Monday, February 16, 2015

A Chapter Concluded ... For Now

The train has come into the station, the curtains have closed, we've reached the end of the road at the end of the line, and the final finale is upon us in the culmination of a last and closing conclusion of accomplishment. Well maybe. Let's not get ahead of ourselves.

But I did finish a period of study that began last year of the LGBT movement and what a Christian response ought to be. Some years ago, I read through Michael Brown's A Queer Thing Happened to America: And what a long, strange trip it's been, which is a wonderful book explaining the history and impact of gay activism in American society.

Recently, I finished reading three additional books. First, I purposefully read James Brownson's Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-Sex Relationships so that I could hear the arguments of the religious-liberal and political Left. I wanted to see their best arguments attempting to explain how one can be a true Christian and practice homosexuality. Brownson ultimately fails to prove his point from the Scriptures, but was oh-so-valuable to see his arguments firsthand, rather than just see liberals cited by conservative scholars. Read this book, but read with discernment.

Second, I read Robert Gagnon's The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. I would simply say that if you want the end-all-be-all book regarding LGBT issues and a Biblical response to them, this is the book you will want to have on your shelf (or Android-based tablet). Gagnon does a masterful job discussing the history of homosexuality in the ancient world, and debunks the claim that the Biblical authors could not have been familiar with the concept we see today of monogamous, loving, committed same-sex relationships. History proves this revisionist claim to be utterly false. He also discusses every relevant Biblical text involving homosexuality, both in the Old and New Testaments. Most important is the time spent responding to liberal attempts to change the plain meaning of the Bible - in fact, he mentions Brownson on more than one occasion. Still, what stuck with me most of all was his interaction with and discussion of the Holiness Code found in Leviticus 18-20.

Third, Michael Brown's new book Can You be Gay and Christian? Responding with Love & Truth to Questions about Homosexuality. Michael Brown did it again, he really did. The overall impression I was left with at the end of this book is this: Christians need to lovingly and patiently explain what we believe about human sexuality, and offer the gospel of Jesus Christ to the LGBT. I was impressed with the passion and the heartfelt love that Brown has for this group of people. You can tell that he genuinely cares about them, and I am going to strive to have the same measure of love towards this segment of our society.

Here is one of my favorite quotes from Brown's book:

Of course, Christians are quick to say to homosexual men and women, "We love you, but we hate your sin," to which they reply, "That means you hate me. This is not what I do. This is who I am." Well, I want to challenge that. You are more than your romantic attractions or sexual desires. You are more than someone attracted to the opposite sex or the same sex ... and it is Jesus who tells us that the first step we must take in following Him is not to affirm ourselves but rather to deny ourselves. (Brown, 23).


I wrote in the margins next to this quote: "Yes! Amen!" Our message to the LGBT community must be centered entirely on the gospel of Jesus Christ. We must not succumb to the temptation that we are the sum of our genes, or that we are defined by our romantic attractions. Human Beings are so much more than the product of random chance having evolved from animals over hundreds of millions of years. We are created in the image of God Himself, and that carries along with it inherent value and purpose in how we are to live. People were made to worship and to serve God, and when we willingly rebel against His guardrails of the road to life - found in the Scriptures - we produce pain, difficulties, and death. The gospel of Christ requires that we turn away from sin, and from our own desires, and turn to Christ who can alone provide the way of salvation.

When we abandon our true purpose for living, the void that is left will be filled with something. Our culture has filled it with utter confusion. For example, Brown lists a few terms the LGBT community use to describe themselves:

Androgeny, Androgenous, Bigendered, Bi-Dyke, Boi, Boidyke, Bro-sis, Butch, ButchDyke, Camp, Cross Dresser, Cross-Living, Drag, Drag King, Drag Queen, Dyke, FTM (Female to Male), Femme, Femme Dyke, Female Bodied, Female Impersonator, Fetishistic, Transvestite, Gender Illusionist , Gender Neutral, Gender-Bender, Gender-Blender, Genderqueer, Genetic Boy, Genetic Male/Man, Genetic Female/Woman, Genetic Girl, Grrl, Half-dyke, Heteroflexible, Hir, Intersex, MTF (Male to Female), Male Impersonator, Metamorph, Monogendered, Multigendered, Neuter, No-gendered, Non-op, Omnisexual, Pansexual, Pre-operative Transexual, Polygendered, Post-operative Transsexual, Queer, Queerboi, Shape Shifter, Stem, Stud, Trannyboi, Trannydyke, Trannyfag, Transboi, Transgendered, Transgenderist, Transitioning, Transmale, Transexual, Transvestite, Transidentified, Trisexual, Two-Spirit, Ze. (Brown, 41).


If this isn't confusion I don't know what is. But again, our response to this needs to be that even gender is a gift from God! If you are created physically male, then you are a man, regardless of how you feel. And the appropriate sexual relationship for you is one woman within the covenant of marriage.

The beautiful thing about the truth of the gospel is that when you speak God's truth to other people, you are speaking to fellow image-bearers of God, and therefore the truth will resonate with them even if they don't acknowledge it as truth. Fallen mankind will go to great lengths to suppress the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18), but they already know of God's existence, attributes and moral requirements (Romans 1:18-21). It isn't our job to convince people of the truth, only that we try to with a faithful proclamation of the good news of Christ. We can plant and water the seeds of truth, but God causes the growth (1 Corinthians 3).

