Given the cultural shift toward gay-affirmation, the church must respond in two equally important ways. On the one hand, we must take a firm stance on the moral issue, faithfully communicating the Biblical teaching that homosex is immoral because it is an aberration of God’s intention for human sexuality. On the other hand, we must also communicate our love for all people, including those who experience same-sex attraction. We must be willing to minister to them, embrace them, and help them on the path toward healing.
Unfortunately, people tend to only travel one road or the other. Those who argue passionately for the Biblical position often fail to exercise love and compassion to those struggling with same-sex attraction or who are involved in a gay lifestyle. On the other end of the spectrum are those who have a lot of compassion for people who experience same-sex attraction, and come to believe that loving them requires an affirmation of their sexual orientation or an approval of their behavior. We must avoid these extremes. It is possible and necessary to both affirm the immorality of homosex while extending compassion, love, and help to those who experience same-sex attraction.
Thinking to Believe 
March 12, 2013 at 10:47 am
” It is possible”
Is it?
I find it difficult to show love and compassion for someone while simultaneously telling them that the fact they love who they love is immoral.
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March 12, 2013 at 12:43 pm
There is no such behaviour as homosexuality; or, as in Jason’s world of words “homosex”. This does not exist. As I said before and I say it again sexual orientation is designed, formed and behaviour oriented by what is between your ears(The Brain) not what’s between your legs ( the genitals).
And it is by way of illustration exactly the same as the following analogy concerning your ears and where you hear:
“Hearing, like sexual behaviour is a purely mechanical process.
I use my thoracic and abdominal muscles so that I can use my thoracic cavity as a bellows to produce a draft of air that will pass across my larynx and by tautening or slackening the vocal chords, I’ll produce vibrations that are projected into the atmosphere and caught by two cup shaped appendages which you have on the side of your head and they’re focused on the outer membrane called the eardrum that begins to vibrate in harmony with the vibrations that I’m producing in my throat and you see, attached to that outer membrane, the eardrum, there’s a little bone called the hammer that’s in contact with another little bone called the anvil and it begins to strike it, motivated by the eardrum in harmony with the vibrations that I’m producing in my throat and that little bone, the anvil, is in touch with another little bone called the stirrup, so called, because it’s like what you might use if you were riding a horse and that, in its turn, is in contact with an inner membrane that contains fluid and the vibrations are communicated through the fluid to the nerve end that then convey an impulse to a certain area of your brain; and then, you know exactly what I’m talking about. You see, it’s purely a mechanical process. You don’t hear anything with your ear, you know that, vibrations are simply communicated, where you hear is in the brain.”
It’s not that difficult to get over the physical limitations of your indoctrination and get into the spiritual understanding that sexual orientation resides in the same place that the Father resides in humans, where the Kingdom is as Jesus succinctly said 2000 years ago. Remember the supernatural idea of men is “God” BUT, the “Father” within us all, as Jesus said clearly in Luke 17: 20-21, “the Kingdom is within you”. That is where the Father resides, lives, abides. That Father, scientifically called in today’s age, memory, learning, experience and a great big bundle of righteousness; this is something we learn, not something we are endowed with like some Buddhist monk in Tibet from birth. or baptized into, or born a son like a Kim Jong Un in North Korea. Being Human, learning to crawl, walk, run.The brain is the human experience, WHERE THE SPIRIT DWELLS.
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March 12, 2013 at 12:46 pm
Seems like a no brainier , the same as loving your child yet correcting them because you love them.
I sometimes wonder how many Christians never pray for wisdom or for God to help us to develop the fruit of the Spirit in our lives .
I would imagine that generally you would not engage in this type of conversation without some relationship with the person or being led by the Spirit .
Why would it be hard to speak the truth in love?
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March 12, 2013 at 12:50 pm
Jason,
Of course it’s possible to love the person while hating the sin. The problem is that most people do not believe that homosexuality is a sin. The Bible cannot be tenably interpreted in a way that’s not anti-gay.
Most people are not Bible believers. Some believe “the Bible” in the abstract, but they have no idea or concern for what it says, instead choosing to believe that the Bible supports whatever the media says is good and moral. Others pretend to be Christians but are non-believers, and they knowingly twist the faith to conform to current moral fads.
