This is pretty amazing…
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
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(Part 4) Answering the Toughest Questions About Homosexuality with Alan Shlemon
Our Blog series with Alan continues. This week’s challenge: “You can’t have gay friends if you think homosexual behavior is a sin.”
A youth leader wrote me: “I would say that the issue of homosexuality is THE #1 BARRIER for teenagers…that keeps them from believing the gospel.” I can see why he said that. It’s a simple cost-benefit analysis. You can keep your faith or you can keep your friends and family. You pick. Well, the answer for many people is obvious: relationships are more important than a theological idiosyncrasy. So, they either compromise on the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality or they ditch their faith altogether. Part of the problem stems from the belief that if you keep your convictions about homosexuality, then you can’t stay in relationship with your friends and family who say they’re gay. But this isn’t the biblical view.
The New Testament doesn’t prohibit Christians from friending (I know, I know…that’s so Facebook-ish) homosexuals. Paul, writing about a sexually immoral man in 1 Corinthians 5:9-10, tells Christians that they are “not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.” Notice how Paul clarifies that we don’t have to avoid relationships with non-believers (who he calls “people of this world”). After all, we can’t influence them if we’re not involved at all.
There is a group of people that Paul warns Christians to avoid. Continuing his discussion on sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 5:11, Paul explains, “But now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of a brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler—not even to eat with such a one.” The people Paul warns us to avoid are Christians who engage in sexual immorality. Why? Because sin left unchecked within a body of believers is like cancer. It spreads and harms those around them (1 Corinthians 5:6-7).
That doesn’t mean we are to end all relationships with Christians who have committed sexual sin. Paul is talking about unrepentant Christians. People who know the biblical standard but thumb their nose at it and continue in the illicit behavior. That’s the context of 1 Corinthians 5.
It does mean that people who claim to be Christian and engage in willful, unrepentant homosexual behavior fall under the jurisdiction of this command. Friends like that can influence us and other believers in negative ways. But this rule applies to any sexual sin, not just homosexuality.
In all other circumstances, there’s no reason to choose between your faith and your friends. Keep them both so you have a chance to be a positive influence in your relationships. That’s the point of being an ambassador for Christ.
Alan Shlemon is a speaker, trainer, and author for Stand to Reason. You’ll find more articles on clear-thinking Christianity at www.str.org and www.strplace.org.
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
Epigenetics and the Image of God
I recently came across an article in the Huffington post that caught my eye. It dealt with genetics and the image of God. To be honest, I was expecting the typical reductionism that seeks to reduce humanity to our genetic information. But I was pleasantly surprised to find something else going on. Here is an excerpt:
“The reality is that recent genetics research has continued to move steadily away from any notion of genetic fatalism, highlighting the sheer complexity of the genome, and providing some fascinating examples of the ways in which our choices impact upon our own genomes. There is no gene “for” any complex human trait because in fact genes encode proteins or other types of information-containing molecules, and thousands of genes collaborate together during human development in interaction with the environment to generate the unique human individual that each person represents….Epigenetics adds further layers of variation and complexity. This refers to the chemical modifications of the DNA that cause genes to be switched on or off. It is such epigenetic modifications that generate the 220 specialized tissues of our bodies.”
Now there are many things to comment on in this article, but let me just make two brief but crucial observations.
First, DNA is not destiny. Dr. Francis Collins (former head of the human genome project) has said as much. Genes don’t tell our whole story–environment and our choices matter. Genetic Fatalism is false.
