So it's been a while, but a recent series of exchanges with folks around me has prompted me to post here. The topic is a little out of character with the original purpose of this blog, but I needed to get this out there somewhere.
There's a relationship between some pretty controversial elements of faith and society that I feel compelled to discuss my understanding of. I'll give you a few simple words that each have a seemingly infinite level of complexity to them: God, Love, Homosexuality, Sin
Before I begin a discussion of my perception on these concepts, I want to share a set of verses that are used by some to justify a stance on homosexuality as one of THE most heinous sins a human can commit. This isn't your standard Leviticus fare where homosexuals "will surely be put to death."
Romans 1:21-32
I bring this up because it demonstrates a key misrepresentation that many Christians make: One sin is somehow better or worse than another. Let me establish a clearer understanding of sin and the scale of severity that our mortal logic-loving minds just cannot resist applying to it:
Romans 3:23 states "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" and James 2:10 states "for whoever the whole law shall keep, and shall stumble in one [point], he hath become guilty of all" - this is a frequent well to go to. I will get back to this in a minute.
Mortal comprehension dictates that logically, telling your friend the little white lie that they look fantastic when they really do not cannot possibly be equivalent to murdering someone in cold blood.
In John 19:11, Jesus states "You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin."
These three excerpts serve to represent three key elements of understanding sin:
1) According to Christian scripture, all sin leads to the same result - separation from God
2) Logic, and in fact cultural punishments for sin, indicate that man perceives sin to exist in a spectrum of severity
3) The Bible indicates that even Jesus himself recognized that there is a difference in the severity of sin
I have posted before about the caveats of reading this blog, and so I will not spend this post discussing whether there is such a thing as sin, damnation, salvation, or redemption. I have also posted before about the inequality of sin but the equal consequence of sin.
So my question to most Christians is this: Why is homosexuality such a horrible transgression that it deserves such vitriolic condemnation? I don't see churches turning away alcoholics, and gluttony is a sin. I don't see churches turning away divorcees, however, divorcees who separate for any reason other than adultery or marriage to an unbeliever and then remarry are considered to have committed the sin of adultery. Whole ministries are established in most churches for both drug abuse and marital issues - but not homosexuality.
The truth is that homosexuality results in no greater a consequence than any other sin, and most Christians know this. What is sparking such rabid responses is the feeling of losing their culture, their faith. Churches are no longer a safe haven where the world is black and white and that is a loss many Christians just cannot accept. So instead of saving their churches, they try to force their morality on the public at large.
So where do I fall on the spectrum of accepting/decrying homosexuality? I am not God and I thankfully do not have to make that judgement at all. The Bible clearly portrays homosexuality as an aspect of sinful lifestyles and condemns it in no uncertain terms...but the Bible also clearly states that a women should not instruct a man on the ways of God and I can assure you that I have done that very thing and do not consider having done it to be an affront to the Lord. So, is homosexuality a sin? I don't know that I can in good conscience determine it to be condemned or condoned by God; however, I do believe that homosexuality is unnatural because it fails to perpetuate mankind. Albinos are also unnatural because they fail to perpetuate the successful existence of prey species...but I'm not going to suggest they are all damned to hell. That analogy assumes there's a biological trigger for homosexuality, of which I remain unconvinced - however, even if there is, alcoholism is also inherited but we don't go around encouraging that lifestyle (we'll discuss whether homosexuality represents a clear danger to the individual and their loved ones in the same manner that alcoholism does some other time) I don't believe those with homosexual tendencies are abominations and deserve to be forever ridiculed. I love them, as I love any of God's creations. Unfortunately for everyone involved, many individuals with homosexual tendencies identify themselves based majoritively on their sexual orientation. I choose to identify them as any other person - someone who makes their choices and must right themselves with God over such choices. If they want my two cents on the appropriateness of their actions, I'll oblige, but I haven't met an individual with homosexual tendencies who, upon learning I am Christian, then delightedly asks me to critique their lifestyle choice - and I'm pretty thankful for that.
