Pope: Non-Heterosexual Behavior Destroys God's Work

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Jennifer Gold
Christian Today Reporter
Tue, Dec. 23 2008 04:06 PM EST

Saving mankind from homosexual and transsexual behavior is just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction, said Pope Benedict on Monday.

In an end-of-year address to Vatican officials, the Pope said the Catholic Church “should also protect man from the destruction of himself.”

A “sort of ecology of man is needed,” he said.

The Catholic Church strongly opposes homosexual relationships and same-sex unions.

“The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less,” he said in the address, which was later released to the media.

In an attack on transsexuals, the Pope said, “It is not man who decides who is a man or woman but God.”

Non-heterosexual behavior was “a destruction of God’s work,” he said, adding that humanity needed to “listen to the language of creation” to properly define the roles of man and woman.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Pastor Rick Warren Clarifies Position on Homosexuals, Marriage

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 23 2008 08:39 PM EST

Evangelical Pastor Rick Warren believes America is being destroyed by "the demonization of differences" and the media is to blame.

"[T]he media often fans controversy and conflict to create a story and we start yelling at each other so much, nobody listens to each other anymore," Warren said in a lengthy video message, posted Monday, addressed to members of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, Calif.

As the media creates or fuels conflict, it's creating more polarization and causing people to be more rude and inflamed, the renowned pastor said.

Warren also blamed bloggers for contributing to the polarization of the country and said one of his three life goals is to restore civility to civilization.

The evangelical pastor posted his comments on his "News & Views" blog page to address concerns and questions raised by his congregants.

In recent weeks, Warren has been inundated with criticism from evangelicals as well as gay-rights groups after he accepted the invitation to deliver the invocation at President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration in January. Obama has also been blasted for his selection of the evangelical pastor for such a significant role.

But while countless reports have covered the controversy around homosexuality – Warren supported Proposition 8, protecting the traditional definition of marriage – the Saddleback pastor says the media has totally missed the real story.

"The fact that an evangelical pastor believes in keeping the historic definition of marriage – that's not news ... it's a non-story. And the fact that the gay community would disagree with me, that's not news either," he said in the video.

"What's the real story?" he posed.

"The real story is that a couple of different American leaders have chosen to model civility for the rest of the nation and that Barack Obama and Rick Warren have decided to try to create a new politic that says 'we can disagree without being disagreeable; we can walk hand in hand without seeing eye to eye; we can have unity in our nation without uniformity; and we can have collaboration for the best of America.'"

Although both Warren and Obama are receiving flak, they're both "willing to be criticized in order to try to bring America into a new day of civil discourse and to create a new model that says 'you don't have to agree only with your side on everything; you can reach out in the middle and try to figure out to have a way that we can make America a better place without having to agree on everything," Warren stressed.

"See, that's the story that the media's missing. It's the story of risk-taking."

In the video message, Warren also clarified what he really believes about gay marriage as he responded to questions raised by his congregants.

"My views have not changed in 30 years ... I have been accused of equating gay partnerships with incest and pedophilia. Now, of course, as members of Saddleback Church, you know I believe no such thing. I never have," he said, as he cleared up false accusations and clarified comments he made in a recent interview with Beliefnet.com.

"...I'm not opposed to gays having their partnerships. I'm opposed to gays using the term 'marriage' for their relationship and I'm opposed to any redefinition of the definition of marriage – the definition of marriage that's been universally accepted since the beginning of man," he said.
He also stated, "Now gay partnerships are typically between consenting adults. And while I believe that the gay view of sexuality is contrary to God's word, I do believe that God gives us free choice and He gives us the choice to obey His word or to disobey it.

"Because of that, I believe I must give everybody else that same freedom of choice. I'm opposed in forcing people to act the way I believe that I ought to act. That's not what it's about. It's what I believe God wants me to act and it's the way I believe God wants other people to act but God has given me the choice."

He continued, "Now I believe that God says I must love everybody. You've heard me say that a thousand times. I have to love everybody regardless of the choice they make. In fact, I am never ever free to hate any person."

"Not only God, but America gives us this great freedom to make choices," Warren added. "And so I simply believe that while we're all free to make choices, I think gays should use another term for their consenting adult relationship and partnership. I oppose the redefinition of the meaning of marriage. I hope that's clear."

And in terms how he will deal with the incessant verbal attacks, false accusations and hateful slander, Warren said, "We return good for evil. We return love for hate. We overcome evil with good. We will love and ... we will pray."

On the Web: Rick Warren video message

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Pope Benedict On Marriage

In line with at least 6000 years of human history, Pope Benedict confirms God’s plan for men and women, vis-à-vis sex and marriage.

VATICAN CITY [Reuters]: Pope Benedict said Monday that saving humanity from homosexual or transsexual behaviour was just as important as saving the rainforest from destruction.

The Church "should also protect man from the destruction of himself. A sort of ecology of man is needed," the pontiff said in a holiday address to the Curia, the Vatican's central administration.

"The tropical forests do deserve our protection. But man, as a creature, does not deserve any less."

The Catholic Church teaches that while homosexuality is not sinful, homosexual acts are. It opposes gay marriage and, in October, a leading Vatican official called homosexuality "a deviation, an irregularity, a wound."

The pope said humanity needed to "listen to the language of creation" to understand the intended roles of man and woman. He compared behavior beyond traditional heterosexual relations as "a destruction of God's work."

(More...)

The Gods of Liberalism are Ancient

J. Matt Barber's column today at CNS News points out a spiritual truth about liberalism.

He mentions a sermon he heard a few weeks ago at Rivermont Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg, VA by Pastor John Mabray:

In his sermon, Pastor Mabray illustrated that, although they've now assumed a more contemporary flair, the fundamentals of Baal worship remain alive and well today. The principal pillars of Baalism were child sacrifice, sexual immorality (both heterosexual and homosexual) and pantheism (reverence of creation over the Creator).

Ritualistic Baal worship, in sum, looked a little like this: Adults would gather around the altar of Baal. Infants would then be burned alive as a sacrificial offering to the deity.

Amid horrific screams and the stench of charred human flesh, congregants – men and women alike – would engage in bisexual orgies. The ritual of convenience was intended to produce economic prosperity by prompting Baal to bring rain for the fertility of "mother earth."

To revisit the key point I bold-typed above, modern liberalism and ancient paganism are strikingly similar in their practice of child sacrifice, sexual license and reverence of creation over the Creator.

These are some points I know Pastor Steve Hickey at Voices Carry has preached and taught on before.

