[I originally posted this article on Facebook and then decided to repost it on the blog. For anyone who might not be aware of this story at all, Phil Robertson is the patriarch of the Robertson family, who are the stars of an extremely popular reality TV show on A&E called Duck Dynasty. Phil Robertson got himself in big trouble this week as a result of comments he made about homosexuality in an interview with GQ Magazine.]
Last night I took some time to read through a bunch of the comments and links that my friends had posted on Facebook regarding the indefinite suspension of Phil Robertson from Duck Dynasty, as well to reread what Phil actually said in the interview with GQ that caused all the controversy. I think it's safe to say that most of the people who commented were strongly in support of Phil Robertson, but there were a vocal few who either said Christians should not get involved in this controversy at all or that A&E was justified in firing Phil because his statement was crude and offensive.
Here are my thoughts on the matter, for anyone who cares. First, certain portions of Phil's comments were crude, as even his family has acknowledged in a statement. But there wasn't anything hateful or nasty about them, unless you think that the Bible's teaching regarding homosexuality is hateful (which many people obviously do). His comments were a response to a question about sin, and he mentioned homosexuality, bestiality, and "sleeping around with this woman and that woman." So he didn't single out homosexuality but mentioned it along with adultery and/or pre-marital sex. He then quoted a passage from Corinthians accurately which lists a large number of sins, including homosexuality, which prevent people from inheriting the kingdom of God. OK so far -- nothing but traditional Christian belief is being expressed. The next comments were the crude part, where Phil says the following: "It seems to me, a vagina -- as a man -- would be more desirable than a man's anus. That's just me. I'm just thinking, 'There's more there! She's got more to offer.' I mean, come on, dudes! You know what I'm saying? But hey, sin: it's not logical, my man. It's just not logical." Yes, it's coarse and graphic and unnecessary. But it's not hateful; it's probably expressing what pretty much every heterosexual guy has thought many times over. And the way it's worded, I strongly suspect he was making an attempt at humor that fell very flat. The wording reminds me very much of the kind of jokes that Phil tells on Duck Dynasty. He's a humorous guy and also not particularly refined or given to nuance -- that's his persona in both the show and in real life I think. The other thing to mention about the comment is that it fails to understand the point that many homosexuals did not make a conscious choice about their sexual orientation and their sexual desires feel completely natural to them -- so Phil telling them that it makes no sense is meaningless to them. It certainly isn't how a Christian psychologist or pastor should talk about homosexuality -- but Phil isn't either of those things. He's a redneck and a outdoorsman who made his fortune off of making duck calls. You can't reasonably expect him to articulate all the nuances of the issue (although it would have been better if he had). He was asked his opinion, and he gave it very honestly.
What Phil said next, in the same interview, got a lot less attention but is extremely important to understand the full context of his opinion on the subject. He went on to say, "We never, ever judge someone on who's going to heaven, hell. That's the Almighty's job. We just love 'em - give 'em the good news about Jesus - whether they're homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort 'em out later, you see what I'm saying?" He went on to add that his family "believes strongly that if the human race loved each other and they loved God, we would just be better off. We ought to just be repentant, turn to God, and...everything would turn around." This doesn't sound like an angry hater who wants to condemn all homosexuals to hell. It sounds like a guy who holds strong beliefs on sexual morality but who also thinks we should love everyone without condemning them blanketly to hell and believes that the good news of the Gospel is for everyone, including gays. If he explicitly says that he loves gays rather than hating them, then to conclude that he hates gays is to claim exactly the opposite of what he said in the initial interview. And his subsequent clarification, issued before A&E said anything about the controversy, is even better: "I myself am a product of the '60s; I centered my life around sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll until I hit rock bottom and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My mission today is to go forth and tell people about why I follow Christ and also what the Bible teaches, and part of that teaching is that women and men are meant to be together. However, I would never treat anyone with disrespect just because they are different from me. We are all created by the Almighty, and like Him, I love all of humanity. We would all be better off if we loved God and loved each other." Yes, it would have been better if his initial comments had struck exactly that tone, but how many times have all of us said things that did not come out the way we intended?
