Saturday, January 16, 2010

Connecting the Gay Christian Community



“I have stopped counting how many times I had to tell my gay friends to forgive people because they spoke out of ignorance. So much damage has been done.”

“Pretty much everyone I know has had experiences of being excluded and made to feel unwelcome by the Church.”

“They asked me never to come back. That's pretty sad. I mean that's really awful. I got over it quick, personally I didn't care much because it was their own ignorance. Things like this cause unstable people in my situation to commit suicide, and the church gets off free by saying "it was their sin, they did not repent, they brought it upon themselves.”

“There are almost too many to be counted. The recent thing that I saw was a reverend that was quoted in a certain newspaper that he hates gay people. What kind of message does that sent out to gay people? Many gay people have turned away from God because they believe that God doesn't love them anymore.”


They believe that God doesn’t love them anymore.

Overwhelmingly, the response is negative. And it should hurt you to hear that. People no longer expect compassion from the church because they have been deeply wounded by Christians.

“Love the sinner. Hate the sin,” we tell them.

They get the ‘hating sin’ part. But where is the ‘love’?

Many Christian spokesman speak out against homosexuality. But I say they’ve gone too far. It is one thing to call the lifestyle a sin, it is quite another to say that homosexuals are child molesters and commit bestiality (intercourse with animals).

  • Christians like Scott Lively travel the world, preaching and proclaiming that homosexuals influenced the extreme militarism of Nazi Germany. That gays are the reason for the holocaust. His book is entitled The Pink Swastika.
  • Pat Robertson and the late Jerry Falwell claimed that gays, lesbians, abortionists and feminists were to blame for the September 11th tragedy.
  • As a Christian, you should know that Uganda is in the process of passing a bill that will call for the execution of gays, the imprisonment of anyone hiding gays, and the execution of anyone diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. You should also know that Scott Lively, Caleb Lee Brudidge and Don Schmierer, three Christian missionaries who speak against gay lifestyles, are seen as major influencers to push the bill through.

So much has been done in the name of Jesus, Christians, and the Church to cripple the credibility of our faith.

Yes, I believe that a homosexual lifestyle is a sin. But let me be clear: it is a sin, it is wrong, unholy and derogatory to label them all pedophiles, connect all homosexuals with bestiality, or describe them with other demeaning language. When these assumptions are voiced as absolutes, relationships are severed and the image of Christ is stained. And when we communicate only their sin, and show no actions that we actually care about them, then they have no good reason to think that God loves them either.

Whether you like it or not, as a Christian, when you begin with a conversation with someone who is gay, lurking behind you is a lifetime of derogatory, anti-gay comments made in the name of Jesus Christ. And all you did was say, “Yes, I am a Christian.”

All I want you to do is understand this one, simple sentence:

There is power in apology.

When meeting someone who is gay, let the first words that you speak sound something like this,

“I am sorry. People of my faith have said many hateful things to you and people like you. They spoke out of sin, ignorance and hate. On behalf of them, my Jesus, and my faith, I apologize for our sins.”

I hope you can see the healing power that an apology like this will begin.
Read this story of a conversation between pastor Shayne Wheeler and his gay friend. Shayne said,
“Tell you what, you don’t assume I am a gay-hating bigot, and I won’t assume you’re a pedophile. Deal? If we buy into stereotypes, we’ll never be able to love one another.”

Tears streamed down his face. He said, “Are you sure you’re a Christian?”

Now there were tears of my own.*
My challenge to you is this: apologize. Apologize to people that you know who are gay. Email strangers randomly on Facebook and write them an apology. Take the first step into creating a friendship.

Love them first.
Because while we were still sinners, God loved us first.


*Conversation from UnChristian


UPDATE:
If you are offended that I suggest we apologize, before commenting below how you feel, read this blog article entitled "I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I am Proud." I will gladly read any feedback after you read the article.

34 comments:

  1. Hi there, really like your post and full marks again on the bravery to post it.

    One challenge: you sound like you're making the assumption that gay people you come across won't be Christians. As a Christian, I'd find it kind of hard for another Christians to say to me: 'People of my faith...' - it makes me feel excluded as they're people of *my* faith too - yes even the ones who are hateful.