And, as Barber points out, the ancient gods are in ascension in America right now:

Nonetheless, the aforementioned pillars of postmodern Baalism – abortion, sexual relativism and radical environmentalism – will almost certainly make rapid headway over the next four to eight years, with or without help from the Christian left. The gods of liberalism have a new high priest in Barack Obama, and enjoy many devout followers in the Democratic-controlled Congress, liberal media and halls of academia.

There is indeed nothing new under the sun. The human race keeps doing the same old stupid thing and repeating the same old sins.

Which points out another area where liberalism is dead wrong: we aren't evolving up morally any more than we are evolving up biologically.

Dakota Voice AIDS Poll Closed

The last week's Dakota Voice poll question is now closed. It was:

According to the CDC, what is the largest source of AIDS transmission?

Here's how the answers came out:

- Homosexual contact & injected drug use (48%)
- Injected drug use (16%)
- High-risk heterosexual contact (15%)
- Homosexual contact (13%)
- Other (6%)

Only 13% got the answer correct. The answer was simple to find, and I even mentioned the source in the question. Like many things concerning homosexuality, perhaps many respondents thought that wishful thinking could equate to reality. Sadly, it does not.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the estimated number of AIDS cases for 2006 are

Male-to-male sexual contact 49.64%
Injection drug use 13.44%
Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use 3.35%
High-risk heterosexual contact 32.93%
Other 0.63%

It is important to note that while homosexuals account for only 2.9% of the population, homosexual activity is connected with more than 50% of AIDS cases.

AIDS transmission rates are very low for female homosexuals due to the limited fluid transfer and lesser opportunity for tissue damage during sexual encounters.

When only male homosexual AIDS transmission numbers, the health risk becomes even more stark:

Male-to-male sexual contact 67%
Injection drug use 12%
Male-to-male sexual contact and injection drug use 5%
High-risk heterosexual contact 16%
Other 0%

Again, it should be noted that while all homosexuals account for only 2.9% of the population, male homosexual activity is connected with 72% of male AIDS cases.

If 72% of male lung cancer cases were connected to eating Twinkies, how quickly would we see health warnings plastered across every media outlet in the country?

If 72% of male heart attack cases were connected to green apples, how quickly would we see a major campaign from government health services warning people not to eat green apples?

Yet with a politically correct and politically favored sexual practice, we only hear the crickets chirping. In fact, we not only see an absence of health warnings about the dangers of homosexual behavior, we see an aggressive campaign by Hollywood, the news media, and many in government demanding the public accept this behavior as normal, natural and healthy.

In addition to drastically high AIDS transmission rates, the homosexual community has high rates of gonorrhea, herpes, Chlamydia, syphilis, HPV, hepatitis, anal cancer, depression, substance abuse, suicide and domestic violence.

Our culture has gone insane. Meanwhile, people are getting sick and dying. People are hurting physically, mentally and emotionally.

We simply must stop this politically correct hate of homosexuals that allows them to place their bodies and souls in jeopardy because we such cowards that we can't bear the though of being criticized.

People (and cultures) caught up in destructive behavior must end the denial to get better. And our culture is engaged in one of the biggest cases of denial in human history.

Do we have the courage to quit fooling ourselves and change?

Rick Warren on Responsibility for Homosexual Behavior

Pastor Rick Warren has sometimes gotten a little cozier with some bad elements (e.g. terrorist sympathizers, abortion and homosexual apologists) than I care for, but he seems to be redeeming himself lately, even though President-elect Barack Obama has invited Warren to say a prayer at his inauguration (that alone would make a person of character wonder).

Newsbusters highlights one of those things that's restoring my trust in Warren.

In an interview with uber-liberal and Queen of Political Correctness Ann Curry, Curry pulls the usual "mainstream" media "aren't-you-a-hater" and "aren't-you-mean-for-believing-in-morality" tactic on Warren.

She essentially accuses Warren of being homophobic, to which Warren laughs (I don't know whether he's laughing at the implication that he might be afraid of sameness--which is what "homophobic" means--or whether he's laughing at the implication that he's afraid of homosexuals).

ANN CURRY: Your position [on gay marriage] has raised the spectre that you are homophobic.

Warren responds with a hearty laugh.

CURRY: You laugh, but that is why gay people are angry.

RICK WARREN: Well, I could give you a hundred --

CURRY: Are you homophobic?

WARREN: I don't know any church in America that's done more to help the gay community, particularly with AIDS, than Saddleback. But the hate speech against me is incendiary.

Indeed. Warren and Saddleback have been so "there" on the AIDS issue (as all good liberals are), that I have some mistrust for Warren because of this. I'll admit that I don't know the full details of everything Warren and Saddleback have done with regard to AIDS, but what I have seen appears more than a little short on recognition of the fact that according to the CDC the vast majority of AIDS cases stem from homosexual activity...and homosexual behavior is just that--a behavior, something that can be chosen or not chosen.

Which brings us to the next statement that redeems Warren in my book.

CURRY: If science finds that this is biological, that people are born gay, would you change your position?

WARREN: No, and the reason why is because we all have biological predispositions. I'm naturally inclined to have sex with every beautiful woman I see. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

Indeed. The Bible teaches that, as fallen creatures descended from Adam and Eve, we are all predisposed to sin, and some of us have weaknesses for some sins over others.

But the Bible makes it equally clear that we are all culpable for all of our sins. There are no "my pet sins" clauses or exceptions in the Bible.

Newsbusters supplies a link to a video of Curry's textbook display of liberal apologetics and defense of PC dogma.

If Warren's uncomfortable coziness with liberal causes has resulted in this opportunity for him to speak an all-too-rare truth in the national limelight, then (provided he hasn't compromised truth behind the scenes) perhaps it's been a brilliant strategy, after all.

Lies enslave (as does the lie that homosexuals can't change), but the truth sets people free.

Presbyterian Church Seeks to Deal With Churches Leaving Denomination

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 16 2008 02:48 PM EST

The departure of congregations from the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) poses major risks, including the threat to both church unity and independence from the state, says one leader in the denomination.

Kears Pollock, moderator of the Pittsburgh Presbytery, has invited fellow Presbyterians to join an "informative" convocation, titled "Our Freedom of Religion at Risk – A Presbyterian Crisis," next year amid an exodus of a growing minority of congregations from the PC(USA).

"The unity of the church is at risk from within and from without," Pollock states in his invitation to the Feb. 19, 2009, event. "The current activities of some congregations and ministers encouraging division within the church can lead to subordination of the church to the state particularly when congregational sessions/trustees file civil suits against Presbyteries."

