This article has two parts. The first is excerpts from a comment sent to me by ‘Ben’ about homosexuality. He wrote it in response to ‘Simon’s email’. He makes some valid points that need to be addressed. His thoughts also express the opinion of many others. ‘My reply’ (part two) immediately follows.
Ben writes:
‘The New Testament writers seem to be very critical of homosexuality. Sodomy is listed among terrible activities to be avoided. But if you begin to study the word translated as “sodomy,” I think you’ll find it tends to refer more to man-boy sex than man-man sex. There is no moral man on earth that would not condemn pedophilia as one of the worst practices on earth. I would imagine the New Testament authors seeing these practices done in pagan religions would also consider them disgusting and vile.
‘I am not trying to condone all actions of homosexuals. The typical “gay-lifestyle” is incredibly dangerous and spiritually oppressive. Those who are stuck in the lifestyle need to be pulled out of that horrible trapping vortex. But to what are they to be rescued? I see example after example of Christians, after being convinced homosexuality is a sin, try to deny their homosexuality, only to fail. I’ve talked with gays who desperately want to be righteous before God by being heterosexual, but their sexual desires never shift.
‘The church for hundreds of years has not offered hope to homosexuals. The church has told them to deny their desires, because the church is made up of heterosexuals who don’t understand homosexuals or repressed homosexuals.
‘As Christians we cannot promote the systematic repression of who people are (regardless of source: DNA or upbringing). Instead of closing our doors to these creatures created by God, let the Church accept them for who they are. My hope is that you realize that this is a complex issue that goes far beyond the idea that Scripture says it’s a sin so it’s a sin.’
My Reply
I don’t dispute that some people have a natural tendency toward homosexual behaviour. But the truth is we all suffer from natural tendencies. For example, all normal healthy males have a tendency to lust. But this natural bias toward lust doesn’t mean it’s acceptable to pursue it. I can appreciate that homosexuality is a complex issue and people experience great turmoil over it. But because it is a difficult problem to deal with doesn’t give us permission to sanction it. The guys at the rehab where I live and work as a volunteer are working on problems just as difficult and complex as someone struggling with homosexuality. Some take years to get things sorted out. But if it takes years, then it takes years. They can’t afford to give in and give up. To do so means death, literally. If my battle with selfishness and lust lasts a life time, then so be it. I must fight till the end. It’s not ‘the church’ that has told me to deny my desires; it’s the Word of God. 2 Timothy 6:12 says to ‘fight the good fight’. War and fighting are common themes through out the Bible. In the Old Testament they had to fight to stay alive, they had to fight to take the land and they had to fight to keep it. 1 Peter 2:11 says, ‘I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul.’ The person struggling with homosexual desires must wage war against them the same as I must wage war against sinful heterosexual desires.
‘There is no moral man on earth that would not condemn paedophilia as one of the worst practices on earth’, Ben says. I find it interesting that the arguments used to justify homosexuality are the same ones used for paedophilia. Paedophiles also claim they were born that way and didn’t have a choice. Many paedophiles too have tried to change their ways and failed. So shouldn’t we, as with homosexuality, just accept that it is part of their makeup? And what if the juvenile gives consent? How can that be wrong? Paedophilia has been around as long as homosexuality and we can expect it, like homosexuality, to eventually be accepted by mainstream society as it has been before (Roman society was well known for its acceptance of pederasty). With recognised organisations like NAMBLA (North American Man Boy Love Association) demanding age restrictions for sexual relations be removed, we are way closer to it than you may think. Societies that endorse the gay lifestyle as an alternative typically also reduce the age for homosexual sex (Denmark lowered it to 14 a number of years ago).
One of the most powerful arguments against the practice of homosexuality is from nature. The biblical principle of reproduction/fruit is undeniable. God created a universe (the fruit of His mind). God produced life (plants, animals, winged creatures etc) and then commanded it to produce after its own kind (Genesis 1:12-25). The laws of nature decree: unless something can produce it is cursed with extinction. God made a man and a woman because only a man and a woman can obey His command to ‘be fruitful and multiply’ (Genesis 1:28). This principle of being fruitful was also emphasised by Jesus many times in the New Testament. In a parable Jesus told in Luke 13:6-9 the fate of a fig tree rested entirely on whether or not it would bear fruit. In Matthew 7:16-20 Jesus said when it comes to true disciples, ‘You will recognise them by their fruits’. Things that are of God always produce fruit. The joining of a man and a woman produces the fruit of life, a newborn. Homosexuality produces nothing. It is cursed, even by the laws of nature. Its legacy is death. Unless homosexuality steals its fruit it has no future in itself.
The last point I want to address is the way people identify themselves with homosexually. The idea that it is ‘who they are’ is foolish and morally irresponsible. Imagine if I said to the guys struggling in rehab, ‘You’ve fought your natural tendencies and your addictive behaviour long enough; it must be who you are. Just give in and follow your desires.’ Our identity is not in DNA or upbringing (naturalistic fatalism). The Bible says we were made in the image of God. That is who we really are. Even though I may struggle with lust (and a whole range of other ‘natural tendencies’) for my whole life, I must never accept it. The Bible clearly labels it as sin (the same as homosexuality) and for me to identify myself with it by saying ‘It’s who I am’ is to trample the blood of Christ and court the very flames of hell.
‘To what are they to be rescued?’ Ben asks. The same as every other follower of Jesus, heaven! Have we become so focused on the here and now that we have forgotten our heart’s greatest longing? And have we forgotten that sin is the decisive issue regarding heaven and hell? What we think is sin is not important; the real issue is what God thinks. His opinion is all that matters. And we best take what He says seriously. It would be far better to err on the side of caution than to go, as Ben suggests, ‘far beyond the idea that Scripture says it’s a sin so it’s a sin’.
Will there be people who struggled with homosexuality in heaven? Absolutely! Just as there will be people like me who struggled with selfishness and lust (sins that are no less destructive). Heaven is for those who fought the good fight and trusted Christ to cover their sin with His blood. The Cross can deal with any sin no matter how difficult and complex. This is what the Gospel is all about!