Homosexuality is a burning hot topic, many times people just avoid talking about it so relationships aren't strained between families, co-workers, and friends. I personally don't believe it is morally right to be engaged in a homosexual relationship, my reasons I will explain later. What really pains me is how people go about discussing the topic. It is one of those subjects that I believe Socrates and Plato would spend a whole day or more discussing, reason being, strong emotions of two people are involved.
Emotions play a strong part when discussing a topic, politicians use it daily, think of how many times you hear or see this. Healthcare: this woman and her child can't afford care so now the child is suffering unnecessarily. Gun laws: Children were killed in this school shooting and families are hurting, so we need to take away guns. Homosexuality: These two gentlemen love each other and have been in a committed relationship for over a decade, but they can't get a gym membership together, a cake shop refuses to make their wedding cake, they can't file taxes as a family, and more. When you discuss like this, you get caught up in considering the feelings of the people rather than what is good for the people as a whole. I am not saying I don't care about them, I do, a lot! That is why I have to look past that point, I need to support what is best for the well-being of everyone. Also, if I truly care about people who are homosexual, why would I let them believe that I am okay with what they do if my God, who I trust with all my heart, says it is wrong and bad for them? God created the whole world, and it is so very complex and amazing! In my opinion, He knows what is better for them and I have to trust that.
It pointedly says in the Old Testament that homosexuality is wrong, as well at the New Testament. Romans 1:24-27, "Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." Why do we just turn our heads and not try to talk to them about it? Just saying on facebook that you disagree isn't talking to them about it, engaging in a conversation with them is. Develop a relationship with them, get to know the individual and their life story. I see a lot of other blogs about this topic also, as I said earlier, I hate the way people "discuss" this. Attacking the person and telling them they will go to hell IS NOT discipling! Come on, grow up. Remember the Golden Rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you. (Matt 7:12) If you are sinning, how would you like someone to tell you? Imagine if you don't think you are sinning, how would someone have to explain it to you for you to be open to hearing their opinion? Remember God's other command, love you neighbor as yourself.
When discussing homosexuality with others who believe that couples have a right to marry, you have to be aware of one thing. What is their core belief? What we believe about our origins GREATLY influences what we believe about life. Evolution and Creation both say it goes against nature. If you believe that is doesn't go against nature, where does this emotion and strong sense of love and feeling come from? If we are only animals, we would only have the drive to reproduce, and that's all that matters regarding sex. It wouldn't have the sense of pleasure and satisfaction. What about our ability to discuss this, and reason from different viewpoints? What gives us that free will and discernment?
People say that homosexuality is okay because the individuals are born that way, how can it be wrong if it was felt from an innocent child? Name one child that is sinless. One child that hasn't disobeyed their parents. We are sinful from birth, as David said in the Psalms, "Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me." There will always be a sin that we are prone to, I have mine, I am sure you have yours. Your sin is no worse and no better than that of the homosexual. As followers of Christ, it is our duty to help our brothers and sisters fight their sin. We are in this battle with them. Show your support and love for them, don't hate.
Here lies the hardest question of all...Should gay marriage be legal. Well, if it was a society that still put Christ at it's center, and the government stilled formed laws in accordance with the Bible, then it would be an easy answer. Here is what is accepted more than prayer on television: sex, nudity, drugs, dishonoring parents, crude humor, language, gore, and more. If society and government accept this as fitting for our children to see when they are easily influenced, I have to say that we aren't a Christ-following country. If they aren't basing their decisions on Christian morals, what are they basing it on? Who makes the rules? Why do they make them that way? Who is to say what is right and wrong when they don't acknowledge an all-knowing Creator? The government needs to make a decision on who they are following: the will of God or the will of man. We need to be aware of who we vote in to office, encourage and pray for them. If we need to, remind them of who they believe in and where they need to look for answers.