Pollock was addressing the court battles between congregations that left the denomination and their presbyteries – regional bodies of the PC(USA) – over church property ownership.

According to a June report by the Committee on the Office of the General Assembly, 40 presbyteries face, or have faced, legal battles or similar challenges.

Pollock believes involving the courts threatens the religious practices of the denomination. "Court orders to prevent presbyteries from dealing with division, disorder, disobedience, dismissal and determination of the true church threaten the beliefs and practices of our denomination," according to a promotional flier for the convocation.

"The evolving civil law in many jurisdictions appears intent on adopting a default condition of requiring all non-hierarchical denominations to be treated as congregational in character ignoring the Biblical and historical nature of Presbyterian ecclesiology," Pollock stated.

"It weakens the constitutional barrier against government interference in religion."

Conservative Presbyterians who have left the PC(USA) have argued that the denomination has abandoned its Reformed roots and biblical foundation. Controversy was stirred in 2001 when the General Assembly – the denomination's highest governing body – did not affirm the "singular" saving Lordship of Jesus Christ. Conservatives became even more discontent when the 2006 General Assembly adopted a resolution that some believe allowed leeway for homosexual ordination.

Furthermore, this past summer the high governing body voted to remove from the denomination's constitution the requirement that clergy live in "fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness." The proposal has been relegated to the presbyteries for approval.

The Pittsburgh moderator suggested that Presbyterians in property disputes are practicing "me centered" religion.

"We have not emphasized fully that Christ’s church is not the building where one worships. Nor is the church the congregation of one’s membership. Rather, we are one church united by the shared covenant through Christ and ultimately, through ecumenism, connected with the whole church, catholic," Pollock stated.

The Feb. 19 convocation will be webcast on the Pittsburgh Presbytery website.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Obama Popularity May Tank When Americans See His Liberal Policies

Polls show most people like the way President-elect Barack Obama is handling the transition, but that popularity could go away when Americans start seeing just how liberal Obama really is.

He plans to push the Freedom of Choice Act which would reverse practically every abortion restriction in the country--including the ban on the barbaric partial birth abortion procedure.

Obama also wants to get rid of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that protects the states from having the concept of homosexual "marriage" imposed on them by other states via the activist court system.

Did voters pay more attention to style than substance? Bet on it.

A poll shows most Americans are conservative on issues such as abortion and the courts, but will the new administration's policies mirror those sentiments?

Pro-Homosexual Ad Counters Another Ad Condemning Prop. 8 Violence

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Katherine T. Phan
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Dec. 12 2008 08:29 AM EST

A pro-gay rights group published a full-page ad in The Salt Lake Tribune on Thursday to respond to an earlier ad by a religious liberty group that condemned the mob "violence and intimidation" directed against the Mormon church and other Proposition 8 supporters.

Truth Wins Out, based in Brooklyn, N.Y., ran a counter ad, entitled "Lies in the name of the Lord," stating: "Noting could be further from the truth. Those demonstrations across the country were remarkably peaceful and were a vivid example of Americans exercising their free speech rights, and we think it's inexcusable for anyone to misrepresent these protests for political gain."

The pro-gay ad was in response to a full-page ad by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty that ran in The New York Times last Friday. The ad, entitled "No Mob Violence," deplored the violent protests that have ensued following the passage of a California ban on same-sex marriage.

It was signed by over a dozen over religious leaders, lawyers and theologians, who decried "the violence and intimidation being directed against the LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) or 'Mormon' church, and other religious organizations - and even against individual believers - simply because they supported Proposition 8."

In the concluding paragraph of the Becket Fund ad, the group acknowledged although there were "fundamental disagreements" among them, they were willing to unite across faith lines to commit "to exposing and publicly shaming anyone who resorts to the rhetoric of anti-religious bigotry - against any faith, on any side of any cause, for any reason."

Signers of the letter included Kevin J. “Seamus” Hasson of the Becket Fund of Religious Liberty, Richard Cizik of National Association of Evangelicals, Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship and William Donohue of The Catholic League.

The Washington, D.C.-based Becket Fund concurrently launched NoMobVeto.org, a website where readers could endorse the ad and take a stand for the right of religious people to participate in the electoral process without fear and intimidation from anti-religious bigotry.

In weeks following the passage of Proposition 8, opponents of the measure held numerous protests targeting supporters of the ban. While many of the protests were peaceful, some evidenced hate and intimidation.

Over 2,000 Proposition 8 opponents protested outside the Mormon temple in Los Angeles, chanting "Mormon scum." Another group picketed at megachurch Saddleback Church, holding signs reading "Purpose-Driven Hate," a play on Pastor Rick Warren’s book, Purpose Driven Life. Calvary Chapel in Chino Hills was spray painted and the members' cars were vandalized.

"There was not just one instance of vandalism," Brian Brown, executive director of National Organization for Marriage, told the Salt Lake Tribune.

"I was there in Westwood, [Calif. at the LDS temple protest]. I saw signs saying, 'Mormon scum,' and others encouraging the sort of hatred and violence we condemned. There have been fairly widespread attempts at intimidation, like calling Proposition 8 supporters at 2 a.m. and screaming into the phone."

The Mormon church has been a target by gay rights protesters because its members have donated tens of millions of dollars toward the Yes on 8 campaign.

The Becket Fund has maintained that their ad doesn't denounce "peaceful" demonstrations.

"Some folks claim we’ve attacked legitimate protests. Not true," the group said Thursday on the NoMobVeto.org blog site. "Our ad is about violence and intimidation, which is what mobs commit. It explicitly condemns violence against 'believers, gay people, or anyone else.'"

Gay rights advocates have been charged with running an intimidation campaign against individuals who donated toward the measure's passage.

Scott Eckern, artistic director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento, was blacklisted by the gay community in Hollywood after his $1,000 donation to the Yes on 8 campaign was disclosed.

"Hairspray" composer Marc Shaiman pledged to never allow anything he wrote to play at the theater again. Protest from Shaiman, who recently created a Web video satire entitled "Prop 8: The Musical" that mocks Christians as hatemongers and Jesus as a Bible critic, and other gay rights activists pressed Eckern to resign in November.

Los Angeles Film Festival Director Richard Raddon, a Mormon, was also pressed to resign after his $1,500 donation to the Yes on 8 campaign was disclosed.

The latest "blacklist" example was noted on Thursday by Greg Gutfeld of Fox News' "Red Eye" program. Margie Christoffersen, who fills pitchers at El Coyote restaurant in Los Angeles, was forced to resign after gay rights advocates picketed outside her workplace, Gutfeld reported. Although a supporter of gay marriage, Gutfeld chided the protesters for their treatment of Proposition 8 supporters.