    But as an evangelism tool for non-Christian gay people, I think you're onto a good thing.

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  2. Rachel, I think what Chris is portraying is how personal and relational Christianity is. And, how very much exclusive it is. Saying my faith is only an attempt to show how intimate this relationship with God is. He's taking Christianity and connecting it with himself and his life.

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  3. Btw... I dig that picture! hahah. rad.

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  4. thanks rachel. i will keep that in mind when i write and talk about this issue.

    the picture comes from my cousin Lisa. she sent it to me, said that it reminded her of my blog last week. Thanks cuz!

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  5. Thanks Chris you're a v good one.

    Should have said too: having thought about it a bit more, it would actually be pretty helpful if straight Christians started by acknowledging that other straight Christians have caused lots of harm. I think it means that an honest conversation can start quickly - rather than wondering when 'the gay thing' is going to come up, and trying to guess if things will turn nasty when it does.

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  6. I recently read a Twitter post where a homosexual said "Homos have such an aversion to God." I couldn't help but wonder if he had met some of Jesus' "followers" - those who had spoke condemningly to him. There is a lot of negative connotation with the term "Christian" for homosexuals. The thing is, will we add to it or will we undo it? Thanks, Chris, we all need to learn the power in apology. And homosexuals need to see God's love in and through us. More than anything, they should feel that God loves them.

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  7. I definitely affirm the main message given here. I've also read all the comments posted here, and I agree mostly as long as we are not affirming homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle for those who are in Christ Jesus.

    Chris, the author of this blog, should know my heart and know that I am not a hot button minister nor do I elect to choose particular sins to soap box on. Furthermore, it is not for us as believers to judge and condemn those who do not claim Christ as savior; as this is made quite clear by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians. It is only the sins of the brethren that we are called to account, admonish, and repent for. So why would I condemn one who has already condemned their self by their own unbelief? No, it is our purpose to spread truth, hope, grace, and love; ultimately the gospel which is salvation in Christ Jesus.

    My only concern in all this is that we as believers do not become part of this emergent church philosophy of relevant truth and the non-authority of the scriptures. If that is not the theme of the consensus here, than I am in total harmony. Not that my harmony really matters to any of you or is of any real significance, but since we're throwing out opinions I thought I'd throw in my pennies worth.

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  8. Chris, i found this link from a friend of mine who posted the billbnoard picture. you are definitely onto something here. i agree with all the comments here as well, particularly the sage advice from Caasi Suaava. it's become somewhat cliche to say now, but Jesus did hang out with prostitutes, shady govenrment men, and other so-called "low-lifes"; people with all kinds of sin issues. and not once did he act like he was better than them (even tho He is better than ALL of humanity.) we should follow his example, then maybe when we share His gospel of love, the hearer will be primed to receive it openly.

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  9. Thanks Caasi and Anonymous.

    may we be a people known for our compassion. not our need to be right.

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  10. Christ never hated gays, or anyone else. That makes gay hating Christians "hypo-Christians", right?

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  11. it definitely puts them in the wrong. yes.

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  12. Hating a person for being gay is horrible. Hating Christianity because some "posers" think its their duty as Christians, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, etc... to condemn gays or anyone for anything is also wrong. As a Christian myself, who has a few gay friends who I love very much, I take offense at the way you've singled out Christianity as a whole as being gay-bashing haters. People in every religion hate. PEOPLE hate, not religions. So don't say 'Christians hate gays', say 'Many people of many different religions hate gays'. Its a much more accurate and less offensive way of making your point. I don't know a lot about all religions, but I can make an educated guess about every one of them having different factions within that believe or interpret what their religion says or means. This is what starts hate and wars. I personally believe that the assholes (its just a word that best describes the people I'm about to mention, don't give it the power to offend you)who hate, beat or kill gays, blow up abortion clinics, go to war and kill in the name of their chosen religion, will be left behind when the Rapture happens, trying to figure out what they did wrong over the next seven years of hell on earth, while the rest of us are basking in the glory of the Lord. All people of all religions are just that, PEOPLE. As such we are sinners. We do wrong (some more than others). What can we do other than gather those who love us around and thank God for those who are tolerant of us despite our faults, idiosyncrasies, beliefs, etc... I could go on for an eternity (insert your smart remarks here) but I think this will do. Bye.

