SmallGovTimes.comThe eyes of God and homosexuality By: Lyn Nofziger | Published on 10/15/03 The small church (Presbyterian Church in America) which I attend has a sign out in front that says "We Believe the Bible." I find no fault and have no argument with that sign.
That being the case, when the Bible says homosexual conduct is an abomination I have to go along with it. Now obviously there are other Christian denominations who disagree with that approach or that have factions, often substantial, that disagree with it. One of those denominations is the Episcopal Church in America. Recently that denomination?s bishops voted narrowly to name as bishop of its New Hampshire Diocese the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, a priest who had deserted his wife and two children to live in sexual relationship with another man. That action appears to the tearing the denomination apart, dividing it into two factions, conservatives who believe the Bible and liberals who believe those parts of the Bible they wish to believe and reject those parts they?re not comfortable with or that conflict with their own notions of right and wrong. After much thought I have reached what to me is an obvious conclusion, namely that in America church and state are two different entities that are often going to conflict, mainly because the Christian church relies (more or less, depending on the denomination) on the Bible for guidance while the state relies (sort of) on the constitution. In recent years, as homosexuals have come out of the closet they have sought two things: legal rights under the constitution and moral acceptance by the church. They are pushing to have their cake and eat it, too. But these are two separate and distinct issues and I?m sure that a lot of good people are torn, people who want to treat their fellow man (or woman) as social equals regardless of their sexual inclinations, but at the same time worry about what effect open acceptance of homosexual behavior will have on society and on their church. It ain?t easy. At least for me it isn?t. I am a Bible-believing Christian and at the same time as a Republican I lean toward the libertarian wing of my party; namely, get government off of my back and out of my pocket. So here?s where I come down. Each church is going to have to make its own decision about what if any role homosexuals should have in it. For my part I don?t want my church accepting or excusing practicing homosexuals nor do I want them playing a role in the church hierarchy. Let them come to church and we will pray for them but we will reject any effort to legitimize their sexual practices. Government is another matter. Civil life is another matter. If two persons of the same sex wish to live together that should be none of government?s affair, or a company?s affair. If two persons of the same sex want to be united in a civil ceremony why should I care? If a company or a corporation wishes to treat a homosexual?s lover as a spouse what is that to me? As far as marriage goes, it seems to me that a religious ceremony uniting two persons of the same sex is a decision for the individual church or denomination. Do I want a constitutional amendment that says marriage is the union of one man and one woman? No. I am opposed to passing constitutional amendments to take care of issues, such as homosexual marriage, that are predominately matters for the individual states. Do I think that legitimizing homosexual marriage is bad for America? I sure do. I think acceptance of homosexual behavior as normal is one of the reasons the America of my youth has been and is going to hell in a hand basket. But I don?t think constitutional amendments will do anything to stop or even slow it. Only the people can do that and they don?t seem inclined to do so at this moment. Frankly, I liked America better when homosexuals were in the closet. But they?re not and we?re not going to get them back in. Not, at least, in what remains of my lifetime. Pendulums swing and time goes around in a circle and what was not acceptable yesterday becomes acceptable today and unacceptable again tomorrow. In the long run I suspect that will be the case with the openly practiced and flagrantly flaunted homosexuality we see today. In the meantime, I think each of us as individuals have little choice except to tolerate those activities society deems acceptable today while those of us who believe the Bible continue to do what we think is right in the eyes of God. Original URL: http://www.smallgovtimes.com/story/03oct15.nof.god/index.html |