Does God Hate Homosexuals? Series

Thank you for joining for this important topic, provocatively titled, “Does God Hate Homosexuals”? Two forces are colliding in the political and cultural landscape of our day: religious liberty and homosexuality ideology. White House press secretary Sean Spicer said on Thursday that freedom of religion is getting “pushed out in the name of political correctness,” and cited Christian organizations as examples of groups which have been silenced. “Some Americans see religious liberty as code for discrimination,” a reporter asked Spicer at a daily briefing last week. “Can you comment, give us a sense of how the President views this tension?” “I think there is a line. I think people should be able to practice their religion, express their religion, express areas of their faith without reprisal. And I think that pendulum sometimes swings the other way in the name of political correctness.” Sean Spice, White House Press Secretary

Lady Gaga mainly sang the choruses from her hit songs at the Super Bowl’s halftime show but when it came to her 2011 hit, “Born This Way,” she again offered another clear message of acceptance by choosing to sing lyrics from a verse towards the end of the song: “No matter gay, straight, or bi, Lesbian, transgendered life/I'm on the right track baby/I was born to survive.”

Religious Freedom and Homosexual Marriage

In Massachusetts, Catholic Charities was forced to give up its adoption services rather than, against its principles, place children with same-sex couples. In California, a U.S. District Court held that a student’s religious speech against homosexual acts could be banned by his school as injurious remarks that “intrude[s] upon the work of the schools or on the rights of other students.” And again in Massachusetts, a Court of Appeals ruled that a public school may teach children that homosexual relations are morally good despite the objections of parents who disagree.

Which side you take in this matter is a telltale sign of whether you are a conservative or liberal in your ideology. There’s a divide in this nation over homosexuality and you could see it when AIDS first arrived on the American landscape. First, there’s a conservative ideology in this country, and I know a lot about it because evangelical Christians, unfortunately, in many, many cases have bought into conservative ideology that says, “Well, you know, the people who get AIDS have gotten AIDS through homosexuality and through drug abuse, and therefore, we never liked those people anyway, so let them suffer.” That’s the conservative ideology. Oh, it’s never, never put out there in print, but it’s there.

Then there’s a liberal ideology that says, on the one hand, “There is nothing wrong with this behavior, and we need to fight for these folks and really help these people out.” One side sees today’s issue as religious liberty while the other side views it as “pro-discrimination.”

1. Two Forces Collide

There are two big forces that collide when we consider the issue of homosexuality.

1.1 We are not simply addressing an issue, but we are thinking about people we love. Some who have adopted the homosexual lifestyle or have same-sex attraction are our family members, whom we gave great affection for. A parent with an adult homosexual son writes these emotional words: “Many people don’t realize how fragile a gay man can be. [My son’s] strong feelings that he was born gay has not only caused him to feel isolated from any church, but he also now questions the existence of God and refers to the Bible as an ancient text that could have been written by anyone. He doesn’t understand how God could create him with gay feelings yet reject him.” This parent continues: “I almost feel like I’m talking to a stranger, but yet there is a glimmer of that little boy inside who still listens and tries to communicate with me.”

Perhaps today, I may be speaking to someone who feels attraction to people of the same sex. We are glad you are here. Jesus calls on us to show love and kindness to everyone (Luke 6:27). Our goal is to show compassion without compromise. As a conservative, evangelical Christian, I must recognize that many with the church had failed to speak in love on this issue. We’ve been crude and we’ve demonstrated a form of homophobia. Now, when I use the word “homophobia,” or fear of homosexuality, many would think any teaching that considers this attraction and behavior toward people of the same sex as wrong to be a form of homophobia. I’m not using the word in this way. Instead, we (conservative, evangelical Christians) often demonstrate “homophobia” when we fail to discuss these issues with you in love and face to face. Sometimes we’d rather launch verbal drone attacks from the safe enclaves where all agree with us rather than stepping out into the open and speaking to people who were told to fear.