I have been asked a few times in the past, "Are you a homophobe?" Well, although the thought of homosexuality makes me physically ill and involuntarily puts my face in the squenched nose, curled lip position, like I've just taken a double dose of green NyQuil, I have to say no. What does scare me is the homosexual agenda, and even worse than that, the increasing number of preachers who refuse to preach repentance.
I have come to realize recently, that an astonishing amount of kids (some as young as 12) are "coming out of the closet" earlier now than ever. What really scares me is, because of "political correctness" and the "we were born this way" myth, this disturbing trend is becoming increasingly acceptable. Yes, I am a Christian, and believe that homosexuality is a sin, as are countless other things. But, let's put MY beliefs aside for a moment. Is it only Christians who believe homosexuality is wrong or immoral? I think not. Homosexuality has been a "secret" way of life for thousands of years. Some hid for fear of harm, but most out of shame. If this is not the case, then why was there ever a "closet" to begin with? Because even homosexuals know that the lifestyle they have chosen is not socially acceptable. It is an alternative lifestyle. Alternative to what? The norm. What also scares me is the fact that we have become so "wussified" in this country, we are letting homosexuals push their agenda onto not only the adult population, but on our children. They are doing this by saying, "Hey, you were born this way, you can't help how you feel." WRONG! The American Psychological Association, in March of 2009, had to revise their theory on the "gay gene" to admit that there isn't one. That's right...NO GAY GENE. The Human Genome Project, completed in April of 2003, proved the "gay gene" theory a bust. There are even cases where out of a pair of twins, only one was gay, not both. This was not a suprise to me. I've always believed that homosexual tendencies are driven by parenting, environment, child sexual abuse, or a number of other tangible issues. Sigmund Freud was the first to say that parental relationships with a child ultimately determine a child's sexual orientation.
So, getting back to my Christian beliefs, what is the answer? Should we fight against the homosexual agenda, or turn the other cheek? Are we supposed to love one another as Christ loved us? I believe both answers are correct. For the most part, I think Christians say "live and let live". As long as you keep your activities to yourself, it has no bearing on my life whatsoever. But, when the agenda becomes the systematic brainwashing of our children, that's where I believe Christians have to draw a line in the sand. We can't pray openly in schools, so why should we let homosexuals put books in our children's elementary library called "Heather Has Two Mommy's"? Now, all this is not said in hate. I don't hate homosexuals at all. I just don't agree with the lifestyle they lead, and the brainwashing agenda they are pushing on young children all over the country. God loves them as much as everyone else, but He doesn't love their sinful lifestyle. And, for the record, God doesn't like the lifestyle of an alcoholic, murderer, or an adulterer anymore than a homosexual. So the real problem here is that the increase of "bubble-gum" preaching has fueled the belief that, since God loves us all equally, we automatically fall under His grace. This is not the case. We need to get back to telling people that, indeed, God loves us all, His salvation is free to all, but to receive this gift we must ask forgiveness for our sins and REPENT! To repent means to "turn away" from our old sinful life to walk with Christ. This is the most important part of salvation that is being left out in new churches everywhere! After accepting Christ, everytime we sin (and we will, it's our nature), we crucify Christ all over again. This is where we as Christians are going wrong, and I'm afraid it may be too late to reverse the trend. We need to get back to telling people that repentance is necessary in a walk with Christ, not just belief and forgiveness. Anyway, that's the way I see it.
Man, you hit on a HUGE topic here, one that's enormous on my heart, and has been for several years.
ReplyDeleteI guess before I share my thoughts on this particular topic, I should share a little bit of my story; makes it a little easier to understand why this means so much to me.
My freshman year in college, I started dating my best friend Matt. He and I had been best friends since we were eight; he asked me out the first time on my fifteenth birthday, and I said no. :) But he was persistent, and freshman year in college, I finally saw what was right in front of me.
To make a long story short, we were absolutely crazy about each other. We dated for over two years, we had planned a life together, looked at engagement rings...the whole nine yards. But something was off; a few days before my 21st birthday, he told me we needed to take a break, that he needed to figure some things out. So we took that "break" for about seven months before he could talk with me about the issue. The following summer, we went for a walk and he revealed to me that he'd been struggling with feelings of homosexuality since he was 12; told his parents at that point, and they responded that he was too young to think about such things. So he never brought it up to them again.
And then he met me. And we were best friends and we enjoyed each other's company so much and it worked so well, because the deeper physical aspects never came in to play (after all, we were both good moral people, waiting for sex until marriage). But I guess at some point he decided that he'd better find out for sure before we got married. So he spent that seven months that we were on a "break" sleeping with his roommate.
Our relationship ended very soon after that conversation, and I spent the next three years wading through all the questions the whole thing brought up in my head. And truth be told, I'm still wading through some of them, and I still struggle with trust in a lot of areas. I'm infinitely blessed by a husband who walks with me through those questions and builds up that trust continuously on a daily basis.
Since that time in my life, my path has crossed with homosexual after homosexual, and since I do not believe in coincidence, I do believe this to be one of God's major ministries in my life.
(continued) I couldn't agree with you more. It's time for the church to step up and take a stand. I think it's time for us to stop worrying how to silence the homosexual agenda, and start praying about how we can be a force for changing the agenda from the INSIDE. I think you're right...I think we're beyond the point where we're going to be able to silence them.
ReplyDeleteWhat if, instead of trying to silence them into submission, we dare to get close to them? What if we dare to live life beside them, to love them and care for them, and in that, to tell them that there's a better way. That God loves them just as much as the next guy; and, in that great, great love for them, He wants them to know that the life they're living ISN'T part of His plan. It isn't His best for them.
I only say all this because I've spent the past five years of my life trying to figure out a way to stop the devastation that homosexuality is wreaking on our families, on our nation, on our faith, on the masculinity of our men and the femininity of our women. And the only way I've found to effectively do that is to find a balance between Love and Truth. Because Christ is both of those things in perfect balance. So if we go at them with only love love love love love and no truth...we won't see any change in their actions, no change in the sin. But if we go at them with only truth truth truth truth truth and no love...they will turn their backs on God's message. And I guess I should clarify that when I say "truth," I mean telling them that their sin is sin.
Man, my heart is alive with thoughts on this topic. I'm tired of seeing homosexuality break hearts the way it did mine. I'm also tired of seeing the church convince homosexuals that God wants nothing to do with them. And I've seen that. Firsthand, many times. I've heard preachers preach from the pulpit that homosexuality is not wrong. I've heard preachers preach from the pulpit that homosexuals should be imprisoned and/or killed for their sin. I think both of these viewpoints to be a DISGUSTING portrayal of the heart of God.
So I guess that's what I think it's time for the church to do. Stop being afraid of homosexuality or so grossed out by it that we can't earnestly seek the heart of God and ask us how He would have us respond in this situation. That's the only way we're going to get the Love/Truth balance necessary to start changing the trends one homosexual at a time. By honestly, humbly seeking His direction and His attitude toward them.
PS, This is Audra. :)