I have noticed a tolerance among the Christian community or rather those who claim to be Christian (I don't know the hearts of these people so they may or may not be saved) towards the sin of homosexuality. I consider it a tolerance brought on by fear of persecution, fear of being labeled as a hater.
Over time I have become aware of people I once knew who have become homosexuals. Some of these people I didn't know that well and some I were really close with...one of them was a girl I dated...gross. All of them have either grown up in a Christian environment or have attended church for a matter of years or both. So, it puzzles me to find this out about them. Add in someone else I went to church with who I knew was gay and the other people I know of who live the lifestyle and it becomes overwhelming...at least for me.
I use to be VERY tolerant of homosexuality. My best friend in college was gay. I didn't know for certain at first, but it was obvious and he told me later. He just happened to go to my church as well, so I know he had heard the Word of God. During college we spent a lot of time together. He was my best friend, I loved him dearly as though he was my brother. For a short time we even shared an apartment together.
During my friendship with him I experienced being around his..."friends"... who of course were gay and as someone who was not into their lifestyle I had my share of annoyances. Most of my friends were normal, and no I'm not going to bother to clarify what normal is for you obnoxious readers, so I had a "well rounded" group to hang out with. For the most part we all respected each others beliefs and preferences, I wouldn't disrespect them and vise versa. I learned a lot about there "culture" (do you have a better word for it?) and I saw my friend deal with relationships, heartbreak, etc. Basically, all this to say I think I have a better understanding of gay people than some bias conservative who never had a gay friend.
Eventually, I cut ties with my friend. I moved away after dealing with his lifestyle for far to long. As I grew older my relationship with God grew, my understanding of the Word of God grew, and I became less and less tolerant of sin.
That brings us to present day. I don't have anymore gay friends. Not because I have purposely avoided them, but because as I have grown closer to Jesus I have found myself surrounded by people who also have a relationship with God....and gay people don't tend to be found there. As my relationship with God grew my intolerance of sin did as well.
As I was saying, I have noticed a certain kind of tolerant attitude towards homosexuality, sometimes it could be an avoidance of condemning the sin for fear of offending the sinner and sometimes it is out right wrong advice like, "God made you this way, don't be afraid to explore who you are." The ladder makes me cringe. (my next blog will tell you why)
I ask myself, "why is this happening?" I think its because people are either afraid to offend people, afraid of being persecuted for having beliefs that don't conform to the world, out right ignorance of the scriptures, and wrong belief. I'm going to tackle each one of these.
Of course you don't want to go out and start shouting at people and picket outside the gay bars and throw rocks at them. That's stupid and would drive them away from God. I am talking about spreading the truth about things out of LOVE. Because you love God and you love the people you are trying to help
God NEVER put the possibility of offending someone over teaching the truth. Jesus offended people all the time. OR don't you remember them CRUCIFYING him????!!! If offending someone is all I have to fear from telling them the truth that could save their eternal lives then I'm going to offend away!
Oh, but wait. If I say something like, "being gay is wrong." then I might be made to look like the bad guy, like I'm spreading hate. The truth is you probably will be persecuted when saying this to people who don't want to hear it. They will say you are spreading hate, but it is hateful for you NOT to try and help someone out of sin....but make sure you are doing it in love.
As for the person who is ignorant of the truth, who actually thinks that because God loves everyone He doesn't care if they are gay...I say to that person, "You do NOT know the Scriptures." Here are a few scriptures on the subject, Genesis 19:1-13 ; Leviticus 18:22 ; 20:13 ; Romans 1:24-27 ; 1 Corinthians 6:9.
In this blog I won't be going over the details of WHY homosexuality is wrong...that's for the next blog.
Over time I have become aware of people I once knew who have become homosexuals. Some of these people I didn't know that well and some I were really close with...one of them was a girl I dated...gross. All of them have either grown up in a Christian environment or have attended church for a matter of years or both. So, it puzzles me to find this out about them. Add in someone else I went to church with who I knew was gay and the other people I know of who live the lifestyle and it becomes overwhelming...at least for me.
I use to be VERY tolerant of homosexuality. My best friend in college was gay. I didn't know for certain at first, but it was obvious and he told me later. He just happened to go to my church as well, so I know he had heard the Word of God. During college we spent a lot of time together. He was my best friend, I loved him dearly as though he was my brother. For a short time we even shared an apartment together.
During my friendship with him I experienced being around his..."friends"... who of course were gay and as someone who was not into their lifestyle I had my share of annoyances. Most of my friends were normal, and no I'm not going to bother to clarify what normal is for you obnoxious readers, so I had a "well rounded" group to hang out with. For the most part we all respected each others beliefs and preferences, I wouldn't disrespect them and vise versa. I learned a lot about there "culture" (do you have a better word for it?) and I saw my friend deal with relationships, heartbreak, etc. Basically, all this to say I think I have a better understanding of gay people than some bias conservative who never had a gay friend.
Eventually, I cut ties with my friend. I moved away after dealing with his lifestyle for far to long. As I grew older my relationship with God grew, my understanding of the Word of God grew, and I became less and less tolerant of sin.
That brings us to present day. I don't have anymore gay friends. Not because I have purposely avoided them, but because as I have grown closer to Jesus I have found myself surrounded by people who also have a relationship with God....and gay people don't tend to be found there. As my relationship with God grew my intolerance of sin did as well.
As I was saying, I have noticed a certain kind of tolerant attitude towards homosexuality, sometimes it could be an avoidance of condemning the sin for fear of offending the sinner and sometimes it is out right wrong advice like, "God made you this way, don't be afraid to explore who you are." The ladder makes me cringe. (my next blog will tell you why)
I ask myself, "why is this happening?" I think its because people are either afraid to offend people, afraid of being persecuted for having beliefs that don't conform to the world, out right ignorance of the scriptures, and wrong belief. I'm going to tackle each one of these.
Of course you don't want to go out and start shouting at people and picket outside the gay bars and throw rocks at them. That's stupid and would drive them away from God. I am talking about spreading the truth about things out of LOVE. Because you love God and you love the people you are trying to help
God NEVER put the possibility of offending someone over teaching the truth. Jesus offended people all the time. OR don't you remember them CRUCIFYING him????!!! If offending someone is all I have to fear from telling them the truth that could save their eternal lives then I'm going to offend away!
Oh, but wait. If I say something like, "being gay is wrong." then I might be made to look like the bad guy, like I'm spreading hate. The truth is you probably will be persecuted when saying this to people who don't want to hear it. They will say you are spreading hate, but it is hateful for you NOT to try and help someone out of sin....but make sure you are doing it in love.
As for the person who is ignorant of the truth, who actually thinks that because God loves everyone He doesn't care if they are gay...I say to that person, "You do NOT know the Scriptures." Here are a few scriptures on the subject, Genesis 19:1-13 ; Leviticus 18:22 ; 20:13 ; Romans 1:24-27 ; 1 Corinthians 6:9.
In this blog I won't be going over the details of WHY homosexuality is wrong...that's for the next blog.