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  13. hey Jerry, thanks for commenting, and leaving honest feedback. I think its great that you have gay friends that know you love them.

    i write specifically to Christians because I am one. that's why i focused on Christians and not any other religion.

    that, and 91% of people 18-29 consider Christians to be anti-Gay (statistic from UnChristian)

    I'd agree that people in every religion hate, but that doesn't keep me up at night. The fact that 91% of people think Christians hate gays KILLS ME. That people of the Cross and the Truth are known for such terrible things.

    you said, “So don't say 'Christians hate gays', say 'Many people of many different religions hate gays'”

    I ask you, what other religion is KNOWN for being anti-gay? Just Christianity. Politically AND interpersonally.

    Do I think normal everyday Christians hate gays? Not really. Do I think they care about them or love them? No, I don't. I think they are apathetic to their pain. I explain that in the next blog post after this one "Re-Thinking the Gay Christian Community".

    Do I care that this offends you? Yes and no. Yes because I woke up at 6:30 am to reply to you, and No because I think you are missing out on my theme of healing. Just being honest.

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  14. You fail when you state "Yes, I believe that a homosexual lifestyle is a sin."

    In your view, 'sin' is a bad thing. By calling it my 'lifestyle', you demonstrate your ignorance.

    Your supposed apology is more heinous than those of you (christians) who want to kill me for being gay.

    What a shame.
    You probably think your post is a beautiful wonderful supportive thing and yet you completely fail to understand how you continue the stigma against the LGBTQ community with your judgement and contribute to the same oppression that leads my brothers & sisters to depression, frustration, anger, rejection, poverty and suicide.

    I sincerely pity you, and all your followers who fail to see your crime.
    Nice try tho.

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  15. So..... to recruit more followers and financial contributors?... because I feel that is the end point, (to "save" "them") which would be a god complex in and of itself. How about the christ church catches up with the rest of the world, and stops pretending that it's not a tax free (and HIGHLY profitable)business whose stock has suffered a sharp dip over the last decade.

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  16. I appreciate your earnest and honest comments. I am a Christian who does abhor hate that comes in any way, shape or form. I know there are Christians (and non-Christians) who feel the same as I do as there are who don't. One thing I would ask of you to understand is that I could never say to a gay person "On behalf of them, my Jesus, and my faith, I apologize for our sins.” If you understand one thing about Jesus, it's that He died for all of our sins..I cannot apologize on behalf of someone who knew no wrong. (2 Cor 5:21). To say I apologize on behalf of Jesus is to say He has done something wrong. I cannot say that..neither can anyone posting on this sight whether they believe in who He is or who they think He was. I can say that for anyone, Christian or not, to hurt, malign, attack, or otherwise act any way in which denies a person (gay or not) dignity and respect is wrong.

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  17. On one hand, it is interesting that I should apologize for everyone else's behavior instead of just being responsible for my own (part of what’s wrong with the world today is that no one has a sense of “Self-responsibility”). Kind of like being born White, because the White man has oppressed every other ethic/race around I should pretty much hate myself and live to give out apologies to those who my grandfathers grandfather may have been derogatory too – that gets old and I’m tired of being portrayed as an evil person because I happen to be a white Christian.

    On the other hand, the fact that there needs to be this discussion at all is sad, but let’s be honest here – there are “Christians” who won’t associate with, will condemn, will turn their backs on MANY types of individuals. I was a pregnant teenager and I can tell you that the majority of “Christians” turned their backs on me, wouldn’t let their kids hang out with me any longer and generally made me feel terrible, guilty & dirty as a person. I do not hate those individuals because I understand that by their judgment of me, they will have to answer during their judgment before God. Those type of “Christians” are what everyone focuses on….similar to the Black drug dealer, lazy Mexican, tight-wad Jew, etc – just because SOME of a certain group acts deplorable and degrades themselves doesn’t mean that the rest of the group is the same. Focusing our attention on the rotten few instead of showing positive examples are why stereotypes continue to live on. Yes, there are people who happen to be “Christian” who are bigots, just like there are “Gays” who happen to be racist. Those “Christians” who feel that they were put on this earth to condemn everyone not like them should receive our pity, as much as anyone else, because according to the Bible – Judge not lest ye be judged – so God will have the final say, especially if they have caused individuals to turn their face away from God due to their judgment and condemnation.