Is the outrage about Phil's comments really about how he said what he said? I don't think so. I think it's about the fact that he holds to a biblical belief that homosexuality is a sin. When the gay rights group GLAAD issued a statement about Phil's comments, they chose to highlight the issue of same-sex marriage, which indicates that their beef with Phil is that he doesn't tow the politically correct position on gay rights. Would they have been just as outraged and just as convinced he was a gay hater if he had quoted the biblical passage about homosexuality being a sin and stopped there? I think so, and I think they would have still put pressure on A&E to fire him. The offense here is really about Phil's moral beliefs, not the way he expressed them. This is just the latest of a long line of examples of people getting viciously attacked for expressing a traditional Biblical view of homosexuality and/or marriage.
Is this issue really about free speech? Well, yes and no. It is not about free speech, in the sense that A&E is a private company that has the right to fire anyone who is employed by their network for saying something that they feel is detrimental to their organization. They are not violating the 1st Amendment in any direct sense by firing Phil. However, I think there is a deeper free speech issue here because we are starting to see a pattern where the self-appointed tolerance police are trying to deliberately eliminate any dissenting voices regarding homosexuality from the public square. A few years ago, I remember reading the story of Matt Barber, an Allstate manager who wrote a letter or an article for a newspaper or magazine (can't remember the exact circumstances) expressing his support for traditional marriage between one man and one woman. The article was not hateful or extreme in any way. He wrote the article expressing his own private views on his own time and Allstate's name was in no way connected to it. Gay activists researched his name, found out he worked for Allstate, and convinced Allstate to fire him for his hateful views. The same thing happened in California after Proposition 8 passed. Gay activists tracked down the people who offered financial support for Proposition 8 and targeted their homes and businesses. Chick-Fil-A was targeted simply because the founder of the business expressed Christian beliefs about homosexuality. The Boy Scouts have been relentlessly targed. These are just a few examples but the trend is clear. Many people in this country think that people who hold traditional Christian beliefs about homosexuality are hateful, bigoted people who deserve to lose their employment and be driven out of polite society. They want to shout us down, silence us, keep us from expressing our beliefs and opinions. I think that's a threat to free speech, and it could become a much bigger threat down the road. Just look at Canada, where any expression of disapproval against homosexuality is a human rights violation that could subject the offender to heavy fines or worse. Pastors can be prosecuted under Canadian law simply for preaching from the Bible about homosexuality. I assure you, that can happen here too.
So maybe Phil didn't express himself as clearly as he could have on the issue. Maybe he should have been a little more empathetic and nuanced in his comments. But kudos to him for expressing his religious beliefs with boldness and not kowtowing to the speech police who want to silence anyone who holds to traditional biblical morality. Yes, we can learn some lessons about being careful how we express our beliefs as Christians and making sure we say what we say with love and grace. But we should also be aware that there is a cost to being a follower of Jesus, and sometimes speaking the truth and standing for God's Word will cost you no matter how lovingly you say it. I hope if any of us ever have the opportunity to have a national platform, we will be as bold and open about our faith in the Gospel as Phil and the rest of the Robertson clan have been.
Showing posts with label homosexuality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homosexuality. Show all posts
Friday, December 20, 2013
Saturday, August 17, 2013
How Not to Win Friends and Influence People
Most of us have a strong desire to be liked. We want to fit in, to be accepted by others, to be praised and respected rather than criticized and attacked. This is true of Christians just as much as it is of everyone else. And most of the time, provided we are not too outspoken or obnoxious, American Christians can slide through life without facing much in the way of open persecution or attacks on our faith (although I believe that could change in the not-so-distant future). There is a small minority of people who will take offense at virtually any reference to Jesus or the Bible at all, but most people will be at least respectful of our religious beliefs as long as we are somewhat respectful in how and when we express them.