Pacific Justice Institute, a Sacramento based Christian law firm, has offered to defend those threatened because of their support behind the California marriage amendment.

"Californians have been shocked by the aggressiveness of radical homosexual activists who have ousted several individuals from their jobs and livelihoods based solely on their support for traditional marriage," PJI president Brad Dacus stated this week. "These tactics of fear and intimidation in retaliation for supporting a lawful ballot measure are completely unacceptable."

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Evagelical Leader Resigns after Controversial Remarks on Abortion, Homosexuality

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Michelle A. Vu
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Dec. 12 2008 08:12 AM EST

Long-time evangelical lobbyist Richard Cizik has resigned as the vice president of governmental affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals, the group announced Thursday.

After nearly three decades at the helm of the NAE’s political arm, Cizik has decided to leave the organization after a storm of controversy enshrouded him following remarks he made about abortion and gay marriage in a recent interview.

NAE President Leith Anderson explained, in a letter to the group’s board of directors, that Cizik in the interview had “responded to questions and made statements that did not appropriately represent the values and convictions of NAE and our constituents.”

Although Cizik later expressed regret, apologized, and affirmed the NAE’s values, there was “a loss of trust in his credibility as a spokesperson among leaders and constituents,” Anderson wrote.

“[B]ecause Richard traveled to a previously scheduled international conference in Europe shortly after the airing of the broadcast it was not possible to meet with him until his return,” the NAE president explained. “He and I have recently met together and mutually concluded that his resignation is a difficult but appropriate decision.”

In a National Public Radio (NPR) interview last week, Cizik said that a pro-life Christian could still find reason to support an abortion rights candidate, and admitted he voted for now President-elect Barack Obama in the Virginia primary.

He also conceded to believe in homosexual civil unions, which the overwhelming majority of NAE constituencies do not support. Regarding gay marriage, Cizik said he currently does not support redefining marriage, but is “shifting” on the issue.

His comments sparked a firestorm of protest and criticism by pro-life, pro-traditional marriage Christians – including NAE members and constituencies - and forced the NAE president to release a letter last week reassuring the group’s board of directors that Cizik has confirmed his support of NAE values and positions.

But apparently the letter was not enough to cool down the heat directed at Cizik and subsequently the NAE. Cizik resigned Wednesday night.

The former NAE VP is perhaps best known for his advocacy on climate change – a cause that has inflamed the anger of prominent conservative Christian leaders who declared that he does not speak for them and many evangelicals when he states global warming is real and mainly human-caused.

Arguing that Cizik misrepresented evangelicals, the group of prominent evangelical leaders – which included Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family - attempted to get Cizik fired, but failed in 2007.

Time magazine, however, applauded Cizik for his climate change advocacy and rewarded him by naming him as one of its top 100 most influential people in the world for 2008.

But aside from the divisive issue of climate change, Cizik has been a tireless advocate on behalf of a long and diverse list of issues during his 28-year tenure at NAE. Those issues include anti-persecution legislation, laws against human trafficking, pro-family bills, protection of children, justice and compassion for the poor and vulnerable, sanctity of human life, opposition to abortion on demand, and more recently the campaign against the genocide in Darfur.

Prominent evangelical figure Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship, in response to Cizik’s resignation, said:

“He was gradually, over a period of time, separating himself from the mainstream of evangelical belief and conviction. So I'm not surprised,” Colson said, according to Christianity Today magazine. “I'm sorry for him, but I'm not disappointed for the evangelical movement.”

Meanwhile, Mark Tooley of the conservative Washington-based Institute on Religion and Democracy commented:

“Both Rev. Cizik and the NAE leadership made a wise decision in his departure. Cizik had lost credibility for advocating positions that were not those of the NAE or most Evangelicals,” he said.

Speaking on behalf of IRD, Tooley hopes the NAE can “now focus on theological and ethical convictions that evangelicals hold strongly in common.”

Tooley added that he wishes Cizik well and expressed gratitude for his “long history of service to evangelicals” that has “laid the groundwork for many opportunities.”

The National Association of Evangelicals is composed of over 50 denominations and 45,000 churches, representing about 30 million constituents. The NAE vice president’s resignation is the latest leadership controversy for the organization, which was just settling down after its former president, Ted Haggard, resigned due to a drug and sex allegation scandal in 2006.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Media Publishes Factual Errors, Misconceptions About Homosexuality

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Tue, Dec. 09 2008 03:35 PM EST

In the aftermath of the passage of California's Proposition 8, Newsweek and Hollywood are the latest players to launch their attacks on traditional marriage supporters and the biblical case against homosexuality.

And Christians are taking issue with the misconceptions, factual errors and holes in the arguments being presented in popular public spheres.

"It doesn’t surprise me. Newsweek has been so far in the tank on the homosexual issue, for so long, they need scuba gear and breathing apparatus," said Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, according to Politico. "I don’t think it’s going to change the minds of anyone who takes biblical teachings seriously."

Land's comments were directed at Newsweek's current cover story, "The Religious Case for Gay Marriage," written by religion editor Lisa Miller. In the story, Miller says "examples of 'the traditional family' are scarcely to be found" in the Old Testament and that the Bible does not explicitly define marriage as between one man and one woman. She further argues that the modern married couple would not look to the Bible as a guide while citing polygamy in the Old Testament.

"Religious objections to gay marriage are rooted not in the Bible at all, then, but in custom and tradition," Miller writes. "The Bible was written for a world so unlike our own, it’s impossible to apply its rules, at face value, to ours."

Rejecting Miller's arguments, Land said the Bible clearly prescribes marriage as heterosexual, citing passages in Genesis, where God pairs Adam and Eve, and Ephesians (in the New Testament) when the apostle Paul compares the relationship between husband and wife to the relationship between Jesus and the Church, according to Politico.

Newsweek's story reflects the confusion that many people have regarding Scripture and homosexuality.

And the media isn't the only one to blame for it.

"Part of that [confusion] is skillful misrepresentation, and part of it is the failure of the church to faithfully and diligently promote biblical apologetics and exegesis," according to Bob Stith, who heads the Ministry to Homosexuals Task Force in the Southern Baptist Convention.

The confusion is also played out in the Funny Or Die video, "Prop 8 – The Musical," which was posted last week. In it, popular celebrities, including Neil Patrick Harris and Jack Black, weigh in on the amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The musical accuses Christians of picking and choosing Bible verses to make their case against gay marriage and mocks them as hatemongers.

