Its been rough days for me. Somehow, not many things have been working well for me lately, I’ve begun to ask why.. And I feel a little disappointed. Well one thing is that no one has been replying my emails, whether it’s sending my resume or asking if help is needed or even just catching up. I can’t seem to get people to reply! Feel quite sad.. Oh well, I did spend one night just praying and asking God why are things so.. And I can only say that He has turned me back to the basics – to desire and want for His presence alone. I honestly think that sometimes, when life is too smooth, you start to expect blessings from God naturally. I think this is a dangerous situation – when we desire God’s blessings more than God himself. Then, life gets good and we forget our state and how we were all meant to be condemned. And when little things get taken away from us, we cry foul and indict Him for being an unjust and cruel God. A little setbacks and rejections are healthy, insofar as they turn us back to our fountain of strength and life. And this is not a case of sour grapes, honest.
Today’s a special day because it’s an epoch in human culture and morality. The U.S. Supreme court has effectively legalized homosexuality in the country! It’s not an exaggeration to say that it’s an epoch. The winds of change are already blowing and gradually, all sails have to follow suit. This has great impact on human culture. Just like how we thought it was so silly for men to have black slaves in the past, or how crazy and outdated it was to have multiple wives, the people of tomorrow will look back and think about how silly humans were to not legalize something as ‘natural’ as same-sex marriage. In fact, they would have thought it logical for it to have come sooner. This is how it is – humans are very influenced by our environment and our culture. Humanity and human culture in general, is growing more and more open, more and more accepting of what man can or cannot do, and less and less accepting of laws and religious doctrine. Is the acceptance of homosexual marriage a cultural phenomenon? In a large part, yes. I think I’m not exactly referring to the absolute number of true-blue homosexuals in the world. To some extent, some people are ‘culturally’ homosexual – they are influenced by culture or their environment. In this regard, the growing number of homosexuals does have a cultural component to it. Meaning because we are more accepting, there are more homosexuals. Now, I refer to whether or not the acceptance of homosexual marriage demonstrates a worldwide cultural change. Yes, for sure it does. The entire discourse on homosexuality has changed dramatically that it would be unthinkable for a normal person with no religious convictions whatsoever to oppose it. As a matter of fact, many Christians whom are not familiar with the details easily pick the more ‘open’ and ‘accepting’ stance. Lastly, many Christians vehemently believe that same-sex marriage is the only natural thing to do in the name of love.
The entire discourse is framed very brilliantly. The subject is love. Love is a romantic ideal, it keeps people dreamy-eyed. It is a great, lofty virtue. It defeats all things. Since the Bible preaches of love, they should be allowed to love too. The other side of the debate tells us about intolerance, and how we as humanity need to grow up and accept people different from us. It’s a very powerful use of ideas and it has effectively conditioned most of society to think in favour of accepting it. Whereas 10 years ago most people had great reservations. For this reason, it is a moral-cultural epoch in human history.
What is the concern? Many. I would think that I take issue with how human culture in general is on a slippery slope. We are de-shaming things and institutionalizing sin – like what John Piper was concerned about here. Christians should not be concerned about whether the government does or does not do according to what the Bible preaches. Rather, Christians should be aware and concerned when the government makes it easier for men to engage in sinful behaviour. Sin brings shame, and this shame has a useful purpose of showing how unholy we are before God. However, when sin becomes a part of natural life that is acceptable in society, this shame is removed. For example, pornography. Pornography is legal in some parts of the world. And it has become an accepted practice for young men. While it may be embarrassing for some, it is not seen as shameful. The result is that people can proudly revel in sin and never feel that they are doing something bad. More importantly, they will not think they are unholy before God.
What exactly should our stand be on homosexuality? I think this has been overlooked time and time again, leading people from both sides of the camp to trade barbed attacks and castigate the other for being intolerant. What does the Bible say? The Bible says the act of homosexuality is a sin. Check out Leviticus 18-20 and other verses like in 1 Timothy 1:8-10. Let’s use the latter as an example, which really, is a very fitting example:
“Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,” 1 Timothy 8-10
The language here is very specific: practice. Meaning people who perform or act out their desires and feelings for the same sex. Are you doomed if you claim to be born this way? Well, not if you choose to act it out. But let’s not pretend as if the sin of homosexual behaviour is any worse than that of other sins. As a result, in this case, legalizing same-sex marriage is just akin to legalizing any of the sins written above.
This post is of course written under my own assumption that the Bible is God’s word and that we should follow His word. It is not relevant at all to a person who rejects the Bible completely. So there might be a random reader who comes along and thinks this ‘religious stuff’ is crap and backward. I wouldn’t respond to that, but I will say here that just as much as all should be tolerant of homosexuals (not the act), they should be tolerant of our right to our own beliefs.
What’s lies ahead to the well-meaning Christian? I can only say this gives us a greater impetus to stay focused on God’s words and be aware of the shifts and changes in culture; it will only be more turbulent. I don’t know what laws will be changed in the future but I can only hazard a guess that society will become a place where people can better act with impunity. Shame and guilt over sins will gradually be erased and it will be a harder – and darker – place for our children to grow up in.
In closing, I echo the sentiments of John Piper. I truly truly feel a sense of loss and slight despair over how things are changing.
“My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law.” Psalm 119:136
Signing off,
Fatpine.
fatpine 