... Rev. Mel White is a co-founder of the gay advocacy group Soulforce and author of What the Bible Says —And Doesn't Say —About Homosexuality. “There are,” he writes, “millions of gay and lesbian persons who have accepted their sexual orientation as a gift from God and live productive and deeply spiritual lives.”
Homosexual orientation is “a gift from God?” Active gays lead a “deeply spiritual life?” What about all those Bible passages condemning homosexual behavior? Before you start thumbing through your Bible, note what White gives as the final word on this:
“The evidence from science and from the personal experience of gay and lesbian Christians demands that we at least consider whether the passages cited to condemn homosexual behavior should be reconsidered . . .”(Emphasis added.)
From that epistemological peg, the reverend builds his case, starting with a list of Old Testament customs including slavery and polygamy and prohibitions against interracial marriage. Since those offensive practices have faded to black in the shadow of the Cross, so too must censures against homosexuality. After all, White insists, science and personal experience have informed us that “homosexual orientation is as natural as heterosexual orientation.”
(Excerpted from an article by Regis Nicoll , "Being Gay and Christian")
Frank Worthen's Testimony
I had the family background of the majority of homosexual people, absent father, controlling mother. When my father was present, there was no peace, only chaos. I grew up fearful and isolated. At 13 my father died and I lost the chance to ever know him.
My pastor took up the role of father, and he was everything my father was not. He took a great interest in my life, hugged me and instructed the church to help us financially.
One day near my fourteenth birthday, my pastor called me into his office and said: "Frank, you are a homosexual." I had never heard the word, having grown up in a small farm town, but I was sure that it wasn't good. When he explained homosexuality to me, I had the sinking feeling that he was right, he had read me correctly. But, he then went on to say that my homosexuality was a gift from God, that he himself was homosexual and that many of our denominations' pastors were also homosexual. I knew I was different, but I sure didn't want to be different, and this was not good news. I asked God to change me, but I still was attracted to other males. My one hope was that I was just late in developing an interest in the opposite sex and that soon change would occur.
Are bible teachings outmoded or misinterpreted?
... White then unpacks six scriptural passages to show how their homophobic teachings are either outmoded or misinterpreted. White’s exegesis of Romans 1 is a parade example.
In that well-known text, Paul reveals that God abandoned the wicked to “shameful lusts” culminating in “unnatural” same-sex relations. White expends some energy explaining that the people being referenced were not homosexuals, but rather heterosexual pagans who engaged in all sorts of sex, including same-sex acts, as a part of their fertility religion. Thus, this passage is not about the evils of homosexuality as it has been traditionally interpreted; it is about the consequences of ungodliness and behavior that is contrary to our nature.
And since we now “know” that homosexuality is natural and that changing one’s orientation is unnatural, even dangerous, White’s logic makes it sinful for gays to seek a monogamous heterosexual relationship. And the beat goes on.
White’s reasoning is so flawed it’s hard to know where to begin. Not only does he obfuscate the consistent and unambiguous teachings of Scripture, he ignores the plain conclusions from design.
(Excerpted from an article by Regis Nicoll , "Being Gay and Christian")
Is Homosexuality Natural?
... ... From a naturalistic perspective, homosexuality may be natural, but it’s a natural loser. According to Darwin, the “winners” are those with “survival value”—life forms adept at getting their genes into the next generation. Whereas heterosexuals are inherently fertile, homosexuals are inherently sterile. In an ecosphere shaped by natural selection, the fundamental deficiency of homosexuality raises the question, “If homosexuality is 'natural,' how did nature select it?”
The only answer for the naturalist is by way of a mutation that is intrinsically detrimental or, at least, unhelpful in the evolution of the species. Witness that despite millions of years of natural selection, only a few percent of the population are homosexual.
The general revelation of nature is clear: the “form, fit, and features” of a man and woman are complementary to fulfilling a basic function of life that no single individual, or same-sex pair, can—reproduction.
(Excerpted from an article by Regis Nicoll , "Being Gay and Christian")
Can We Divorce the Old Testament from the New?
Establish and accept for yourself that God’s Word is true AS-IS. Do not allow gay theology to divorce the Old testament from the New or the written words of the Apostles from the spoken words of Jesus Christ. This is a good trick, but its no longer working because God is preparing to bring millions of gays and lesbians back to His feet. He has already chosen many of us for this specific purpose and He is waiting for YOU to accept His call.
(Excerpted from an article by Charlene Cothran , Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out
)
Were people born Gay?
Know that we were NOT born this way. This myth was fashioned by the gay establishment as a basis for changing laws in favor of gay rights. Again it works for their purposes, but it is biblically UNTRUE. There is no way that anyone, without an agenda, can come away from the bible with an endorsement by God of the gay lifestyle. Gay theology starts with an agenda [‘Let’s make the bible say gay is O.K.’] in order to arrive at its conclusions, but it is a lie.
(Excerpted from an article by Charlene Cothran , Redeemed! 10 Ways to Get Out of the Gay Life, If You Want Out
)
Link-Zone does not necessarily endorse the views held by contributors, or by authors of linked websites.
This material is provided for your information to assist you in forming your own opinion. It is Link-Zone's hope that you are able to find quality resources that will help you in your research of current issues.
