How does the Church Deal With Tough Issues?

Recently I wrote about a controversial and tough issue- homosexuality. I realized when I wrote about it that it would be one that strikes a nerve with many folks in various ways. The major reason I tackled the issue is two-fold. First, I had not done so in this forum before. And second, I was a tad incensed with the attacks against Rick Warren regarding his prayer next week. Ironically Gene Robinson, the gay bishop in the Episcopal Church, will now be involved as well! We have two ministers with two very different perspectives on this issue being involved! Now I imagine everyone is angry!

As I reread my blog I stand by my beliefs but want to clarify that they are my beliefs. The inauguration shows itself that not all Christians agree with my view and yet I realize that. As I reread my blog I realize I probably made it sound as if the entire church agrees with me and I know that isn’t so! It is a divisive one today (just look at how denominations are falling apart in North America over this issue). Yet I do believe the historical global church has overwhelming held to a more traditional view of sexuality. All major world religions have as well.

I also realize that the church is not always right. The Crusades in history, witch hunts, sexism, racism, etc are examples of times churches have been guilty of gross wrongdoing. Yet those times were not the norm and not reflective of the overall church. And I suppose that one way to deal with this or any other issue is to go back to the earlier church before things got so messy. As one reflects upon the early church the traditional view of sexuality was held. The early church also reflected more equality among gender and a less political nature.

I also can not separate my views from my faith. A faithful Hindu can not separate what he or she believes from his or her life views. As a Christian I can not either. Faith to me is not something I go and do on Sunday (say a few prayers, repeat some creed, and check a few boxes) then go back to the real world. Fundamentalists, evangelicals, moderates, liberals, and so on are shaped by their beliefs and it should be more than a ‘religion’ but a way of life. They way I treat my neighbor, drive down the highway, speak to the clerk, or vote should be shaped by my faith and I simply can’t divorce it from the things I do. This is why some respond in different ways. A radical terrorist is shaped by his faith to hurt others and a pacifist is shaped by his faith to refuse to go to war. You might disagree with their actions (and I hope you do on many cases) but it is shaped by their faith- misguided or correct.

This issue can go round and round so let me take us in a new direction for just a moment.

How do we as Christians respond and relate to one another when there are controversial issues dividing us? I’m not just talking about homosexuality but there are hosts of issues. Issues relating to war, politics, ways to view the Bible, various doctrines, gender, and the list can go on and on. Let me offer a few thoughts.

I don’t believe that differences of belief should lead anyone to respond in ways that violate what it means to be Christian. No matter how mad you make me or how much I disagree with you I have no right to do violence, demonize you, or respond in any unchristian way. During this past election season there were many Christians who felt that Obama was too liberal. There is nothing wrong with having that view or not having that view but the line was crossed when some prominent national Christian leaders emailed grossly slanderous emails that were simply full of hate and untruths. A Christian will always vote his or her values and should but don’t lie about the opposing side! Don’t spread emails that are not true or rumors that are not true. Christians have said that Obama is a Muslim tied to radical Islamic terrorism and doesn’t read the Bible. Five minutes of fact checking will show this is not true. Now does that mean you have to support or vote for Obama? Of course not! That’s not the issue. The issue is can we disagree and not resort to sin? That’s the heart of the matter.

I don’t believe that because we have differences we simply stay silent so that we can all get along. That is not fair to anyone. This country is a free one and I believe that what makes us a strong nation is that we have the right to express our beliefs without fear. I’m a Baptist and believe in a doctrine called the priesthood of the believer. This means that each individual Christian has a right to read the Bible, develop their own thoughts, and speak out even if they disagree with their clergy. I believe we have every right to teach our beliefs and to practice our beliefs. Some argue that Christians are wrong if they talk about moral absolutes. A moral absolute is a belief that something is wrong and there are no exceptions. An example is to say that adultery is a sin. Someone who does not agree with moral absolutes might say that in most cases adultery is a sin but there could be exceptions and it isn’t right for one to make sweeping statements. Those who oppose moral absolutes might say, “What is right for you is right for you but may not be right for me.” The problem is that to say there are no moral absolutes is to make a moral absolute. You are saying that there is no way one thing can be always true and in doing so you are making one yourself! The struggle is determining what is absolute. Stealing is absolutely a sin right? Yet if your child was starving and you lived in a ghetto during Nazi Germany then you might steal a loaf of bread to feed your child. I would do that wouldn’t you? Yet I still agree stealing is morally wrong and is an absolute. So did I sin in taking the bread? I’m a realist and believe that yes stealing is a sin but God is also a loving parent who would understand why I did it in that case. Yet most of the time when we break those moral absolutes we are simply looking for a way to justify our sins.

