Wednesday, May 9, 2012

5 directives on which the Bible is clearer than it is on gay marriage

1. Take care of the poor: "If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother." Deuteronomy 15:7. See also: Deuteronomy 15:7, Leviticus 25:25, 35, 39, Deuteronomy 24:19-21,  Proverbs 21:13, Proverbs 19:17, Proverbs 14:13, Isaiah 58:6-7, Matthew 19:21, Matthew 25:3 -- to name a small handful.

2. Fight for justice for the poor: "Do not deny justice to your poor people in their lawsuits." Exodus 23:6. See also:  Leviticus 19:15 Deuteronomy 24:17 Deuteronomy 27:19,  Proverbs 22:2.

3. Pay your tithe: "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings." Malachi 3:8. See also Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:26; Deuteronomy 14:24; 2 Chronicles 31:5.

4. Don't judge others, hold a grudge against them, or become angry with them:  "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:37. See also Romans 14:12-13, Matthew 7:1-5, 1 Corinthians 1:5,  Matthew 5:2.

5. Focus on God, not accomplishments, money or power: "For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world."1 John 2:16. See also Luke 9:25, Matthew 6:33, 1 Timothy 6:9, Philippians 2:4, Matthew 23:12, Colossians 2:8, Luke 22:26, Isaiah 5:8.


There's nothing in the Bible about gay marriage. Monogamous gay relationships are not addressed in the Bible; the original words in Leviticus, Romans, etc, all connote non-monogamous relationships with prostitutes or young boys, or as parts of orgies.

Beyond that, though, political actions to deprive gay people of civil rights in the interest of

1. saving their souls, somehow or
2. "preserving the sanctity of marriage"

are

1. counterproductive: you can't bully someone into agreeing with you,
2. inconsistent: we're not regulating remarriage or adultery, last I checked, and
3. hateful, sanctimonious garbage: if your marriage is so unstable that the existence of gay married couples threatens it, then you need to be tending your own garden.

I am really, really, really angry that people are using Christianity as a rhetorical tactic in promoting their own agendas. Jesus said nothing about being gay, or about any obligation of Christians to impose even the most inarguable moral agenda on others. He said to come to Him. He said He was the way.

How weak does your faith have to be in order to believe that, should Jesus have a problem with the way someone is living, He needs you to seek them out to tell them?

That is not the gospel we're supposed to be sharing; anyone who has read the Gospel has to concede that. And don't quote the 2 or 3 passages that address going to "your brother" and addressing his sin. You're wasting time that could be spent sharing God with others on something totally meaningless and not your business; you haven't earned the right to call any of these gay people who you're apparently dead-set on regulating into Heaven you brother.

I've met one Christian who can point to one chapter of the Bible that she states supports her beliefs about homosexuality (I don't agree, but I give her credit for substantiating her belief with something other than blind hate). Christians who have chosen this issue as needing government regulation need to have the guts to acknowledge that they are editing out the entire Gospel, which is extremely clear about what Christ calls us to do, and which does not mention homosexuality at any point. It does, however, have much to say about people who interfere with others' access to Jesus -- say, by snatching away from Caesar what is his and claiming Jesus made you do it.

15 comments:

  1. What exactly is the gospel we are supposed to be sharing?

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    1. Jesus's life, death, resurrection, and our subsequent ability to access God. I think.

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  2. And why are we supposed to be sharing this?

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    1. Well, as I understand it, it's so others can experience God and his love. And because the act of sharing God it beneficial for our own faith. And because He told us to.

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  3. And why is it important that we and others experience God and his love? Why would He tell us to share about Him? What is God after?

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  4. I think He wants us to be happy and knows that we are only truly happy when we're in relationship with Him. But I can only speculate here -- since Christ says to come to Him, that He is the way, the truth and the life, I think whatever His intentions might be for offering us that grace are less important than the fact that He has offered it.

    I do feel that the Bible is really clear that God wants us with Him, to have life and to have it abundantly. That He wants this for us when we arguably have nothing to offer is amazing and incomprehensible -- and that incomprehensible love and grace is the essence of the gospel for me.

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    1. ... by "here", I mean "with respect to God's motivation"

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  5. I think the gospel begins in the garden. Creator God created all things good. He formed man out of the dirt and breathed life into man. Man was able to live in right relationship with God, which means man was able to find fulfillment, joy, and fun enjoying the good things God had created and as a result worship God for it. Our worship was rightfully placed on the Giver of good things and not the good things themselves. Then in chapter 3 of Genesis a terrible treason occurrs and man says, in effect, I don’t want God I want the things of God. This treason caused everything in all of nature to become corrupted – decaying unto death. What was good is now evil. What was straight iss now crooked. The relationship that was right between God and man, is now broken. The gospel begins with our need, in our very great brokenness, for a Savior. Without recognizing first this brokenness, God’s grace and mercy is all very well and good … but rather unnecessary.

    So, I ask these questions because I want to unpack some of the things you said in this blog entry. But before I can do that fruitfully, and in a way that would be recognized as love (as it’s intended), I think we need to first agree … it was once good … now it is not … we need a Savior … Jesus is he.

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    1. I agree with some of that.But I believe when Jesus said that the kingdom of God was here, that He wouldn't leave us alone, He meant it. And to the degree that it is possible to relate to Him now, there is a great deal that is good, or can be, even now. I don't think He's waiting until the rapture to make all things new.

      But I know, absolutely, that I am broken. I'm no more or less broken than anyone else, gay or straight. For me to say that my love for my husband is blessed because he's a man, but that someone else's love for their partner isn't blessed because of their gender -- well, that seems to me to be saying that God made me somehow less broken than that other person.

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  6. I do agree that God has begun his redemptive work here on earth in us. I think you've jumped ahead in making a conclusion that is false (end of second paragraph) and I think that's the result of us not settling this foundation first. It's not a matter of "they" are broken and "we" are not. It's a matter of all of us being broken. No one, not one person, has escaped brokenness in their sexuality. Heterosexuals, homosexuals - ALL have brokenness in their sexuality. Can we agree on that statement?

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  7. I believe that, yes. I just don't believe that homosexuality, by definition, is part of that brokenness. When I decided to marry, that was celebrated, recognized, and rewarded with tax breaks, despite my brokenness and that of my partner. To deny that recognition to a gay couple seems to me to be a response to their gender, not to their brokenness.

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    1. You're speaking culturally/legally. I'm speaking theologically. The question for the Christian should never be how do things "seem". The question for the Christian should always be "what does God say about (fill in the blank)".

      So, my question to you is from where do you draw your authority on this (or any) issue?

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    2. First, from the Bible, as I understand it -- and I do my best to apply both the intellectual/academic skills that I have developed through my training in textual analysis, and the spiritual guidance that I believe God gives me when I approach His word prayerfully as well as thoughtfully.

      Second, from my understanding of God as He is revealed to me through my prayer life.

      Nothing in either has led me to believe that God condones denying any group of people a basic civil right.

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    3. ... also, I say "seem" because it is not possible for me to know the hearts of others; so I'm not willing to unequivocally claim that they are simply responding to other people's gender. God doesn't say anything about gay marriage. He does say a great day about compassion, judgement, and love -- and so there's no need for me to ask how things seem to me.

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  8. Sorry for the delay ... I was in Memphis enjoying some BBQ and Blues!

    The Bible does say things about marriage and about homosexual activity. Given what is said, how do you come to the conclusion that homosexual marriage is what God wants? I know in your blog you said that the words used in Leviticus and Romans do not apply to monogamous homosexual relations. Does not Paul's own words refute this newer interpretation?

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