Ultimately, we shouldn't focus on changing the behavior, we need to work at changing the heart of the nation. Don't cover up the symptom, focus on the disease. Live your life with the mindset that every step, every breath, is because of Christ. Your body is His temple, the Holy Spirit should guide your every word, decision, and action. Reflect God's love in your life, your faith should be apparent in all your actions. The church should be your support.
Little addition:
Something came to my attention recently regarding legalizing homosexual marriage. Would it hinder our first amendment rights?
From the first amendment.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Today, churches aren't supposed to endorse certain candidates for office because that supposedly goes against the separation of church and state (I don't believe that is what the separation means though). Would allowing homosexual marriage by law prohibit the church from exercising our beliefs from teaching God's word regarding the practice? It would be described as "hate speech" to many individuals I bet even though we do not hate the individual, just disagree with their actions. Think about it.
When discussing homosexuality with others who believe that couples have a right to marry, you have to be aware of one thing. What is their core belief? What we believe about our origins GREATLY influences what we believe about life. Evolution and Creation both say it goes against nature. If you believe that is doesn't go against nature, where does this emotion and strong sense of love and feeling come from? If we are only animals, we would only have the drive to reproduce, and that's all that matters regarding sex. It wouldn't have the sense of pleasure and satisfaction. What about our ability to discuss this, and reason from different viewpoints? What gives us that free will and discernment?
People say that homosexuality is okay because the individuals are born that way, how can it be wrong if it was felt from an innocent child? Name one child that is sinless. One child that hasn't disobeyed their parents. We are sinful from birth, as David said in the Psalms, "Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me." There will always be a sin that we are prone to, I have mine, I am sure you have yours. Your sin is no worse and no better than that of the homosexual. As followers of Christ, it is our duty to help our brothers and sisters fight their sin. We are in this battle with them. Show your support and love for them, don't hate.
Here lies the hardest question of all...Should gay marriage be legal. Well, if it was a society that still put Christ at it's center, and the government stilled formed laws in accordance with the Bible, then it would be an easy answer. Here is what is accepted more than prayer on television: sex, nudity, drugs, dishonoring parents, crude humor, language, gore, and more. If society and government accept this as fitting for our children to see when they are easily influenced, I have to say that we aren't a Christ-following country. If they aren't basing their decisions on Christian morals, what are they basing it on? Who makes the rules? Why do they make them that way? Who is to say what is right and wrong when they don't acknowledge an all-knowing Creator? The government needs to make a decision on who they are following: the will of God or the will of man. We need to be aware of who we vote in to office, encourage and pray for them. If we need to, remind them of who they believe in and where they need to look for answers.
Ultimately, we shouldn't focus on changing the behavior, we need to work at changing the heart of the nation. Don't cover up the symptom, focus on the disease. Live your life with the mindset that every step, every breath, is because of Christ. Your body is His temple, the Holy Spirit should guide your every word, decision, and action. Reflect God's love in your life, your faith should be apparent in all your actions. The church should be your support.
Little addition:
Something came to my attention recently regarding legalizing homosexual marriage. Would it hinder our first amendment rights?
From the first amendment.
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."
Today, churches aren't supposed to endorse certain candidates for office because that supposedly goes against the separation of church and state (I don't believe that is what the separation means though). Would allowing homosexual marriage by law prohibit the church from exercising our beliefs from teaching God's word regarding the practice? It would be described as "hate speech" to many individuals I bet even though we do not hate the individual, just disagree with their actions. Think about it.
Amen, amen, amen! This is very well written, Turtle!
ReplyDeleteThanks!! :)
DeleteHey Katrina, really appreciate the article. I get pretty bogged down over all of the garbage I see on some of my acquaintances' facebooks but this was a breath a fresh air. I have some things to say that I hope are constructive as well.
ReplyDeleteThe most common defense of the practice of homosexuality is that 1: it is harmless and 2: whether you think it is disgusting or not, the government should not have the right to restrict people from doing what they want to do. As you read in that article I posted awhile back, I argue that it is harmful, however, because like you said, God's creation is intricate and complex and often though things appear to be harmless at first sight, there ends up being a good reason that God told us not to do it. God knows what is good for us much better than we do.
