A Letter to THE Church: Let's Stop The Bullying

Dear Church,

You are dearly loved.  You are precious.  You hold a special place in the plan of God.  For two thousand years you have faithfully shared the faith, passing it down from father to son and mother to daughter.

You are truly awesome.

Yet I write today because I am concerned with where you are headed.  I am concerned with what you are doing to yourself.  The self-inflicting wounds are hurting you; the lifeblood of the church is draining, and you did this to yourself.

And so I write with a simple message to the church:  It is time to stop the bullying.

When did the church decide it was our job to belittle those who differ in opinion?  When did Jesus grant us the authority to degrade others, question their intelligence, and dehumanize all who are opposed to us?

It is time you realize, that I realize, that the enemy is not the progressives (who show us that the gospel matters in this generation) or the fundamentalists (who remind us that there are fundamental convictions of our faith).

Our enemy is not the liberal, who reminds us that it is for freedom we have been set free from the law.

Our enemy is not the conservative, who reminds us that not everything old or traditional is bad.

No, our enemy is not church's political opinion--we need each other.

Our enemy isn't the non-Christians--they remind us that we still have a mission from Jesus to make disciples in his name and authority.

Our enemy isn't the homosexual--they provide an avenue for us to demonstrate grace.

Our enemy isn't the Westboro Baptists--they provide an avenue for us to demonstrate grace.

Our enemy isn't the black church, the white church, the rich church or the poor church.

Our enemy is not any part of the church.

Our enemy isn't even any person.

Our enemy is the dominion of darkness, sin, death, and condemnation that rules in this world.

And we need every group of Christians, with all of our oddities, to unite against it.

So please, dear Church, stop.

Stop trying to take out the Calvinists.

Stop beating up the Baptists.

Stop pitting us against one another.

Let us be the Church.  One Church.

Sincerely,

A concerned member of the Body

Does Sexuality Exist?

It is a question that has been brewing in my mind for some time now.  It is a question that, I believe, goes to the heart of many issues facing the church.

Does sexuality exist?  Is sexuality a natural (read: biological, genetic) aspect of human experience?

This question is crucial because it also leads us to ask one other question:  Is sexuality a cultural construction?

You see, sexuality can be only one; it can only be genetic or cultural.  If sexuality is genetic than the nature of that sexuality will raise questions about how we are created, the depths of depravity, etc.  If sexuality is a cultural construction than it poses questions about how we identify ourselves, understand ourselves as humans, and how we have interpreted what it means to be human.

I do not have nearly enough knowledge to give a comprehensive answer to the question today, but today I would like to start a conversation about the nature of sexuality.  I hope you will join me in considering some of this information, and perhaps we can grow through it.

Changing the Church's Sex Talk

A couple weeks ago I started to share my thoughts about the sex-obsessed nature of the American church.  I had planned on posting more thoughts over the following days, but my life changed dramatically when my first son was born!  Things have been busy and exciting, and I thank you for your patience, but now I want to return to this topic.

Why All The Talk About Sex?

A respected Christian friend posed a great question yesterday.  If you would allow me to paraphrase, he asked:  What is the church's hangup with sex?  Why in the past 100 or so years has the church become increasingly focused on issues of sexual sin, sexual identity, and sexuality in general.

Anyone who spends a great deal of time in the modern Evangelical movement will know that my friend is not wrong in his assessment of our teaching.  Christians, particularly Protestant Christians, seem to be obsessed with talking about sex.  We have books for by the hundreds for keeping our youth remain sexually pure, books for sexual addiction, books for what is permissible sexual activity within a marriage, books that prepare engaged couples for marital sexuality, books on sexuality and politics...I am exhausted just sharing the categories!

So the question today is simple:  Why is the church so focused on sexuality?  This should lead naturally to other questions (is this focus bad?  How can we better address this issue?  What other issues are we ignoring?), but for today we will leave those questions unanswered.

I would like to suggest three reasons the Protestant church finds itself so focused on sex in its teaching:

1. We are still recovering from the Reformation.  You know, when Martin Luther looked the Pope in the eyes and said "Let my people go!"  OK, so that may be a little bit dramatic, but the Reformation changed things.  In responding to the forced celibacy of the Roman Catholic, the Reformation made celibacy out to be a bad thing altogether!  We have made marriage a necessary part of life and spirituality (just ask any single 20 something in your local church), and in so doing have placed a great importance on sexual relationships.  This shift also led to the view that sex is about more than just procreation. This shift from celibacy naturally led to many questions:  what is allowed sexually?  When is it sex?  What is permissible for me?


2. Sexuality is one area where we are genuinely "at odds" with our culture.  It's easy to ignore the areas of sin and philosophy where we agree with our neighboring non-Christians.  Yes, Jesus does say a lot about poverty, judgmental attitudes, and religious hypocrisy, but I agree with my non-Christian friends on many of these issues.  We must be right, so why talk about them?  In reality, this is what I would call our ability to "shift" emphasis in Scripture to what we consider gross sin.  If we look honestly at ourselves, most of us have sin that is tolerable, but others that are gross, unacceptable among God's people.  Sexual sin has become the gross, while sins of gluttony, power, and status are acceptable.

