April 2012
2 posts
Decline or Decadence?
thomasfitzpatrick:
America is suffering from a lack of mastery over its own riches.
As America re-examines its military, entitlements, energy sources, and popular culture, it will learn that our “decline” is not due to material shortages, but rather arises from moral confusion over how to master, rather than being mastered by, the vast riches we have created.
-Victor Davis Hanson; a...
"How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go" by...
NOTE: This may be a little long, but take some time to read it. Pastor gives phenomenal answers!
Host: You are a Christian pastor, and you say you believe the Bible, which means you are supposed to love all people.
Pastor: That’s right.
Host: But it appears to me that you and your church take a rather unloving position when it comes to gay people. Are homosexuals welcome to come to your church?
Pastor: Of course. We believe that the gospel is a message relevant for every person on the planet, and we want everyone to hear the gospel and find salvation in Jesus Christ. So at our church, our arms are outstretched to people from every background, every race, every ethnicity and culture. We’re a place for all kinds of sinners and people with all kinds of problems.
Host: But you said there, “We’re a place for sinners.” So you do believe that homosexuality is sinful, right?
Pastor: Yes, I do.
Host: So how do you reconcile the command to love all people with a position on homosexuality that some would say is radically intolerant?
Pastor: (smiling) If you think my position on homosexuality is radical, just wait until you hear what else I believe! I believe that a teenage guy and girl who have sex in the backseat of a pick-up are sinning. The unmarried heterosexual couple living down the street from me is sinning. In fact, any sexual activity that takes place outside of the marriage covenant between a husband and wife is sinful. What’s more, Jesus takes this sexual ethic a step further and goes to the heart of the matter. That means that any time I even lust after someone else, I am sinning. Jesus’ radical view of sexuality shows all of us up as sexual sinners, and that’s why He came to die. Jesus died to save lustful, homo- and heterosexual sinners and transform our hearts and minds and behavior. Because He died for me, I owe Him my all. And as a follower of Jesus, I’m bound to what He says about sex and morality.
Host: But Jesus didn’t condemn homosexuality outright, did He?
Pastor: He didn’t have to. He went to the heart issue and intensified the commands against immoral behavior in the Old Testament. So Jesus doesn’t just condemn adultery, for example, as does one of the Ten Commandments. Jesus condemns even the lust that leads to adultery, all with the purpose of offering us transformed hearts that begin beating in step with His radical demands.
Host: You say he condemned adultery, but he chose not to condemn the woman caught in adultery.
Pastor: That’s right, but He did tell her to “go and sin no more.”
Host: But who are you to condemn someone who doesn’t line up with your personal beliefs about sexuality?
Pastor: Who am I? No one. It’s not all that important what I think about these things. This conversation about homosexuality isn’t really about my personal beliefs. They’re about Jesus and what He says. I have no right to condemn or judge the world. That right belongs to Jesus. My hope is to follow Him faithfully. That means that whatever He says in regard to sexual practices is what I believe to be true, loving, and ultimately best for human flourishing – even when it seems out of step with the whims of contemporary culture.
Host: But you are judging. You are telling all the gay people watching this broadcast that they are sinners.
Pastor: I’m not singling out gay people. I’m pointing to Jesus as the answer to all sexual sinfulness.
Host: But you are referring to gay people. Why are you so focused on homosexuality?
Pastor: (smiling) With all due respect, you are the one who brought up this subject.
Host: Are you saying that you can’t be gay and Christian?
Pastor: No. I’m saying that you can’t be a genuine Christian without repentance. Everyone – including me – is guilty of sin, but Christianity hinges on repentance. We agree with God about our sin, and we turn from it and turn toward Jesus. When it comes to Christianity, this debate is not about homosexuality versus other sins. It’s about whether or not repentance is integral to the Christian life.
Host: But do you see why a homosexual watching this might think you are attacking them personally? You’re saying that something is wrong with them.
Pastor: I think Jesus’ teaching on sexuality shows us that there is something wrong with all of us – something that can only be fixed by what Jesus did for us on the cross and in His resurrection. That said, I understand why people might think I am attacking them personally. Most people with same-sex desires believe they were born with these tendencies. That’s why they often see their attraction as going to the very core of who they are, and so they identify themselves with the “gay” label. So whenever someone questions their behavior or desires, they take it as an attack on the very core of their being. That’s usually not the intent of the person who disagrees with homosexual behavior. But that’s the way it is perceived. I understand that.
Host: If it’s true that a person is born with one sexual orientation or another, then how can it possibly be loving to condemn one person’s orientation?
Pastor: Well, we really don’t know for certain about sexual attraction being innate and set from birth. All we have is the testimony of people who say that they’ve experienced same-sex desires since childhood. Christianity teaches that all people are born with a bent toward sin. It’s possible that some people will have a propensity toward alcohol abuse or angry outbursts, while others may have a propensity toward other sins. Regardless, Christians believe people are more than their sexual urges. We believe that human dignity is diminished whenever we define ourselves by sexual urges and behaviors. Consider this: married men are sometimes attracted to multiple women who are not their wives. Does this mean they should self-identify as polygamists? Not at all. And surely you wouldn’t consider it hateful for Christians to encourage married men not to act on their desires in an effort to remain faithful to their spouses. It is the Christian way, after all.
Host: No, but it still seems like you are telling people not to be true to who they are.
