The New Testament reveals that a homosexual sexual orientation, whatever its shape or causation, is essentially wrong, contrary to the Creator's purpose, and deeply sinful.Please read the entire article. As one who works with children, I am primarily concerned for children with an innapropriate sense of their own entitlement. Children who consider their needs to be important enough to cause harm to others. These children flail out, hit and cry, bully and intimidate. My concern for the boy who dons a dress to play in the toy kitchen is that he not be bullied.
In case you ask why the views of CBMW are so important, I will explain. I had never heard the name of the Council of Biblical Manhood and Womanhood mentioned in my church. I did not think of it as having a significant influence. But when I challenged the view of the clergy on the subordination of the wife in the home, the minister cited from Wayne Grudem verbatim. I later learned of his connection to Bruce Ware. The CBMW and those associated with it have a broad influence. Mark Driscoll also credits these two men with influencing him. Unfortunately it all happened in my own home town.
11 comments:
In the CBMW article you link to, Al Mohler, writes this:
"First, we face the fact that the Bible clearly, repeatedly, consistently, and comprehensively reveals the sinfulness of all homosexual behaviors."
Is he generalizing and essentializing with a straight face? Sorry for the pun.
But really. Couldn't he have more easily gotten away with saying the following?
"First, we face the fact that the Bible clearly, repeatedly, consistently, and comprehensively reveals the sinfulness of all heterosexual behaviors."
"the Bible"?
Just a quick reminder of what Ann Nyland warned about the politics of translation here:
"Generally speaking, many Christians are judgmental and do not approve of women as Church leaders, divorced people, or homosexuals. However, these biases are not supported by the Bible itself. Some may appear to be, due to mistranslation; others are not supported even by that. Many Christians, when shown that a word they thought meant one thing in fact means something entirely different, simply do not wish to know. They prefer to disregard the evidence in order to adhere to their own closely held traditions.
In the New Testament, Jesus railed against legalistic religious leaders, and told us to beward of them. He at no point told us to beware of women as Church leaders, of divorced people, or of homosexuals. And of course he would not, as the New Testament in the original Greek does not speak against these three groups in any way whatsoever....
Many people are not aware that most available Bible translations are backed by denominations or specific ideological groups. Certain members of the USA 'Religious Right' have successfully controlled the availability and content of some Bible versions. In 1997, lobbyists applied considerable pressure to the publisher (Zondervan) of the New International Inclusive Language Bible (NIVI) which was published in English, not to release it in the USA. The NIVI's crime? To translate gender language accurately; for example, to translate the Greek word meaning 'person' by the English word 'person' instead of the traditional 'man'. The lobbyists alleged that it was 'tampering with' God's word, and 'misquoting God'.
In 2001 the Religious Right lobbied to prevent the New Testament translation known as Today's New International Version (TNIV) being used by three major denominations. Their own national Christian bookstore chain refused to sell it. The lobbyists have been spawned mainly by the anti-equality for women organization The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) which is allied closely with the Southern Baptists. The Southern Baptist Conventions's giant bookstore Lifeway Christian Resources is the parent of Broadman and Holman Publishers which publishes the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Lifeway refused to sell the TNIV. Of the Holman Christian Standard Bible, R. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, said he was excited 'if for no other reason than we will have a major translation we can control.'"
(the above is quoted from a preface to one of Nyland's NT translations.)
I do not see how an orientation to anything can be sinful. A sin involves a choice, if there is no choice then something simply cannot be a sin. At the most homosexual ACTS could be sins.
Furthermore, the NT terms used as far as I can tell involved ideas of dominance and submission to dominance that are offensive in themselves to me as a believer as such actions when they include ideas of degradation should not be found among believers.
It occurs to me that the CBMW trades in blaming the victim.
I am not calling the CBMW or any of its constituents "fascists," but their attitudes toward women and gays puts me in mind of Umberto Eco's essay "Eternal Fascism: Fourteen Ways of Looking at a Blackshirt."
I am not exactly sure what is meant by a homosexual orientation. Did Abraham have a incestuous orientation?
What really bothered me was when they said, "Christians cannot accept any teaching that minimizes sin, for it is the knowledge of our sin that points us to our need for atonement, salvation, and the forgiveness of that sin through the cross of Jesus Christ."
I would question if the author has ever spoken to a non-Christian before. Most people I've encountered have a deep sense of insecurity, of neediness, of some sort of brokenness within themselves. The Church needs to quit harping on sin and start preaching on love, restoration, wholeness...the very things Christ came to bring us. We don't need to be told we are broken; we get that. We need to be told we can be healed. Then, after we have met the Great Friend, He Himself will make us aware of things He wants us to change.
let it be known the second son of man now walks the earth and the creator speaks thru him. the creator our god is of positive energy and all of the spiritual beings of earth will ascend! As to the time of ascention has all to do with the knowledge that we are all one conscience and and the understanding that no one is to judge except ones-self in the mirror and forgivness is yours to behold, so let love and peace spread upon the earth as the second coming will soon be! "love the one your with".....CGJames....the one......
I think it is people like Andrew Marin who are following in Jesus' footsteps:
http://www.loveisanorientation.com/about-2/
May their influence be inversely proportional to the height and strength of the walls and fences they erect between "true Bible-Believing Biblical Christians" like themselves and everyone else.
God made man god however did not build churches or write the bibe, his quotes are in the bible but man has interperted things as his thoughts not gods, all human beings are spiritual beings and all of one conscience god loves all his children and is sending his son very soon tor
Spread his word. Know this as the free will
Of man is now under control of the global elites
Do not judge other but do judge yours-self and the life you lead in respect to love each other and love thyself.....love and peace in the light......CGJames.....the one........
God is all the power of positive energy positive=love, negative=fear, now think what man has said in the bible and realize that they are spreading fear of others? why have portions of the once great book been hidden away by the Vatican? do you know? there is so much that you do not know but will be revealed soon. know that the son will spread the word for all who will listen peace and love in the light ...cgjames.....the one......
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