3. Whether intentional or not, we practice a system of "occasional theology."  Personally, I am a big proponent of occasional theology as an alternative to systematic theology.  Most however, practice this without even thinking about it.  What is occasional theology?  Occasional Theology is the practice of addressing theological issues based upon the situation (or occasion) confronting the local congregation.  I would argue that Paul's letter's are great examples of occasional theology.  Bringing this back to the issue, you will  notice that sexuality is flaunted and discussed now more than ever in our culture.  Pornography is bigger business than Hollywood.  Sexual agendas are being tackled by our politicians, trumpeted by our celebrities, and promoted by our athletes.  The church is simply addressing the pressing issues of our day.

This still leaves the question of whether our focus on sex is good or bad, and perhaps we can discuss that tomorrow.

Perhaps there is something that I've missed.  What other factors are contributing to our focus on sex?  Why do church's feel the need to spend so much time and money addressing issues of sexuality?

I hope to hear from you!

Would God Really? (Homosexuality in Biblical Context)

Today's topic may be the one that creates the most tension within our culture. The discussion of homosexuality within the Christian spectrum, in particular, has often created hurt feelings, anger, and a lack of brotherhood and fellowship. Today I will address this issue with three concerns in mind: creating parameters for what "homosexuality" means, examining the biblical evidence concerning homosexuality, and finally providing a brief selection of pathways forward for the church in their stance toward homosexuality. I ask that if you read this, you commit to reading it fairly, within the context of this post (the framework for this post), and please respond in a way that shows gentleness and respect. Due to the seriousness of the topic, I will delete any comment that is rude, abusive, or non-productive--you have been warned).

The Scope of Homosexuality

The dictionary definition of homosexuality is "sexual desire or behavior directed towards a person or people of one's own sex." This is important because this will help us to limit this discussion. The issue of homosexuality has come to include a number of issues that miss the heart of the issue for a Christian. Issues of shared medical information, home purchase, and many others like it are important issues, but not central to the debate that has grown within Christianity over the past 40+ years.

The issue at stake for us, as Christians, is simply this: What does the Bible teach about sexual desire and sexual relations between members of the same gender? That is the scope of this blog post. Remember, for the Christian, this is not a matter of our comfort with same-sex sexuality, rather it is a part of our attempt to understand how our lives should fit into the rule of God that he has promised is coming into the world. We seek not our own agenda, but only that we would become obedient and submissive to God's design and plan for our world. With the definition in place, let's look to the Bible!

The Biblical Doctrine of Homosexuality

There are two key words to understand that deal with the issue of homosexuality in the Bible (I will focus on the NT because that is where my language skills and knowledge are primarily rooted). The words are "malakos" (GK μαλακος) and "arsenokoites" (GK αρσενοκοιτες). Let's look at each word, discuss how each is used, and then look at one other important passage of note.

The word malakos literally means "soft" or "soft skinned." It is used primarily to refer to young boys (before their skin was calloused by hard work) that were sometimes kept for sexual relations. This is a practice that most in our culture consider detestable, and is illegal for good reason. We use the term molestation to describe this type of activity. The Bible uses this term referring to this practice once (1 Corinthians 6:9) and it is clear that this activity is not acceptable in God's kingdom. It is important to note that, while condemning this practice, Paul also condemns drunkards, greedy people, and fornicators of all kinds. In other words, this is sin. The interesting thing is that verse 11 points us to the beauty of the gospel, but that will wait until our final section.

The second word, arsenokoites, is found infrequently in Scripture as well. It is literally a compound word that means "one who beds a man." This is a clear reference to homosexuality as we would define it. So what does our holy book say about these men? The same thing it says in the last section of the molester and greedy person. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:9 is one of the only passages to use this word as well! Homosexuality--sexual relationships with people of the same gender is sin. This is perfectly clear. Once again, however, we must await the end of Paul's thought in verse 11--keep waiting, it is coming!

There is one other key passage that we must remember as we continue this discussion: Romans 1. Romans 1 speaks clearly that, due to men's rejection of God, the world became warped. It became so warped that people think and do wrong without thinking it is wrong. What type of wrongs? This passage mentions those who are envious, disobedient toward parents, faithless, ruthless, gossips, slanderers, and many more. The passage does give the most time discussing sexual sin, and particularly homosexual activity. The passage declares it is sin because it is "unnatural." Biblically speaking, unnatural has to do with how God made the world, not carnal desire. Our desires, which to us are natural phenomena, are all affected by the sin that has warped the world. Once again, the verse tells us that sexual relationships between those of the same gender is sin.

The Rest of the Biblical Doctrine

Sadly, many Christians cease their discussion of homosexuality in Scripture with the points mentioned above--it is sin, sin, sin. Yes, it is sin. So what does that mean for us as Christians trying to live among those engaged in homosexuality? The two passages that have been discussed point to two keys to the Christian responding to homosexuality in a godly fashion.

First, Romans 1 flows directly into chapter 2 (No Duh!) Chapter 1 concludes by talking about how sinful the world has become. Chapter 2 then points to the Christians and says quite strongly: "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that god's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth."

