Great resources to help Christians regarding homosexuality

Okay, this post is going to take you some time to get through. Sorry about that. But, if you're a Christian, you may be well-served by spending time with it.

A big 'ol hat tip to Paul McCain for bringing these two articles to my attention regarding President Obama's "historic" acceptance of gay marriage.

The first, from Pastor Philip Hoppe, talks about the process the President used to find himself in the pro-gay-marriage camp, specifically relational ministry, as opposed to actually reading and studying the Bible, of which President Obama, on one hand, says he believes but, on the other hand, completely nullifies when he pushes Jesus to the side (read or listen to the President's words - he does exactly that). A taste:

Obama become Pro-Gay marriage relationally. And he is not alone. I would suggest that everyone who does not come to this position by virtue of personally embracing homosexuality as their own sexual identity comes to this position relationally. They know someone who claims homosexuality as their identity and cannot bear to stand in opposition to them.

And I do not wish to minimize this struggle for a moment. It is a dark and torturous place for anyone to be. I have experienced it personally though not as closely as many of you may have. But the fact that it is hard to stand in opposition to those we love does not make it okay to not do so.

The second article is from Pastor Ed Stetzer who speaks on how Christians can respond to what is going on in America, especially after President Obama's public stance. Attitude matters, but truth matters as well. A taste:

The culture sees this as a "justice" issue-- Christians discriminating on the basis of immutable characteristics.
Christians have always believed and taught that God's standard and intent is a man, a woman, a marriage, and a lifetime. To us, that just makes sense, and it seems clear in the scriptures. But to an increasing number in our culture, this is simply discrimination. President Obama clearly justifies his reason for supporting gay marriage because of the Golden Rule-- the idea that we should treat others justly, as we would want to be treated. So, we should not be shocked at their response. Many people believe that we are discriminating against other people by restricting marriage from gay couples-- much like keeping black people out of a certain section of a restaurant. They see that as unjust and see us as bigots.

Also, a timely and poignant video from Rev. Fisk on why the Bible is totally wrong about everything, or why we can claim that homosexuality is a sin but wearing clothing with multiple types of threads is okay (ad hominem attacks also confuse the issue). Give it the full 20 minutes if you can:




Christians need to begin to respond better to the issue of homosexuality as well as all sins (e.g. divorce, premarital sex, pornography, hatred, murder, blasphemy, gluttony, etc.), not because we want to force our beliefs down other people's throats, not because we want to force them to believe what we do, but because God's Word demands we do take a stand for what He says is true and right and salutary, whether Truth offends people or not.

As we Lutherans preach, teach, and confess, there is no sin Jesus didn't die for, and there is no sin that isn't forgiven in Jesus Christ. But our duty as God's people is to call out repentance, and not only repentance but the forgiveness of sins with it. To everyone. To the whole world. To gay people. To straight people. To Christian people. To President Obama. To. All. People. For the glory of God the Father in Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit.