Thursday, September 22, 2011
Using homosexuality as the main tool for interpreting God's word and love?
I find the way his possible answers to the question of homosexuality/gay marriage are framed to be extremely bias at worst and ignorant at best. The error is a common one and I don't think it requires having to read anything into the language of the authors thesis to summarise it as follows -
Either the hate monger extremist Christians who take the Bible literally and think it actually says most things clearly and coherently are right. Of course this way of reading the Bible leads to belief in a God who is hateful towards Gay folk.
Or
You can be one of the moderate "Christians" who say the Bible is not really able to tell us things in an absolute way and it is OK to pick and choose. This way of seeing the Bible as "open to interpretation" leads to the conclusion that God's love is "all encompassing" including His approval of homosexuality and gay marriage.
Clearly we can work backwards in the author's logic here and see that the test of God's love being "all encompassing" is His approval of homosexuality and if that is what we are using as a test for God's love then any Bible teaching that seems to disagree must necessarily fall into the "open to interpretation" category.
I would like to propose the following analogy that, while imperfect, may get to the real point:
Suppose as a loving Father I tell my two sons that running in the street is wrong and dangerous and they are not to do it. I even command them not to do it - because I love them! My two sons both love to run and the younger one is especially good at it and sees it as the most important thing in his life. In conversation the younger son tells his older brother that he doesn't think their father could have really meant that running in the road was forbidden because it comes so natural, means so much to him and doesn't seem to be hurting anyone. The older son considers the argument and then responds by reminding his younger brother that the father's words were quite clear, that he loves them and surely he knows what is best for them. He, as a loving brother, encourages his younger brother to fight the urge and obey the Fathers commands about running in the street. He even tries to help his brother see that where you run is not the most important thing in life and some who don't run at all live joyful lives. This makes no impact as the younger brother who is convinced he was born to run in the streets and he could have no meaningful life without it!
The younger brother may conclude that his father and brother don't love him because they are saying he should not do the one thing that is most important to him. Further, when he does do it in spite of the father's commands, he feels a sense of guilt that takes much of the fun out of it.
The younger son eventually finds a group of people who affirm his suspicions about his father and brother. They tell him that they had once been told these same things, but had united together under the firm conviction that anything that said there behavior was wrong was unloving and could not be true. They even got members of the press to promote their view and help others be set free from the oppression of bad feeling rules!
After several years of running in the street the younger son is killed in an accident that also claims the lives of several others as the car swerved to avoid him. Unfortunately, he dies thinking his main problem was that his father and his brother did not really love him!
Using our wants and desires as the main interpretive lens for God's love and word would be fine if there is no God and the Bible is just a human book. However, if God has spoken and He says something is wrong, dangerous or even an abomination - are we really being loving by trying to explain it away?
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Excellant analogy. This topic kind of falls into the realm of "How dare you call yourself a Christian and judge me?" Let me first say that being gay gets one no worse a place in hell than my coveteousness, etc. James 2:10-11 is clear I believe. Now back to judging. I can judge nor condemn a single soul. That duty is Allmighty God's alone. But if you be in Christ, unless I'm misreading, 1Cor. 5:9-13 states clearly that if you observe me in a lifestyle contrary to Scripture, you can judge said lifestyle as totally unfit for a follower of Christ.
ReplyDeleteAs for the arguement that gay people are naturally wired that way, I seem to have always had a great propensity to drink until totally drunk. Why did the world never come to my defense on this?
Great topic, could definately roll on, but I'll end on God's Word. It, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit, is ultimate authority to anyone claiming to Know Christ. It is living, but it is not "means-this-to-you-that-to-me". It can be rightly divided, or God through Paul would not have commanded Timothy to do so in 2Tim. 2:15. One more thought- the very first ruse of Satan is in Genesis 3:1. He calls into question God's very Words. "Did God really say....?" And he has been trying ever since to cast doubt on the Holy Word tj
Most people (me included) hate correction and discipline. This is part of the true sin nature.
ReplyDeleteProv 5:11-13
11 At the end of your life you will groan,
when your flesh and body are spent.
12 You will say, “How I hated discipline!
How my heart spurned correction!
13 I would not obey my teachers
or turn my ear to my instructors.
Pastors, and Christians in general, who ignore the sin and the appropriate correction that is called for are actually harming people by leading the astray.
Prov 10:17
17 Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to
life, but whoever ignores correction leads
others astray.
Should we not discern ("judge" if you will) if a behavior is sin? We have no power to condemn the sinner for we are ALL sinners, but we can (and are called to) "judge" the behavior and even call for correction if it concerns a brother or sister in Christ.
It should not be surprising that people who are not of Christ act like sinners, as hard as we try as Christians even we are not without sin, just without condemnation.
At the heart of this is unbelief in the true God and the more foundational theological screen people use for defining God and misunderstanding scripture. That being the belief that God cannot punish sinners and still be loving. A most grievous error indeed.
ReplyDeleteVery good insights. Really enjoying the back and forth, other brothers in Christ often see things I don't. Dave, good Scripture. Church discipline is important, may He make me acceptant when my turn comes round to be admonished. And may He raise up brothers in the Lord to do it. Keith, an awesome thing the Spirit said through you was to the effect of "in the end, God's commandments are to me, not you." Important for me to remember, as I all too often will be content to look for shabby ways in you when my breath is stinking.
ReplyDeleteAnd pastor, absolutely right on man's getting it wrong per God's love. Could be in part to false belief that when I love you, you will always be "happy". CS Lewis said no father wants to see their child unhappy, but would not either have their kids constantly happy at any price.At the price of letting the kid become a bum. That's why God's very Word is sooo vital. It can resolve that issue of misunderstanding, it diagnoses(sp?) when my thoughts and heart are out of order. And Scripture ever tells of the Savior that died for that sin as well. Now He sits ever at the right hand of the Father, reigning as Lord.
What a great way to start the day! Yall have a good weekend, all glory to Jesus. tj