Time to Speak Out

I've had enough. Many of my fellow bloggers lean a tad (or more) libertarian, so they don't seem to find anything wrong with the goings-on in San Fran. I do.

Before I begin, let me assure you I am not some hate-filled homophobe who wants to nuke SF from the face of America. I have studied the Bible all my life, and I am a fundamentalist Christian. So when I have a question, I turn to the Bible. I take the word of God literally and as fact, written by men but inspired by an infallible God. In the Bible we are instructed to love all mankind. Jesus himself said "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. (Mark 2:17)" He said that while he was seated at a table dining with tax collectors and friends of Matthew. In that day, tax collectors were considered some of the most despicable people around since they were Jews robbing other Jews for the hated Romans. And yet He loved them anyway. I try to love the people around me, too. Gay, straight, whatever. OK? OK.

So. With that said, I do have a few thoughts on the recent spate of nearly 3,000 gay "marriages" in SF.

I often hear the argument that the Bible only talks about homosexuality in the Old Testament, and Old Testament is like, so old, man. It doesn't apply, dude. Get with the program, "God is love now." Leaving aside for a moment the fact that the OT is incredibly illuminating to the NT, the NT does in fact deal with homosexuality and other "unnatural relations." From Romans 1:25-28:

25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper

Similarly, 1 Cor 6: 9-10 states:

Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. *

That's pretty clear to me. This also demolishes the outrageous claim that homosexuality is somehow genetic, that "God made them that way." Notice the wording of the passage above: "women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural," and "men abandoned the natural function of the woman." No ambiguity there. For more on that, check out this article.

So, homosexuality is wrong according to both OT and NT. I still don't know how the Episcopal church managed to miss the very clear meaning in those verses. They're pretty explicit.

And don't tell me the Bible isn't relevant today. It's obvious they had their version of Brittany kissing Madonna 2,000 years ago or they wouldn't have those verses in there.

Second point: Marriage is not mankind's creation. Genesis 2:24:

For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.

And Matthew 19:4-6:

4 And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, 5 and said, 'FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH'? 6 "So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate."

That verse is often used in response to another of the scourges of our time, a nearly 50% divorce rate. But it's clear that marriage was created by God, and it is to be between one man and one woman. Again, pretty clear to me.

Then I get the argument that we're a "progressive" society, and the idea that homosexuals shouldn't be married is so "old-fashioned." Well, OK then. Let's let polygamists marry! Let's let sisters marry brothers (and other sisters, too, all at the same time!) Shoot, let that 50 year old guy marry a 12 year old boy. It's all good, right?

What? You say that's crossing the line? What line? Oh, the line established by tradition. I see now. Society dictates tradition, and society changes. The line moves, and there's a problem with that, because while society dictates tradition, it doesn't dictate morality. Morality, the definition of right and wrong, doesn't change. God's rules don't change.

Millions of Californians voted last year to define marriage as a relationship between and a man and a woman. Yet the mayor of SF and many of his lackeys have issued false marriage certificates to thousands of gay couples, many of whom are from other states. This is in clear violation of a law passed by the people of California. The mayor has also sued California, calling the ban on gay marriage "unconstitutional." This of course opens the way for a rogue judge to overturn the will of the people yet again.

If you've made it this far, congratulations. I had to vent, and I hope I've raised some questions or settled some doubts in your mind.

And that's all I have to say about this.

*This list is certainly not complete. Romans 3:23 states "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." We all have need of God. All are sinners, separated from God and in need of his mercy. Christ redeemed us and his gift is freely available to all who accept him.