Unintended Consequences

"When your critics speak, listen very carefully, because they may present real and objective insights about yourself no friend would utter." (Not that a critic can't also be a friend.) The word came to me that, "Gary, just doesn't like Gay People." My first question is, "Is that true?" I do not want to answer it before I give it the attention that it deserves. My default answer is, "Of course not, that would be bigotry and unfair. Frankly, it would be a stupid opinion to hold."

When I take a public stand on this blog, which I have, I ought not be surprised that those who read what I write will draw conclusions about me, as a person. I can't be surprised because I do the same thing when I read others. It is, I believe the nature of communications. What you intend to say may carry messages you never dreamed would  be delivered.

 If I say, which I  do, that the act of homosexuality is sinful, this is what I know to be according to the common knowledge that God has placed in the hearts of human creation. It is certainly accords with God's revealed knowledge found in the Bible. There are but a very few cultures in the world, over time, who embrace homosexual behavior as anything but abhorrent. It is a practice that has been condemned by most people for as long as history has been kept. Throughout the history of the Church and with the Bible itself, the passages in the Old Testament and in the New were consistently opposed to homosexual practice.

If anyone says, "I hate homosexuality and those who practice it," they are guilty of bigotry. Plain and simple, not only do they show their mindless prejudges but also their thoughtlessness. If someone should say to me, "I hate homosexuals." I would  immediately ask them "Which one?" If they would say, "All of them" then I would comeback with, "Do you personally know all of them?"

I have deeply loved a gay man. Not as a gay man but as my nephew whom I held in my arms while he was still an infant and watch with great pride as he grew into a talented artist. He was a delight to be around (most of the time). He was smart and loved to see the humor in all situations. He is sorely missed.

If someone I meet tells me, "I am a gay man, or a lesbian." They have not told me much about themselves. When someone says such a thing I am tempted to ask, "Is that all you are?" I trust the conversation would reveal more interesting aspects of the person than merely their sexual preferences.

If I don't oppose homosexual people, what then do I oppose? I want, at first, to say, "I oppose nothing about homosexual ordination." That would be less than truthful. To my shame, there is something in me, that is in opposition to homosexuality, that I fine hard to define. I may well oppose such practices out of human bigotry. It all gets twisted together with my resolve that in ordaining homosexuals we are disobeying God. I am fairly certain that is the case.

One of the many verses in the Bible that guide my  opinion on this matter is found in First Kings.

1 Kings 8:61 (RSV)

⁶¹ Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the LORD our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, , ."

For me to say that "homosexuality is not sin and those who practice it, absent a repentant  heart, should be models of right conduct to other Christians and society at large" would be tantamount to practicing idolatry. It would be like listening to a "stranger's voice." I quite literally cannot do that with sincerity of heart.