My husband wrote an article today that’s been shared like a thousand times and viewed like a million times. Okay, both of those numbers are slight exaggerations, but the point is, it’s been getting a lot of people thinking apparently. The reason is that it’s not your every day article. It’s about homosexuality, and as you all know, that’s quite the hot topic right now. If you haven’t seen it yet, here it is: “What Does The Bible Really Say About Homosexuality?”
I’m not going to write about what the Bible says about homosexuality. I’ve done that before and why say again what my brilliant, humble husband already just eloquently expressed? I’m going to take this in another direction.
Here’s the thing. I love gay people. LOVE them! I also love adulterers, fornicators, pedophiles, rapists, and murderers. I hate what they do, I despise their sin and the foothold Satan has on them, but I love them and want them to go to heaven.
I’ve read a lot of statements and arguments today from a lot of angry, rude people who are riled up over this particular issue. One of the arguments I read went something like this: “There are going to be gay people in America regardless of what the government says about it. Giving them more legal rights isn’t going to change anything. And don’t harp on the sanctity of marriage either—straight married couples blew that a long time ago.”
I would just like us to all think about that statement for a moment. He’s right about that straight married couples thing. America looks a little silly using the sanctity of marriage argument at this point. Christians should still make that argument, of course, but our country doesn’t really have the right. After all, about half of American marriages end in divorce.
But there was a time, not too long ago, when divorce was something so shameful and rare that people only mentioned it in hushed tones. When my mom was a child, none of her friends at school were children of divorced parents, and the thought of her own parents divorcing was something she would have never imagined even in her wildest dreams. If someone did divorce back then, it was only because of scandalous adultery and everyone recognized adultery as sin.
Now, only a few short decades later, most children are growing up in broken homes. The new normal is heartbreaking environments in which children are raised by single parents, feel that they are a burden, feel like they have to take sides between two people who should be a solid rock of oneness, and other such childhood terrors which will stay with them for the rest of their lives.
Also until relatively recently, most people didn’t even know what abortion was. In the 50’s, no one would have dreamed that today, over a million lives would be taken every year in America through abortion.
I could say similar things about other sins that are now widely accepted.
But divorce and abortion aren’t the issues right now, are they? Homosexuality is what’s on the table.
My question is this: What’s next?
John Wesley once said that “what one generation tolerates the next generation will embrace.”
We stress tolerance so much. It’s suddenly everyone’s favorite word. I always find it so funny how the people who stress tolerance seem to accept and embrace every lifestyle except that of the God-fearing Christian.
But if you look at our history, Wesley’s words ring true. Think about it. Divorce. Premarital sex. Abortion. Euthanasia. Sexual expression and experimentation. And now same-sex marriage. While these things have been around forever, the acceptance and “tolerance” of them in our nation is a new thing, relatively speaking.
Where will it stop?
The answer is this: It won’t stop. When America decides to legalize something that God calls “an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13), any other “abominable” action will inevitably become “acceptable.” Today rallies of people defend same-sex marriage. The next generation will defend pedophilia. The next, bestiality. The next, only God knows.
Sound crazy? Think twice. Go ask your grandfather if he ever thought the day would come when our nation would be so boldly and vocally defending the sins that it is. When there’s no standard, there are no boundaries to the power Satan can and will have over our nation.
What can we do about it?
I’m not really talking to those of you who claim no allegiance to God and His Word right now. What hurts me is when I see members of Christ’s body tolerating, and even defending, what God clearly calls sin. Since when did sin stop being sin?
I don’t know what you plan on doing about all of this, but this is my personal game plan:
Love. Love is always the answer. As I said previously, I love gay people. I just want to know, how much do you have to hate someone to show “tolerance” and “acceptance” of a sin you know will keep them from going to heaven? You see, it’s love that will drive us as Christians to be what the world calls “intolerant.” It’s love that will drive us to call it sin, and then do whatever we can to help those people conquer and repent of that sin.
Don’t Bow To Peer Pressure. Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? You think it was easy for them to stand alone amongst thousands who were bowing? Doubtless the reason why 99% of them were bowing to a phony statue the king conjured up was peer pressure alone. Don’t defend gay marriage just because it’s the cool thing to do. Take a stand for what’s right. Defend what’s right in letters to political leaders, letters to companies who are vocal in their support of one side or another, and simply among friends and colleagues
Pray. Pray for our nation. Pray for the leaders of our nation. I don’t know why people use the words, “It’s the least I can do” in reference to prayer. It’s the greatest thing you can do. And if there was ever was a need for it, it’s now.
Romans 12:9 reads “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
That’s the best advice I have to offer. Abhor evil. Hold fast to what is good.
