Friday, October 7, 2011

Scripture and the Modern Family

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So when I scheduled my October date for my blog I should have checked to see if it was during fall break because I have no assigned reading or class lecture to go off of. So I began going through chapter 35 in the Hendrix book and it occurred to me just how important something like a concordance is when doing biblical study. I am always going back and fourth looking up different passages that speak on a topic that I am exploring. A couple of instances where my concordance has come in handy was during conversations that I have had on the topic of homosexuality and gay marriage.

Homosexuality seems to be growing in our society, or at least people are speaking out about it more. But I feel like every television show today has at least one gay character or the show is about the gay lifestyle. Look at one of the number one comedies in America, Modern Family. The title speaks volumes about the new paradigm shift in families today. I must admit, however, that my wife and I love this show and Cam is one of my favorite characters, but I can't help but wonder if Hollywood has a sort of 'gay agenda' to desensitize our society to being more accepting of gays and remove the stigma about same sex marriage.

One particular conversation that I had dealing with this topic, I could not remember any passage other than Leviticus Ch 18. Of course the natural reaction to this passage is that it was written a long time ago and was part of the Old Testament law, so therefore it is no longer a valid reference. Too bad I hadn't heard Dr. Corsini's lecture discussing that there were three different types of law in the Old Testament but I got into scripture to find more New Testament passages that dealt with homosexuality. Looking through my concordance I was expecting to find a numerous amount of passages condemning the act but to my surprise there was only one, 1 Cor. 6:9. This verse dealt with the fact that homosexual offenders would not inherit the kingdom of God. Scripture is much more clear about abstaining from sexual immorality. Some may argue that homosexuality is not included in that expression but such an argument would be difficult to sell.

So even though I know that the bible clearly rejects the acts of homosexuality as sin, I have at times questioned my responsibility as a Christian and the topic of gay marriage. This questioning came about when I watched a very interesting documentary titled, Lord Save Us From Your Followers, that talks about how the gay community views Christians as harsh, judgmental, cold, arrogant, hateful, and bigoted jerks. I highly recommend this documentary for an eye opening and challenging self-reflection. What you must be careful of is going from the extreme of, "God will judge you and you will get what you deserve," to the other which is, "God loves you for who you are and if you are gay that's ok, just be a good person." As I was personally trying to figure out what my political view was regarding gay marriage, I found myself relying on my own understanding and not on the Holy Spirit's guidance. I figured that homosexuals had every right to be married and that I or anyone else should be able to tell them that they couldn't. We do live in the U.S.A after all and just because I don't agree with their actions, doesn't mean they can't do it. I had stuck to the love sinner, hate the sin mentality. (I know, I'm a sinful heretic)

This was a view that I had up until a few months ago but I never felt right about it. This summer I was doing devotions on a completely different topic and all that I kept thinking to myself was, "Do not cause your brother to stumble." So I went to my concordance and looked up stumble. The verse that stood out to me the most was Romans 14:13, "...Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way." Upon reading this moment it hit me that while in the worlds eyes gays should have every right to marry, in God's eyes giving gays the means to carry on their lifestyle is allowing them to sin and putting a stumbling block in their path. Needless to say now I have an entirely different stance on gay marriage and even though I may laugh at the two characters, Cam and Mitchel, I have to stick with my guns and remember that the laws of God are higher than the laws of man.

1 comment:

  1. I had to look at and reevaluate my views on homosexuality also. The bible is always clear about many topics. When you find that something in scripture is not clear. Praying for clear discernment and revelation solves that. We do as Christians have a responsibility to speak up because we know the True and Holy God. If you find yourself as a Christian struggling with God's view and way, then asking God to examine your heart will reveal why. I consider myself to be pretty laid back. I'll never judge or condemn somebody. I really do not believe that is right. If you look at Christ's ministry, he taught, he did not yell across a pool pit. A good understanding and teaching on things draws people. The main goal of ministry and being a light for the world is to draw people to establish their personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I do though, try to explain the bible to the best of my understanding. Yes, believers cannot sit back and allow God's way to be pulled from society. Now, the devil is definitely running things in the world. All we have to do is fight with God's weapons and powers. Even though these are modern times, God still loves this world and desires for everybody to know the truth.

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