Until recently, it would have been unthinkable for someone to claim to be a Bible-believing Christian and a practicing homosexual at the same time – but, now this new teaching is becoming increasingly common. In my view, this new doctrine is a very bad mistake, a complete corruption of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Following are some common arguments justifying homosexuals who also claim to be believers in the Bible and followers of Jesus Christ.
1. Jesus never mentioned homosexuality. Surely if it had been important to him he would have done so.
2. It is wrong to claim that only heterosexuals may receive God’s grace. God loves sinners, and we are all sinners, heterosexuals and homosexuals alike. It is claimed that in Christ there is neither slave nor free, male nor female, gay nor straight.
3. Homosexuals and lesbians need to hear the good news that God loves them and accepts them as they are. Legalism, sin, wrath, judgment – these drive them away from the gospel. The main things are love, acceptance, affirmation of others, and justice (meaning equal rights for gays and silencing differing points of view).
4. Opposition to homosexuality is conformity to the world. It shows not the righteousness of God but rather the same sinful ignorance that supported slavery and oppresses women. Biblical condemnations of homosexuality today are the result of bigotry, hatred, and fear – not of God’s righteousness and laws.
5. Bible verses in the Old and New Testaments do not condemn mature and loving relationships between individuals of the same sex. They condemn rape, temple prostitution, or homosexual acts by heterosexuals who are acting contrary to their nature. They do not apply to those who are homosexual by nature, and were created that way by God.
6. Some of the key words in relevant Bible passages are unclear. We can’t be sure what they really mean. Condemnations of such things as male prostitution are mistranslated to apply to homosexuality in general.
7. There are many laws in the Old Testament that we don’t have to follow. The New Testament also has rules about women that no one follows today and are generally recognized to be limited to that culture. Prohibitions of homosexuality fall within that category. The Old Testament calls eating shellfish an abomination – this clearly shows its condemnation of homosexuality is irrelevant.
8. Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed due to homosexuality.
9. Christians should not worry about the private lives of others.
10. Some people can’t help being homosexual. They were born that way – some will say God made them that way – and they should not be denied the consolations of religion.
In my next blog entry I would like to respond to these arguments, but for the present the tepid response of the church to this problem merits comment. Where are the church leaders on this? Where are the Christians contending for the faith that was once delivered to the saints?
Roger Oakland’s book Faith Undone gives examples of one response by some Christians to the problem of homosexual Christianity – confusion and uncertainty. Here are some comments from Christian writers presented by Oakland (I paraphrase):
- We can’t just repeat what the Bible says. We need to be humble, sensitive, and prayerful. We need to think about the historical context of passages that seem to condemn homosexuality and also we need to consider the real meaning of the original Hebrew and Greek.
- Gay people are very kind and loving. They did not choose to be homosexuals.
- It’s really hard to know just what to think about the issue of Christian homosexuality. It is very complex and confusing. We need to think about it more.
- I don’t know what to say about ordaining gay and lesbian ministers. There are some passages that make me wonder but I just don’t know the answer.[1]
Such people are “forgers of lies” and “physicians of no value,” as it says in Job and there is more of this in the church than we would like to think. Obviously, a church with such an understanding of faith and salvation cannot be expected to take a strong stand for truth in this vital area.
Others who are more biblical may be afraid of driving people away from the gospel by being harsh and condemning – but flattering people in their sins also keeps them away from the gospel. A false hope and an unjustified assurance keep people away from the gospel. Some people may simply be afraid of controversy. They don’t like to upset people – and there is now an increasing risk that opposition to homosexuality will lead to real problems.
The prophet Ezekiel has some words that apply to many of the teachers and preachers in today’s churches. They do not feed the flock or help to the healing of its sick members. Worse, they foul the waters that the flock should drink. Because the flock is not fed, it becomes a prey, vulnerable to the beasts of the field that destroy it. The sheep “have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day,” and this is a cloudy and dark day in which more and more religious teachers, writers, pastors, theologians, and seminary professors fail to provide the flock, Christ’s sheep, with sound teaching. They provide the opposite, and we can see the results all around us.
The increasing acceptance of “gay” “Christianity” is a glaring symptom of a much broader trend – that of a theoretical Christianity that promises a place in heaven based on assent to doctrine but without the cross, without the straight and narrow way, without genuine repentance, and without the Holy Spirit.
It would be better if some whose Christianity is better than mine has been, whose standing is higher than mine, could address themselves to this issue.
(next entry – rebuttal of these false arguments)
(these points and the following rebuttal are adapted from my forthcoming book Contra Feminism: An Appeal to the Faithful Remnant in Christ Jesus)
[1] Roger Oakland, Faith Undone: the emerging church – a new reformation or an end-time deception? (Silverton, OR 2008), pp. 210-213.