    In response to your response to Jerry... you stated:

    I ask you, what other religion is KNOWN for being anti-gay? Just Christianity. Politically AND interpersonally.

    Actually NOT “Just Christianity.” Islam is KNOWN for being anti-gay and beheading those who are KNOWN gays - however - in today's extreme leftist society you will NOT hear that this is the case and that all Muslims and Islamic individuals are peaceful loving humanitarians. I find it humorous when individuals of an alternative sexual lifestyle support releasing 9-11 terrorist and sympathize with that religion, mainly because if that religion becomes prominent in the USA, there will be even more restrictions and less benefits for those who are of the LGBTQ community, it will restrict access to abortion, it will restrict freedom of speech, religion, government, etc..But I suppose that is a subject best left for another day on another blog…but I wanted to point out that Christians are NOT the only KNOWN anti-gay religion.

    Saw your blog listing on Juliette Goliwas's Photos Facebook file.

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  18. @ Anonymous

    Thanks for reading, reading the comments, and leaving feedback.

    I'd like to apologize to you for the way Christians treated you un-Christlike when you were pregnant. I'm sure that was really tough.

    i have no doubt that other religions do terrible things to gays, but my point is that Christians are KNOWN for being this way. as you stated with Islam, people don't talk about that. It's not a common perception. Like you stated, because of leftist society or whatever reason, we will not hear about it.

    If we want to change the perception, the way we are KNOWN, then I believe we need to take active steps.

    Even on Juliette's picture comment, I've been thanked by gays for apologizing to them.

    Just some thoughts.

    Thanks for feedback.

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  19. @Jason

    I dont disagree with anything you said. I believe that Jesus and our faith are associated with this anti-gay stance. I do not believe that Jesus sinned or would act in this way. BUT Christianity is labeled as such, and so, by association, so is Christ.

    to disagree on that, i think, would be splitting hairs.

    i do appreciate your feedback tho.

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  20. I am sorry for what some people have made you endure.
    I well remember that Jesus asked us to love one another and accept our differences. Since when is it anyone's right to judge one another? If some people believe what you're doing is wrong(or whom in this matter. sorry - couldn't resist) it is not their place to damn you and even less to separate you from their community!

    We are all sinners.

    But I do have to correct one point: Islam is well known for condemning gays, and many other 'sins'. And, although it is very common in th middle east, homosexual behavior is punishable by death according to Islamic law.
    We are mostly aware of the Christian stand because of our geographic location, but it is considered too lenient by many other religions on matters like homosexuality.

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  21. to anyone wondering the power of apology in this circumstance, i'd love you to read this recent blog post entitled "I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I am Proud."

    http://naytinalbert.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-hugged-man-in-his-underwear-and-i-am.html

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  22. Dear Chris Moore, I was lucky enough to read the comment you had made on Juliette Goliwas's Photo entitled: "great bill board" on facebook.


    the following was your comment:

    Chris Moore:
    i think the first thing Christians should say to gays is:
    "I'm sorry for the way we've treated you."

    I was really moved by this pic. if anyone is interested i wrote this blog post about how Christians need to apologize to gays for our attitude and treatment:

    http://aboyandhisgod.blogspot.com/2010/01/connecting-gay-christian-community.html

    I wrote 3 other posts in the series too.


    -I must say that was a pretty ballsy move on your part. I am a Christian and I do have gay friends. I don’t necessarily agree with what they do, but that is between them and God and none of my business. I personally don’t believe I have anything to apologize for. I haven’t persecuted them or condemned them in any way. It isn’t my place to do so. They will answer to God when they get to heaven. So tell me… Chris… What do I have to apologize to you for?!?!??? I think you should apologize to me for lumping me into a stereotypical group of Christians that you have encountered. My friends and I aren’t like that at all, and in fact if you walked into my church tomorrow you would be welcomed and loved with open arms. I feel bad that you feel that way Chris…and all I am sorry for is that you feel that way. I pray that God heals your heart towards Christians and gives you positive experiences from now on in the Christian community.
    -Miriam

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  23. @Miriam

    thanks for your feedback. i'd encourage you to read the article i just posted above, "I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I am Proud."

    http://naytinalbert.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-hugged-man-in-his-underwear-and-i-am.html

    i'd love to know what you think of it.