"Leviticus says shellfish is an abomination," Black, who portrays Jesus in the musical, states in the musical as he responds to the Christians' argument that the Bible says homosexuality is an abomination. "The Bible says a lot of interesting things like you can stone your wife or sell your daughter into slavery."

"Well we ignore those verses," says John C. Reilly, who plays a Christian.

"It seems to me you pick and choose. Well please choose love instead of hate," Black sings.

Randy Thomas, vice president of Exodus International, responded saying the musical showed a "sincere misunderstanding of Scripture."

Tim Wilkins, a former homosexual who heads Cross Ministry, argued that gay marriage supporters "are doing the very thing they accuse Christians of."

"They focus on Leviticus and ignore New Testament passages that forbid homosexuality. WHY? Because Leviticus provides easier arguments with its prohibitions against certain foods."

SBC's Stith also denounced Hollywood's attempt to make biblical arguments. "Anyone who cares to spend thirty minutes of serious study would see the many flaws in Black’s argument," he said.

Clearing up some of the confusion, Stith called it a "factual error" to claim that Scripture nowhere says homosexuals are an abomination.

"In the same passage in Leviticus that speaks about homosexuality the Bible also warns against incest, bestiality, and adultery," he said. Also, "while the New Testament doesn’t mention shellfish (and some would argue that Acts 10 clears that argument up) it clearly continues the biblical prohibition on homosexual acts."

Additionally, "Nowhere in the entire canon of Scripture are homosexual relationships ever spoken of approvingly," Stith continued. "The Bible is clear that God created us as sexual beings. But it is also clear that He provided us boundaries and guidelines for the use of that wonderful gift."

Addressing a more sensitive topic, Stith sees the label "hate" being used in ignorance or willful malice against those who simply disagree.

"On several occasions, sometimes with tears in my own eyes, I’ve said to people about actions in which they were involved, 'You know, this isn’t God’s best for you. He has something better if you’re willing to walk in obedience.' Does this make me a 'hater' or does it mean that I care about that person and genuinely believe that God knows what He’s talking about?" Stith posed.

But again, Christians aren't entirely blame-free in this gay marriage debate – which Newsweek's Miller believes is a full-scale war now.

"Unfortunately, we live in an age of sound bites and slogans. It should challenge us as Christians to be much more diligent not to settle for the same thing," Stith said. "We do that when we trot out the same tired arguments against homosexuality without acknowledging that we unnecessarily wound people by the way we use those arguments. We don’t acknowledge the real pain felt by many in the homosexual community. And honestly, we often slip into a trap of 'us vs. them.'"

"We must evaluate whether our arguments are based in our love for God as well as for all people. Do we speak against homosexual acts because we genuinely care; because we genuinely believe that sin – any sin – brings pleasure for a season but ultimately hinders the fullness that God wants all of us to enjoy?"

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

PC Police Quash Freedom to Pander to Homosexuals

The Politically Correct (PC) Police in Great Britain are once again trampling freedom in order to coddle and pander to homosexuals.

From LifeSiteNews:

BELFAST, December 9, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has issued a decree banning an advertising campaign by a Presbyterian church entitled "The Word of God against Sodomy," which communicates the Bible's condemnation of homosexual behavior.

The campaign, run by Sandown Free Presbyterian Church, featured an advertisement that denounced offensive behavior in last year's "gay pride" march in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

According to the church, marchers carried signs insulting Christ and exposed their genitals to those protesting the march that year.

The advertisement, which ran in the Belfast Newsletter newspaper earlier this year, pointed out this behavior, and said that sodomy is an "abomination" and "God's judgment upon a sin." It also opined that it is "a cause for regret that a section of the community desires to be known for a perverted form of sexuality."

The British Advertising Standards Authority ruled that it had "caused serious offence to some readers" and should not be published again in its current form.

I know that laws and freedoms are much different in Great Britain (I lived there for three years), but I never realized British citizens enjoyed a right of "freedom from offence."

Well, actually that's not right, either. Apparently it's okay to offend Christians, but not okay to offend homosexuals. Apparently Britain has a right of "freedom from offense from Christians."

Religious freedom has been under attack for some time now, both abroad and in the United States. It has gotten very bad in the Britain and Canada...and as you may know, liberals in the United States always look adoringly at decadent European nations as the model of "how America ought to be."

Here in the land of the formerly-free, Colorado passed a law earlier this year which outlaws "publishing of discriminative matter." So, according to Colorado law, homosexual men can enter a woman's restroom or locker room if they "feel like a woman," but religious organizations aren't allowed to print any books, tracts, pamphlets, or other materials that might make homosexuals feel bad.

There have been several other incidents like this where pro-homosexual political correctness has stepped on freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom of association:

- Catholic Charities in Boston was forced out of the adoption ministry because they refused to put children in homes of homosexual couples.

- Boston school teachers have been threatened with termination if they fail to cast homosexuality in a positive light to students.

- The University of Toledo fired a black administrator for writing a "letter to the editor" of a local newspaper about the inconsistency of comparing homosexuality to ethnicity.

- Christians in Philadelphia were arrested for reading Bible verses and praying out loud during a homosexual festival.

- Philadelphia has also decided to stick it to the Boy Scouts (who don't allow homosexuals in leadership positions of their loyal-to-God organization), charging them $200,000 a year rent to use facilities that other charities use for free.

Freedom is on the way out the door to make room for immorality, Americans, and only you the people can stop it.

Homosexual Legislators Introduce Resolutions Opposing Prop. 8

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Lawrence Jones
Christian Post Reporter
Thu, Dec. 04 2008 08:19 AM EST

Two California lawmakers and openly gay members of the Legislature have introduced measures supporting the repeal of Proposition 8.

On Tuesday, state Sen. Mark Leno and state Assemblyman Tom Ammiano, both Democratic lawmakers from San Francisco, introduced concurrent resolutions that seek to put the California Legislature on record opposing Proposition 8, the state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage approved by 52 percent of voters last month.

The bills argue that the measure, which amended the California Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, was an illegal "constitutional revision" that should have been passed by two-thirds vote by both houses of the legislature before being submitted before voters.

But backers of the controversial measure contend it was an amendment that was legally enacted through the state's initiative process.

The non-binding resolution would put the state's lawmakers on record in support of arguments made in the lawsuits challenging Proposition 8.

Legal experts have said the resolution will unlikely affect the ruling by the California Supreme Court, which has agreed to hear the case in Spring 2009.

"This is the court's decision, not the Legislature's, just as whether you balance the budget is the Legislature's decision and not the court's," said Jesse Choper, the Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at UC Berkeley's School of Law, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

Supporters of Proposition 8 accused the lawmakers of “grandstanding for the cameras.”