Three Faultlines
My (admittedly limited) experience, based on interactions with co-workers, listening to speeches and discussions in a variety of venues, and reading online articles, comments, and debates, has shown me that there are at least three major exceptions to this rule -- three significant faultlines in American culture where an uncompromising expression of Christian belief can trigger an angry, even hateful backlash from many people. Those three faultlines are the belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation, the belief that God created the universe out of nothing, and the belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. When it comes to these issues, at least, it is definitely not easy being a Christian in today's culture. The belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation is considered narrowminded and intolerant, the belief that God created the universe out of nothing is considered ignorant and anti-scientific, and the belief that homosexuality is morally wrong is considered hateful and bigoted.
Whatever our culture may have to say, the faithful Christian takes his stand on the Bible and there can be no doubt what the Bible has to say on any of these issues. After all, it was Jesus Himself who uttered these words in John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Peter decisively reaffirms this truth in his speech before the high priest in Acts 4:11-12, when he says, "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
With regard to the origin of the universe, the Bible opens with these majestic words: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1 goes on to describe in detail God's creation of every part of the earth and the creatures that live on it. The rest of the Bible reaffirms this teaching in many places. Psalm 33:6 states, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." Isaiah 40:28 says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth."
Scripture is equally clear in its position on homosexual behavior. In Romans 1, Paul condemns mankind for worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator and then writes in verses 26 and 27: "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Caveats
Of course, some caveats apply for each of these issues. The Christian belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation does not mean that we should be disrespectful of other people's beliefs or refuse to listen to their opinions. Arrogance and disrespect are the opposite of how we should behave, in light of the Scriptural command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Despite the new definition of tolerance that is widespread today, it is possible -- and in fact necessary -- for Christians to hold staunchly to Biblical truth (including all the positions above) while at the same treating people who disagree with them with kindness and their opinions with respect.
With regard to creation, Christians hold differing opinions about the age of the earth. A Scriptural belief in God as the Creator does not require one to believe that the earth is 6,000 years old, but it does decisively rule out evolution -- in the sense of a wholly naturalistic process that brought the universe into being by blind chance.
And when it comes to homosexuality, it's important to emphasize that all the Biblical condemnations of this sin focus on behavior and lifestyle -- that is, things that a person has conscious control over. A person is not condemned for an orientation that he did not choose -- he is rather condemned for engaging in activities that are contrary to God's design for human sexuality. Furthermore, the 1 Corinthians passage quoted above makes clear that homosexuality is one of many sins that keep people from inheriting God's kingdom but also that homosexuals can be forgiven and brought into God's kingdom just like other types of sinners. Christians should not hate or fear gay people, but should view them as sinners in need of God's grace just like the rest of us and should treat them with kindness and love.
Going Deeper
Why do these three particular issues generate such a strong backlash in this country against Christian teaching? I believe it is because each of them cut against the grain of our culture at a fundamental level in a way that often makes people feel exposed or judged.
Let's start with the issue of Jesus being the only way of salvation. The implication of this teaching is that anyone who does not put their faith in Jesus Christ will be excluded from God's kingdom and denied eternal life. This is not what people want to hear in a multicultural area like the one in which I live (Montgomery County, Maryland), where a substantial percentage of the population either practices a religion other than Christianity or practices no religion at all. (Of course, since belief in Jesus is a commitment of the heart and life that goes far beyond baptism, church membership, and church attendance, large swaths of professing American Christians also stand condemned by this teaching, but they fail to realize it.) Such an absolute truth claim stands in sharp opposition to the prevailing philosophical opinion that truth is relative and therefore all religious opinions are equally valid. No one likes to hear that they are wrong, and it makes people especially upset when they are told that their wrong beliefs will cause them to be judged by God. To even suggest such a thing is the height of hatred and intolerance to many people. Sadly, it never seems to cross people's minds that is possible to believe that something is true without taking delight in it or wishing for it to happen.
Yet, the offense that comes from this belief is the offense of the Gospel. If people are offended by this teaching but not by your sharing of your personal Christian testimony, it is because your personal testimony does not press upon them the requirements of the Gospel as clearly they need to be. People must come face to face with the stark, life-and-death implications of the claims of Jesus Christ in order to really understand and believe in Him. Soft pedaling the exclusive claims of the Gospel may make your beliefs more palatable to others, but for that very reason the Gospel message will be muddled and will fail to convey the necessary urgency to unbelieving hearers. The very concept of salvation is meaningless to anyone who does not realize that he is in grave danger and needs to be rescued.