Second, the mention of Epigenetics is important. There must be something beyond (epi = over) DNA that is doing the work that is programmed with the design-plan or body-plan of organisms. DNA is the paintbrush. But the epigenes (which don’t seem to be a physical substance) serve as the painter. It will be very interesting to watch this field develop. Some sort of organizing principle is necessary to arrange the DNA and turn the genes on and off at the “right” times. In my view, this is yet another example of design at work. Teleology was banished from biology thanks to Charles Darwin. But could these epigenes indicate that there is a design plan after all? Stay tuned…
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
The gospel is never heard in isolation
“The gospel is never heard in isolation. It is always heard against the backdrop of the cultural milieu in which one lives. A person reared in a cultural milieu in which Christianity is still seen as an intellectually viable option will display an openness to the gospel that a person who is secularized will not . . . It is for this reason that Christians who depreciate the value of apologetics because “no one comes to Christ through arguments” are so short sighted. For the value of apologetics extends far beyond one’s immediate evangelistic contact. It is a broader task of Christian apologetics to help create and sustain a cultural milieu in which the gospel can be heard as an intellectually viable option for thinking men and women. It is not implausible that robust apologetics is a necessary ingredient in fostering a milieu in which evangelization can be most effectively pursued in contemporary Western society and those societies increasingly influenced by it.” – William Lane Craig
“…contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints”-Jude 3
Think Christianly with Jonathan Morrow
(Part 3) Answering the Toughest Questions About Homosexuality with Alan Shlemon
This week’s Challenge: “If God made people gay and they don’t have a choice in the matter because they were born with that orientation, then isn’t it unfair that he punishes them for just being who they are?”
I have to agree with pro-gay advocates on this one. Homosexuals are born with an orientation. And it is genetic. This leads to desires that not only feel natural, but are considered sinful by God when acted upon.
But it’s not a sexualorientation. It’s a sinfulorientation. The Bible calls it a sin nature. And everyone is born with it – not just homosexuals.
I was born with that orientation too. As early as I can remember, I always felt that way. It felt natural for me to lie to get myself out of trouble. It seemed normal for me to fantasize about having promiscuous sex with girls. It was easy to think of myself first and others later.
So homosexuals aren’t unique. They’re not the only ones who get to complain they have a proclivity towards behaviors that God deems immoral. It will never be right for me to lie, sleep around, or act selfish. And alcoholics, some of whom are born with a genetic predisposition towards heavy drinking, don’t get off the hook either. Every person on the planet is faced with the choice to act morally despite being born with an orientation to do wrong.
Although we’re born that way, it’s not because of God. It’s a genetic problem that we inherited from our ancestors. So God is the wrong person to blame.
But even though we’re all born that way, God doesn’t punish us for being who we are. We’re punished for our behavior – for acting on our natural orientation. The Bible doesn’t condemn people for experiencing same-sex attractions. It prohibits homosexual behavior. It’s irrelevant whether you feel you’re born that way, you experiment with homosexual sex, or you’re stuck in a prison with no heterosexual outlet. It’s your conduct that matters.
So homosexuals aren’t faced with a unique situation that’s unfair. Everyone is born with an orientation to sin. And it’s a deep, ingrained tendency that’s impossible to resist. It doesn’t go away with therapy or medication. You can’t pray away the orientation.
But God doesn’t leave us helpless. Although He punishes sinful acts – even ones we’re born with a proclivity to commit – He also helps us in two ways. He grants us a pardon and gives us power.
The first is a pardon for our bad behavior. He offers someone else to pay the penalty for our moral crimes. We can accept the pardon and go free or pay the penalty ourselves. It’s our choice. That means a man can live a lifetime of homosexual behavior and still be acquitted. That’s a great offer given God isn’t even responsible for our sinful desires.
The second is power to overcome our proclivity to sin. He does this by replacing our old orientation with a new one. It doesn’t guarantee we’ll have perfect desires (we’ll still experience external temptations and have internal patterns of thought that we’ve habituated), but it does give us the strength to resist them. Many people who have experienced same-sex attractions have also experienced this new power.
These two offers are great, but we have to agree with the stipulations. Since God’s laws have been violated, He decides the terms of the contract. Although the pardon and power are free, they require action on our part. In exchange for our acquittal and a new orientation, God asks for a lifetime of allegiance.
Like living under a monarchy, we become subjects of the King. Except unlike previous kings, Jesus of Nazareth doesn’t just sit on a throne and rule. He also takes our place when the guilty verdict is rendered and the penalty is served. That’s why He deserves our allegiance.
Granted, it’s no small commitment. But given the alternative, it’s understandable why billions of people throughout history have taken God up on His offer of grace. That offer is good for anyone with any orientation.