Last week I wrote a list of points about why Jesus is okay with gay marriage including a verse by Paul in Romans that says “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse!” (Rom 2:1). It’s definitely a post worth checking out for seeing some different arguments about a topic usually stuck on: (Uninformed Christian) “Being gay is wrong.” (Random person) “Why?” (Uninformed Christian) “Because my pastor said so.” (Random person) “Why should I care what he says?” (Uninformed Christian) “Because he’s a pastor, and pastors never ever, ever do anything even an itsy bitsy bit wrong.” Can you tell I was going for sarcasm in that last response?
One of the dumbest things Christians do is claim that God told them to say or believe something as a way to give credibility to their argument, which happens with this topic all the time. I’m not God, but when someone quotes me (which is a great compliment) there is a tendency to use it in ways I never intended. Thus, it stands to reason that we do this with the Bible too, especially when we use a quote to fit our own beliefs rather than to be open to what it’s actually saying. What’s even scarier is it is common practice for Christians, especially from pastors, to claim God has spoke to them through their heart. I believe that God has given me ideas as a way to help and bring glory to Him, but I highly doubt He’s telling anyone to say anything that is hurtful or judgemental when we’re told not to judge (Mat 7:1). Even further, unless it’s edifying for someone, we shouldn’t say an idea is from God because we might be wrong, which can make God look dumb (Wise person) “So you’re saying God’s good with homosexuals, but the other guy says God told him to say ‘death to gays’? Is God bipolar or is He just really terrible at communicating because those are two very difference messages.” On top of this, it can sound very arrogant to claim a message is from God: (person claiming his message is from God) “God chose me and not someone else to tell you this message because I’m more specialer than everyone else.” Besides, to claim something is from God with non Christians is pretty stupid: (Christian) “This is from God.” (Non Christian) “Um, I don’t believe in God so why would I care what you claim He says.” (Christian) “Because I said it’s from God.” (Non Christian) “Yeah, you’re going to need something better than that.”
To add to this way of thinking, pastors will often pray before speaking their opinion like it somehow becomes proof that it’s okay. Unfortunately, God doesn’t zap people with lightning if He doesn’t agree… although that would be awesome! How great would it be Monday morning if people asked how church was and you could say the pastor was preaching and God zapped him with a bolt of lightning because he was preaching something wrong? Instead, pastors just preach whatever they want, which is typically something that will avoid criticism… you know, the opposite of me.
Growing up in a conservative Christian church I was taught people choose to be gay. You know that boy who was often crying because he was constantly mocked for being effeminate? He chose to be that way… riiigggghhhhtttt. Fortunately, despite this foolish teaching, God opened my eyes to my own sin of judgement and condemnation… which I now, ironically, use against ignorant Christian beliefs. My wife was recently recommended to listen to a pastor’s sermon from a very large church in the GTA that claimed being gay was wrong and a true friend will say this. Can you say trigger? Not Tigger from Winnie the Pooh, but ‘trigger’ like when someone says or does something that sets you off. Let me first say that this pastor is obviously doing something right because he has changed lives and helped grow a very strong community of people who have done a lot of good… Now is it okay for me to say his lesson was stupid?
So what does Jesus think about homosexuality? (Pause for dramatic effect) Based on His Gospel accounts, nothing. Homosexuality is such an insignificant topic for Him; He never talks about it whereas love is a constant conversation. So is Jesus okay with being gay? If you don’t agree with any of my points from last week than you should at least remember one of the most powerful stories in the Bible, John 8:1-11. This infamous story led to the phrase ‘draw a line in the sand’ as Jesus wrote in the sand before giving His answer to a question that was meant to be a trap (one answer would break His message of love and forgiveness while the other would break an Old Testament command thereby discrediting Him as an authoritative teacher). After drawing in the sand Jesus said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” (John 8:7b, NLT) In Jewish Law (i.e. the Old Testament), homosexuality, adultery, and bad children are all held in the same category: Stone them. It’s a little harsh compared to our society, especially with the bad children part (Today’s parent) “Spanking is wrong.” (Old Testament parent) “So does that mean you’re against stoning bad children?” But even if Christians don’t believe in homosexuality the bottom line is: “Don’t judge unless you’re without sin.” If you don’t like this story, consider another passage where Jesus explicitly says stop trying to remove a speck in someone else’s eye when there’s a plank in your own (Mat 7:3). Maybe it’s time we Christians stopped focusing on something Jesus never did, and started to worry about correcting our own sinful behavior, and growing in love. Maybe we should stop wanting to throw stones and start offering love because then we can make Christianity relevant again.
May this week point out ways we can love those around us better.
Rev. Chad David, www.ChadDavid.ca, learning to love dumb people