“You’d think that these legislators would be focused on resolving the budget deficit or improving the economy," said Ron Prentice, chairman of ProtectMarriage.com, which headed the Yes on 8 campaign. "Instead, they seem more interested in grandstanding for the cameras and thumbing their noses at voters who enacted Proposition 8 by a nearly 600,000 vote margin."

A new poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found that the measure received its strongest support from evangelical Christians (85 percent) and Republicans (77 percent).

Andrew Pugno, general counsel of ProtectMarriage.com, said he was confident Proposition 8 will be upheld.

"The Court is not swayed by meaningless legislative resolutions that have no bearing on the outcome of the court challenges," said Pugno. “This resolution adds nothing to the debate about the validity of Proposition 8."

The bills introducing the resolutions were supported by the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) Legislative Caucus and several gay rights groups including Equality California, which is behind one of the three lawsuits challenging the measure.

Forty-four state lawmakers have filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of lawsuits seeking to overturn Proposition 8. The three individual cases are Strauss v. Horton, Tyler v. Horton, and San Francisco v. Horton.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown and lawyers for the Yes on 8 campaign have until December 19 to submit arguments to the state Supreme Court explaining why the measure should be upheld.

In May, the California Supreme Court overturned a 2000 state law banning same-sex marriage. The passage of Proposition 8 reversed the court's ruling.

In addition to determining the validity of Proposition 8, the court is also expected to decide the fate of some 18,000 same-sex marriages that took place in the state.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Mass. Govt Acknowledges Increased Homosexual Health Risks

My fellow Red County blogger Dr. Richard Swier brings our attention to fresh evidence of one of the best-kept secrets in health research: the increased health risks in the homosexual community.

I say "best kept secret" because if the same health risks associated with homosexual behavior were even hinted at for, say, drinking Diet Coke, or perhaps attending church more than once a week, the "mainstream" media would be shouting about it with megaphones from every available highest rooftop nonstop.

But since these health risks are linked to homosexual behavior--at protected, politically-correct behavior--there is, of course, a near-total media blackout concerning them.

Does the "mainstream" media really hate homosexuals, and just wants them to remain ignorant about the health risks associated with their behavior? One has to wonder...

Dr. Swier's post points to a report released last month by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health entitled "A Health Profile of Massachusetts Adults by Sexual Orientation Identity: Results from the 2001-2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Surveys."

Highlights of the report from the Department of Public Health include:

- The odds of being a current smoker were 2.5 times greater for gays and lesbians compared to heterosexuals.

- Bisexuals were 3.1 times more likely than heterosexuals to report feeling tense or worried.

- Lesbians were 2.2 times more likely than heterosexual women to be obese.

- Bisexuals were 4.4 times and gays/lesbians 1.5 times more likely than heterosexuals to report their health as "poor" or "fair."

Researchers found that in many cases the disparities were even greater for bisexuals than for gay/lesbians when compared with their heterosexual counterparts.

The report also says that bisexuals also face increased problems concerning "mental health and violence victimization."

For a state as liberal as Massachusetts to actually go to the trouble of investigating this health threat, and what's more, publishing a public report on it, surely indicates the extreme nature of the problem.

Another interesting aspect of the issue is that with Massachusetts' highly socialized health care system, these increased health risks caused by homosexual behavior are costing the taxpayers additional money. In other words, the taxpayers of Mass. are paying for the health consequences of homosexual behavior, whether they're engaging in the behavior or not.

As Dr. Swier points out, the report says the disparity between the health of homosexuals and heterosexuals needs to be reduced or eliminated. Yet there doesn't seem to be any sort of suggestion about reducing or eliminating the behavior which is causing the increased health problems.

Can you imagine such a response to smoking related illnesses? Just smoke a lower-tar cigarette! Use a better filter! That lung cancer and emphysema have nothing to do with the pack you smoked every day! It's only Right-wing Christian propaganda! Just practice safe smoking! Give them more access to health care! They have a right to smoke! God created them to be smokers! After all, they can't quit...and suggesting they can quit is just bigoted "hate speech," right?

The hypocrisy is amazing and the silence from media and government officials is deafening!

When I frequently try to point out the increased health risks associated with homosexual behavior (such as AIDS, several other STDs, hepatitis, anal cancer, depression, substance abuse, suicide and domestic violence), homosexual activists almost invariably try to disregard them under the claim that such statistics come from some "right wing" or "Christian" source that is "biased." When I point out that much of the information I cite about homosexual behavior comes from sources such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Gay Report, the Department of Justice, the Handbook of Family Development and Intervention, the American Sociological Review, the Archives of General Psychology, the Handbook of Family Diversity, the Washington Blade, the Journal of Sex Research and other non-religious and non-conservative sources, silence invariably follows...or a different angle of attack on the truth about an obviously immoral, unnatural and unhealthy sexual practice. Some would rather risk their health and life than alter their behavior.

What spin will homosexual activists and apologists contrive to avoid the unpleasant truth contained in this government report?

How long will the "mainstream" "objective" media ignore its duty to report fully and truthfully on such issues of public health and safety?

How long will homosexual activists pretend the emperor's clothes are just wonderful...as homosexuals caught up in this behavior continue to suffer and die premature deaths?

Bible-Believing Episcopalians Split, Form New Denomination

The Episcopalian denomination, like many Protestant denominations, has been in the throes of a battle with liberal elements who prize politically correct pop-culture doctrine over God's word. And as has happened in some other denominations, the liberals have gained control of the Episcopal denomination.

One of the most egregious abandonments of truth in the Episcopal Church has been the embrace of homosexuality. The Bible is very clear in both Old and New Testaments that God's design for the expression of human sexuality is between a man and a woman in marriage. The Bible is equally clear that God does not approve of homosexual behavior, as it is clearly a violation of that design.

Yet the Episcopal denomination has gone so far as to appoint the openly and militantly homosexual V. Gene Robinson as the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire.

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the Anglican Church, with its roots in the Church of England. The worldwide body of Anglicans has for the last year or so struggled to maintain its allegiance to Biblical truth while avoiding a total split with the apostate American branch.

But now a split has happened. Those in the Episcopal Church who have more loyalty to the Bible than political correctness have announced the formation of a new denomination of conservative Episcopalians called the Anglican Church in North America.

The new denomination will include four Episcopal dioceses that recently split from the U.S. church, along with breakaway Anglican parishes from Canada.

