Archive for August 15, 2012

Randy Alcorn’s First Law of Reward: “Giving Brings Greater Blessing Than Receiving”

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Book Reviews
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Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). “Why?” asks Randy Alcorn, “Perhaps because when we give it blesses not one but three parties—God, the recipient, and us….By not giving, we don’t just rob God or rob others of blessing. We rob ourselves of the rewards God wants to give us. On the wall of President Lyndon Johnson’s White House office hung a framed letter written by General Sam Houston to Johnson’s great-grandfather, Baines more than a hundred years earlier. Baines had led Sam Houston to Christ. Houston was a changed man, no longer coarse and belligerent but peaceful and content. The day came for Houston to be baptized—an incredible event for those who knew him. After his baptism Houston offered to pay half the local minister’s salary. When someone asked him why, he said, ‘My pocketbook was baptized too.’ Martin Luther similarly said, ‘For each of us there must be not only the conversion of the heart and mind but also the conversion of the purse.’”

Chick-fil-A, Christians, and Homosexual Activtists, Part 2

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Marriage
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Before I dig into God’s Word on the subject of homosexuality, I want to consider what homosexuals say are the causes of their behavior. It is important to know how homosexuals justify their lifestyle which God’s Word condemns as sin. The only way to gain victory over any sin is not to make excuses for the sin nor to rationalize it’s legitimacy. These posts are intended to help each reader whether he/she is homosexual or heterosexual.

Some homosexuals say they are born homosexuals. They claim their sexual orientation is genetic or they are constitutionally homosexual. There have been two studies that homosexuals use to substantiate this view. The first study by Swaab and Hofman studied a cell group in the hypothalamus, which is a gland that is important both hormonally and sexually. They studied both homosexuals and heterosexuals. They compared the volume of a particular cell in the glands of both homosexuals and heterosexuals and found different volumes in each. They studied 34 subjects and only 10 were homosexuals.

Simon LeVay studied a different cell group in the hypothalamus of 41 subjects of whom only 19 were homosexuals and also found a difference between homosexuals and heterosexuals. “LeVay cautioned that his results should be considered speculative. Moreover, the results of his study do not allow one to decide if the changes in the hypothalamus are the cause or consequences of an individual’s sexual orientation”[1] These studies were inconclusive for a number of reasons. The two studies only examined 29 homosexuals. “This is hardly the kind of sample from which to make global announcements.”[2] In both studies an important group of subjects were presumed to be heterosexuals. All the homosexual subjects had AIDS which may have affected the differences between the heterosexuals and homosexuals. “Thus we suggest that it goes far beyond the scientific evidence we presently possess to conclude that homosexuality is constitutional.”[3]

Other homosexuals claim that their homosexuality is a learned behavior. “There is some evidence that family pathology at least contributes to homosexuality. About 67% percent of male homosexuals come from a home where the mother is a domineering man-hater and the father is weak, detached and often uninvolved in the family. However, it seems clear that this family structure is neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for homosexuality.”[4] The conclusion is that no one necessarily has to become homosexual because of genetic influences or family environment.

Scripture and Homosexuality

In response to the many negative commits from the blog, McLaren’s blog mentioned in the beginning of this paper, McLaren posted a second blog on January 30, 2006 defending his view.

Please be assured that as a pastor and as someone who loves and seeks to follow   the Bible, I am aware of Genesis 19, Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians         6:9, and related texts. Believe me, I have read them and prayerfully pondered them, and     have read extensively on all the many sides of the issue. I understand that for many        people, these verses end all dialogue and people like me must seem horribly stupid not to             see what’s there so clearly to them. I wish they could understand that some of us encounter additional levels of complexity when we try honestly and faithfully to face   these texts.[5]

In my next post, I examine how homosexuals interpret these pertinent Scriptures. There are pro-homosexual Bible teachers who claim that the Word of God does not condemn homosexuality such as Walter Barnett and John J. McNeill. McNeill writes: “Nowhere in the Scripture is there a clear condemnation of a loving sexual relationship between two gay persons.”[6]

[1] John and Paul Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World, (Wheaton: Crossway Books, 1993), 187.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., p.188.

[4] Ibid., pp.188-189.

[5]  Brian McLaren. “Brian McLaren on the Homosexual Question,” in “Out of Ur,” a Leadership Journal blog, http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/01/brian_mclaren_o.html

[6] John J. McNeill, “Homosexuality: Challenging the Church to Grow,” Christian Century, March 11, 1987: 246.

