Sunday, March 09, 2008

Response to Anonymous - Telling the Truth

Anonymous wrote, "How one woman blessed with such a large family can be such a hate monger is beyond me. Jesus never said a word about Gays. And the Bible is just words written by men who hated homosexuals just like you do. The blood of all children who come from gay families is on your hands. These children are bullied, harassed and are more likely to commit suicide than there straight counter parts. This is all your fault..read your bible..God is about love for all his children. Who the h*** do you think you are to say other wise."

Anonymous, I am confused about the accusation that I am hate-mongering. It's also amazing to me that you have jumped from my post that asks Christians to have courage and tell the truth to assuming I am guilty of causing children from homosexual families to commit suicide.

What I wrote was: "And that is why the following article is so timely. We must take courage and stand against this darkness. We must be bold enough to tell our children what the Word of God says about homosexuality and the beautiful plan God has for marriage between one man and one woman.

If we don't say something now, when we are still somewhat free to do so, our children won't be able to even teach these truths in the privacy of their own homes."

My point is that we Christians must be bold enough to stand for what we believe in. The Bible you decry by saying it is just words written by men who hated homosexuals (and then, surprisingly, you demand I should read) is very clear that homosexuality is against God's design. Read Romans, Chapter 1, verses 24 - 27. God speaks about men dishonouring their bodies among themselves, and He calls their acts "shameless". That implies that they ought to be ashamed.

I do not hate homosexuals. I have known some who have chosen this unfortunate path, and I have treated them with the same respect that I use in interactions with anyone. But I will continue to tell them that their choice to practice unseemly acts is sinful, and that they ought to repent.

Would you consider me a hate-monger if I were to tell my child that he ought not to lie about stealing a brownie? Telling the truth is important, and if my child were lying, I would correct him. I would not minimize it so he could feel better about his sinful act.

Homosexuality is sin, plain and simple. So is lying, stealing, murder, covetousness, dishonouring one's parents, and so on. People sin.

And that is why in a couple of weeks we will be remembering that God had to send His Son, His only son, the sinless Christ, to take our punishment upon Himself and die in our place. We who deserved to die were spared, and He who never sinned, not even once, was brutalized and hung, nailed to a cross, in order to redeem us.

This Christ offers salvation to all who will believe. And if you read the Bible, you will find that fornicators and liars and thieves and swindlers and yes, even homosexuals were redeemed from darkness and brought to light by the wonderful mercy and grace of God.

I do not hate. I love. I love God and my neighbour. And I love my neighbour enough to tell him the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts. But it is still the truth.

Imagine a person plunging a knife into the belly of a man. Blood pours out. Pain follows. Now imagine that the person with the knife is a surgeon, and the belly of the man who is bleeding has a cancerous tumour inside. The knife is meant to do the work of saving the man's life.

The truth of the darkness of homosexuality might hurt a person who is trapped in that lifestyle. But that truth is the only thing that gives life. With that truth, he can repent, turn to Christ, and be saved. I would be hateful if I didn't tell the truth.

3 comments:

Bethany Hudson said...

Janet,
First off, I wanted to commend you for your gracious response to such an inflamatory comment. I'm sure that wasn't easy. Also, I have a question for you. When you speak about homosexuality in your post, you seem to refer to the orientation itself as being sinful. I am a Christian myself, and in all the times I have studied this issue, I cannot find a place where Scripture condemns homosexual orientation as wrong, but rather sex acts between people of the same gender. (Matt 19:12 is one of the key verses that has led me to this conviction). Personally, I know a fantastic Christian man who is gay but has never been in a homosexual relationship. His orientation is known only to his family and a few close friends because he is a music minister and does not want to offend members of the congregation who are homophobic. As far as I can discern, his lifestyle is a chaste and godly one--his orientation is homosexual. Does that make sense? Anyway, I was curious if you believe that being gay is wrong or that leading a gay lifestyle is wrong, or both?
God bless,
Bethany

Janet said...

Greetings, Bethany. Thank you for your comment.

I wrote, "Homosexuality is sin, plain and simple. So is lying, stealing, murder, covetousness, dishonouring one's parents, and so on. People sin."

People sin, and they sin because they are sinners. When they do those things they ought not to do, they are violating the law of God.

Perhaps I should have written, "The practice of homosexuality is sin, plain and simple. So is the practice of lying, etc."

I am not saying that a person who is tempted to sin in that particular way is worse than any other sinner, Bethany. We are all sinners, in need of much grace.

However, I have written about this particular sin simply because these particular sinners seem to want everyone to approve of them and the path they have chosen. They are promoting homosexuality in the school system of the USA, and in Canada as well. If we don't agree with them, and we view their practices as sinful, WE are the ones who must be silenced.

Go to www.afa.net to read about the Day of Silence planned for April 25. Many Christians have decided to keep their children home on that day.

So, in answer to your specific question, I would say being "gay" is being a sinner. We all are in the same condition. But we are to be Holy, as God is Holy. We are to be set apart, different from the world. And if we give in to any temptation, we are sinning, and that is wrong. So, if someone considers himself gay, yet resists the urge to act on that, he does well, and God is pleased.

Janet said...

Greetings, Bethany. Thank you for your comment.

I wrote, "Homosexuality is sin, plain and simple. So is lying, stealing, murder, covetousness, dishonouring one's parents, and so on. People sin."

People sin, and they sin because they are sinners. When they do those things they ought not to do, they are violating the law of God.

Perhaps I should have written, "The practice of homosexuality is sin, plain and simple. So is the practice of lying, etc."

I am not saying that a person who is tempted to sin in that particular way is worse than any other sinner, Bethany. We are all sinners, in need of much grace.

However, I have written about this particular sin simply because these particular sinners seem to want everyone to approve of them and the path they have chosen. They are promoting homosexuality in the school system of the USA, and in Canada as well. If we don't agree with them, and we view their practices as sinful, WE are the ones who must be silenced.

Go to www.afa.net to read about the Day of Silence planned for April 25. Many Christians have decided to keep their children home on that day.

So, in answer to your specific question, I would say being "gay" is being a sinner. We all are in the same condition. But we are to be Holy, as God is Holy. We are to be set apart, different from the world. And if we give in to any temptation, we are sinning, and that is wrong. So, if someone considers himself gay, yet resists the urge to act on that, he does well, and God is pleased.