From Fox News:

The announcement Wednesday in Wheaton, Ill., comes after decades of debate over what Episcopalians should believe about issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. Tensions erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.

It's sad that Bible-believing Episcopalians weren't able to regain control over the denomination. But at least honor has been restored to a segment of the Anglican presence in North America.

The apostate Episcopalians would do well to take a long, hard look at what their embrace of sin has wrought. Maybe if they take an honest look at their loyalties and repent soon, the Episcopalian denomination could be brought back together before too much time has passed.

But when such an advanced state of apostasy has transpired, repentance is against the odds, so I won't hold my breath.

Kudos, though, to the Episcopalians who have clearly declared where their loyalty lies: with God.

Proposition 8 Melee: Who's Being Intolerant?

This is the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF) video put together of some of the outrageous behavior from homosexual activists after Californians voted for Proposition 8 to return marriage to the normal, natural definition: between a man and a woman.

Notice the "tolerance" from these homosexual activists as they rip a cross from an old woman's hands and stomp on it. Notice how they shout at her and prevent even the news reporter from interviewing her.

Notice too, the venom displayed by the homosexual activists in San Francisco toward a group of praying Christians they ran off the street. The Christians had to be escorted from the area by police for their safety. The police even had to push back homosexual activists on at least one occasion with their night sticks when they tried to get at the Christians.

This is what tolerance looks like? Somehow I doubt homosexual activists would like a dose of the "tolerance" they so often demand from others.

America, don't be intimidated by this hate and venom, and don't be seduced by the smarmy, hypocritical talk of "tolerance" (which really means, "Do things my way or we'll demonize you").

Marriage and family are too important to surrender on the altar of political correctness and intimidation.

After the passage of proposition 8 in California, advocates of homosexual behavior went on the offensive demanding that their agenda be imposed on everyone.

Video Reveals the Intolerance of the Tolerant

CitizenLink has put together a video examining a few of the examples of intolerance from the primary source of the gospel of tolerance: the homosexual community.

The homosexual community, especially in California, was beyond outraged when the voters of that state exercised their right to vote and chose to retain the definition of marriage humans have known for thousands of years, really the only definition for marriage: a man and a woman.

Homosexual activists have worked hard for nearly 20 years to put their best face forward and hide the unpleasant truths about themselves and their agenda. But when the people of California rose up and retook their government from the black-robed oligarchs who decreed the concept of homosexual "marriage" in May 2008, the mask came off.

Take a good look before they regain their composure and put the mask back on, America. This is what we're up against: a militant, hateful agenda that cares nothing about our republican form of government, about democracy, about the welfare of our society, or about the institutions of marriage and family that would be undermined by the counterfeiting of marriage.

The Alliance Defense Fund has put together a video showing some of the worst moments from the uprising against Prop. 8 in California.

State of Calif. Investigating Mormon Church Support for Proposition 8

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Eric Young
Christian Post Reporter
Sun, Nov. 30 2008 06:13 PM EST

The government body that enforces political campaign, lobbying, and conflict of interest laws in the state of California will be conducting an investigation of the Mormon church and its role in the campaign to ban gay marriage in the state.

The California Fair Political Practices Commission said this past week that it would investigate whether the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints accurately described its role in the campaign to pass Proposition 8 in response to a complaint by a gay rights group.

Fred Karger, founder of Californians Against Hate, accuses the religious body of failing to report the value of work it did to support Proposition 8, the constitutional amendment passed earlier this month by California voters that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

“We are very pleased that the FPPC has agreed to launch an investigation based on our complaint,” expressed Karger, who filed a four-page complaint on Nov. 13, in a statement. “We’re hopeful the Mormon Church will fully cooperate with the investigation, and that we will find out the full extent of their involvement in the Yes on 8 campaign.”

Since the passage of Prop. 8 by a 52-to-48 percent vote, the Mormon church has been among the largest targets of outraged activists who want same-sex unions to be recognized as marriages.

“The Mormons played a vital role in the Prop 8 battle, and traditional marriage would have lost had it not been for their support,” explained Donald E. Wildmon, founder and chairman of the American Family Association, in an e-mail alert to supporters last Wednesday.

“While other churches were also involved in the battle to protect marriage – including Catholics and evangelicals – the homosexuals have singled out the Mormons as their target of anger,” he added.

In the months leading up to the Nov. 4 elections, the Mormon church had encouraged its members to work to pass California's Prop. 8 by volunteering their time and money for the campaign. Thousands of Mormons worked as grassroots volunteers and gave tens of millions of dollars to the campaign.

Following the passing of Prop. 8, protests erupted outside Mormon temples, Facebook groups formed telling people to boycott Mormon-affiliated companies, and Web sites such as mormonsstoleourrights.com began popping up, calling for an end to the religious group’s tax-exempt status.

Letters containing white powder - found later by the FBI to be nontoxic - were sent to the Salt Lake City headquarters of the religious group and to a temple in Los Angeles.

Utah's growing tourism industry and the star-studded Sundance Film Festival have also been targeted for a boycott by bloggers, gay rights activists and others seeking to punish the Mormon church for its aggressive promotion of California's ban on gay marriage.

"People of faith have been intimidated for simply exercising their democratic rights," Mormon church president Thomas S. Monson said in a statement.

"Attacks on churches and intimidation of people of faith have no place in civil discourse over controversial issues," he added. "People of faith have a democratic right to express their views in the public square without fear of reprisal. Efforts to force citizens out of public discussion should be deplored by people of goodwill everywhere."

Though Mormons and Christians often clash over theology, believers have been rallying together in support of the Mormon church, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has offered "prayerful support and steadfast solidarity" to the Mormon church for its efforts on behalf of Prop. 8.

An online petition is circulating on the worldwide web to thank the Mormon church for its efforts and to “express ... outrage at the vile and indecent attacks directed specifically and uniquely at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members because of [their] courage in standing up for marriage.”

“It is deeply unfair, and contrary to the best American traditions, that any faith community, much less a minority one, should be singled out and attacked in this way by powerful, well-funded political forces determined to ‘make them pay’ for participating in the normal political processes of democracy,” reads the statement signed by over 4,600 individuals, including prominent evangelicals Chuck Colson of Prison Fellowship and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

“We, the undersigned, utterly condemn and reject the ongoing unprecedented efforts to incite religious hatred and bigotry towards members of the LDS Church because, as American citizens, you have courageously exercised your core civil rights to speak, to vote, and to donate to protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman,” the statement added.