There is a story in the gospel of John 8(which is not in the oldest manuscripts but still a powerful Jesus story that many feel is very much authentic) where an adulterous woman is thrown before Jesus. They don’t bring the man who should also be there! Killing her may be the law but Jesus asks who is without sin. The men walk away. In that story Jesus writes in the sand and I have heard legends that he wrote various sins and each sin was one that individuals in the crowd had committed and as they saw their sin they walked away. Another legend is that he wrote the names of the men who slept with her which were the men in that very crowd and so as they saw her name they walked away. The story does say that Jesus tells her that he does not condemn her but that she should go and sin no more.

I’ve heard the accusations. That Christians are judgmental. That we are bigots and not tolerant and this is often true. But that doesn’t mean that believing something is sinful makes one so. It is how one responds to that sin that makes one a Christ follower or a bigot. May we practice the same grace God has given us and while doing so may we hold to those beliefs that shape who we are. As it has been said so much it is a cliché, “Practice what you preach!”

Here is how I would deal with the gay issue or any other issue. I might view something as a sinful act but I do not have the excuse to hate, hurt, or destroy those who disagree. I am not afraid to talk, discuss, debate, and do my best to work with those who disagree. I have friends on a host of issues who disagree with me. Yet I love them. I hope they love me! We do our best and God does the rest. Still the church must struggle with speaking the truth but doing so in love. As believers we must do the hard work to make our faith our own and to follow what we really believe God would have us believe. We must be open to the Spirit and do the hard work to formulate our faith and then live it but always with the love of Christ.

So if many people are doing this and coming out in different places what can we do? We can only do our best. We can agree to disagree. We don’t have to give up our beliefs but we have to be honest and open in discussion and prayer and always do as Jesus said, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

Blessings,

Derik

Your Time is Now!

A few weeks ago I challenged you to remember that some things are ‘worth the wait.’  This is still true.  The opposite is also sometimes true.  Sometimes waiting isn’t what is needed.  Sometimes the time is now.  When the waiting is over and the moment is at hand you have to move!  When a mother goes into labor the baby must come!  When a decision must be made that decision must not be put off.

Read Revelation 21:1-8 and you will find that God is going to bring a new order/new day/new earth/new everything one day.  We wait for that day don’t we?  Yet 2000 years ago Jesus came to make that day possible.  So here we sit in the 21st century over 2000 years past the Jesus story and who knows how long till the end.  The truth is our end is for sure in one way or the other.  You will die at some point!  The earth will end at some point.  Scientists argue about whether it is a heat wave, big freeze, crunch, vacuum, or a host of other possible endings.  Writers and movie fans speculate alien invasions, robot armies, nuclear war, or plaque.  Theologians talk about second comings that go from methaphor to literal in various ways.  Yet our ride on planet earth will end!  And so this makes now matter.  What happens now matters very much.  Your moment under the sun is now.  You don’t know what tomorrow will bring or if you will see tomorrow.  You can’t change what yesterday was but you can change the moment at hand.

So embrace the now and live in the now and do something now!

Trust in Christ and follow God.

Begin reading your Bible.

Pray.

Be kind to one another.

Tell those you love that you love them.

Give that hug.

Make amends for the wrongs you have done.

Apologize where necessary.

Take that piano lesson, art lesson, or whatnot.

Begin excercising.

Read that book.

Plant that tree.

Watch that sun set.

Write that e-mail/letter/or make that call.

Love.

Live.

Learn.

NOW!

