Recently, President Obama made a statement embracing same-sex marriage. The president also referenced the Bible, claiming that when Christ sacrificed himself for mankind, and, that the Golden Rule are reasons for endorsing same-sex marriage. He also stated that his decision to make a statement at this time resulted from discussions he had been having with his family, speaking to his political team, and listening to friends on the matter.
It is no secret or some modern shift that the scriptures are being taken out of context to promote a moral stance. Aside from my general disagreement of the President's stance, and aside from his inaccurate use of the scriptures, there is another reason for my concern over how he came to the decision.
This concerns me. And it should concern all of us. That we would come to crucial decisions on an issue because an issue is prevalent in pop culture or because certain people have endorsed a specific stance on the issue is of great alarm to me. What ever happened to absolutes that made our decisions much easier? Will there be no absolutes left in the coming years? Most of us would never argue the need for road signs and most of us would never question whether the use of curse words on television are inappropriate. But, when are these things going to be undermined? We can see that radio or television censorship is being loosened every few years and with every bold stretch of progressive adventure in language.
Now, I am not equating the gay agenda with road signs on the highway or language on the radio or television, but, this issue is front and center in our culture. To be clear, my stance on the gay agenda is simple. Through the biblical account of creation in Genesis and Paul's words in Romans, I have shaped my belief that homosexuality is part of the sexual disorder clearly stated in the bible as an exchange of the truth of God for a lie, and, the abandoning of the natural relations of men and women for each other, for the shameful lust of what is un-natural relations between people of the same sex.
But, back to the issue at hand. The formation of decisions. George Wood, the superintendent of the Assemblies of God, made a statement about the presidents stance on gay marriage. "It has become popular to quote Scripture grossly out of context to serve a personal or political agenda, it still doesn't change what God's Word clearly states," Wood said.
Wood adds that in light of what Scripture says, Christians should not be surprised by individuals and groups twisting Scripture, citing, 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
Bottom line? The growing cultural shift toward forming opinions and decisions from ancillary means and not from the center of scripture will only hasten the loss of even the most sacred beliefs in our culture. A loss of absolutes may only quicken the moral spiral downward. Like road signs and television language, there are conventional and universal mores that are under attack. It is time Americans realize it is ok to declare a moral compass and standard to walk by. The prevalence of an issue is not the basis for that issue becoming morally acceptable. However, prevalence may be the reason for the decay of morality.
It is no secret or some modern shift that the scriptures are being taken out of context to promote a moral stance. Aside from my general disagreement of the President's stance, and aside from his inaccurate use of the scriptures, there is another reason for my concern over how he came to the decision.
When our country starts to make decisions that are based upon peer thought and general consensus, we are making a shift away from absolutes that I believe will continue us down a spiraling path that we will not recover from. Since when did prevalence or consensus become the basis of our decision-making? Especially when it comes to moral and ethical standards.
This concerns me. And it should concern all of us. That we would come to crucial decisions on an issue because an issue is prevalent in pop culture or because certain people have endorsed a specific stance on the issue is of great alarm to me. What ever happened to absolutes that made our decisions much easier? Will there be no absolutes left in the coming years? Most of us would never argue the need for road signs and most of us would never question whether the use of curse words on television are inappropriate. But, when are these things going to be undermined? We can see that radio or television censorship is being loosened every few years and with every bold stretch of progressive adventure in language.
Now, I am not equating the gay agenda with road signs on the highway or language on the radio or television, but, this issue is front and center in our culture. To be clear, my stance on the gay agenda is simple. Through the biblical account of creation in Genesis and Paul's words in Romans, I have shaped my belief that homosexuality is part of the sexual disorder clearly stated in the bible as an exchange of the truth of God for a lie, and, the abandoning of the natural relations of men and women for each other, for the shameful lust of what is un-natural relations between people of the same sex.
But, back to the issue at hand. The formation of decisions. George Wood, the superintendent of the Assemblies of God, made a statement about the presidents stance on gay marriage. "It has become popular to quote Scripture grossly out of context to serve a personal or political agenda, it still doesn't change what God's Word clearly states," Wood said.
Wood adds that in light of what Scripture says, Christians should not be surprised by individuals and groups twisting Scripture, citing, 2 Timothy 4:3, "For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear."
Bottom line? The growing cultural shift toward forming opinions and decisions from ancillary means and not from the center of scripture will only hasten the loss of even the most sacred beliefs in our culture. A loss of absolutes may only quicken the moral spiral downward. Like road signs and television language, there are conventional and universal mores that are under attack. It is time Americans realize it is ok to declare a moral compass and standard to walk by. The prevalence of an issue is not the basis for that issue becoming morally acceptable. However, prevalence may be the reason for the decay of morality.
I don't think the biggest issue for the church is rather the people around us are gay or not. The biggest issue is how we respond to it. There is no problem calling sin what it is. The bible is clear on this issue. It becomes aproblem when we pick on pet sins. Not just the sins, but the sinner at that. There are many sins of the church that we dont talk about because it is uncomfortable. If we are going to adress part of the law we need to adress the whole thing. We feel like taking the gay issue and making it the sin to end all sins. Gluttony is a Sin. it is a lifestyle, and it is a sin that is done inside the body. The same Criteria that we blast homosexuals, However we would never kick out our overweight pastors? Something seems wrong here.
ReplyDeleteAs Christians we are called to love people no matter what. Scripture does not say that we are only to love straight people. It does not say we are only to love loves that are loveable or even those that are willing to agree with our doctrine, but Jesus goes so far to say love your enemy. It is not our job to 'ungay' them. It is our job to love them where they are at and allow the Holy Spirit to do what he was sent to do, and that is convict sinners of sin, and draw them toward Jesus, because outside of the redeeming blood of Jesus we are all going to hell (gay or straight alike). The only difference between the belive that has been in the church for 40 years and the homosexual agnostic is Jesus. It is alony by his grace we are saved. We can not boast about anything because while we we sinners Christ died for us!
So instead of being a group of people that are known for what we are agaisnt lets show the world what we are for. We are for the love of Jesus, and we will let Him take care of the details.