Wonderfully written article.
Very well said Hannah!
I really appreciate your words & how you brought out the point that loving someone doesn’t mean condoning sin, but lovingly we should help guide them away from it. So often I think love and acceptance get confused.
It is funny that certain jurisdictions saw fit to outlaw polygamous marriage, yet we are in an age where the highest court in the land is trying to ajudicate on a topic that was settled by God at the beginning of time. So, your question is valid, “What is next?” Should a man be allowed to marry his daughter? Should he be allowed to marry his dog? Should a woman be allowed to have two husbands? I know these are “slippery slope” arguments, but they are still valid questions. You are right. We need to love all people with the purpose of converting them to New Testament Christianity. Thanks for the words!
This is a very well written article Hannah. A solid and calm Christian stance.
actually worth reading! I appreciate your thoughts. I’ll be preaching on this very topic in two weeks and I’m trying to encourage my congregation to “meet in the middle”. The two extremes are hatred or complete acceptance! Meeting in the middle, in my humble opinion, is done through love. A love for God’s word and a love for others! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Glad I took the time to read it! msg
Hi, Hannah!
I truly appreciate your heart to love the Father and His word. I, too, am a Christian and would be completely lost without my Savior. He is everything to me. The issue of marriage equality is certainly a heated one, with both sides often being “ugly” to the other. That is just sad and so unnecessary. That being said, I would like to respectfully disagree with your use of the Leviticus passages as a proof of God’s word on gay relationships.
Having spent the past year studying this whole issue, I’ve come to some conclusions that so many in evangelical churches simply refuse to even consider. It’s really tough to do the difficult thing and believe something out of the norm. If anyone thinks for a moment that for a Christian to believe an interpretation of these scriptures that isn’t the accepted one is easy, they are so wrong. But for now, I’d just like to take a minute to address the word commonly translated “abomination” in Leviticus.
“Toevah” is the Hebrew word in those passages you mentioned. I’ve read everything I can get my hands on regarding the meaning of this word, even going so far as to go to “Torah” study with a Rabbi. . Context is key in studying any text and it is particularly important that we take it into consideration when studying the Bible. People have used scripture to justify any number of false beliefs, including slavery and treating women as property.
In Leviticus, we see God establishing ways for his people, Israel, to stay set apart from the pagan Canaanite people around them. If you study the history and understand the pagan religions of the time, you would find that they used sexual practices in their religious rituals. To the Israelites these would be “unclean” rituals, and for obvious reasons…temple prostitution, sex with idols, etc. So the meaning of “toevah” is one having to do with things that are ritually unclean to the Jewish people. In the Hebrew, the definition of something that is toevah is not something that would be inherently evil, but more of a cultural taboo to the Jews. If you study all of the examples of toevah, you would see that there are varying degrees of consequences, punishments, etc. From my own studies I’ve surmised that, due to our understanding/definition of abomination in the English today, the use of it as toevah is unfounded and wrong.
Many things are “toevah” in the Old Testament—eating shellfish/certain types of fowl/certain animals, wearing clothes made of blended fabrics, having sex during menstruation, a man “spilling” his seed, and on and on. It’s quite a list, with some of the things bringing tougher penalties than others. Some of the things seem a bit ridiculous to us today. Our culture is different from that of the ancient world. Rarely do we have to deal with anyone sacrificing their children on the alter of Molech or with someone carrying around differing sizes of weights to cheat people with. (Of course, we do have bad business practices, abortion, etc…but you understand the point.) Abraham married his ½ sister, which to us today would be a toevah! We don’t practice or condone incest, but there are most certainly uncondemned examples of it throughout the Old Testament. The same could be said for polygamy. In our culture, it would be a toevah. Not so in ancient cultures, including Judaism.
There is so much more to say, but I have gone on too long already. My prayer is that Christians would begin to study these things without prejudice, to study with an understanding of history and context and an open heart. Perhaps there is another way to view loving, monogamous gay relationships (yes, they exist) than how we’ve come to understand them. Maybe, just maybe, we don’t have every answer exactly correct.
You have a wonderful day, Hannah…full of blessings and love from our Father. If you’d like to talk further, please email me. If not, that’s ok, too.
I really appreciate your emphasis on loving the sinner, but hating the sin. All too often we all forget that we aren’t perfect either, and we don’t want anyone dismissing us because of that fact. Whether homosexuality is your vice or something else entirely, your soul still matters to God, and therefore matters to His people.
Also, thank you for addressing the fact that when what we feel becomes the master, there is no stopping the perversion of God’s creation. Great article, Hannah.
