“Myinnermostthinking” responded recently to “Religion, Sex & Biology.” It would seem that he wants very much for his god to approve his chosen lifestyle. Christian or not, how many times do any of us try to make God in our image? Tell ourselves that He, the Creator of life, would certainly accept our self-shaped world… and make us happy in it. Imagine that! The pot telling the Potter the way things should be.
Taking the time to respond may not be as productive as I’d like because “Myinnermostthinking” and I don’t speak the same language. I trust that the Word of God is what God says it is. “Myinnermostthinking” does not. Regardless, I’d like to take a stab at this.
Three women, so far, have responded to “Myinnermostthinking.” What strikes me about their responses is that none of them are heckling a man who thinks and lives very different from them. Each one of these women have uttered not a single word that could be interpreted as “hate speech.” Each one has taken the time to study God’s Word and respond in a way that honors that Word. Each one has responded to a person different from them with patience, kindness, and words of hope.
These women speak from a worldview “Myinnermostthinking” seems to reject. It is the worldview that determines how I identify myself and make the choices I make. That worldview — the Biblical worldview — is this: Creation — The Fall — Redemption. That worldview explains the origin of my life, why things go wrong in my life, and where I’m going when this life is over. The Biblical worldview trusts that God really did say what He said, when He said it, to whom He said it, and why.
There is one thing that I would like to clarify based on this worldview. There is a fine line between saying God created us the way we are and saying that He allows us to be the way we are. MommyLiberty stated that, personally, she thinks “God did allow for some people to be straight and some people to be gay . . . some to be prone to addiction and others not . . . some to struggle with anger, pride, gossip and worry.” My husband appreciated her husband’s observation: “He gave everybody a different car to drive. Some people’s cars are harder than others’ to steer.” 🙂 But, here’s the thing.
God’s original creation was perfect. Happily, joyfully perfect. Anything imperfect, unhappy, or without joy is the opposite of God. God would not create us to be in opposition with our own anatomy. To be tortured by feelings we shouldn’t have. To be at risk physicially, emotionally, and spiritually. But, after the first man and woman sinned, everything changed. The relationship between God and His creation changed. The relationship between men and women changed. We live in a sinfully changed world. A struggling world. An unhappy world. Unhappy, not because God doesn’t want us to be happy, but because we keep doing the things that put us at odds with Him. Hetero. Homo. Bi. Trans. Focusing on our “sexuality,” our flesh side, we are hard pressed to find happiness. Because of sin, we all die.
But God, in spite of sin, chooses life. He allowed Adam and Eve to go on living. He allowed them to do so, — not by changing His design and intent for them, not by throwing all warnings and caution aside — but by mercifully covering their new emotions of embarrassment and shame. Never before had their nakedness embarrassed them. Never before had they felt shame. God covered their embarrassment with clothing (neck to knee) and their shame with the promised Robe of Righteousness, the Savior Jesus Christ. All of the Old Testament points to the Christ who did, indeed, come to be our Robe of Righteousness. To cover the sins of the world (all of us) and then ask: “Will you follow Me?”
Jesus Christ died. Conquered death. And returned to the right hand of God. But, God in Christ will return. Will He find us striving to follow Him… or doing what is right in our own eyes?
“My ways are not your ways,” says the Lord. So, I guess it comes down to this: How we see the Lord Jesus — who calls Himself the Word for life — determines how we choose to live. Do we seek His way to happiness… or our own?
Ezerwoman's Blog 
Psalm 111
Praise the LORD!
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
He provides food for those who fear him;
he remembers his covenant forever.
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy;
they are established forever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is his name!
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have a good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
(Psalm 111 ESV)
AMEN
Thank you for the thoughtful post. I won’t dwell on the topic but I guess a final thought would be appropriate:
–God did make men and women capable of loving the same sex, he chose our genes and built each of us special, therefore if he is doing that then there is no reason he wouldn’t love us for who we are, regardless of what man wrote in the Bible.
–Those that wrote the Bible obviously did not have the scientific knowledge to understand that being gay is in your genes, it is not a choice. No one chooses to be gay or straight therefore they missed that note in the Bible. Since God made me gay, do I live a life of sorrow, forced to love a women that I will never have an intimate connection with, or do I live a happy life of loving someone who I deeply care about. God is a loving being therefore I think he would rather the later, regardless of what was written.
–Laws always change; we see that in government all the time. And since God has never spoken with any of you regarding his amendments or changed thoughts, who has the right to say that he too has not changed his law. If he wants us to be happy, and he made people against his own law, then that is a contradiction.