Is Homosexuality a Civil Rights Issue for the 21st Century?

Now this is a title that should grab attention! I will probably anger folks on both sides of the opinion poll with my answer but I’ll give it a shot anyway.

I’ve heard many people say that years from now people will look back at the issue of homosexuals and wonder why Christians held their views and that we will see it as a basic civil rights issue. The argument is that one day we will all understand that gay marriage is normal and acceptable and those who reject it are cavemen from another time period.

Others argue that homosexuals threaten to unravel the fabric of society and will lead to the death of America, the church, and the entire realm of human history. Some preachers argue that gay marriage is the biggest threat to marriage we’ve ever faced.

What is a Christian to think about such an issue? Let me give my two cents and remember this is my opinion and my thoughts.

I do not think it is fair to equate the gay question with the race issue. I really don’t. I can hardly put my argument to words regarding this issue and many can pick it apart but this is simply how I feel. I’ll ramble a bit if you let me.

Regarding civil rights. In this country African Americans were enslaved then forced in to segregation and treated as less then human. Other cultures have done the same with various races. Racism is sinful. Slavery is sinful. What happened to blacks in this country is sinful. Humans are born equal before God and no one race is better than the other. Race is different from sexuality. It is the ethnic group a person belongs to and you are born into that group and activity does not define you as a member of that group. You don’t do certain things to become or be black. Racism is anti-Christian to its core. I could argue this in many ways but this I truly believe. And choosing ‘white’ to be the superior race is strange anyway. Why white? Jesus was not white. Paul was not white. The Hebrews were not white. I could go on.

But aren’t gays born gay? They don’t choose it do they? So isn’t it the same?

I disagree. A person could be born gay if you accept that view but unless they are involved in same sex activity and you witness it you would not know a person was gay unless they told you. Stereotypes exist but we all know that isn’t fair. Gay people don’t ‘look’ different. Homosexuals (despite origin) are homosexuals because they have homosexual desires and engage in homosexual activity. Could a person be gay and not engage in such activity. Sure. But it is an internal nature that is not visible to the eye. Therefore gay people are not a ‘race’ and not defined in racial terms. They do not belong to a geographical or national group or ethnic origin.

But what about gay rights? I’ll come back to that but let me deal with the Christian view of homosexuality.

For 2000 years the Christian church has viewed same sex activity as a sin. Before that and throughout history Judaism also agreed with this view. Every world religion has agreed with this view historically as well. Yet same sex activity is not new. It existed throughout history. The Greeks were fairly open with it and Alexander the Great is sad to be bi-sexual. Roman culture was very loose sexually and homosexuality existed and this is the world Jesus lived. Jews rejected it but the world that ran the show permitted it. Adultery, pre-maritial sex, prostitution, homosexuality, and other non-traditional/Christian practices of sexuality existed in these worlds and others. It isn’t new.

Picking Bible verses out usually doesn’t go anywhere. If one side rejects the Bible then it is useless. If both accept the Bible then conversation can occur. While the Old Testament condemns homosexuality it also condemns various food being eaten, mixing of clothing, etc. Some of these laws were ceremonial and for worship in the ancient Hebrew world and some were moral laws. I’ve heard Rick Warren argue that point and show that we are not bound by those things that were ceremonial/worship based for Judaism but moral laws are eternal. Murder, rape, stealing, sexual laws and such would be moral and the others that are more ceremonial we are not bound by. This is how he deals with those two issues. In the New Testament we find a few places that mention homosexuality and never in favorable light. Paul even mentions female same sex activity in Romans. Jesus never said anything about it but that doesn’t mean he was in favor of it either. As a Jewish man I’m quite certain he would not have promoted such activity either.

One argument I hear from some is that the homosexual activity condemned in Scripture is not mutual but more of an adult and a younger boy and that if the ancient world understood that people were born gay and that two adults were mutually together then it is a different story. I’m not sure that holds water to me either. All ancient same sex activity was not man/boy love but also mutual men as well. Simply because both parties agree on an activity doesn’t make it any less sinful even if they are consenting adults (pre-marital sex, adultery…hello?).