The second issue, a belief in God as Creator of the universe, provokes a backlash because it is perceived as being against science. And indeed the biblical doctrine of creation is in direct conflict with naturalism, the philosophy that forms the foundation for the way scientific inquiry and education are commonly practiced in most of the Western world today. Naturalism believes that matter is eternal, assumes that the universe came into existence and evolved to its current state through random chance, and either denies outright the existence of God or believes He is impossible to know and uninvolved in the universe. Science in the Western world has not always been dominated by naturalism and many great scientists throughout history have been devout Christians, but today science is inextricably linked in most people's minds with naturalistic evolution. Science is also considered by many people to be the realm where objective facts and cold, hard reality reign supreme, despite the fact that highly subjective a priori philosophical assumptions often contribute substantially to scientific conclusions. Therefore, Christians who dispute the "settled" naturalistic conclusions of science are assumed to be hostile to objective facts and rational thought, and therefore by extension ignorant, backward, and worthy of ridicule. I can recall watching the news as a teenager and hearing a presidential candidate (Pat Buchanan) who had expressed skepticism about naturalistic evolution being openly mocked by news anchors as a candidate for membership in the Flat Earth Society, and I am confident that the hostility and mockery you will face for this belief is far worse today than it was in 1996.
I believe that consciously or unconsciously, however, there is a deeper issue in play for many people beyond a deeply ingrained confidence in the infallibility of science. The belief that God created us and the world in which we live inevitably leads to the conclusion that we belong to Him and therefore are accountable to Him for our actions. As Paul points out in Romans 1, people choose (in some cases subconsciously I believe) to suppress a knowledge of God as Creator because they wish to be the captains of their own fate and the masters of their own souls.
The third and final issue regarding the morality of homosexuality is one that seems to be front and center in news headlines in one form or another almost constantly nowadays. Rarely in American history has there been as rapid and dramatic a shift in public opinion on any issue with serious implications for morality and public policy as there has been on the issue of homosexuality. As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, overwhelming majorities of the public opposed same-sex marriage and there was a relatively broad consensus that homosexuality was morally wrong. Today, to even insinuate anything negative about homosexuality, much less to state that it is a sin, will get you laughed off the stage or branded as a bigot very quickly. Part of the reason for the rapid sea change in public opinion on this issue, I think, is because the gay rights lobby has power far exceeding its size in many influential areas of our society and has worked tirelessly to force a change in public opinion using both sympathy due to past mistreatment of gays in our society and threats of being labeled intolerant. An even bigger reason, I think, is a growing cultural consensus that most gay people do not choose to be gay and deserve to be accepted for who they are. Once the notion that homosexuality is a fundamental part of certain people's identity rather than a lifestyle choice takes hold, as it has in our country, it becomes almost impossible to declare that it is wrong or immoral.
However, homosexuality is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Christian teaching about sexual morality as it relates to our culture. The Bible's moral requirements when it comes to human sexuality are a veritable straitjacket to our highly permissive culture. Pornography, adultery, pre-marital sex, co-habitation, sexual jokes and innuendos, lustful glances and thoughts, sexually revealing clothing -- our culture is so awash in these sins that most people barely give them a second thought. Yet every single one of them is just as much of a sin from a Biblical perspective as homosexuality. And our society is also awash in the consequences that inevitably follow from this sexually permissive behavior -- divorce, broken families, single-parent homes, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. In all of these areas, including homosexuality, the prevailing cultural opinion can be summed up with the question: "Who are you to judge?" It is widely assumed that suppression or repression of one's sexual desires is unhealthy, while the pathway to happiness consists in indulging in one's sexual desires and following them wherever they lead. Our society scoffs at "Victorian morality" and takes pride in being sexually liberated to find happiness wherever the desire may take us.