–Anyone who is deeply in love with their spouse will know that being with that person makes them happier than anything else in their life. I have that feeling while with my partner and while some of our methods might be unique to the traditional “man/women” relationship, God made us this way and we are grateful that he put each of us on this Earth to find one another, and that we are happy and healthy.
You are right in saying don’t heckle those that are different, I love your blog posts and I do read them. I love God, I respect ALL of the comments that were presented and I felt I was appropriate in responding (I tried my best to not offend anyone). I just felt it would not be appropriate if I did not present an argument from a gay man who has to feel these pressures from the “straight” masses every day. And while I don’t push my thoughts, beliefs, or sexual orientation on anyone else, I feel gay men and women deserve the same respect from everyone else. I don’t expect to change anyone’s opinion and I am not commenting in hopes of doing that. I just hope that maybe I have opened an eye or two to see “you know what, maybe Matt really does love other man, and if they do because God made them that way, well than good for them. And who am I to hold them back from having the same rights to happiness as I have.”
We have all sinned; some of mine are just different from some of yours. But I don’t think ANY God from ANY religion would approve of someone holding back another in their right be happy.
I respect all of your thoughts and I am glad we could have an educated conversation about it. I will no longer be commenting regarding this issue otherwise we will eventually be going in circles.
I know you are signing off on the discussion, and I applaud your willingness to hang in there for a while, even though you are encountering opposition. I will simply add that I agree with you that having sexual feelings for members of the same gender is not merely a matter of choice. As Lutherans, we believe that human nature is not itself sin (because that would mean that God created sin and called sin “good” in the beginning), but that sin, as a power, has so corrupted our nature, so infected it that to sin, to do what God has forbidden, is what comes most naturally for us. I have no doubts that a man or woman who is attracted to someone of the same gender is genuinely attracted to that person. What we must come to realize, however, (and only by faith can one recognize this), is that sin is so deep, and has so corrupted our desires, our motives, our thoughts, and our actions, that we cannot by our own reason understand it. As the Psalmist says, “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from my hidden faults.”
Even after one is converted to faith in Christ, and has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit through faith, these unholy thoughts and desires continue to plague the believer as one can read in Romans 7 and Paul’s struggles with his sinful nature or flesh. The difference is, the one who has the Spirit of Christ acknowledges such desires as being unnatural or against God’s will, and in repentance trusts in God’s forgiveness and strives to “put to death” what remains of his sinful nature with God’s help. So, yes–there may be a cross involved for someone who sees that his desires are unnatural and contrary to God’s Word, and but with God’s help resists the urge to act on it. It is no different than a Christian who recognizes that theft is wrong, and feels the desire to commit the crime, but hates this part of him because it is contrary to God’s commandments.
The truth is, the more a person matures and grows in his or her Christian faith, the more they come to see the unholy desires that they have in themselves, but this causes them to hunger and thirst even more for the grace of Christ. But if someone simply accepts the sinful part of himself or herself and embraces it, then that is giving oneself over to one’s desire, and serving the Law of sin, rather than walking according to the Spirit. The person who does this, who simply gives himself over to one’s passions and desires, without regard for whether or not they are sinful and displeasing to God, is in certain danger of eternal condemnation.
Well, this is longer than I intended to comment, but there it is.
I respect your decision to “sign off” on this discussion, Matt. (May I call you by your first name?) Sometimes even thinking and caring people can begin to, as you say, go in circles. Sometimes our worldviews are just too different. Sometimes there is no common ground. I will add just one thing that might be of a little help. I’ve always believed that God is the God of Love. He created love. Without God, there can be no real love. But, God did not force Adam and Eve — or any of his creatures — to love. Love to be real love must be reciprocal. To love God is to obey Him. But, He does not force our obedience. He wants our willing obedience because we trust Him. The first man and woman failed to trust God. And, when they fell into sin, their love was no longer perfect. Their bodies were no longer perfect. Man and woman looked at each other differently. And, yes, women began to look at women in a sinful way as men looked at men in a sinful way. This went against God’s original and perfect creation of human beings that were His crown of creation. Romans 1 tells us what happens when we men and women “do what is right in our own eyes.” God could stop it all, but I think He desires that we come to realization of our own hurtful sin and try to resist choices and behaviors that cannot please Him. Thank you, Matt, for your patience with dialogue. Thank you, too, Nicole, for a very articulate and kind response. May we, as the human family, strive to be gentle with one another while never compromising God’s Word. God’s Word is either what He says it is, or it isn’t. Same goes for Jesus Christ who calls Himself the Word. He is either who He says He is, or He is a fool.