I do not know all the answers about homosexuality. Nature vs nuture? Science is leaning to possible reasons that point toward biology but remember no 100 percent smoking gun has been found. There is no uniform agreement on why someone is gay. I would imagine there are those who choose (I can already hear angry words being shouted at computer monitors everywhere) to be gay but I’m sure there are those who do not (more angry words shouted at me). Yet simply finding the reason for something does not give blanket permission for action. I know I know. There are those who compare homosexuality to other ‘isms’ that people are born with and this makes for angry discussion. Some will point to people who are born sexually interested in children, animals, inanimate objects, and other strange isms and say that just because they are born that way doesn’t mean they should act out in that way nor should homosexuals. Yet what that person has just done is compare two gay men to a man in love with his cow. This of course is not a good line of argument. Yet buried within that argument some truth is there. Just because we have a desire does not mean we should act upon it. Heterosexuals have desires all the time but outside of marriage a person sins when he or she acts sexually.

So what is at stake? If a person is born gay what are they to do? One prominent non-fundamentalist Christian I once heard said they should be celibate (I’m not giving name because I can’t remember the reference and so I’ll leave his name out). Some argue, “That’s so unfair! You are denying basic rights! If God made me gay then why should I suffer?”

I’m not sure I would say that God made anyone gay even if it is biological. Humans are born into a sinful and fallen world and we are not perfect. If for some reason some people are born with desires for the same sex it isn’t “God’s fault” and yet is celibacy torture? Millions of Christian heterosexuals choose it every day!

I’m not sure if a gay person can ‘become’ straight. I’ve heard that argument and I’m not qualified to say but if someone’s ‘thorn to carry’ is to be celibate as devotion to God I’m not sure this is denying who a person is.

I know many of my friends disagree with me on this issue and that’s OK. I’m old enough to handle it.

Of course there is another side that is afraid of homosexual people and treat them as sub-human or have a strong fear of gays. The biggest threat to marriage is not gay marriage but many other things almost too numerous to name. Divorce ends more than half of straight marriages. People who are married commit adultery, dishonor their marriages, do nto care for their marriages properly, and destroy them in so many sad ways. We need to deal with our own failures!

Back to gay rights. I believe that the Christian view is that all people deserve to be treated with love and respect. Jesus set this model before and we see him going to all people. We are all sinners. All sin is sin. While homosexuality is a sin so are a host of other activities in this world. And yet those who do things that go against biblical teaching are still loved by God and deserve to be treated as such.

As an American I believe gay people and straight people all deserve fair and honest protection. Not because someone is gay or straight but because that person is an American citizen.

As Christians I believe we should speak up for all people who are mistreated and show them the love of Christ no matter who they are. If a person cheats on his spouse or has pre-marital sex they should not be ridiculed, hated, rejected, or mistreated in any way. The same goes for the gay community. Jesus told us to love our neighbors and gay people are our neighbors. A person has a legal right to live with someone of the opposite sex outside of marriage or have sexual activity with the opposite sex while it may still be sinful in the eyes of the church and the same goes for folks of the same sex. I would not try to pass laws to imprison people who have same sex activity, pre-maritial sex, or adultery. It may lead to legal proceedings in court for divorce but not for criminal court.

What about gay marriage? I personally believe the historic and global view of marriage has been between a man and a woman. I would not change that. I do not think the historic church should accept gay marriage (if we shouldn’t accept gay sexual activity then marriage is included in that). However if two people of the same sex form a relationship and live together I can’t stop that and legally in America they have that right even if in my faith it is sinful and I do not practice such behavior.

Here is a summary of what I believe.

*Gay rights is not the new civil rights. Equating homosexuals with the struggle for African American rights in this country is not accurate or fair.

*The Christian church and the Bible does not accept homosexual activity as a valid lifestyle for a person who follows Christ. Homosexual activity is a sin in the eyes of the Christian faith.

*While many questions exist (is homosexuality biological? what about people who claim they once were gay and are no longer?) believers are called to a higher standard than that which the world might accept.

*Celibacy is a valid option for believers who struggle with same sex desire.

