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| | homosexuality, projection, and sanctificationIt's no secret that in today's world of evangelical Christianity the issue of homosexuality is a hot topic. I wonder why.
The answer that most people would give would be along the lines of, "They are attempting to destroy the sanctity of marriage" or "It is a sin" or "It is a heinous lifestyle that deserves no less that burning in a lake of sulfur and brimestone while listening to K-Fed's new album for eternity." I think there is more to it than all of this.
First of all, with the divorce rate within evangelical Christianity being no different from those outside of evangelical Chrisitanity, the whole "sanctity of marriage" argument goes out the window. Lust, adultery, porn, apathy, and self-interest have done a lot more to destroy the sanctity of marriage than the homosexual community. It's funny that 50% of evangelical Christians who would make this argument most likely end up in divorce. Sanctity of marriage, huh?
Second, it is a sin, no matter what kind of hermeneutical gymnastics or 'reframing of the question' tactics that Brian McLaren wants to play. But so is pride, lust, self-righteousness, gluttony, lying, etc. I find it slightly repulsive that the same preachers that will take a hard, party line stance on the issue of homosexuality won't say anything to the self-righteous, overweight businessmen driving a Range Rover, living in a multi-million dollar house. Don't you think there are many sin issues there as well?
Perhaps it has something to do with projection. It's easy to point at the homosexual community and point out their sin because it is outward. I think more people are quick to condemn and judge the lifestyle because people are repulsed by it; because they could never understand the mindset or the physical aspect of homosexuality makes them sick....I don't think it has as much to do with the fact that it is a 'sin' as much with the fact that it is homosexuality. Its easy for people to hide their pride, self-righteousness, apathy, dishonesty, etc. by jumping on the right-wing bandwagon and harping on the evils of the homosexual community. It's always easier to point out someone else's sins that dealing with your own.
I'm not saying that homosexuality is not a sin. What I am saying is that the way that the evangelical world has chosen to deal with the homosexual issue is completely hypocritical. We will welcome all kinds of prideful, arrogant, lying, self-righteous, overweight, unjust people into our churches as members and leaders, but we would never let a homosexual do the same.
The church is a place for sinners. It is composed of sinners and it is run by sinners. Of course, these sinners have been redeemed by God through Christ after being made alive by the Spirit....but everyone of them still sins and needs the Gospel. You would be hardpressed to find a church that would make one of the membership requirements, "Stop all your sinning immediately....then you can join." But it seems that this rule does apply when it comes to homosexuals. It is within the Christian life and within the church that sanctification happens. People struggle with pride, much like myself (so much so, in fact, that I needed to get a permanent reminder of the fact). The place to deal with pride is not before you come to Christ, but after you come to Christ. Of course one must repent of their sins to come to Christ, but sanctification happens after one becomes redeemed, not before. Sanctification happens within the body of Christ, not outside of the body of Christ. So why does the evangelical world make it an unwritten rule that homosexuals must become heterosexuals before they are welcomed into the church? Don't you think that people who struggle with homosexuality are going through a process much like someone who is struggling with pride, lust, self-righteousness, etc.? Those problems aren't gone overnight, but they take a lifetime of repenting, falling, repenting again. We will only be completed by Christ on that last day (Phil 1.6), not before.
Christians need to hate sin because God hates sin. All sin. Not just the sins that repulse us or the sins that we have never struggled with. All sin. The sin that you have in your life, God hates it and you should to. It would be easy to only deal with other people's outward sin while the sin you struggle with sits in the back of your heart untouched. Easy, sure. But completely unhelpful and even dangerous.
We, as a church, must realize that we are just as full of sin and evil as anyone else. The only difference is that we have Christ and the Spirit. We need to share Christ will everyone and trust in God's sovereignty that HE will change people's hearts, lives, and actions through the Spirit. We need to stop walking around with the log of pride, self-righteousness, gluttony, lust, etc. in our eyes while attempting to remove the speck of homosexuality in other people's eyes.
Thomas walked around with Christ for three years and still struggled with the sin of doubt and unbelief. Did Christ kick him out of the community of apostles because he was a sinner? No, in fact he kept Thomas close to him because that is where change happens: in the presence of Christ.
If we sincerely hate the sin of homosexuality and sincerely want people to change the answer is not shunning them from our communities, but preaching Christ and welcoming them into our communties. Because that is where change happens.
Shalom. | | | Posted 12/18/2006 10:33 AM - 8 comments
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