Recently, I have been discussing this issue, candidly, with a friend of mine. This is and has been a touchy issue without a lot of clarity and agreement. I think to myself, “Why is that?” Truly, I really don’t know, but I feel it may be because of these three main reasons:
First of all, I feel our public leaders change their true personal opinions on homosexuality due to who’s listening at the time…secondly, people often can easily misinterpret Biblical scriptures…finally, just the simple fact that there are so many varied opinions within the faith of Christianity, and this issue is just one of many issues that finds itself to not be easily understood.
Growing up as a kid, I used to read stories in the Bible about Sodom and Gomorrah, and I know that probably fueled some of my first ideas about sexuality in Christianity. However, as an adult, my first thoughts about homosexuality within the Christian faith came as I was reading a book. It was a book about Martin Luther. The story of Martin Luther’s life and what he did to spread the the word of God is absolutely amazing! I feel everyone should have some knowledge of the story of his life and his journey through life. His story gave me my first history lesson on past leaders of the Catholic church and their lifestyles. In reading the book, I learned that Pope Leo X was a homosexual, and that other pope’s and Catholic priests indulged in openly practicing homosexuality throughout history. When I first learned that… it blew me away!
~Homosexual acts are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.~
It’s obvious that the Bible is against homosexuality as a sexual preference. There are multiple scriptures in the Bible that speak directly against it, and regard it as sinful. And, I think that if there was just one scripture, just one, that promoted a homosexual lifestyle… I promise you it would be shouted from the rooftops and quoted on CNN daily, or every other day. I feel the God of the Bible is clearly against it.
To make a clear statement… I’m not gay, and I don’t have a problem with gays or lesbians, I don’t judge them for what they do and how they live. I look at it from this perspective, knowing that every Christian struggles with some type of sin, and I know there are Christians who constantly sin, right…so why can’t there be such a thing as a Christian homosexual? Who am I to judge someone else’s faith? Everyone has different problems that they have to overcome. If someone loves God with all their heart, and loves others as they love themselves and as Christ loves them, then I feel they’re doing pretty good.
This is Martin Luther’s view of homosexuality and it is recorded in Plass’s What Luther Says:
| “ | The vice of the Sodomites is an unparalleled enormity. It departs from the natural passion and desire, planted into nature by God, according to which the male has a passionate desire for the female. Sodomy craves what is entirely contrary to nature. Whence comes this perversion? Without a doubt it comes from the devil. After a man has once turned aside from the fear of God, the devil puts such great pressure upon his nature that he extinguishes the fire of natural desire and stirs up another, which is contrary to nature. | ” |
I chose not to post any scripture references in this post…I wish and hope that no one feels as though I’m preaching to them, or that I’m looking down on them. We are all looking for wisdom and knowledge, and as we find understanding in our own feelings and our beliefs we’ll all have a better chance to become better wiser people.