What Did Jesus Have To Say About Homosexuality?
Last night I had a very interesting discussion with an individual who, while professing to be a Christian, simply could not find anything immoral about same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, this is a common mindset among many in the church today. Glennon Doyle Melton writes in favor of same-sex marriage on her blog. She says, “For example: when a married Christian says that he loves gay people but can’t support marriage equality, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love. Because loving your neighbor as you love yourself, I think, must mean that you bestow every right you claim for yourself onto your neighbor. If you are free and you love your neighbor as yourself, you want your neighbor to be free, too. If you claim your right to be married, but deny it to your neighbor, then you are loving your neighbor just a little bit less than you love yourself.”
Upon reading her statement I did a double take, and I am sure you can imagine why. Following her logic I can say the same thing about any sin (and make no mistake, the Scripture clearly labels homosexuality as sin), such as say, murder. “When a married Christian says that he loves adulterers but can’t support adultery, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.” Or how about Child Molestation? “When a married Christian says that he loves child molestors but can’t support child molestation, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.”Or maybe murder? I'm sure you get the point. As can be seen, Mrs. Melton's logic is severely flawed.
But can't the same be said of any line of reasoning that allows, condones, promotes or encourages any sin? Of course it can, and I am discovering that the various arguments being presented from so-called Christians are all as equally flawed. One of the most common of these arguments is, “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, so He obviously did not condemn it. The simplest line of reasoning against this fallacy can be found on the Stand to Reason blog, where Melinda Penner writes that since Jesus is God, and all of Scripture is God-Breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), then obviously anything the Bible has to say about homosexuality comes from Jesus. You can read her article here: What Jesus Said about Homosexuality.
While Miss Penner's reasoning could be called simple, it is also quite profound on many levels, and it is also quite true. I do have to say that left on its own, however, it leaves the door wide open for many counter arguments (all faulty in the light of a clear understanding of Scripture), and I wish she had addressed them in her blog article. They are, however, addressed in the comments section, so be sure to read that as well.
There is another article that addresses this subject posted on the Eternity Matters blog, titled What Jesus didn't say?. It is a more in-depth article on this subject, and provides a more well-rounded treatment of the subject. I highly recommend reading both articles.
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) once said, “Hell's next attack will be on that doctrine on which all religion and all morality are based, the existence of a personal, infinite, and eternal God. That effort will be accompanied by a mighty effort to sweep away the standards of Christian purity.” In light of the state of morality in America (and the world) today, I would say Mr. Chesterton's words were prophetic, and coming true today.
Last night I had a very interesting discussion with an individual who, while professing to be a Christian, simply could not find anything immoral about same-sex marriage. Unfortunately, this is a common mindset among many in the church today. Glennon Doyle Melton writes in favor of same-sex marriage on her blog. She says, “For example: when a married Christian says that he loves gay people but can’t support marriage equality, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love. Because loving your neighbor as you love yourself, I think, must mean that you bestow every right you claim for yourself onto your neighbor. If you are free and you love your neighbor as yourself, you want your neighbor to be free, too. If you claim your right to be married, but deny it to your neighbor, then you are loving your neighbor just a little bit less than you love yourself.”
Upon reading her statement I did a double take, and I am sure you can imagine why. Following her logic I can say the same thing about any sin (and make no mistake, the Scripture clearly labels homosexuality as sin), such as say, murder. “When a married Christian says that he loves adulterers but can’t support adultery, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.” Or how about Child Molestation? “When a married Christian says that he loves child molestors but can’t support child molestation, it strikes me as an incomplete kind of love.”Or maybe murder? I'm sure you get the point. As can be seen, Mrs. Melton's logic is severely flawed.
But can't the same be said of any line of reasoning that allows, condones, promotes or encourages any sin? Of course it can, and I am discovering that the various arguments being presented from so-called Christians are all as equally flawed. One of the most common of these arguments is, “Jesus never said anything about homosexuality, so He obviously did not condemn it. The simplest line of reasoning against this fallacy can be found on the Stand to Reason blog, where Melinda Penner writes that since Jesus is God, and all of Scripture is God-Breathed (2 Timothy 3:16), then obviously anything the Bible has to say about homosexuality comes from Jesus. You can read her article here: What Jesus Said about Homosexuality.
While Miss Penner's reasoning could be called simple, it is also quite profound on many levels, and it is also quite true. I do have to say that left on its own, however, it leaves the door wide open for many counter arguments (all faulty in the light of a clear understanding of Scripture), and I wish she had addressed them in her blog article. They are, however, addressed in the comments section, so be sure to read that as well.
There is another article that addresses this subject posted on the Eternity Matters blog, titled What Jesus didn't say?. It is a more in-depth article on this subject, and provides a more well-rounded treatment of the subject. I highly recommend reading both articles.
G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936) once said, “Hell's next attack will be on that doctrine on which all religion and all morality are based, the existence of a personal, infinite, and eternal God. That effort will be accompanied by a mighty effort to sweep away the standards of Christian purity.” In light of the state of morality in America (and the world) today, I would say Mr. Chesterton's words were prophetic, and coming true today.
RSS Feed
