Saturday, July 1, 2006

What does the Bible say?

A headline in the June 29 IDS stated that homosexual activists "debate faith" at a recent forum, but from the text of the article, it appears there was no "debate" at all. Instead, there was universal agreement about tolerance of homosexuality.

While homosexual activists and their supporters wish to make Christian opposition to sodomy a matter of discriminating against someone for their identity or immutable characteristics, the issue is not identity, it is behavior. While Eric Metzler (letter to the editor, June 29) may object to the term "sexual preference", choosing to practice a specific behavior is always a preference, not an orientation. Comparisons to heterosexual "preference" is a non sequitur, because that is due to the innate biological urge to reproduce.

What was sadly missing in the article was what God's Word has to say about homosexuality, or more specifically the sin of sodomy. The Bible strongly condemns sodomy in the Law given to the Israelites. While the coming of Jesus Christ fulfilled civil and ceremonial laws, moral laws are eternal. The Apostle Paul, who met Jesus on the road to Damascus, confirms that the ban on sodomy is a moral law by writing about it in his letters to the Roman and Corinthian churches. (See Romans 1 and I Corinthians 6.)

I see two problems with a forum advocating tolerance (or, more likely, acceptance) of homosexuality. First, if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you cannot ignore the parts of His Word that you do not find convenient. Second, it appears that those who rationalize away the meaning of Scripture or choose to ignore it are putting faith and trust into human wisdom, which is idolatry.

By condoning sodomy, "tolerant" Christians are not practicing love; they are practicing hatred. When someone is practicing a destructive sin that God finds abominable, the loving thing to do is to show them the wrongness of that behavior and to help them overcome the sin. Embracing, ignoring or "tolerating" sin does not help anyone except for the person who wishes to avoid conflict, loving comfort more than others.