The bottom line is this: if the God of the Bible exists, then homosexuality is immoral and those who practice it will burn in Hell. But few people really believe in the God of the Bible, though many will pretend to.
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March 12, 2013 at 12:52 pm
“HOMOSEX” – HOMOSEXUALITY are complete misnomers coined to denigrate a certain population. Common sense ought to convince you that sexual orientation is in the brain as much as a concert pianist’s phenomenal music ability exists in the brain and IS NOT in the fingers. The fingers are mere components of the mechanical process; where you play, where you compose, where you art work, is in the brain.
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March 12, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Leonardo,
It’s undeniable that the God of the Bible hates homosexuals.
The ugly view, which you seem to embrace, is that homosexuality isn’t what a person does but who they are. If that’s true, then God tortures people in Hell for something they were born with.
The kinder view, which you seem to reject, is that when the Bible says that gays shall not go to heaven it means people who engage in gay sex shall not go to heaven. If that’s true, God is punishing behavior rather than an inborn inclination, and everybody has a choice over their behavior.
If you wish Christians to embrace the ugly view, go right ahead.
JB
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March 12, 2013 at 1:02 pm
1 Cor 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
It’s clear that “homosexuals,” along with the others on the list, will not inherit the kingdom of God. It’s also clear that people can leave the list after becoming “washed” and “sanctified.” Thus, people can either stop being a “homosexual” within the meaning of Scripture by stopping the behavior or else it’s possible to change the orientation. Thake your pick!
JB
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March 12, 2013 at 2:19 pm
NotAScientist,
Of course it is possible. People do it all the time. And it’s not just with the issue of homosexuality. I can take a stand regarding the sin of alcohol or drug addition, and yet love the man who experiences such an addiction. There’s no incompatibility between disagreement regarding some X that person Y does, and the love of person Y.
Jason
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March 12, 2013 at 2:19 pm
jbesuden,
Agree with your first comment, but in your second comment you say that God hates homosexuals. Do you think it would be more accurate to say God hates the sin of homosexuality?
Jason
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March 13, 2013 at 12:08 pm
“There’s no incompatibility between disagreement regarding some X that person Y does, and the love of person Y.”
There is when there is a fundamental disagreement about whether or not the act is bad/immoral/wrong.
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March 13, 2013 at 1:22 pm
NotAScientist,
So are you telling me that you can’t love an uncle who is an alcoholic? Since you disagree with his alcohol comsumption (because it is harming him and his family/friends), you have to hate him?
Jason
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March 14, 2013 at 6:15 am
“So are you telling me that you can’t love an uncle who is an alcoholic? Since you disagree with his alcohol comsumption (because it is harming him and his family/friends), you have to hate him?”
Not at all. I’m saying, it’s difficult to show love for someone when you show hate/great dislike for something they do that they don’t view as harmful.
For example. Say you hate your uncle’s wife. For whatever reason, you think she’s a bad person.
Tell your uncle that you love him, but you hate his wife. See what he says. Will he be glad that you love him? Or will he be upset that you show such open distaste for his wife?
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March 14, 2013 at 9:13 am
NotAScientist,
Yes, it can be difficult, but it’s not as difficult when you recognize that people are not defined by what they do. We can make a distinction between who someone is, and what they do. Sexual attraction does not define our identity. We ar emuch more than that.
As for the uncle’s wife, this is not analogous. We are talking about loving people despite their behavior, not loving one person but not another.
Jason
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March 14, 2013 at 10:04 am
“Sexual attraction does not define our identity.”
Agreed.
But if you tell me you hate my wife, unless you give me really good reasons to hate her too, my relationship with you will suffer.
It is equivalent. You are telling people that you hate the fact they love another person, specifically a person of the same gender.
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March 14, 2013 at 10:43 am
I don’t understand why you keep comparing two different people. I don’t see how that is analogous. We’re not talking about liking one person but not another, but liking one person despite the fact that they do things you do not agree with. I am contending that it’s simply not the case that if do not agree with some of the things person X does, that you can’t still like person X. Ask the hundreds of millions of parents who love their teenage children despite their behavior.
Jason
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March 14, 2013 at 9:55 pm
This balance must be maintained in every arena of sinfulness, not just homosexuality. All sinners (i.e. all of humanity) in some form or another, do immoral, distasteful, or un-righteous things, including ourselves.