We are not allowed to judge! We have no right to send anyone to hell. We have no right to condemn someone else because we ourselves have been on death row! God judges. He makes the call. Also, this does not mean that we cannot call homosexuality a sin--at that point we are simply speaking the truth of Scripture. However, speaking truth and attacking another person are different things entirely.

Second, we turn to 1 Corinthians 6 again (focus on verse 11 this time). Homosexuality is sin, as well as many other things, and then we hit verse 11, which is so important that I am going to make it bigger:

And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Once again, we are brought to a marvelous truth! This passage isn't meant as a weapon to sling in judgment, but a reminder of grace! We were those sinners! We have made those mistakes, and our transformation into something new is not anything short of the miraculous grace of God Almighty! Our hope was in Christ, and those currently still in sin have hope only by the gospel truth of grace!

This is so crucial to realize: The Christian response to a sinful people is not judgment, but the gospel. The GOOD news. We must realize that we have the urgent responsibility of showing the one true hope, not of condemning.

So what do we do?

How do we make it practical? Great question! If, like me, you believe that homosexuality is a sin, and you believe that the only hope for all sinful people is the grace of God through Jesus Christ, then I have four suggestions for you:

1. Make it personal not political. This is hard for us to do, but I think we need to realize that the fight to legislate, either for or against homosexual rights, is missing the point that Jesus makes. We need to seek personal relationships with those practicing homosexuality. It is in the midst of relationships that we can guide them toward God's grace, and allow them to choose for themselves what to do with the gift he has given them.
2. Be careful with our words. Words can't be taken back. Words can hurt and sting. We need to learn to not say things, joking or serious, without carefully thinking about how it will affect our testimony to the world.
3. Pray for our hearts. The truth is, most Christians like myself still struggle with some form of sin or another. We have been saved by Christ, but we are not yet perfectly conformed to God's design for our lives. We need to pray often that we would look more like Christ. After all, how can we point out someone else's struggles if we are doing nothing to work on our own?
4. Readjust our focus. Homosexuality is an important discussion. However, if we really want to see people coming to know Christ, we need to focus on the issues that Christ focused on in his ministry. Perhaps we need to improve marriages and family life within the church, work on serving with Christ's compassion, and creating the type of community that the early church established.

These things are not an exhaustive list, and this blog post is merely a foundation. It is merely a re-examination of the bedrock of our faith, making sure we are actually reading what it says, and not just assuming we know.

What do you think? How can we be true to Scripture completely? How can we speak truth about sin and do so without judging? How do we effectively proclaim good news to those who are lost in sin?

Would God Really?

The title of this post is in my opinion the most dangerous question we can ask.

Would God really?

Would God really condemn homosexuality?

Would God really send people to hell?

Would God really create man and woman with different roles?

Would he?

I have a major issue with this type of language. Let me explain the danger of this little phrase.

First, this phrase expresses a secret atheism. I believe that among many modern Christians a moderated atheism has become an acceptable norm. This strand of atheism expresses itself by creating for oneself a form of godliness that fits the cultural norms that we have established for ourselves. In other words, we suggest that if our God doesn't believe exactly as we do, he must not be much of a God. This is the crux of secret atheism. We don't really believe in a God that is beyond our scope, our mind, our capability. We only want the religious experience and the peace it brings. In other words, we desire the peace found in the gospel without the God who brings the gospel.

Second, when we pose the question "Would God really?" we are suffering from cultural elitism. Think about this for a second. The Middle Ages (and much of the religious right) struggle with the question of whether God would really call us to a life of peace. When we assume that God couldn't condemn certain lifestyles, certain supposed victimless crimes, what we really assume is that our current culture understands the ultimate direction required for societal perfection. This is the same elitist mindset that declared the earth was flat. We cannot trust ourselves as the ultimate standard of the universe, of God's creation, or of God's design for human life.

Third, what we are really saying when we say "would God really" is something more like this: This is so far removed from my understanding that I refuse to acknowledge God if he works this way. In other words, we again want to place God in a box we can understand.

If God really created everything (think about that for a minute: everything!), can't we expect him to have a little different viewpoint on the world than we do? Can't we expect that God says things, does things, teaches things, and commands things that just plain don't make sense to us?

This week, I will look at several issues where God says things that go against our cultural senses. I am going to try to be fair with biblical texts, even when they make me squirm (and some issues that come up in the Bible really do make me uncomfortable). I ask you to join me, challenge yourself to take God's word seriously.

Perhaps he will make you uncomfortable. It may scare you. But transformation is always difficult, it always hurts. If we are truly Christian, if we are truly followers of God, than we must allow Him to transform us through His word. Imagine if a caterpillar never became a butterfly because if feared the transformation within the chrysalis. The beauty God intended for it would be missed altogether. Join me, and perhaps we can transform ourselves into something better entirely: Faithful People.

Topics:
Wednesday: Gender Roles
Thursday: Peacefulness
Friday: Unity
Monday: Homosexuality
Tuesday: Eternal Judgment
Wednesday: Redemption

I look forward to some good conversations!