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  24. @Miriam

    Or, read this chapter by Don Miller, it's Confession (from Blue Like Jazz). Fantastic read.

    http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/additionalinfo.asp?ISBN=0785263705&productid=8861&TopLevel_id=&dept_id=&type=chapter

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  25. Should we apologize to others for sins we did not commit? Yes. Check out this section from Nehemiah's prayer from Nehemiah 1: "We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses."
    Now Nehemiah was not even alive when the people sinned against God leading to their removal from the promised land. In fact, it was at least one generation in the past, possibly two. But here we see Nehemiah confessing their sins to God and taking ownership of his and his people's rebellion.

    As Christ's Church, we are all one body. And Christ is the head. I can't slap you with my left hand and you not think that the head is responsible. Our poor witness reflects poorly on our precious Christ. So, yes, I think we do need to take the first step and apologize for how others have treated homosexuality.

    I'm not saying this in a vacuum. I am formerly homosexual myself, and I know that while I was struggling with my sexuality that I could have used a lot more love and a lot less judge. A pastor that I have known for a long time would stand in the pulpit and condemn, but never truly offer Christ as the solution. He would not extend grace to help the struggler in anyway. Others who knew of my struggle resorted to calling em a child molester behind my back while offering the facade of wanting to "help" me to my face.

    When I opened up to one of the pastors at my new church pastors about my struggles and told him of my frustration with "Christians" over this topic, he apologized to me. Had he done anything wrong? No. And I had nothing to forgive him of. But by him saying that, it helped the hurt, and it showed me that he was different - that he cared not just about how I lived, but how I felt.

    There is indeed power in apology. And it was through apology that God helped bring healing to my own dysfunctional life. So apologize for the sins that others have committed in the name of Christ. You never know how it will affect someone.

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  26. When I was 19, after my first year of college, a good friend came out of the closet and shared his feelings for me. I'm a Christian and he knew it. His revelation caught me off guard but I told him "You're my friend, I'll always be your friend, I don't care which way you go with your sexuality because you're responsible for it, not me. I am attracted only to women, not men. So let's leave it at that." That's exactly where I left it with "Don." He seemed to accept it until a few days later when, at an after school function where he had shown up having been already drinking, he came towards a group I was hanging with. I saw him out of the corner of my eye thinking he was gonna greet me with a "high five" or something. As I turned he gave me a roundhouse punch in the head and I went down. I got angry and asked him what his problem was. It was all this "You rejected me" and "Who do you think you are?" type garbage. He never apologized to me for that incident 10 years ago and we've not been friends. He also told our mutual friends that I was a Christian who hated gays. So now I'm looking like a bigot. And I'm supposed to apologize for THAT? I forgave him long ago but every now and then, even today, I get asked why I'm so close minded towards "Don." I ask you..how should I respond? BTW, he may've been drunk when he belted me but he wasn't drunk when he started telling our mutual friends I was a closed minded, gay-hating Christian. There's two sides to this coin folks.

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  27. @ Anonymous (Who mentioned the Nehemiah passage)

    that was a powerful post. thanks for sharing that personal information.

    And i did not remember that about Nehemiah. But what a great biblical example of Apology.

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  28. @ Karden

    How should you respond? It sounds like you were wronged when you were punched in the head.

    but at the same time you didn't say or do what they wanted you to do. (not blaming you at all). what you said, or didn't say, or maybe your facial expression, or lack thereof, felt like rejection. i'm sure you've figured all this out.

    I dont think you need to apologize for THAT. But i do think the above anonymous was right when they quoted Nehemiah. There are times that we need to ask for forgiveness for the sins of other people.

    I guess people are misunderstanding me when i say 'apologize'.

