Note the disdain in the title. I'm not sure I want to do this.
It's really not out of the ordinary that something like what Phil Robertson said would be said. I'm not surprised at all, it gets said all the time. In fact, I don't even need to quote it here, you've heard it before.
Homosexuality is a sin, what's next, beastiality, plural marriage, etc.?
First of all, I'd like to point out that pissing someone off with a bad argument is a really bad way to start.
"Hey, what you're doing, that's just like copulating with a dog."
That's just rude. It should never happen unless the person is actually copulating with a dog or other non-human creature. What are your motivations here? Are you trying to be friends with this person? Failing. Are you trying to convince them of the error of their ways? Failing. Trying to demonstrate what Jesus would do? Epic failing.
Homosexuality is a sin according to the most direct reading of the Bible, but what's the point in pointing it out? Are you gay? Chances are pretty good you're not. I'm not. None of my close friends are. What's the point of shouting it from the rooftops then?
A major purpose in my life, if not what should be the major purpose is to advance the Kingdom of God. This blog is entitled "The Transition Government." That's one thing it means. But God's government doesn't work the same way human governments work. His battles don't work the way human battles work. He works from the inside. In human fights, you want to have more and stronger and better equipped warriors on your side, be they politicians, voters, or actual warriors. But God doesn't even need warriors. There have been many people who have come to faith in Jesus without even needing another human being to convince them. Our fight is not with flesh and blood. Our purpose is not winning elections and changing laws. Man looks upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart and the heart is where he works.
The real sadness for me in all of this is the fact that the culture sees Christians as "hung up on sex." Similarly, the rest of the world sees American Christians as "hung up on Hell." The continued harping on homosexuality (applies to a tiny percentage of the population) serves only to drive the culture further away. At the same time, we are not publicly living up to what the culture rightly expects of us in loving our neighbors, praying for our enemies, and serving the poor. The 'rightness' of our position and the 'wrongness' of others' is a barrier to evangelism. I read the New Testament and I see that virtually everyone was missing the mark sexually, it was expected. It should be expected even today rather than excuse to point out someone else's sin while ignoring our own. I have not conquered homosexuality (in that I have never struggled with it), who am I to point out the same sin in someone else?
Furthermore, it is not my job as a follower of Jesus to point out anyone's sin but my own. You meet Jesus first. One does not get told off into the Kingdom. That's the equivalent of what is happening when someone goes out in public and harps on sin. You're telling someone off and expecting it to ultimately be a positive experience for them. How small minded and short sighted!
I want to introduce people to Jesus first. It's his job to work on their sin, it's his job to show them where they're missing the mark. Because homosexuality is a sin, but so is lust, and gluttony, and ignoring the plight of the poor, and greed, and ignoring your family, and not doing what the Holy Spirit tells you, and these are all sins that I have committed but no one is pointing them out. Pointing out homosexuality publicly is akin to picking on a minority, picking on the small kid in class. And I know what that's like. It's not something Jesus would do. In public, Jesus picked on religious people.
It's really not out of the ordinary that something like what Phil Robertson said would be said. I'm not surprised at all, it gets said all the time. In fact, I don't even need to quote it here, you've heard it before.
Homosexuality is a sin, what's next, beastiality, plural marriage, etc.?
First of all, I'd like to point out that pissing someone off with a bad argument is a really bad way to start.
"Hey, what you're doing, that's just like copulating with a dog."
That's just rude. It should never happen unless the person is actually copulating with a dog or other non-human creature. What are your motivations here? Are you trying to be friends with this person? Failing. Are you trying to convince them of the error of their ways? Failing. Trying to demonstrate what Jesus would do? Epic failing.
Homosexuality is a sin according to the most direct reading of the Bible, but what's the point in pointing it out? Are you gay? Chances are pretty good you're not. I'm not. None of my close friends are. What's the point of shouting it from the rooftops then?
A major purpose in my life, if not what should be the major purpose is to advance the Kingdom of God. This blog is entitled "The Transition Government." That's one thing it means. But God's government doesn't work the same way human governments work. His battles don't work the way human battles work. He works from the inside. In human fights, you want to have more and stronger and better equipped warriors on your side, be they politicians, voters, or actual warriors. But God doesn't even need warriors. There have been many people who have come to faith in Jesus without even needing another human being to convince them. Our fight is not with flesh and blood. Our purpose is not winning elections and changing laws. Man looks upon the outward appearance, but God looks upon the heart and the heart is where he works.
The real sadness for me in all of this is the fact that the culture sees Christians as "hung up on sex." Similarly, the rest of the world sees American Christians as "hung up on Hell." The continued harping on homosexuality (applies to a tiny percentage of the population) serves only to drive the culture further away. At the same time, we are not publicly living up to what the culture rightly expects of us in loving our neighbors, praying for our enemies, and serving the poor. The 'rightness' of our position and the 'wrongness' of others' is a barrier to evangelism. I read the New Testament and I see that virtually everyone was missing the mark sexually, it was expected. It should be expected even today rather than excuse to point out someone else's sin while ignoring our own. I have not conquered homosexuality (in that I have never struggled with it), who am I to point out the same sin in someone else?
Furthermore, it is not my job as a follower of Jesus to point out anyone's sin but my own. You meet Jesus first. One does not get told off into the Kingdom. That's the equivalent of what is happening when someone goes out in public and harps on sin. You're telling someone off and expecting it to ultimately be a positive experience for them. How small minded and short sighted!
I want to introduce people to Jesus first. It's his job to work on their sin, it's his job to show them where they're missing the mark. Because homosexuality is a sin, but so is lust, and gluttony, and ignoring the plight of the poor, and greed, and ignoring your family, and not doing what the Holy Spirit tells you, and these are all sins that I have committed but no one is pointing them out. Pointing out homosexuality publicly is akin to picking on a minority, picking on the small kid in class. And I know what that's like. It's not something Jesus would do. In public, Jesus picked on religious people.
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