Conservative Christians, Homosexuals, and Survivor
Dictionary.com defines homophobia as: "Fear of or contempt for lesbians and gay men". Do I see a lot of fear of homosexuals by conservative Christians? No, not really. Do I see a lot of contempt towards homosexuals by conservative Christians? Yes, I do. I don't like it, and I don't think it's right.
Don't get me wrong, I think homosexual activity (that is sex between people of the same gender) is wrong, as is all sex outside of marriage. In addition, marriage according to God can only be between a man and a woman. I don't get worked up about how governments choose to define marriage however, if for secular purposes they want to change their definition of marriage, they can do that. What they can't do is change God's definition. Well, now that that's clear back to the main topic…
An example of this contempt I stumbled across happened while I was watching Survivor (For the record, I don't watch a lot of TV other than sports, this is the only primetime show I watch other than Monday Night Football and also 24 when it's running). Anyways, a friend of mine, who is a fairly typical conservative Christian, sometimes watches Survivor with me. He quickly picked out a person (and from him to his tribe) to root against. Why? It is because the person is an avowed homosexual (my friend simply does not like homosexuals). I know that rooting interests do not have to be logical, but why would my friend root against this person? And not only root against, but to take a lot of pleasure when he struggles and/or fails? Are the other players Christian? If they are, no one has said so. Are the other players more moral (in this game that almost mandates lying and backstabbing)? Probably not, in fact one contestant has lied constantly to hide the fact that he is a former NFL quarterback, whereas this person has presumably refrained from homosexual activity during the show. I think my friend roots against this person because on some level he sees homosexual activity as worse than other sins, and also that it is a sin he has no inclination towards and thus has no sympathy towards those who practice it.
Is homosexual activity a worse sin than others are? I don't think so. I'm not sure what the unforgivable sin is the bible mentions, but it's not homosexual activities. True, some translations have homosexual offenders on a list of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God, but so are thieves, greedy people, drunkards, and slanders amongst others (and the same passage makes clear that many Christians were those things, but that God has saved them from it). Personally, I think that if there is any sin worse than others, it is the sin of pride. This is something that both some militant homosexual activists and some conservative Christians have in common.
Many view homosexuality as I choice, but I'm not so sure. Certainly, homosexual activity is a choice, but to have homosexual desires is not, I believe, always a choice (although one could choose to "feed" those desires, like any other sin). It seems clear that God has created each and every one of us unique, and for whatever reason, we are born with weakness to sin. In keeping with God's unique creations, we have been made with different weaknesses and thus struggle with different sins. There are some who are committed Christians and who believe that homosexual activity is wrong, and yet struggle daily with temptations in that area. On one level, I can't really sympathize with them, as that is not one of my weaknesses. But on another more important level, I can sympathize with those who struggle with homosexuality, for I have many weaknesses and am tempted just as they are.
It's true that churches sometimes function as clubs and that people for don't fit the typical profile for that church feel left out (As a single person I sometimes feel this way). It must be much worse for homosexuals. I think that many conservative Christians think that homosexuals must change their behavior before they can become believers, but that is not the case - we come to Christ as we are and then change, we don't change and then come to Christ.
Some conservative Christians follow the "hate the sin, love the sinner" approach to dealing with homosexuals (and most claim to do so), but in practice many cannot keep the hatred of this particular sin from spilling over into contempt for homosexuals. Does this contempt do homosexuals any good? No, it often pushes homosexuals further from Christianity. Does this contempt do Christians any good? No, it's likely to build pride in those showing contempt and impairs the witness of the church by showing that we cannot love people as we should. Christians are called to love everyone, even our enemies, and so many have contempt for homosexuals, even though they are no more our enemy than any other group of non-Christian people.
I wonder what would happen if we all woke up some day, and everyone treated gluttons the way so many conservative Christians treat homosexuals.
Don't get me wrong, I think homosexual activity (that is sex between people of the same gender) is wrong, as is all sex outside of marriage. In addition, marriage according to God can only be between a man and a woman. I don't get worked up about how governments choose to define marriage however, if for secular purposes they want to change their definition of marriage, they can do that. What they can't do is change God's definition. Well, now that that's clear back to the main topic…
An example of this contempt I stumbled across happened while I was watching Survivor (For the record, I don't watch a lot of TV other than sports, this is the only primetime show I watch other than Monday Night Football and also 24 when it's running). Anyways, a friend of mine, who is a fairly typical conservative Christian, sometimes watches Survivor with me. He quickly picked out a person (and from him to his tribe) to root against. Why? It is because the person is an avowed homosexual (my friend simply does not like homosexuals). I know that rooting interests do not have to be logical, but why would my friend root against this person? And not only root against, but to take a lot of pleasure when he struggles and/or fails? Are the other players Christian? If they are, no one has said so. Are the other players more moral (in this game that almost mandates lying and backstabbing)? Probably not, in fact one contestant has lied constantly to hide the fact that he is a former NFL quarterback, whereas this person has presumably refrained from homosexual activity during the show. I think my friend roots against this person because on some level he sees homosexual activity as worse than other sins, and also that it is a sin he has no inclination towards and thus has no sympathy towards those who practice it.
Is homosexual activity a worse sin than others are? I don't think so. I'm not sure what the unforgivable sin is the bible mentions, but it's not homosexual activities. True, some translations have homosexual offenders on a list of people who will not inherit the kingdom of God, but so are thieves, greedy people, drunkards, and slanders amongst others (and the same passage makes clear that many Christians were those things, but that God has saved them from it). Personally, I think that if there is any sin worse than others, it is the sin of pride. This is something that both some militant homosexual activists and some conservative Christians have in common.
Many view homosexuality as I choice, but I'm not so sure. Certainly, homosexual activity is a choice, but to have homosexual desires is not, I believe, always a choice (although one could choose to "feed" those desires, like any other sin). It seems clear that God has created each and every one of us unique, and for whatever reason, we are born with weakness to sin. In keeping with God's unique creations, we have been made with different weaknesses and thus struggle with different sins. There are some who are committed Christians and who believe that homosexual activity is wrong, and yet struggle daily with temptations in that area. On one level, I can't really sympathize with them, as that is not one of my weaknesses. But on another more important level, I can sympathize with those who struggle with homosexuality, for I have many weaknesses and am tempted just as they are.
It's true that churches sometimes function as clubs and that people for don't fit the typical profile for that church feel left out (As a single person I sometimes feel this way). It must be much worse for homosexuals. I think that many conservative Christians think that homosexuals must change their behavior before they can become believers, but that is not the case - we come to Christ as we are and then change, we don't change and then come to Christ.
Some conservative Christians follow the "hate the sin, love the sinner" approach to dealing with homosexuals (and most claim to do so), but in practice many cannot keep the hatred of this particular sin from spilling over into contempt for homosexuals. Does this contempt do homosexuals any good? No, it often pushes homosexuals further from Christianity. Does this contempt do Christians any good? No, it's likely to build pride in those showing contempt and impairs the witness of the church by showing that we cannot love people as we should. Christians are called to love everyone, even our enemies, and so many have contempt for homosexuals, even though they are no more our enemy than any other group of non-Christian people.
I wonder what would happen if we all woke up some day, and everyone treated gluttons the way so many conservative Christians treat homosexuals.
posted by Freethinker at 1:55:00 PM
1 Comments:
wow i am impressed. as a former lesbian (still dealing with it) and now faithful pentecostal , i think you have really hit the nail on the head.....
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