rome or any other ancient culture.

The law defines what is acceptable within a culture. The tougher the law, the more the deterrent. Having a law prohibiting a behavior -- even a weak one -- does deter that behavior. EVERY time marijuana has been legalized, there has been an INCREASE in marijuana use and in harder drug use:

In the Netherlands:

According to a 1998 report from the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the number of heroin addicts in Holland has almost tripled since the liberalization of drug policies - Similarly, the 1998 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addictions overview report states that drug-related arrests in the Netherlands were up over 40 percent in the last three years, with the main offense being trafficking in so called hard drugs

- According to a 1998 report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, when the so-called Dutch "coffee shops," started selling marijuana in small quantities, use of the drug more than doubled between 1984 and 1996 among 18 to 25 year olds.

Modern-day Netherlands is often cited as a country which has successfully legalized drugs. Marijuana is sold over the counter and police seldom arrest cocaine and heroin users. But official tolerance has led to significant increases in addiction. Amsterdam's officials blame the significant rise in crime on the liberal drug policy. The city's 7,000 addicts are blamed for 80 percent of all property crime and Amsterdam's rate of burglary is now twice that of Newark, New Jersey.U.S. Department of Justice, Drug Legalization. See also: Roques, Legalization 27 December 1994

In the US:

California decriminalized marijuana in 1976, and, within the first six months, arrests for driving under the influence of drugs rose 46 percent for adults and 71.4 percent for juveniles.

Permissive drug policy was an abject failure in the U.S. A drug criminal was four times more likely to serve prison time in 1960 than in 1980 and the incarceration rate plummeted 79%. This drug tolerant era brought a doubling of the murder rate, a 230% increase in burglaries, a ten fold increase in teen drug use, and a 900% rise in addiction rates. The peak years for teen drug use and murder were the same years that drug incarceration rates hit an all time low point.

From 1980-1997, the drug incarceration rate rose over fourfold and crime and drug use began a steady unprecedented decline. Murder rates fell by over 25%, burglary rates dropped 41%, teen drug use reduced by more than a third, and heavy cocaine and heroin use levels fell. With peak drug incarceration rates, many cities, such as New York, reached record low crime levels.

BTW, public intoxication should be illegal. That covers alcohol.

You obviously don't care about the society in which your children and grandchildren will live... Teaching youth that two men smearing excrement on each other is the same as a nuclear family is morally and concretely wrong... What about reaching for the optimum instead of encouraging vices. What benefit will it bring to our children? You encourage that kind of behavior?

Do you have no better defense of your position than to make up things about those who find a problem with your position and put words in their mouths?
If I ever have children, then I will take the time to teach them what behavior is right and that which is wrong.

However, one has to acknowledge objective truths and concrete morals---and to face reality instead of dwelling in relative libertopia.

So, you assume that because I do not think that the Church should not prohibit private activity that I do not acknowledge objective truths. Why don't you come up with a better argument than, "_______ isn't natural," or "God says ________ is wrong," so the state needs to prohibit it. In Leviticus 19:28, God tells us that people shouldn't tatoo themselves; should the state also prohibit that activity (btw, the argument that, "God says _______ s wrong," is hardly an objective truth)
You should also notice that I say that the state should not force the Church to give "sensitivity" training on homosexuality, because the state has no business telling church what they should teach on matters of morality, ie, freedom of religion.
It is the Church's job to tell, and concince, people that such activities are wrong; it should not attempt to pass this job off to the state, or use the state to accomplish this work.

Q: Why should society be involved in personal issues such as (marriage, drug use, homosexual sex, etc.)?
A: People exist in society not by convenience but because people are social by nature.

Well, this justifies lots of things doesn't it? Where is the point at which society can no longer interfere through means of the state?
There are other and more effective means for discouraging immoral behavior, such as, simple societal opinion on a subject. Society can enforce norms without resorting to the state, which is often less effective than social stigmatization of something, such as homosexuality, drug use, etc.

Dear Quix, Well I had to go away and do a bunch of errands, and then I came home and had a bunch of chores dropped on me by my wonderful wife and daughters. Hope you get this despite the delay of a few hours.

Then I went to church, where the topic was the Beatitudes, and of course the main strain for an hour or more was Humility, then I got home and read your response to my comments about homosexual percentages. I am very grateful to you for it, and feel that it's yet another part of the message that myself and every other self-proclaiming Christian must be constantly on guard against arrogance and feelings of superiority,...and especially...

ARROGANCE AND FEELINGS OF SUPERIORITY FOR HAVING RESISTED TEMPTATIONS WE'VE NEVER HAD.

WOW!

And as for our homosexual brethren, surely only they and the Lord know what agonies they go through...

Many thanks again Quix, that was exactly what I needed to hear.

All the best,

Getting high and losing control of one's self IS a danger to other people. It's reckless behavior and the driving force behind the majority of crime in this nation. So, yes, public intoxication should be illegal and the selling of drugs should be illegal.

Ok, the principle you espouse is that it is right to criminilize behavior or objects that might lead to the commission of a real crime. Your assertion then gives the government the power to stop anything which might lead to a crime. So any behavior and object can be illegal.

You must believe the Constitution of the US should read 'The government can do whatever it wants to do.' And following your principle they can start grabbing guns. Because dont you know a gun might be used to commit a crime. There is no difference in reasoning. This is why government keeps getting bigger, so called conservatives give it unlimited power and the Dems come along for the ride.

AND YOUR KIND ENCOURAGEMENT WAS MUCH WHAT I NEEDED TO HEAR.

THANKS TONS.

As it goes now, I'm likely to be ready for bed about the time church starts. Gotta get my days and nights back more right-side up!

I particularly concer about pontifications re temptations we haven't had. But it's all the worse when some pontificating are plenty addicted to their "nice" little sins and they STILL LOOK DOWN LONG NOSES about problems they really can't begin to wrap their minds around. I doubt any of us is remotely as "sanctified" as some would like others to believe.

The way I see it, Jesus' Blood when received and applied makes us legally perfect--e.g. were we to die at that point etc. . . . but working it into our being is a lifelong process not even finished when we graduate. Humility is always a fitting suit or cloak.

Humility and meekness are not wishwashy nor wimpy. They often require incredible strength and courage.

. . . and resisting the press of inner or outer winds of conformity to earthly or devilish standards requires plenty strength and courage--more than humans can begin to muster. Christ via His Spirit--our only hope of eternal life as well as comfort. IMHO.

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