So to me, it doesn’t seem like an extra challenge to balance our response. The culture has shifted to all sorts of ungodly behavior, and it did so years ago. About the only unaccepted sins in our culture today are murder and immorality involving children. Almost everything else gets a pass.
So I say we just need to apply the same balance from past shifts in the culture to this one.
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March 15, 2013 at 8:35 am
You cannot expect those that do not have the Spirit of God living inside them to abstain from the homosexual lifestyle or any other sinful lifestyle. As such, we must always exercise grace and patience to those that practice such things.
There is no argument as to what the Lord things of homosexuality or any sin for that matter. So the key here is not bash them or judge them but rather point them to Jesus Christ. If they connect with Christ and the Holy Spirit transforms their lives ,the homosexuality will be nullified and they will be set free.
Our part as Christians is to point them to Christ, that’s all. Anything more than that will drive them away and potentially keep them separated from God. So our response and behavior is key and we must be careful to not hinder anyone from coming to Christ on their own.
Naz
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March 15, 2013 at 11:18 am
As to the point about balance, I think that is the wrong approach. I don’t think you cannot effectively balance the two approaches without coming across as hypocritical or confusing. So it’s all in your approach.
We are not called to correct every evil in everyone’s life. Nor are we called to be theologians and be able to explain every little nuance of the scriptures.
First and foremost, we are witnesses, that is our role. if you take a trial setting, the witness is not required to know everything or act as a prosecutor or defense attorney. He is there to give his testimony to what he knows, that’s all. Too often we feel as Christians we have to be judge, jury and executioner on every matter and have all knowledge about all things and if we don’t, that someone nullifies our testimony or renders us “ineffective”.
if we stop trying to fix everybody and let God do it, I think you will find more peace and a greater freedom to share the truths of God’s word.
We sow the seed, God gives the increase.
Naz
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March 17, 2013 at 9:44 am
Naz et al:
A SAGACIOUS SUNDAY SERMON SERVING SIMPLE SAINTS
Is it not wonderful to find revelation on a lovely Advance Spring Sunday?
I have given very deliberate and careful thought to this matter and after several sincere seconds of sagacious shrewdery decided that the Homosexual Community (but actually homosexuality is a misnomer as there is no such person as a homosexual because sexual orientation is determined between your ears, in the brain, and not between your legs, in the genitals) is a Race in its own right. The LGBT Race is as unique as the colour of skin race, n’est ce pas?
Wisdom stands or falls by her own actions. Opinion polls don’t count for much, do they? The proof of the pudding is in the eating. That is why the LGBT Race embraced the derogatory “Queer” and now there is a Queer Magazine, Queer Bars, Queer Art Festivals; the Negro Race would be well served if they looked to the LGBT Race as an example and embraced the term “Nigger” so it becomes a popular positive instead of a past negative, n’est ce pas?
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April 11, 2013 at 9:35 am
Jason et al:
SO RELIGIOUS-LIKE; SO UNLIKE CHRIST-LIKE.
Cleft lip (cheiloschisis) and cleft palate (palatoschisis), which can also occur together as cleft lip and palate, are variations of a type of clefting congenital deformity caused by abnormal facial development during gestation.
Substituting the term homosexuality for the clefting example; otherwise, known as “same sex” attraction, I submit that some bodies develop genitalia anomalies in gestation separately and differently from brain gender development (rel:devilopment) in the same way as the cleft anomaly occurs in the human population in both sexes.
I further submit that a surgical operation to correct the gestation anomaly that reverses the physical genitalia anomaly (sex change) to conform with the brain gender (the real determinant gender seat) is every bit as valid and should be every bit as acceptable as an operation to repair the cleft anomaly.
Furthermore I submit that the Brain/Body anomaly while as unseemly perhaps as the cleft lip anomaly may be to the majority of society, is not an abomination by any means; certainly, not to those who understand this as an anomaly of biological function.
In addition this anomaly occurs in the general population from normal heterosexual activity more than general society cares to admit to, especially religious societies that have readily adopted, approved “The Word” and admonish others because of ancient religious tradition, tradition formulated by societies that did not understand gestation deficiencies any more than they understood the so called “demonic possession” (of epileptics) as a function of neurology anomalies.
