It saddens me that Elton John recently said:
"I think religion has always tried to turn hatred towards gay people. Religion promotes the hatred and spite against gays," and "From my point of view I would ban religion completely."
First, Elton John's perception is completely false. In nations where religion has been repressed and the leaders are atheistic, such as China and the former Soviet Union, repression of homosexuals greatly increased! Jail sentences, castration, and even executions were the non-religious ways of dealing with homosexuals. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialism_and_LGBT_rights) Second, many religions throughout history have actually celebrated homosexuality. Think of the pagan cultic practices of ancient Greece and Rome.
However, the more important issue here is Elton John's next statement:
"Organised religion doesn't seem to work. It turns people into really hateful lemmings and it's not really compassionate." (See http://www.drudgereport.com/flash1.htm for full article).
There is much truth to this. To the gay and lesbian community of Miami and beyond, as a pastor, let me say, I'm sorry. I'm sorry there has been so much "I'm holier than thou" condemnation and ridicule of you. At the same time, please respect me and all those in the community of those who seek to follow Jesus. Many of us, myself included, do believe homosexuality is wrong. We are driven to this belief, not because of homophobia or hatred towards anything different, but because we believe it is truly in the best interests of humanity.
Our belief does not mean we want to kill you or make your lives miserable. But we do believe it is important to stand for marriage as being between one man and one woman. It does not mean we all think homosexuals chose to be gay one day. But we do believe that true inner peace will only be found when one pursues a relationship with God and His righteousness that includes an abandoning of the homosexual lifestyle. I pray for Elton John to discover such a relationship with God, and I do have love for him, whether he sees my position as hatred or not.
6 comments:
... If "God is love", according to the Gospel of John, I believe, and two people of the same sex love each other... would that make God wrong?
The obvious answer is of course not. I love many people of the same sex- God commands everyone to do so. I suppose you are really trying to imply that nothing can be wrong with two men or women who love each other in a romantic/physical way and want to have sex, because, after all, God is love. The problem with this is that it equates love with sex. The Bible is clear that inappropriate sexual acts (which includes all homosexual acts) go against God's will and will ultimately be regretted.
The bible seemingly makes clear a lot of things, some like stoning women that have sex outside of marriage, or those considered witches (fortunately we don't do those things now). Or making war. The bible also says don't eat pork. Or bottomdwellers. Correct? But i know Christians that do... My point is that many things have been said in the Bible that have either been misinterpreted, too literally interpreted, or taken out of context. Isn't it possible, in the context of the times from 2000 years ago in which this was written, this has been as well?
Anonymous,
Honestly, on this issue I really don't think so. You have brought up a really important and complex issue- how does one properly (and consistently) interpret the Bible. Obviously, if you aren't consistent, the Bible starts to mean whatever you want it to mean.
I agree that the Bible says not to eat pork, but the Bible also says that there is no God! (Psalm 53:1) Of course, the whole sentence says, "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" The point is that everything must be taken in context. Like some of the examples you gave, many of the commands given early in the Bible are clearly meant to apply only to a certain group of people (such as the Israelite community) or for a certain period of time. (See Mark 7:19 or Galations 3 and 4). However, commands given against homosexuality and other sexual acts are repeated throughout the Bible without any hint that they are limited in scope. (For instance 1 Cor. 6:9 or Romans 1). If you ignore such commands you could ignore anything you wanted. Does the Bible REALLY MEAN do not murder? hmmm? or do not steal? Can you really only believe in the commands you feel like keeping? Of course not.
The alternatives are the following: 1)don't believe the Bible, 2)believe the Bible and therefore that homosexuality is wrong, or 3)find a way to argue that the Bible does not really condemn homosexuality- just make sure that you consistently interpret the rest of the Bible the same way and that you make clear logical sense.
My opinion is that the last option is impossible. I also can't follow option #1, because I personally find the evidence for the Bible to be compelling.
If you would like to continue this discussion- and I think it is a worthwhile one to have- perhaps you might share a little more about yourself- it could help me or others understand better where you are coming from. For instance, would you say you are a Christian homosexual? Or perhaps you are someone who doesn't believe the Bible but are frustrated by the actions of those that do? or something else? No matter, it might add to the discussion if we knew more.
"The alternatives are the following: 1)don't believe the Bible, 2)believe the Bible and therefore that homosexuality is wrong, or 3)find a way to argue that the Bible does not really condemn homosexuality"
A fourth alternative is to believe the Bible was written by human, fallible men, writing in the context of their culture, their traditions, and their times- and try to discover and winnow out the essential truths in and for this present world, while aknowledging that these men were not unaffected by their own particular prejudices and tastes in the history of the past. I believe they, like most people, were... The Bible, again for example, says to stone women and and not eat pork. As Christians people already aknowledge that they do not adhere strictly to every part of the Bible, in that they do not keep Jewish dietary laws and have eliminated the strictest laws, for example, in stoning women or others... You may, of course, believe what you want.I only offer one reason why others like myself may not subscribe completely to the same beliefs.
This is a great discussion, I appreciate your comments! Let me clarify two things. First, I do not believe the Bible says to "stone women and not eat pork," anymore than I believe the Bible says "There is no God." You must read any passage in its context if you are going to take it seriously. Virtually no Christian scholar throughout history has believed the Bible says to "stone women and not eat pork." That is because the context clearly eliminates such an interpretation. Therefore, I disagree that "Christians... aknowledge that they do not adhere strictly to every part of the Bible." I for one, do my best to strictly adhere to every part of the Bible, as do many others.
Second, you say that when you read the Bible you "try to discover and winnow out the essential truths." This is actually exactly what I mean by alternative number one, "don't believe the Bible." Of course, you are perfectly free to do so, but by picking out the parts and pieces that you like, you are not really believing the Bible but only the parts that say what you already believe! It sounds like you do believe the Bible says homosexuality is wrong, but you choose to disagree with those parts. Fine. But let me be clear what I believe. It can be summed up by a quote from a Catholic scholar, G.K. Chesterton, who said (referring to the Bible) "I did not make it, though it is making me, it is the very truth of God not the invention of any man."
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