Chick-fil-A, Christians, and Homosexual Activists, Part 1

Posted: August 15, 2012 in Marriage
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The recent Chick-fil-A battle with homosexual advocates (and activists who retaliated to the Appreciation Day with the “Kiss In”) is just one more skirmish in this long war. The clash, however, is not just between the secular and the sacred, but between alleged believers.

Here is what Emerging church leader, Brian McLaren said in a Leadership Journal blog about homosexuality:

Frankly, many of us don’t know what we should think about homosexuality. We’ve heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say “it  seems good to the Holy Spirit and us.” That alienates us from both the liberals and conservatives who seem to know exactly what we should think. Even if we are convinced that all homosexual behavior is always sinful, we still want to treat gay and lesbian people with more dignity, gentleness, and respect than our colleagues do. If we think that there may actually be a legitimate context for some homosexual relationships, we know  that the biblical arguments are nuanced and multilayered, and the pastoral ramifications  are staggeringly complex. We aren’t sure if or where lines are to be drawn, nor do we know how to enforce with fairness whatever lines are drawn.

Perhaps we need a five-year moratorium on making pronouncements. In the meantime, we’ll practice prayerful Christian dialogue, listening respectfully, disagreeing agreeably. When decisions need to be made, they’ll be admittedly provisional. We’ll keep our ears attuned to scholars in biblical studies, theology, ethics, psychology, genetics, sociology, and related fields. Then in five years, if we have clarity, we’ll speak; if not, we’ll set another five years for ongoing reflection. After all, many important issues in church history took centuries to figure out. Maybe this moratorium would help us resist   the “winds of doctrine” blowing furiously from the left and right, so we can patiently wait for the wind of the Spirit to set our course. [1]

Brian McLaren said we needed a five-year moratorium in order to consult scholars in different fields including ethics. Let’s examined what scholars in ethics have discovered about homosexuality. The problem with McLaren’s proposal of a five year moratorium is that the Word of God has not taken a neutral stance of this issue. I my next posts we will dig into the teaching of Scripture on homosexuality.

Barnabas Piper, son of John PIper, in World Magazine has taken another response to the open conflict between homosexuals and Christians:

Mike Huckabee, the conservative former governor of Arkansas and one-time presidential candidate, started a group on Facebook recently to declare Aug. 1 “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day.” It is an effort to support the popular but currently beleaguered fast food chain in the face of the vitriolic criticism after public statements by Dan Cathy, the company’s president, regarding same-sex marriage. So far more than 452,000 people have committed to attend. (Some have called this a movement in support of free speech,but that isn’t what Huckabee writes on his own page.) I agree whole-heartedly with Dan Cathy’s comments (see here and here). I believe in the biblical definition of marriage. I think Christians in prominent positions speaking in a reasonable and level-headed way about their convictions is a good thing. On top of that I am a borderline addict of Chick-fil-A’s sandwiches, waffle fries, and sweet tea. But I will not be attending “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” on Wednesday. Here’s why.

Homosexuality is one of the most defining, contentious, and complex issues facing this generation of the church. We cannot sacrifice our biblical convictions but neither can we sacrifice the church’s ability to serve people of opposing viewpoints and lifestyles. The 452,000 people supporting Chick-fil-A are delivering more than one message, and the message the homosexual community and its supporters see is “us versus you.” The event also sends a message of separatism and territorialism in the “reclaiming” of those restaurants that are being boycotted, a collective action easily seen as a shaking of the for a wagging of the finger. Convictions, especially biblical ones, will divide people. That is inevitable, but not desirable. The separation of believers and unbelievers, when it happens, must  be a last resort or an unavoidable result. Actions to the contrary, those that clearly promote an “us versus them” mentality, are most often unhelpful. There is a time for Christians to engage in boycotting, such as when a business deals in obviously immoral areas or is clearly unethical in its methods. But for a mass of Christians to descend upon Chick-fil-A restaurants across the country tomorrow to support the leadership’s view on this issue is, I believe, a bold mistake. So I stand with Dan Cathy in his biblical affirmation of family but I cannot stand with those making a movement out of his beliefs. I do not question the motives of Mike Huckabee or those thousands joining him, but what about the wider effects? How is the Kingdom of God served by this? Is Jesus represented well to the gay community and the politicians pandering to them? Marching on Chick-fil-A tomorrow like an army will produce nothing more than defined battle lines, and the result will be greater contention and fewer softened hearts. On both sides.

In my next posts, I want to examine the Biblical teaching on homosexuality and what the Christian response should be.

[1] Brian McLaren. “Brian McLaren on the Homosexual Question,” in “Out of Ur,” a Leadership Journal blog, http://blog.christianitytoday.com/outofur/archives/2006/01/brian_mclaren_o.html