    I'd enourage you to read this post, "I Hugged a Man in His Underwear. And I am Proud."

    http://naytinalbert.blogspot.com/2010/06/i-hugged-man-in-his-underwear-and-i-am.html

    and this chapter of Don Miller's Book, Blue Like Jazz.

    http://www.thomasnelson.com/consumer/additionalinfo.asp?ISBN=0785263705&productid=8861&TopLevel_id=&dept_id=&type=chapter

    both are well worth the time spent reading.

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  29. You can start by not calling me a homosexual. It isn't that hard to call me gay or lesbian and the terms have a lot less hatred behind them. I do appreciate the apology. I have been grieviously hurt by "Christians" and I continue to be harmed by "Christians" who have decided to legislate their beliefs to the serious detriment of my family. As a result, I do not and will not trust any of you. If you work very hard, future generations of gay people may.

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  30. @ Anonymous (8:03)

    To tell you the truth, I didn't know 'homosexual' was an offensive term until i started writing this post in january. most Christians don't know it's wrong. they're usually surprised when told that. also, most dont know the phrase 'Love the sinner hate the sin' is offensive.

    thank you for pointing that out. please continue to be patient with us.

    and thank you for your honesty.

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  31. all you so called christians make me nauseous, following the words in a book like sheep heading to the slaughter house, can you not think for yourselves and love your fellow humans unconditionally, like your jesus did?

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  32. It is very unfortunate and disconcerting that so many uneducated posts have been published here. While open and honest dialog is always encouraged, blind and emotionally opinionated retaliation is very rarely desired or fruitful. In the grand scheme of life, why say anything if it is not the truth? If the truth is unknown, even so, produce theories wrought with fact and evidence, if not at least some form of quantifiable proof or creditability. With approximately 6,855,861,382 people in the world today, opinions seem less than reliable and should not be used as any measure of truth. As the saying goes, “Opinions are like butts. Everybody has one and more often than not they enjoy showing it.”

    Many of the critiques, disagreements, complaints, and sheer hatred provided in some of these comments shed very little light on the underlying rudimentary issues at hand. We are talking on issues of “wrong and right” with people who have very different worldviews, and because of this we will never come to an agreement or fundamental harmony on the basic foundational truths which guide our values, ethics, morals, and behavior. Just as any other religion or philosophical lifestyle, we as Christians are, or at least should be, guided by our faith, principles, and knowledge based on what we believe to be true. This is an inevitable causality that even the most faithless atheist cannot deny; that our response to reality is a product of what we really believe we believe to be true, i.e., you choose to live in a particular fashion based on the truth claims, information, and experience known to you in your own circle of spatial proximity and informative avenues available to you.

    However, it is exceedingly difficult for the modern day conservative Christian to worship and believe freely. The world shouts freedom, yet we live in a society where most people believe in freedom of belief as long is it doesn't conflict or contend with the majority of the world's popular view. If you do have the courage to disagree your contention will be met with hostility with proceeding degradation such as “bigot, ignorant, close-minded, hate monger, etc. As you can see, the naturalists' idea of humanism and freedom can be quite hypocritical. The greatest tragedy and danger of popular opinion becoming the standard of moral law is that the principal of transcendent ethics dies and now “might makes right.” And when might makes right you will find a great many of the minority crushed and oppressed by the might of the majority.

    We live in a society today where only 9% of church going self-proclaimed Christians have a biblical worldview as stated from a study conducted by the Barna Group. This is a very dismal percentage for the Christian community that speaks louder than our opposition. The reality is that the liberal multitudes have taken the majority and cast their worldviews as the popular opinion and standard of moral behavior, and are quite aggressive about enforcing the adherence of all peoples. How, might you ask? Through existentialism and the mass media that drives it, coupled with the deterioration of the family and many other causes is this accomplished. Though, it is the lack of responsibility of the Christian community itself that is mostly to blame.

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  33. With that said, I'll digress to the main issue at hand.

    It has previously been stated by many that it is time for Christianity to “catch up” with the rest of the world; that we are bigots who are void of reason, logic, and understanding. Some say we live in the past and cause the problems of the world. I ask the very simple question... What does the rest of the world have that I want to catch up to?