Sunday, February 1, 2015

The Guardrails of the Road for Life

My wife and I have a three year old and a four month old. Translation: "My wife and I don't go to the movies very often." LOL. My parents are kind enough to watch our kids every so often, and last night had our daughter spend the night. What were Emily and I to do with our new-found, albeit temporary, freedom? Why, see a movie, of course!

It seems that whenever these blessed scenarios come about there aren't the big, huge movies that we were dying all year to see, but you know what, we get to sit down in a dark theatre, chomp down some unwholesome popcorn, and watch a whole movie in peace. My wife is the smart one. She suggested we see "American Sniper," because of the massive turnout and its popularity. We ended up seeing another movie instead: "The Imitation Game." All I knew was that Benedict Cumberbatch was in the film, and that it was based on a true story about code-breakers during WWII. I mean, how could that movie not be good? Every trailer that I saw (if you know me, you know I saw them all) looked incredible. Good actors. Good setting. Fascinating plot potential.

The movie started out great. More than great. I was really getting into it. It was everything I thought it would be and more. Until about half way through when the main character was revealed as being a homosexual, and the entire movie became about his struggle. The rest of the plot faded away, and by the end of the movie, that's all it was about really. It had the potential to be such a fantastic film, and in many ways it was. The acting was superb, the initial plot was incredible.

I just didn't realize that I was watching a gay rights activist movie until it was too late.

On our walk out to the car, my wife made this remark: "Can't we just watch a normal movie without having this LGBT propaganda shoved in our face? It's like we can't watch anything anymore..." I couldn't have said it better myself.

Earlier in the year we made the decision to stop watching one of our favorite shows, "Parenthood," because they introduced a gay story arc into the plot. Oh sure, we expect television to portray worldly culture, but we have to draw the line somewhere. And improper expressions of human sexuality are one of those areas we don't want broadcast into our home. I never want to have to explain to my children why we're being entertained by these kinds of sinful behaviors. I would expect a show about "Parenthood" to at least incorporate proper roles for men and women in the show; and I don't think I'm asking too much.

We stopped watching "Modern Family" not too long ago. We watched through a couple seasons before we started questioning whether we should find humor in a show based on redefining the family. I agree with Al Mohler who argues that to laugh at something is to make oneself vulnerable to accepting the truth-claims behind it. I want to guard myself and my family from unnecessary worldly intrusions. The way I see it: the world gets to spend enough time bombarding us with their views, their opinions, and their loose sense of morality. The last thing I want to do is afford them another opportunity in the time we have to relax as a family.

Swerving back to "The Imitation Game," I walked out of the theatre disappointed and glad that I saw the movie. Disappointed because it had such amazing potential as a WWII movie. Glad because I'm now familiar with the movie in case it comes up in conversation. Alan Turing was the main character, and the genius behind inventing what may have been the world's first computer. Ultimately, his work helped save 14 million lives, and allowed the Allies to win the war. He sounded like a brilliant man who did some remarkable things, worthy of commendation.

According to the movie, Mr. Turing also struggled with his homosexuality throughout his life. He was persecuted as a boy and as an adult for being a bit odd. He didn't quite fit in. And you know what, I feel bad for him. I empathize with him. I recognize that he, and many LGBT individuals have internal struggles about the way they feel about other people, both sexually and otherwise. I want to also take the time to say that anyone who mistreats LGBT people are sinning. I believe that homosexuals are my fellow human beings, and are equal in value to me in every way. They are made in the image of God, and therefore have inherent value. They deserve our respect as human beings. We ought to love them and care for them, just like we would love and care for anyone else. Period.

But what I would say to my homosexual friends is this:

I believe that mankind is much more than our society is allowing them to be. I cannot lower man to the level that you are asking me to. What I mean is that man is actually capable of making choices, and ruling over his desires. We are not the sum total of our genes. (James White, PRBC Sermon from 2/1/15).


Amen to that. I would add that just because we have desires or urges to do something doesn't mean we are required to act on them. Sometimes I get angry, but that doesn't mean I should live out my anger. God calls us to specific purposes as human beings. He is our Creator, after all. He has the right to tell us how to live and what we were made to do (and not to do). We aren't defined by our desires; rather, we are defined by God who made us in His image.

Later on in this same sermon, James describes Leviticus 18 as not just a list of "Thou shalt not's," but as the guardrails along the sides of the road for life. Is that an incredible analogy or what? He then added, "God hasn't left us in moral darkness, rather, He has given us His light" in the Scriptures. This needs to be our message to people: we aren't against homosexuals, but we are against homosexuality because it will lead you down the path to destruction. I want you to experience life, and that only comes by obeying the Law given to us by God, and ultimately through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I also thoroughly agree with James' point that if we really believe what God's Word says about this, then it would be hateful for us to live in this society and not say anything about it. If we love our neighbors, we will talk about this, and relate it back to the power of the gospel that can bring abundant life here and now, as well as eternal life to sinners who need it.