Why are American Christians failing to trust God on homosexuality?
American Christians are being led into homosexual “marriage” with hardly a whimper of protest.
The agenda is already everywhere we turn. My friend called me from the Ohio State Fair. She, her husband and two young daughters had just visited the arts pavilion. “You’ll never guess which wedding cake won,” she said.
“Two males or two females?” I asked.
“Two males--with rainbow decorations,” she told me. “And it was a very mediocre cake.”
Two decades ago I would have applauded Judge Vaughn Walker’s “courage” in overturning Proposition 8.I would have seen his judicial despotism as “progress,” and I would have ooed and ahhed over the same sex cake. Then Jesus Christ took hold of my life, and among many revelations, I saw homosexuality for the God-offending home-wrecker and life-wrecker it is. It’s becoming a nation-wrecker as well.
God graciously allowed me, a sinner, to be a part of his kingdom. And ironically, when the veil of deception fell from my eyes, I recognized for the first time the road to destruction America was travelling unless a miracle intervened. One of the major drivers of this hell-on-wheels, it became obvious, was homosexual activism.
So I consulted my new compatriots— believers in Christ— certain they would have wisdom to share, but I encountered mostly indifference. Yes, I do praise God for a few trusted fellow warriors who see the whole picture, but despite this and spotty resistance from conservative enclaves, relatively few American Christians contend with homosexual aggression. Like the creeping alcohol abuse of a wayward teen, though, ignoring it only ensures full-scale disaster somewhere down the line. And so, here we are.
The sad reality is, we need to address this issue head on. The deviance isn’t going away — it’s marching in our streets, corrupting our kids, jamming our courts, revolutionizing our congregations, and soon, possibly, strolling down the aisles in all fifty states.
But American Christians themselves are drunk with a strange brew of misplaced compassion, cowardice, pop psychology and biblical illiteracy. On the homosexual issue, it goes like this: “Yes, I know homosexuality is wrong, but those two gay guys down the street seem very nice. I don’t want to be a stumbling block to their coming to Christ.”
So we now have Judge Vaughn Walker, himself a homosexual, smashing the rule of law to declare two men or two women a marital union. The unacknowledged cornerstone of this opinion— which the defense simply did not deal with--is the belief that some people are born homosexual. Despite the lack of evidence, many Christians, too, have bought into this notion.
Yet if there was ever a time when we should trust God, it is now. He has described homosexuality as sinful, unnecessary behavior and not inborn identity, and we need to trust this is still the truth.
So it’s irrelevant if the two guys down the street are nice. Sin is frequently accompanied by other appealing qualities — it’s called “humanity.” The protestations of having always felt this way, of not being able to change, may be sincere but don’t provide evidence of an unchanging trait. There are too many ex-homosexuals around for us to buy this. And again, we have the word of God.
But, getting back to the world’s standards, if Judge Walker is going to be arbitrarily prescriptive about the "shoulds” and “should-nots” of marriage, then why can’t others be as well? There are quite obvious better and worse ways to implement— indeed, consummate- marriage. It should be obvious, but apparently not to some. So, let’s lay out the overwhelming evidence that male and female work a lot better than same sex "marital" interaction.
First, there’s the wealth of information attesting to the volitional aspect of homosexual proclivities. Prisons are full of people currently engaged in homosexual behavior who did not consider themselves “born this way” upon incarceration, and many will abandon this conduct when they leave prison behind. The “down low” phenomenon of urban men who have homosexual liaisons as a sideshow to their established heterosexual relationships or marriages— without adopting a “gay” identity—is well known to public health and social science professionals.
And those who study with dismay the explosion in pornography see the rise of homosexual –themed porn as a major sub-category, and it’s not always an indulgence of those who march in the “gay” pride parades.
The whole trend looks a lot like Old Testament “anything goes” decadence, with truly, nothing new under the sun. It’s pansexuality, a frequent accompaniment to primitive pagan cultures, which America is voluntarily becoming.
So the Christian church has some work to do. I propose some new resolutions:
- Recapture a deep, godly appreciation for America, while at the same time, we face how deadly serious homosexual activism is in its goal to tear this nation’s foundation apart. Our exceptional God-given blessings should be accorded the same stewardship as clean air or water. God will hold us accountable for not wisely investing the generous allotment of talents He gave us as Americans.
- Refuse to accept the terms of engagement advocacy “gays” seek to establish. It’s not a human rights issue. It’s a sin issue. It’s not identity, but behavior. It’s not a violence issue. It’s a truth issue. It’s not neutral. It’s destructive.
And it’s not negative to say so. God’s awesomely engineered design of humans as male and female— and the eternally glorious privilege of creating, with Him, new human beings-- is not to be scoffed at. It continues to be a magnificent, eternally positive portion of His Good News. It's also why standing against homosexual behavior is another aspect of the pro-life issue.
- Christians need to stop apologizing, as a body, to homosexuals. The exaggeration of harm and outright lies blame our beliefs by highlighting sad anecdotes that almost never involve Christians. A crime trend isn’t indicated by FBI statistics; the numbers just aren’t there. And news flash: all citizens are protected equally under the law.
- Courage needs to be regained and cowardice repented. God has given men testosterone, but it must have drained out of some American pastors. In too many legislative hearings, Bible-believing pastors are AWOL, but present are advocates of homosexuality including ministers from the Episcopal Church USA, the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and others, all applauding legislated sin. Precious few of our leaders have stepped up to the plate. But repentance and re-dedication could still recapture lost ground.
- Politics is an opportunity and a privilege, not an ungodly bother.People in other countries would give anything to have as much control as we can exercise, if we will, over our lives in America. Believers did not start this fight but we have the power to finish it. The truth of God is on our side.
Many pastors seem to be committed to the personal counseling of homosexual strugglers, but public policy also frames American life. This is about child protection, religious freedom, and public health. The influence of pastors and other high-profile believers could turn this issue around.
Yes, you may get some heat. Lies may be told about you. So what? Those who really care will know the truth. And He will know that you tried.
We are not responsible for the outcome, only to be obedient. We must stop having tea in the parlor while there’s a fire in the kitchen. Let’s turn and face what we must, and feel confidence knowing Who we have at our backs.