*Gay people deserve to be treated with respect and love.

*Gay marriage is not an acceptable institution for the Christian church.

So now that I’ve made many of you mad feel free to respond. I am contemplating writing about how these views have changed so fast in our society. Thanks to fundamentalists and an amazing popular media image overhaul it is getting tougher to discuss this issue. I might tackle it anyway.

Derik

Rick Warren Responds to Critics

Rick Warren says it better than I do.  Follow this link for an article about Rick’s response to his critics.

http://www.abpnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3736&Itemid=53

Should Rick Pray?

Let’s be clear about this.

On one side we have people critical of Rick Warren’s acceptance to pray at Obama’s Inauguration because they don’t agree with the President Elect’s position on homosexuality, abortion, etc. Some Christians who are pro-life and are against gay marriage think Warren should say no.

On the other side are people who are critical of Obama for inviting Rick Warren because of his views on homosexuality, abortion, etc. Homosexual rights groups, supporters of gay marriage, pro-choice groups, and many commentators are very critical of Warren for his views and I’ve read some scathing articles about Rick Warren. Christopher Hitchens (commentator and famous author/atheist) writes, “If we must have an officiating priest, surely we can do better than this vulgar huckster.” Hitchens is mad not only because Warren believes homosexuality is a sin but he blasts Warren’s conservative theology regarding his belief that one must accept Christ for salvation, that Mormonism is a cult, and his views on the end of the world.

So what is the truth in this situation?

First, while I do believe in separation of church and state I have no problem with a minister praying at this inauguration. As a Baptist who holds to the historic principles of church/state separation I do not want the state to endorse or support the church and I do not want the church to run the state. However I do believe Christians have a right to have a voice about issues while not endorsing political parties or candidates. I do not see a problem with figures of faith praying or appearing at events such as the inauguration and do not think this violate my heritage. It has been a historical tradition that has not been an endorsement of any one church or movement. Leaders of many world faiths have been at various gatherings. Obama will be sworn in on the Bible that Abraham Lincoln used and so while not every president has used a Bible or been outspoken on faith it is not a new thing. Billy Graham has been at most of recent inaugurations and his son was at the last.

Second, I do not think the first group has ground to stand on. To those who think Warren should tell Obama no because they don’t agree with Obama’s I simply do not agree with you. Billy Graham did not agree with every individual he stood with at inauguration and yet he went. In fact I do not believe we have to have uniform agreement on all issues to be a Christian or to be in fellowship with one another.

I also don’t understand why concerns about abortion and homosexuality trump other issues such as poverty, racism, injustice, and other serious issues. Why single out these two differences as a reason to not work with someone and yet be willing to work with someone else who might downplay the other issues? I also do not agree with the other side either.

The first camp has become so entrenched in politics that they have lost their way. The second camp is so angry that they refuse to even listen to what they are saying. It seems that some want tolerance except for those who are not in agreement with them. If someone believes homosexuality is a sin do they no longer have a voice in this country? Have the tables turned so that now those who do not accept certain views must be silenced? Aren’t we all Americans and don’t we all have a voice and a right to believe and practice our beliefs? If a Christian believes one must accept Christ to be saved this doesn’t make them a bigot or evil. This is a historic and majority view of the church for 2000 years. Other religious groups make exclusive faith claims too so why does Hitchens have to blast the Christian one? I do not agree with the dispensational view of the end of the world that he states Warren has and I am sure there are other issues I disagree with Warren but that does not mean only my voice should be heard. Tolerance goes both ways Hitchens! By working together it does not mean Obama and Warren agree but can’t they work together despite their differences? Shouldn’t you pray for your leaders even if you disagree? I’m glad Warren is going. I hope that the religious leaders of our country will work together in our troubled world where there can be common ground. I hope we can respect our differences and discuss peacefully and respectfully where we disagree. I also hope we continue to have the right to have our beliefs and respect those who disagree. I believe we can do this without creating a church state or by silencing those we disagree with. Whether you voted for Obama or not he is the President and he needs everyone’s prayers! Our country has some major problems facing it and we need to work together to face our future.