    Nothing, I tell you. Not one thing do I admire about the reality of the society of which I live. The most honest naturalist or existentialist would admit that while people may create their own proximate meaning, that proximate meaning is most definitely unjustifiable and inevitably an attempt of futility and vanity in which only an intellectual satisfaction could possibly sated in its blind deception. And because of this, the masses have decided by opinion and pleasure what is right and what is wrong and we have become slaves of their social convention with no thought to the future ramification of there decisions. If there is no good or evil, then you must assume there is no moral law. If there is no moral law, then you must assume there is no moral law giver, therefore no God. In this case all things become relative and there ceases to be any intrinsic given value to human life. And if your life has no value, than why should I respect it. We become products of primordial ooze and star stuff and we are now but dancing to our DNA, for there is no freewill or choice. Whom do you have to blame now?

    If I believe like you, your life and person mean nothing to me. You see, all of this hinges on the issue of truth. What is truth? Truth is "that which affirms propositionally the nature of reality as it is." -Ravi Zacharias-. Ultimately, all truth must come from a transcendent God or else it is nothing but an ambiguous relative idea that is totally unverifiable. Biological determinism then becomes our god, and we all are chained to the weight of fatalism as we are thrown into the sea of time and wait... for nothing. Morality becomes nothing but a survey of the norm, constantly decreasing in standard where we are moving from order to chaos. We are then throwing darts of behavior at a dart board of ethics that do not exist.

    However, as conservative Christians we believe God very much does exist and that His son Jesus died and rose again so that we might be free from ALL our sins and judgment of eternal death. That God created us in His image that we might share a special relationship with the creator. A relationship even the angels admire. God created all reality and so God is the decider of all truth, for God is truth. As well as God is love, is justice, is mercy, is wrath, is peace, and is good. These are not merely pretentious conventions or idealistic forms God has created to taunt us in our imperfection, but these are the very characteristics, though more precisely, very nature of God which He has extended to His creation to recognize and emulate. You see, we Christians have based our whole ideology and philosophy on our faith which was given to us by the Word of God on page and confirmed in spirit. I cannot expect the nonbeliever to understand this just as you cannot expect to understand what its like to swim if you've never been in water. But have you not come to your own conclusions on why you live or choose the way you do, if not by your own personalized belief system?

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  34. So when asked why it is we as conservative Christians do not affirm the gay and lesbian lifestyle, my question to you is why should we? Why should I change my beliefs and ethics? Why should I give up the moral law and transcendent teachings of Christ? To please you? Really? You are asking me as a human to give up all that defines me as a person so that you may feel better about your choices. I ask you friend, is that not the very attitude you allegedly accuse and despise us for? You would deprive me of my freedom to follow the law of God of which I have come to love and live in joy and peace? Unless you can give me an adequate answer based on truth and quantifiable evidence, I have no reason to change my beliefs. You may rant and rave at us all you like, but the truth doesn't change because you want it to.

    It is because of God's law that I do not kill. It is because of God's commandments that I do not steal. It is only by Christ that I love those of you who hate me. It is because of God's love that I have gay friends whom I also love and respect, even though I do not affirm their life choice. And it is because of God that I cannot change these moral laws because it transcends me and has been since God spoke them into existence. If I am wrong we all lose nothing, if I am right the consequences for those who do not believe are eternal and unpleasant at very least.

    THE APOLOGY

    Here's the deal. Chris, the author of this blog, is a good guy and dear friend. He loves God and people. He is simply trying to apologize on behalf of the majority of Christians who have treated gays and lesbians as people less than worthy of our respect and love. Are there going to be extreme variations of experiences and circumstances? Of course. Though the truth is not relative, experiences definitely are. We come from different places around the world with different demographics and socioeconomic backgrounds. But none the less, as a global church as a whole we have certainly failed in this area so far. So I too apologize for the lack of love and concern for all of you out there who are gay, lesbian, trans-gender or whichever road you have chosen. Though I do not agree with your worldview, I do love you. Though you may not believe me and may never give me or others the opportunity to make up for our mistakes, I at very least say to you now, I'm sorry.

    One last thought, I urge you to really think through your worldview and start asking yourself the hard questions. You will start to realize that your presuppositions of life and existence have a profound and immeasurable affect on your choices and beliefs. The existence or nonexistence of God hold the implications that will ultimately dictate your response to reality, for the consequences of either side are too immense to ignore or trivialize. May God be with you all.

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