Homosexual marriage and civil union has been an issue for years.
It seems the lines have been drawn: Christians v. Gays
With the recent denial of Prop 8 in California and the publicity of JCPenney's new spokesperson, Ellen DeGeneres, I couldn't help but brave the topic.
Stay tuned.....I will be posting on this topic in the next few weeks.
Feel free to leave your comments or opinions on this post- as it is very important that I cover this topic as unbiased as possible and need to consider all sides of the argument in order to do so!
I'll wait to see what you eventually write, but couching the debate as "Christians v. Gays" is all wrong. Unfortunately some see the issue this way, but I do not believe this is 1) how the debate should be structured or viewed, or 2) reflective of the gospel and Christ's teachings.
ReplyDeleteNo where else is the view towards sin seen as an "us v. them" argument. As Christians we're happy to be surrounded by coveters, liars, thieves, adulterers, murderers, etc. But the moment a person walks into the discussion who may be upright and upstanding in all accounts yet is sexually attracted to a person of the same sex, many Christians start drawing the lines, closing up shop, rolling up the welcome mat, and hiding their children. This type of reaction is a travesty of the highest magnitude. This is the kind of wrong-headed thinking that needs to be eradicated from the church.
Given the question mark at the end of your post title I'm hoping to see some light shed on how the Church reacts and responds to this issue. While this topic certainly has long-reaching political and social ramifications, the Church cannot continue with this type of knee jerk fear-mongering that isolates, divides, and shows nothing of the love of Christ.
That's my two cents. Thanks for approaching this topic!
TRS
Thanks Tim!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you! I don't think this is how the debate should be viewed, but, unfortunately, this is how many people I've encountered view the issue.
I look forward to reading your thoughts on the final article. :)
Tim, a couple of observations re. your comments:
ReplyDeleteI think most of the people couching the debate in terms of "Christians v. Gays" are not Christians, but homosexuals. I object to the use of the word "gay" to describe homosexuals. While it's generally considered polite to call folks what they prefer to be called, accuracy and truth trump politeness when they clash, and the homosexual lifestyle is far, far from "gay" as it's traditionally been used. Similarly, the members of Westboro Baptist Church no doubt refer to themselves as followers of Christ, but I do not agree/concur with them, as I don't think followers of Jesus Christ would hold up signs expressing the unbiblical hatred for people- not just sin, but sinners- that they do. Their only aim seems to be condemnation, not evangelistic outreach.
"As Christians we're happy to be surrounded by coveters, liars, thieves, adulterers, murderers, etc." No, actually, we're not. That's why we share the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the Holy Spirit leads us, to help the above-mentioned become "such WERE some of you". Further, if any organized group of liars, thieves, etc. attempted to have their sinful behavior approved by law, we would vigorously, vehemently and lovingly oppose such attempts. I've been fighting for years to make abortion a crime legally, since it's tantamount to legalized murder. I oppose legalizing so-called same-sex marriage on the same principle: it's merely legalizing perversion. I don't hate abortionists, NARAL members or homosexuality advocates, but I oppose and condemn their agenda passionately, because of the cost to our society, and the offense to the God we implore to bless us, individually and nationally. Love God, love sinners, hate sin- all sin.