Of course, the Bible teaches exactly the opposite. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians, and Paul warns Christians in Romans 8 that they must "put to death the deeds of the body," a reference to those sinful behaviors that characterize human beings. After starkly declaring that "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart," Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount goes on to use extreme hyperbole to communicate the necessity for His followers to suppress and subdue their sinful desires: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell" (Matthew 5:29). In his classic Christian apologetic Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis notes in his chapter on chastity that "surrender to all our desires obviously leads to impotence, disease, jealousies, lies, concealment, and everything that is the reverse of health, good humour, and frankness." No matter how natural, normal, and reasonable our sexual desires may seem to us, we must renounce them in order to live in obedience to God.
Conclusion
None of this is to say that we should go out of our way to bring up these issues with other people if it is not warranted or appropriate. It would likely be very counter-productive to start a discussion about Biblical creation with the random person sitting next to you on the plane, and it is probable that your co-worker is not interested in hearing your unsolicited opinion about homosexuality. I can state from my personal observations that nothing is more annoying to non-Christians than when Christians hijack conversations or blog discussions with Bible-related opinions that have nothing to do with the topic at hand, especially when those Christians come across as judgmental, disrespectful, or rude. However, if you intend on living out your Christianity consistently in post-Christian 21st century America, sooner or later you are going to find yourself with these issues staring you in the face. It will probably be sooner rather than later. You will have the choice to either deny or downplay the Biblical position on these issues, which will be the easy way out, or else to take the much harder course of graciously but boldly affirming your faith and Scriptural teaching on these issues. Just as Moses had to decide whether to "be mistreated with the people of God" and accept "the reproach of Christ" rather than to enjoy the "treasures of Egypt" and "the fleeting pleasures of sin," so we too must decide whether our ultimate loyalty is to Christ and His Word or to being popular or accepted in this world. Your choice to affirm Scriptural teaching on these issues could very well make you an object of ridicule or brand you as a bigot. But Jesus Himself said, "Whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38).
Three Faultlines
My (admittedly limited) experience, based on interactions with co-workers, listening to speeches and discussions in a variety of venues, and reading online articles, comments, and debates, has shown me that there are at least three major exceptions to this rule -- three significant faultlines in American culture where an uncompromising expression of Christian belief can trigger an angry, even hateful backlash from many people. Those three faultlines are the belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation, the belief that God created the universe out of nothing, and the belief that homosexuality is morally wrong. When it comes to these issues, at least, it is definitely not easy being a Christian in today's culture. The belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation is considered narrowminded and intolerant, the belief that God created the universe out of nothing is considered ignorant and anti-scientific, and the belief that homosexuality is morally wrong is considered hateful and bigoted.
Whatever our culture may have to say, the faithful Christian takes his stand on the Bible and there can be no doubt what the Bible has to say on any of these issues. After all, it was Jesus Himself who uttered these words in John 14:6: "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." Peter decisively reaffirms this truth in his speech before the high priest in Acts 4:11-12, when he says, "This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."
With regard to the origin of the universe, the Bible opens with these majestic words: "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1 goes on to describe in detail God's creation of every part of the earth and the creatures that live on it. The rest of the Bible reaffirms this teaching in many places. Psalm 33:6 states, "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their host." Isaiah 40:28 says, "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth."
Scripture is equally clear in its position on homosexual behavior. In Romans 1, Paul condemns mankind for worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator and then writes in verses 26 and 27: "For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 states, "Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
Caveats
Of course, some caveats apply for each of these issues. The Christian belief that Jesus is the only way of salvation does not mean that we should be disrespectful of other people's beliefs or refuse to listen to their opinions. Arrogance and disrespect are the opposite of how we should behave, in light of the Scriptural command to love our neighbor as ourselves. Despite the new definition of tolerance that is widespread today, it is possible -- and in fact necessary -- for Christians to hold staunchly to Biblical truth (including all the positions above) while at the same treating people who disagree with them with kindness and their opinions with respect.
With regard to creation, Christians hold differing opinions about the age of the earth. A Scriptural belief in God as the Creator does not require one to believe that the earth is 6,000 years old, but it does decisively rule out evolution -- in the sense of a wholly naturalistic process that brought the universe into being by blind chance.