So we both agree that there is a good reason that God forbid homosexuality. But from some of your comments I can see that we disagree about the purpose of government. What is the purpose of government? Well, what should be the purpose of life? You know the answer - to fear God and keep His commandments, and His commandments are embodied in the two principles "Love your God and love your people". So then, if this is what all people should do, then the only righteous form of government should aim at fostering in its subjects a reverence and love for the Lord and a love for their people.
So ask yourself, does the government of the United States resemble a righteous government at all? Does it attempt to foster in its constituents a zeal for Christ? Does it uphold biblical principles? Does it hold Christianity up as a standard to the nation? I'm afraid the answer is no on all counts. You wrote above that our government needs to decide whether they are following the will of God or the will of man. But I'm afraid that that decision has been made based on the very nature of our government. Our government is a democracy, or a republic (same difference), and it exists not to serve the will of God, but to serve man. It is a nation of the people, by the people, for the people. God is not involved in the equation. And most Christians today defend our system of government because, well, if it were different then we might be forced to do something we don't want to do! Gasp! Their defense of our humanistic government is self-centered, not God-centered.
I believe that the biblical model of government is monarchical, not democratic in nature. Nowhere in the bible is there anything about the separation of church and state or all of these inalienable rights that everyone tosses around in conversations today. God raised up a man to govern His people and bring them to righteousness, and he judged these men based on how well they did this. One common standard that God used to judge them was whether or not they cast out the pagan Gods that Israel was serving. Why is it that Christians think that it is not a government's place to tell people how to live. That is exactly the government's job, just as it is every parent's job to guide their children and a pastor's job to guide his church.
God meant it when he said "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me". And I'm afraid that if we can't agree on this foundational point, then the arguments over homosexuality, or any other number of issues that are blatantly anti-christian, are already lost. That is why I have come to reject that the constitution and the bill of rights and the foundation of the this government were inspired by God. I believe they were written by many good, Christian men, but as Milton said, the road to Hell is paved with good intentions.
Sorry it has taken me awhile to response to your post, it just gave me a lot to think about! You are right that our government was modeled to be run by the people through their representatives in congress. But I do believe it was constructed with Christian principles, many of those signing the declaration were pastors or professed Christians. That is why it is hard for people to follow it today, because the nation isn't putting God first.
DeleteThomas Jefferson studied many different forms of government before crafting ours, he took his inspiration from how Moses governed the Israelites, and from the laws of the Anglo-Saxons which he believed were also inspired by the Old Testament. It was a separation of powers with leaders for the 12 tribes, and leaders for groups of families within. Any major issues that weren't sorted by those below him were taken to Moses. The hierarchy of power was much like our Mayors, Senators, and President. I read this in The Making of America, The Substance and Meaning of the Constitution. Very interesting. :)
I don't believe God meant it to be monarchical in the sense of a human being King. There were judges which followed God's law and make sacrifices for the people, but there wasn't a King as we know it today until 1 Samuel 8 when the Israelites wanted to be like the other nations, even though God was against it because of how power can corrupt a person. I don't know the full extent of the responsibilities of the judges though. In my understanding, God was the King and would rule His people through the prophets by giving them messages for the nations. .
The federal government was never meant to be this big, the founders wrote the constitution with the intention of no one body having ultimate power, but the power being to the states through those that the people elect. Thomas Jefferson said that the states can best govern the home concerns, and the federal government the foreign ones, and he never wanted to see all offices transferred to Washington. The Tenth Amendment echoes these thoughts. We failed in keeping the rules of the Constitution and gave the federal government too much power; it was never meant to rule us, we were supposed to keep it in check. That is my belief though. Thomas Jefferson was a smart guy and did a lot more study into the workings of governments than I ever have. I believe knew what he was doing. :) It is just in such upheaval now because Washington isn't following how it was written from the beginning. Then again, many Americans don't know their own constitution either and have no idea how it isn't being followed.