Whether the gender anomaly is corrected by physical surgery or not is not the issue here entirely however; the main issue is that society in general and religious sects in particular must recognize the anomaly for what it is and accept it with understanding, especially in light of the preponderance of evidence that many parishioners, priests and preachers in all walks of religion are themselves afflicted by this anomaly and therefore (treating others as they want to be themselves treated) should be tolerant of their fellow humans out of compassion if not outright shame for ostracizing the LGBT Community amid the LGBT’s many pleas (prayers) to be accepted as normal human beings freckles and all.
Having a gender anomaly does not inevitably lead to a psychosocial problem. However, adolescents with gender anomalies are at an elevated risk for developing psychosocial problems especially those relating to self-concept, peer relationships and appearance. A gender anomaly may impact an individual’s self-esteem, social skills and behavior and contribute to the Closet Syndrome by the hate culture most responsible for alienating them, Religion.
Sub Title: A fierce polemic against the inequalities in our society.
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May 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm
Naz,
I don’t see the internal conflict between saying we believe that X is wrong, but we still love the person who is doing X. Where is it? Are you really saying that Christians must either affirm that homosex is wrong (and treat homosexuals badly), or they have to act compassionately (and affirm that homosexuality is moral)? As I see it, we have to do both.
And I’m not sure I understand your comments about fixing everyone. If you only mean to say that our job isn’t to go around just pointing out everyone’s sins, I would agree. But if you mean we should never do so, then I disagree. It’s hard to tell someone they need to repent without telling them how they have sinned. While God will surely convict of sin, He also uses people to make people aware of their sin. There are just too many references in Scripture of God’s people calling spades spades to deny this. That’s why I think I might be misunderstanding your point. Please explain further.
Jason
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May 22, 2013 at 1:51 pm
jbesuden:
It is undeniable that men of the bible hate homosexuals and these same men claim to speak on behalf of the god myth they create. Jesus never said anything about homosexuality nor did he say anyone burns in hell or does not go to heaven. Because Heaven or Hell is not a place anyone goes to. Jesus did however say that the Kingdom is within you, what Kingdom? well the Kingdom where the only god there is, resides, not the supernatural god of the bible but the Father protector and guide that lives within you, in the guise of the Good Spirit, the corollary (absence) of which also resides within you.
God does not punish behaviour, any more than gravity punishes behaviour if you don’t have a solid foothold but you could fall and hurt yourself or worse in some cases. Men punish behaviour;, it’s written in their law: for the crime, for the punishment and for the deterrence; that is, the Mosaic eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth revenge mentality of the OT, again written by men claiming to speak on behalf of the god they created but discarded by Jesus when he bade you listen to another side called compassion which the entire Justice System in the Christian world has ignored throughout its history and is evidenced before our very eyes and playing out this very day in America as the penalty phase continues for Jody Arias, to kill her or imprison her for life: That is the only question they have offered themselves to answer, the only question they offered to fulfill their demand for the an answer.
Jesus said:
“Here’s another old saying that deserves a second look: ‘Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.’ Is that going to get us anywhere? Here’s what I propose: ‘Don’t hit back at all.’ If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Show kindness and love to your enemies who may have never seen it before. Live and love generously among your fellowmen.”
AND AGAIN:
“You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you, the God that lives within you, the Father who would not give you anything but GOOD things…….if you let him”
Your sexual instincts are perfectly normal to you and they are perfectly normal to those who have a gestational anomaly that does you no harm, no hurt, it causes you nothing except to step on the sensitivities for activities that religion has taught you to be disgusted with holding you in thrall by a herd mentality which you all feel a need, an urge to condemn and ostracize like the Scribes and Pharisees had a need and an urge to condemn and ostracize Jesus for the good he was trying to show them. They, like yourself, refused because of their imbedded indoctrination of obedience to the laws they made on behalf of the god they created whether it was eating corn on the sabbath or trying to bandage a wound of an injured person; they showed more compassion to their animals on the sabbath that they did if anyone dare break their precious laws. For goodness sakes retail grocery stores in some cities can be fined substantial amounts of money for being opened on Sunday, people needing food notwithstanding!
You need to think big, not myopic.
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