Originally Posted by Mathewrev
Ok, I'm going to take a stab at this.
Firstly, a little background. I am a 48 year old Christian - Lutheran, to be specific (not ELCA)
I am also homosexual (and believe me it is not something I ever wanted to be). I am, however, homosexual in orientation only, having committed to celibacy as a teenager.
There are a number of issues in the OP's question.
Firstly, as many have pointed out, the Bible is the Word of God and we accept it as such. Therefore, when God says something is wrong, it is wrong no matter what we humans would like to think.
Nor does the Bible reflect an oppressive culture in any way. Contrary to many misunderstandings and in opposition to the cultures of its day, the Bible has a high regard for all human beings of every age, male and female.
For instance, many make a big deal of the fact that divorce could only be obtained by the man. While this is true on the face of it, the granting of divorce was required in order to prevent a man from simply kicking his wife out of the home with no means of support and no way of marrying again, since she was still married to him. By forcing the man to grant a divorce, God made sure the woman was freed from the marriage bonds and also received back the dowry with which she had come into the marriage so that she could support herself and look for another husband. Further, a women could require the man to give her a divorce under certain circumstances. For instance, at the time of Christ, if a man tried to force a woman to move from the city to the country or from the country to the city, she could insist on a divorce. While this is not mentioned in the Bible, it is attested to by the Rabbis of the time, making it evident that they understood divorce was for the benefit of the woman too.
Also, while laws of other nations set penalties for bodily injury based on the social status of the victim, the Bible sets equal penalties for all. In fact, when you look at the phrase "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," that is the reason for it. Actual eyes and teeth were not gouged out of the perpetrator, rather a monetary penalty was usually attached. However, the phrase is used to indicate that the penalty must be based on the severity of the injury, not on the societal worth of the person injured. A slave's tooth is worth no less than a king's. The life of a woman or a child is worth no less than that of a man.
Women in the Old Testament also held all positions in society except that of priest. We find a woman judge (which was comparable to king) and several women prophets.
In fact, as you look at the laws of the Bible it becomes clear that the more authority a person has the less rights and privileges he or she is given. The ones with the least authority are actually held to be more important and more worth protecting than those with the most.
I could go on and on but there is not one thing in the Bible, OT or NT that puts one person at a lower worth than another.
Given this, then, if the Bible says the homosexual sex is forbidden, it can not be because of oppression.
As to the topic of homosexual sex itself, God did not design either our bodies or our souls to be able to form that intimate one flesh union with a person of the same sex. Am I tempted to try and do that? Yes. Do I long for that kind of closeness with a man? Yes. but I also know that trying to attempt to find that kind of union with another man, while it might be satisfying emotionally, can never be anything but a pale imitation of what God really designed me for. He is not withholding anything good from me when He tells me not to engage in homosexual sex, He is withholding from me something that will become dangerous to me, something that will tear me down and make me a slave to a sin that can never build me up.
It may be the that I will never enjoy the gift of sex. but having watched my friends torn apart by the misuse of sex of one kind or another, I don't think it is a bad thing. I have never ever seen sex work as a gift outside of a lifelong, committed, heterosexual marriage. Used inappropriately, it is a curse, not a gift. And so I thank God for telling me no.
At the same time, Christians do need to understand the pain and loneliness homosexuals go through.
I can not describe how horrible and scary it is to be in Jr High and realize you are attracted to other boys instead of girls. Suddenly, every time the subject is mentioned everything that is said seems to be directed at you. When your dad talks about “those fags” you know he is talking to you. When the pastor uses homosexuality as an example of sin in a sermon, you know he is talking about you. When Bible study dwells on how the Bible says homosexual sex is wrong, you know it’s talking about you. When the men at church tell crude gay jokes without realizing you are overhearing them, you know they are talking about you.
The level of self hate, fear and despair is so intense and hurts so much. I don’t know how many tears and how many desperate prayers I went through in my teen years.
That self hate makes it hard to comprehend the good news of Christ if it is preached in a general sense. Believe me, our teens are getting the message of God's law about this subject in a very specific an targeted manner. I heard it at home, at church and at school when I was called “gay” or “fag” by the other kids and I got it very directly in the times I was beat up or punched by the other boys whenever the teachers were not looking.
What I needed to hear was the good news as directly applied to me and my situation. General statements like “God loves everybody” or “God forgives all sin” just could not make it through all the layers of , shame and fear.
We need to learn that saying God loves everybody or that we love like Christ loves is not enough. We have to be willing to show it!
God has not failed in withholding sex from homosexuals but we have failed with withholding the love and support God would call us to give to help them face their temptation. This is where the real unfairness is, not in God but in the church. We preach about homosexuals but we never get around to preaching God's love TO them.
When I was 15 the only thing I really wanted for Christmas or my birthday was for someone to know about my temptation and give me a heart felt hug anyway. I was too afraid to tell anyone I was homosexual so I never got that hug.
As an adult, I have told a few people about my temptation. I guess you could say they responded positively in that they did not reject me. But I'm still longing for that hug.
I have learned that God loves me very much but I often wonder if His people do.
Well, you know what? That is where God's call to forgive comes in. God is a just God but His people are still sinners who need forgiveness and the only way people will learn to love me is if I first love and forgive them. That's what grace is all about. If I can't learn to give God's grace to those whom I do understand, how can I expect them to give it to me when my temptations are something they can not understand?
So maybe your friends is looking at the whole thing the wrong way round - maybe homosexual Christians like me feel we can't waste time complaining about how unfair God seems or how unjust the church is. We just feel a need to be out there showing love to sinners so that they will be mature enough to give love back.
OK, I've rambled enough. Don't know if that made sense or helps but maybe you can find something in there to use.
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Nov 5th 2009, 01:18 AM
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