I read this comment on a blog yesterday and it stopped me dead in my tracks.
Maybe we’re more homophobic than we are biblical in our view of sin.
Wow.
This comment was in response to a post about a man being fired from a church for admitting his struggle with homosexuality. Here is the first post that started it off, the response post from the author, and a follow-up post that features a video response by an authority on the topic.
About the quote: I believe it touches on a deep truth found in the church.
Church leaders are held to a higher than average standard – it just comes with the territory. However, it seems that those in the church, including those in leadership, tend to prioritize sin. The problem and danger in a prioritization of sin is that as Scripture says, we have all fallen short of the glory of God. We all require grace. We all need the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross. That’s why it’s referred to as the good news.
So when we try to take a sin and make it the sin, we are creating a culture where my sins aren’t as bad as your sins, and our sins aren’t as bad as their sins. This is rooted in two things, both destructive: pride and fear.
Pride because we don’t want to admit our sins, failures and shortcomings. Surely God understands what I am struggling with, and knows my heart – but that guy, he just needs to straighten up.
Fear because our sin separates us from Christ just as much as the next guy, and admitting that sin, and waiting for the judgment of others, makes you feel like you just strolled into class on the first day of school in your underwear.
I pray that we can be reminded to lay down our pride and fear, and seek the reconciliation and restoration found in Christ.
Yes, I agree that mainstream Christianity is more homophobic than Biblical because of the way that political Christians make banning gay people from having the same rights as everyone else in society issue #1.
You can find political Christians protesting at state capitals and trying to ban gay people from various legal rights all over the country.
I dont remember Jesus going around trying to pass laws against people or trying to take away their legal rights.
Sure, Jesus told the prostitute “go and sin no more.” But he DID NOT tell all of his followers to organize and pass laws against her.
The way that Christians TREAT homosexuality shows that personal bias is involved. Personal discomfort, personal ignorance (not understanding), and personal judgement. I believe that same personal bias is also why they interpret the Bible the way they do.
I just realized what I was trying to say above:
You can't persecute someone politically, then turn around and tell them you love them religiously…
Not to the point that they will believe you.
So, what does “struggling” mean? Does that solely mean (a church leader is) “tempted by” or does that imply “acting upon?” If your answer is the latter especially, does the same view hold true for you for someone “struggling” with molesting children (especially as it applies to church leadership)?
Steven, I love how you put that. You can't persecute someone politically and then turn around and say that you love them religiously. Jesus becomes an afterthought, or worse yet, a justification to act un-Christ-like.
Stephen, I would say the “tempted by” vs “acting upon differentiation is huge. I believe that the “acting upon” is what takes a struggle and turns it into a sin. Make sense?
No, because Jesus said if you do it in your heart, it's already a sin. Not that I believe either is a sin, or that sin is a valid concept in general, but for the sake of argument…
Liking the name theme in here, btw.
First off, how great that we have a Stephen, Steven and Steve.
Steve, when Jesus made the comment about the sin occurring at time of thought rather than action, he was speaking to a group who claimed superiority by their devout observance of the law. The great thing about Jesus is that he makes the point that it is about the heart, not how good we are. And we are all in need of grace, because none of us are good enough on our own. The same point can be made to someone who is struggling against sin – it is a matter of the heart – it isn't about obeying rules or doing the right thing all the time, but receiving the gift of grace in our brokenness.
I've seen leaders who fell into adultry sort of benched for a while and put through a recovery program. This poor bro is probably what they would call collateral damage. It'll reenforce the wrong lessons–to dissemble, to hide. Hopefully he won't be driven into the arms of some fellowship that “affirms people in their gender preference”. What a dillema. One side tells him to come out and the other side tells him to get out.
I've seen leaders who fell into adultry sort of benched for a while and put through a recovery program. This poor bro is probably what they would call collateral damage. It'll reenforce the wrong lessons–to dissemble, to hide. Hopefully he won't be driven into the arms of some fellowship that “affirms people in their gender preference”. What a dillema. One side tells him to come out and the other side tells him to get out.
[...] at least, it is a stretch for Christians to treat homosexuality as anything other than a sin. The danger I see in most Christian’s approach to homosexuality is that it become the sexual sin instead of a [...]