And when it comes to homosexuality, it's important to emphasize that all the Biblical condemnations of this sin focus on behavior and lifestyle -- that is, things that a person has conscious control over. A person is not condemned for an orientation that he did not choose -- he is rather condemned for engaging in activities that are contrary to God's design for human sexuality. Furthermore, the 1 Corinthians passage quoted above makes clear that homosexuality is one of many sins that keep people from inheriting God's kingdom but also that homosexuals can be forgiven and brought into God's kingdom just like other types of sinners. Christians should not hate or fear gay people, but should view them as sinners in need of God's grace just like the rest of us and should treat them with kindness and love.
Going Deeper
Why do these three particular issues generate such a strong backlash in this country against Christian teaching? I believe it is because each of them cut against the grain of our culture at a fundamental level in a way that often makes people feel exposed or judged.
Let's start with the issue of Jesus being the only way of salvation. The implication of this teaching is that anyone who does not put their faith in Jesus Christ will be excluded from God's kingdom and denied eternal life. This is not what people want to hear in a multicultural area like the one in which I live (Montgomery County, Maryland), where a substantial percentage of the population either practices a religion other than Christianity or practices no religion at all. (Of course, since belief in Jesus is a commitment of the heart and life that goes far beyond baptism, church membership, and church attendance, large swaths of professing American Christians also stand condemned by this teaching, but they fail to realize it.) Such an absolute truth claim stands in sharp opposition to the prevailing philosophical opinion that truth is relative and therefore all religious opinions are equally valid. No one likes to hear that they are wrong, and it makes people especially upset when they are told that their wrong beliefs will cause them to be judged by God. To even suggest such a thing is the height of hatred and intolerance to many people. Sadly, it never seems to cross people's minds that is possible to believe that something is true without taking delight in it or wishing for it to happen.
Yet, the offense that comes from this belief is the offense of the Gospel. If people are offended by this teaching but not by your sharing of your personal Christian testimony, it is because your personal testimony does not press upon them the requirements of the Gospel as clearly they need to be. People must come face to face with the stark, life-and-death implications of the claims of Jesus Christ in order to really understand and believe in Him. Soft pedaling the exclusive claims of the Gospel may make your beliefs more palatable to others, but for that very reason the Gospel message will be muddled and will fail to convey the necessary urgency to unbelieving hearers. The very concept of salvation is meaningless to anyone who does not realize that he is in grave danger and needs to be rescued.
The second issue, a belief in God as Creator of the universe, provokes a backlash because it is perceived as being against science. And indeed the biblical doctrine of creation is in direct conflict with naturalism, the philosophy that forms the foundation for the way scientific inquiry and education are commonly practiced in most of the Western world today. Naturalism believes that matter is eternal, assumes that the universe came into existence and evolved to its current state through random chance, and either denies outright the existence of God or believes He is impossible to know and uninvolved in the universe. Science in the Western world has not always been dominated by naturalism and many great scientists throughout history have been devout Christians, but today science is inextricably linked in most people's minds with naturalistic evolution. Science is also considered by many people to be the realm where objective facts and cold, hard reality reign supreme, despite the fact that highly subjective a priori philosophical assumptions often contribute substantially to scientific conclusions. Therefore, Christians who dispute the "settled" naturalistic conclusions of science are assumed to be hostile to objective facts and rational thought, and therefore by extension ignorant, backward, and worthy of ridicule. I can recall watching the news as a teenager and hearing a presidential candidate (Pat Buchanan) who had expressed skepticism about naturalistic evolution being openly mocked by news anchors as a candidate for membership in the Flat Earth Society, and I am confident that the hostility and mockery you will face for this belief is far worse today than it was in 1996.
I believe that consciously or unconsciously, however, there is a deeper issue in play for many people beyond a deeply ingrained confidence in the infallibility of science. The belief that God created us and the world in which we live inevitably leads to the conclusion that we belong to Him and therefore are accountable to Him for our actions. As Paul points out in Romans 1, people choose (in some cases subconsciously I believe) to suppress a knowledge of God as Creator because they wish to be the captains of their own fate and the masters of their own souls.