Hi Hannah,
I came across your blog through a friend who shared it on facebook. I really enjoyed the way you conveyed your thoughts.
It sounds like you are mainly addressing like-minded Christians. However, I think if you (and others) really want to get your message across to supporters of gay marriage, the people you are trying to “help get into heaven,” I would get rid of the slippery slope argument (“Where will it stop?”).
While it’s an interesting question it’s still a logical fallacy, and you can’t reason with people if you are using faulty reasoning to begin with. Without a direct link showing that A caused B which caused C, this part of your argument rests on shaky foundation at best.
They might disagree with your opinion, but using faulty logic will make supporters focus on that and discredit everything else you say which might be valid. As you can see, I’m quite neutral about it, so I’m not saying at all that you are “wrong” or the supporters are “right”. I just want to give both sides tips on ways to strengthen their arguments to provide for better discourse.
I’ll be sure to pass this along because I think your “2 Cents” are worth a read 🙂
It’s unfair to assume that because they are gay they will not be in heaven. Abomination or not, a sin is a sin is a sin. That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Focus on salvation and not the sin.
Mr. Steve:
There is a difference between someone ‘feeling’ homosexual urges and someone ‘acting’ on their homosexual urges, which would be willful, intentional sin.
No one can intentionally sin and expect God’s grace to save them (Rom. 6:1-2).
I do not believe the Calvinistic concept that it is impossible to lose your salvation, because the Bible doesn’t teach the idea. The Bible plainly teaches that it is possible to ‘fall from grace’ (i.e. Gal. 5:4; 2 Pet. 2:20-22; Heb. 6:4-6). Indeed, it is possible to fall (1 Cor. 10:12). The reason why we are taking a stand on homosexuality is to rescue the sinner. It is our job to bring them back to Christ (Jas. 5:19-20).
To quote Rom. 10:9-10 as God’s complete & comprehensive plan of salvation is problematic. Yes, I must believe & confess. Yet what does ‘belief’ imply? It means acting on my faith. The crowd on the Day of Pentecost was expected to act on their faith in order to be saved (Acts 2:37-38). Paul had to be baptized to be saved (Acts 22:16). And in order to stay saved – to have the blood of Christ continually washing away my sins – I must “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7) for the rest of my life. Why else would I need to “examine” myself (2 Cor. 13:5)? Why else would I need to “work out [my] salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12)? Because faithfulness to Christ and trying my best to life a sinless life (in the case of homosexuality, NOT practicing it) is essential if I want to receive the “crown of life” (Rev. 2:10).
Thank you Hannah, I hope more Christians read this and have the courage to stand up for what is right according to the Bible. So often we think our opinions don’t matter, that we are just one person, one Christian. I have been told that my way of thinking offends people. I reply that it is not my way of thinking , but what the Bible says. I try to stand up for what is right whenever the need arises. I ask for Gods help and courage to always do so. Thank you and this will be shared.
What a wonderfully written way to encourage intolerance. Kudos.
I could care less about your religious beliefs on the subject, I care about the legalities. And the feelings of those you want to oppress. If you believe they are sinning, pray for them, and keep your nose out of their business. The bible also says the it’s OK to beat my wife and slaves, as long as they don’t die, I’m good. It is also against premarital sex, lusting, over indulging, and working on the Sabbath, yet I don’t see you “holier than thou” types leading a crusade against any of those. Sorry folks, your Bible has proven itself to be outdated time and time again.
Don’t support gay marraige? Then I offer these resolutions.
Don’t marry a gay person.
Request that your place of worship abstain from performing homosexual ceremonies.
Mind your own business, and crawl out of the Dark Ages.
Very well said! Thank you for taking the time to write this. Love Him. Love others. And Jesus said that if we love Him, we will listen to Him and keep His Commandments. Teaching the truth in love. Well done!
If people against gay marriage are going to claim it is a moral or religious issue, then why aren’t they also crusading in support of legislation to ban other more common moral/religious issues, such as premarital sex and divorce? Surely those are also “unnatural” and sinful lifestyles. This inconsistency in the way they follow their religion is the exact reason why others find them intolerant.
Hypothetically, if we didn’t have separation of church and state, those against gay marriage should not just try to live by their beliefs, but also advocate that government pass laws that support ALL their religious beliefs, instead of cherry-picking. They’re right, disagreeing with someone’s choices doesn’t make you intolerant. But supporting laws that marginalize a group of people under the guise of “moral” convictions does.
If you want the government to force your religious beliefs on others, at least be consistent.
My comment was referring to Hannah’s article!!
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Thank you for such a well written and thought out expression of what we as Christians feel about this issue!