In the past, the Mormon church was regarded by evangelicals as a Christian cult over diverging beliefs and is still regarded as such among some circles. Many, however, have come to view Mormons as members of another religious group, similar to Judaism or Islam. Mormonism was formally listed under “cults and sects” by the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant body in America, but has since been categorized among “newly developed religions” on the North American Mission Board apologetics page.

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Child Welfare Takes Back Seat to Judicial Activism

Arkansas recently passed a measure prohibiting unmarried adoptions by a healthy margin: 56.9%. The measured banned adoptions by both homosexual couples and unmarried heterosexual couples. The measure is a good step in placing the well-being of children ahead of the selfishness of grownups who don't know how to act grown-up (i.e. put the needs of others--specifically children--ahead of themselves).

Florida, on the other hand, is taking a step backwards. Their Supreme Court wants to reward those who even refuse to engage in natural sex with custody of developing, impressionable children.

Judicial activism has once again put the self-centered desires of homosexual activists ahead of the welfare of children, with the activist court finding "There is no rational basis to prohibit gay parents from adopting."

Homosexuals have much higher rates of AIDS, other STDs, hepatitis, anal cancer, depression, substance abuse, suicide, domestic violence and promiscuity--even among homosexual couples who make the claim of "monogamy." Such environments are not suitable for children.

What's more, placing a child in a homosexual home automatically deprives the child of either a mother or a father. Children need both a mother and father to have a good chance of growing up health and well-adjusted. Homosexual homes by default rob them of this. It also sends the detrimental message to the child that one or the other sex is unnecessary or undesirable.

The needs of children and the priority placed on their healthy upbringing and development used to come first. Today's demented society, however, places politically correct affirmation of adults ahead of the child's needs.

In addition to protecting human life, protecting children is one of the most important duties of any government. No other segment of society is more vulnerable to multiple avenues of harm, and no other segment of society is less able to defend themselves from harm.

Such hostility toward healthy families and toward children--especially on the part of the government charged with their protection--is reprehensible.

Media Only Telling One Side on Christians and Homosexuality

Reprinted by permission of The Christian Post

By Lillian Kwon
Christian Post Reporter
Fri, Nov. 21 2008 12:56 PM EST

For many Americans, all they've heard is that Christians are "anti-gay." The recent passage of amendments in California, Florida and Arizona defining marriage between a man and a woman and the large support those measures drew from churches haven't changed that perception, and perhaps made it worse.

But few, if any, especially in the media, have given the public the "whole story" about churches and their persistent efforts to protect what they believe is God's definition of marriage.

"I’ve not seen any attempt [by the mass media] to understand or communicate the real concern of Christians concerning gay marriage," said Bob Stith, who heads the Ministry to Homosexuals Task Force in the Southern Baptist Convention – the largest Protestant denomination in the country.

And Christians haven't been much help either.

"Too many Christians have cooperated with this by emphasizing more of what we’re against than what we’re for," Stith commented, concerning the gay marriage debate.

But much of that "whole story" includes love.

Former homosexual Melissa Fryrear educates thousands of Christians every year on how to respond to the issue of homosexuality in a "Christ-like" manner.

Director of the gender issues department at Focus on the Family, which hosts Love Won Out conferences, she says she has been accused of being anti-gay because of her beliefs.

"I'm not anti-gay because I'm a Christian and I'm a heterosexual evangelical Christian," said Fryrear, who became a Christian and came out of homosexuality over 15 years ago. "I'm pro-biblical sexual ethic. I'm pro-God's created intent for sexuality" – that being marriage between a man and a woman.

"That's what I'm for, so anything that falls outside of that falls out of God's intent," she highlighted.

"It's not what I'm against, it's what I'm for," she added, noting the nuance.

Still, it's a tough sell for many gay rights supporters, especially the thousands that marched last weekend in protest of the passage of gay marriage bans in three states. Hundreds stood in front of churches with protest signs.

According to UPI.com, some opponents of California's marriage amendment, or Proposition 8, went as far as releasing blacklists (antigayblacklist.com) of those who made monetary contributions to support Proposition 8. The list includes the names of individuals, businesses, Christian ministries and churches and how much each donated.

Proposition 8 opponents are now preparing to defend same-sex marriage in court after California's Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to hear multiple legal challenges against the amendment. The high court had ruled in May to legalize marriage for same-sex couples and an estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian marriages were sanctioned before the Nov. 4 vote.

Meanwhile, proponents of Proposition 8 are also readying their arguments as the state high court agreed to allow them to intervene as defendants in the case. Arguments will be weighed beginning next month.

But while the legal battle rages on, Christians have been given the opportunity to clear up misunderstandings and boldly share their faith, some say.

"If people misunderstand Christianity or misunderstand God's truth, here is an opportunity for us to try to articulate those correctly and to demonstrate those rightly," said Fryrear of Focus on the Family.

That means, defending God's design for sexuality and doing so in a spirit of grace, humility and compassion, she explained.

"People think that Christians are intolerant or bigots or hate-filled. This is an opportunity to say that's absolutely not true," she added. "The very essence of God is love. In ways unbelievers misunderstand Christianity and the messages of Christ, this is an opportunity to actually live it out by showing love. That doesn't mean condoning behaviors outside God's created intent for sexuality."

Fryrear celebrated this year the 10th anniversary of Love Won Out conferences and testified that many gay advocates who attended the event were surprised not to have heard messages of hate but only of love and grace.

The ministry's goal is to model after Christ, and balance "grace and truth," she said.

Also hoping to clear up misperceptions and get the "whole story" across, Stith of the SBC said it is imperative for Christians to at least seek to communicate that "it isn't just that we believe gay marriage is bad for Christians, the culture at large, etc. But it is ultimately bad for homosexuals if we really believe God has something different in mind for them. This is true for anyone who desires the fullness of joy and peace that God wants them to have."

"Whether someone is living with another person outside the marriage covenant, is a serial adulterer, or engaging in premarital sex, they cannot experience all that God wants them to have," he continued. "Our motive should not be simply to deny gay marriage but to hold out the hope, the promise and the fullness that God wants all people to know."

Homosexuality has emerged as a major issue confronting churches in the recent decade. And Stith has been part of a growing effort seen among churches to inform, educate and encourage Christians to reach out and show compassion in response to homosexuality while affirming biblical truth.

Responding to claims that the church views homosexual behavior as a bigger sin than anything else, Stith simply stated, "When the culture continually argues for the acceptance of homosexual acts, the church is called to respond to that ... [and] to speak the truth of Scripture."

"If it seems that we devote an inordinate amount of time addressing that it is because an inordinate amount of time is given to promotion of homosexuality."

Copyright 2008 The Christian Post. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.