The third and final issue regarding the morality of homosexuality is one that seems to be front and center in news headlines in one form or another almost constantly nowadays. Rarely in American history has there been as rapid and dramatic a shift in public opinion on any issue with serious implications for morality and public policy as there has been on the issue of homosexuality. As recently as 10 or 15 years ago, overwhelming majorities of the public opposed same-sex marriage and there was a relatively broad consensus that homosexuality was morally wrong. Today, to even insinuate anything negative about homosexuality, much less to state that it is a sin, will get you laughed off the stage or branded as a bigot very quickly. Part of the reason for the rapid sea change in public opinion on this issue, I think, is because the gay rights lobby has power far exceeding its size in many influential areas of our society and has worked tirelessly to force a change in public opinion using both sympathy due to past mistreatment of gays in our society and threats of being labeled intolerant. An even bigger reason, I think, is a growing cultural consensus that most gay people do not choose to be gay and deserve to be accepted for who they are. Once the notion that homosexuality is a fundamental part of certain people's identity rather than a lifestyle choice takes hold, as it has in our country, it becomes almost impossible to declare that it is wrong or immoral.
However, homosexuality is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Christian teaching about sexual morality as it relates to our culture. The Bible's moral requirements when it comes to human sexuality are a veritable straitjacket to our highly permissive culture. Pornography, adultery, pre-marital sex, co-habitation, sexual jokes and innuendos, lustful glances and thoughts, sexually revealing clothing -- our culture is so awash in these sins that most people barely give them a second thought. Yet every single one of them is just as much of a sin from a Biblical perspective as homosexuality. And our society is also awash in the consequences that inevitably follow from this sexually permissive behavior -- divorce, broken families, single-parent homes, abortion, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. In all of these areas, including homosexuality, the prevailing cultural opinion can be summed up with the question: "Who are you to judge?" It is widely assumed that suppression or repression of one's sexual desires is unhealthy, while the pathway to happiness consists in indulging in one's sexual desires and following them wherever they lead. Our society scoffs at "Victorian morality" and takes pride in being sexually liberated to find happiness wherever the desire may take us.
Of course, the Bible teaches exactly the opposite. Self-control is one of the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians, and Paul warns Christians in Romans 8 that they must "put to death the deeds of the body," a reference to those sinful behaviors that characterize human beings. After starkly declaring that "everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart," Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount goes on to use extreme hyperbole to communicate the necessity for His followers to suppress and subdue their sinful desires: "If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell" (Matthew 5:29). In his classic Christian apologetic Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis notes in his chapter on chastity that "surrender to all our desires obviously leads to impotence, disease, jealousies, lies, concealment, and everything that is the reverse of health, good humour, and frankness." No matter how natural, normal, and reasonable our sexual desires may seem to us, we must renounce them in order to live in obedience to God.
Conclusion
None of this is to say that we should go out of our way to bring up these issues with other people if it is not warranted or appropriate. It would likely be very counter-productive to start a discussion about Biblical creation with the random person sitting next to you on the plane, and it is probable that your co-worker is not interested in hearing your unsolicited opinion about homosexuality. I can state from my personal observations that nothing is more annoying to non-Christians than when Christians hijack conversations or blog discussions with Bible-related opinions that have nothing to do with the topic at hand, especially when those Christians come across as judgmental, disrespectful, or rude. However, if you intend on living out your Christianity consistently in post-Christian 21st century America, sooner or later you are going to find yourself with these issues staring you in the face. It will probably be sooner rather than later. You will have the choice to either deny or downplay the Biblical position on these issues, which will be the easy way out, or else to take the much harder course of graciously but boldly affirming your faith and Scriptural teaching on these issues. Just as Moses had to decide whether to "be mistreated with the people of God" and accept "the reproach of Christ" rather than to enjoy the "treasures of Egypt" and "the fleeting pleasures of sin," so we too must decide whether our ultimate loyalty is to Christ and His Word or to being popular or accepted in this world. Your choice to affirm Scriptural teaching on these issues could very well make you an object of ridicule or brand you as a bigot. But Jesus Himself said, "Whoever is ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels" (Mark 8:38).
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