Pastor: It only seems that way because you believe sexual desire reflects the core of one’s identity. It would help if you and others who agree with you would understand that in your putting pressure on me to accept homosexual behavior as normal and virtuous, you are going to the very core of my identity as a follower of Jesus. The label most important to me is “Christian.” My identity – in Christ – is central to who I am. So I could say the same thing and call you intolerant, bigoted, and hateful for trying to change a conviction that goes to the core of who I am as a Christian. I don’t say that because I don’t believe that’s your intention. But neither should you think it’s my intention to attack a homosexual person or cause them harm merely because I disagree.
Host: But the problem is, your position fosters hate and encourages bullying.
Pastor: I recognize that some people have mistreated homosexuals in the past. It’s a shame that anyone anywhere would mock, taunt, or bully another human being made in God’s image. That said, I think we need to make one thing clear in regard to civil discourse: To differ is not to hate. I hope we can still have a real conversation in this country about different points of view without casting one another in the worst possible light. The idea that disagreeing with homosexual behavior necessarily results in harm to gay people is designed to shut down conversation and immediately rule one point of view (in this case, the Christian one) out of bounds. As a Christian, I am to love my neighbor and seek his good, even when I don’t see eye to eye with my neighbor. Furthermore, the picture of Christ on the cross dying for His enemies necessarily affects the way I think about this and other issues.
March 2012
1 post
February 2012
2 posts
January 2012
2 posts
“…if Jesus did rise again from the dead, then there is nothing ultimately...”
– N.T. Wright, Following Jesus
“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be...”
– C.S. Lewis
December 2011
2 posts
Watchmarktheshark:
proof that baritone guitars are awesome. also, proof that thrice is awesome.
October 2011
2 posts
“A world of nice people, content in their own niceness, looking no further,...”
– C. S. Lewis
The Mind of Luke Budreau: Reach for the Stars →
budreaubud:
One education expert said: “Our current ceiling for students is really much closer to where the floor ought to be.”
We live in a society where young people are expected to do nothing, because we are capable of nothing. A society that doesn’t expect us to understand what they tell us. And even if…
September 2011
1 post
“The understanding and honoring of time is fundamental to the realization of who...”
– Eugene Peterson, Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places, p. 65
August 2011
1 post
12 tags
Weary Vagrant: Life Transformation →
wearyvagrant:
In an earlier post I told of how God opened my eyes to the reality that I was not following Jesus but rather a strict, unforgiving legalism similar to that of the Pharisees who so adamantly opposed the Rabbi. Since this epiphany, God has been taking me through a sort of detox for my addictions to…
July 2011
10 posts
Strawberries, Water and Other Addictions →
isaacdeitz:
We are creatures of habit and we grow fond of what is familiar to us.
I have a few theories on habits and addictions. About 5 years ago I gave up soda for an entire month. Which was hard for…
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-17) →
Owl City (126)
Mux Mool (22)
Ascend The Hill (20)
Manic Drive (12)
Anberlin (10)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-10) →
Ascend The Hill (18)
The Album Leaf (11)
The Ember Days (7)
Anberlin (5)
Daniel Young (4)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-7-3) →
Copeland (8)
Hillsong London (5)
The Devil Wears Prada (4)
Phil Wickham (1)
Pillar (1)
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June 2011
15 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-6-26) →
Emery (45)
Owl City (33)
Anberlin (21)
The Devil Wears Prada (20)
Jon Foreman (19)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-6-19) →
Owl City (79)
The Devil Wears Prada (22)
Ascend The Hill (16)
Charlie Hall (14)
Anberlin (14)
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Weary Vagrant: Is There Too Much at Stake? →
wearyvagrant:
God forgives us no matter what we do, right? Therefore we can always depend on Him to forgive us when we mess up and we shouldn’t have to bother about resisting temptation, right? To break it down even further, we like to sin and God likes to forgive, so it works out for everyone… or does it?
…
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree,...”
– Albert Einstein
“Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams...”
– Sir Francis Drake, 1577
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-29) →
The Ember Days (25)
John Mayer (22)
Tedashii (18)
T-Bone (15)
The Frozen Ocean (15)
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May 2011
4 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-22) →
Emery (27)
Anberlin (15)
Thousand Foot Krutch (4)
Adam Cappa (4)
Andy Hunter° (2)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-15) →
Anberlin (42)
Aaron Gillespie (3)
Thrice (3)
Exodus (2)
Jesus Culture (2)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-5-8) →
Anberlin (37)
Jesus Culture (20)
David Crowder Band (19)
Mute Math (12)
Thrice (10)
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April 2011
3 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-17) →
Jon Foreman (20)
The Album Leaf (18)
Mux Mool (17)
Aaron Gillespie (16)
Hillsong London (12)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-4-10) →
The Album Leaf (17)
Thrice (16)
Mux Mool (7)
Aaron Gillespie (6)
As Cities Burn (6)
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Sunshine and Soliloquies: True Fasting →
sunshineandsoliloquies:
“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter - when you see the naked, to …
March 2011
4 posts
My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-27) →
The Album Leaf (13)
Future of Forestry (10)
Aaron Gillespie (7)
Anberlin (5)
Hillsong London (1)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-20) →
Future of Forestry (11)
Jon Foreman (10)
The Album Leaf (8)
John Mayer (5)
B.o.B, bruno mars (2)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-13) →
The Album Leaf (18)
Chris Tomlin (12)
Andy Hunter° (11)
David Crowder Band (10)
Ultrabeat (10)
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My Top 5 Artists (Week Ending 2011-3-6) →
The Album Leaf (27)
Jesus Culture (21)
Jon Foreman (7)
three season ant (5)
Anberlin (4)
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February 2011
5 posts
Grace over Karma →
navets:
A fantastic interview with Bono about Jesus.