Saturday, May 9, 2009

Homosexual Christians

There has been a lot of talk in recent years about a gay gene. The premise is that homosexuals were born that way, demonstrating homosexual behaviours or tendencies from an early age. Homosexuals will tell you that they didn't chose to be this way, it is just who they are.

The Christian community has back lashed against this idea in a monumental way. The gays say, "We were born this way, thus God made us this way, so he doesn't want us to change." Christians, agreeing with that logic, attack the root of it. They attack the idea that homosexuals were born that way. Homosexuals, they say, could not have been born that way because that would be God going against his word when he says that homosexuality is amoral.

But would that be God going against his word? Why, no, not at all. The Bible tells us all about sin, graphically demonstrating it in people's lives, then recording in the Scriptures. We know that all mankind, and all of creation is cursed from sin. We know that all of humanity is born with a sin nature. We know that homosexuality is a symptom of this sin nature. So why do we fight so hard at this point in the homosexual's argument against change? Of course they were born with a sin nature!

What should we attack in their reasoning? If someone is born with a sin nature, regardless of which sins they practice most heavily, they are still called to repent. When anyone says that God made them to enjoy any type of sin, so God doesn't want them to change, that is the error in their reasoning. God has called all sinners to repentance. He has also given us power to overcome in the Holy Spirit. If we don't rely heavily on the Holy Spirit, we will fail. I know what my stumbling blocks are. I know that over the course of my lifetime, God will guide me into surrendering my sin further and further. My real hope, however, is in heaven. I know my sins cannot haunt me there.

Why do we not expect the same thing to happen with homosexual Christians? Why would we say that there are no such things as homosexual Christians? Of course, they will continue to struggle, as do we all. Why do we judge their sin as being more severe than our own? It is only because we think we are good enough to be Christians, and that they are not.

6 comments:

  1. emily,

    thanks so much for this blog post. i have been trying to articulate my thoughts on Christians who are homosexual and be able to express why i have friends (former co-workers and former neighbors--whom i love dearly) who are gay. i don't condone what they do. when they (the gay friends) ask me why i don't hate them...my response is generally something to the effect that i believe God calls me to love my neighbor and to care for them. then i include that my heterosexual friends/co-workers who 'shack up' with their boyfriends/girlfriends hear from me what i think of their behavior as well (if they ask, that is). it is sin. period. my gay acquaintances nod in understanding.

    i like how you have said it even better. :-)
    i have just come across your blogs. LOVE them. thanks!

    kim
    martinsburg, pa
    www.homeschoolblogger.com/kjoyr814

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  2. Emily,

    You seem like a smart and thoughtful person. As a gay person (and not a Christian) I really appreciate your desire to really think about why you believe what you do. We don't always agree about some things. And probably won't about some fundamental issues having to do with my family. But wow, I really do appreciate how much you make your thoughts your OWN. You don't seem to go with a herd mentality in the slightest. I can tell you would have no problems being good friends with someone like me because I know that your relationship with God wouldn't make shunning someone even cross your mind.

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  3. Jen, my best friend in high school was gay. I became a Christian when I was 18 and he decided to cut off that friendship, I think afraid that I wouldn't still love him. I stayed in touch with step-mom for several years after. He was raised by a lesbian couple and one of the most successful and inspiring people I have ever known. I generally put homosexual parents in the same category as any other non-Christian parents, and I wouldn't assume you were any worse or better of a parent because of it.

    Honestly, I'm pretty impressed that you can read this with the beliefs you have and still acknowledge that the thoughts and intentions behind it are not meant to be nasty toward you or anyone else. Many people on both side of this issue are not willing to see another viewpoint, and that is detrimental for us all, so thank you for reading to understand, and not reading to find something to be offended by.

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  4. You can be a homosexual and be Christian but you cannot be a Christian homosexual (as in, you cannot be living in a homosexual relationship, unrepentent and "proud"). People who are actively participating in the homosexual lifestyle and yet claim the name of Christ are fooling not only themselves but the world around them.

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  5. Nicely thought out viewpoint. I don't agree, but I have different views on the Bible and God. Still, I appreciate an actual rational statement, without blind condemnation. Christianity is about LOVE, not HATE. I'm not even a Christian and I know that!

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  6. While I completely disagree with you on most things (I'm a very liberal Jewish working mom) I appreciate this post very much. I still don't agree, but I appreciate and am surprised by your viewpoint here. As Daphne said, this is a rational statement without blind condemnation.

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