Whenever the words homosexuality and United Methodist Church appear in the same news heading, do you cringe? Chances are the news is discouraging if you are an evangelical. Even though we continue to gain ground legislatively at every General Conference, one still gets the same feeling as a visiting basketball team playing before a hostile crowd. Despite the good news on the scoreboard, it at times feels as if we are losing. Do you ever want to jump ship?
But is jumping ship even possible? No matter what denomination you would opt for, we are all still on the same boat. You can’t turn your back and say, “Your part of the ark is sinking. I’m going to find a safer place to work.” You are needed here at this place in the Body of Christ.
The truth is we have been gaining ground year by year, quadrennia by quadrennia. Yes, it has been a long haul--over 30 years. But now is not the time to look for the life boats.
Remember Athanasius, the Bishop of Alexandria of the fourth century? He was the driving force behind the Nicene Creed. Despite fierce opposition from the Arians, including being forced into exile five times, Athanasius continued to contend for the doctrine of the Deity of Christ. After 56 years of struggle, he won the day.
Evangelicals within the UMC need both backbone and heart. Backbone to stand tall and speak intelligently and confidently on the subject of homosexuality. When asked why her newspaper article was lopsided with quotes from liberal pastors, a local journalist replied, “ I made many calls to people who hold views similar to yours, but no one would speak for a quote.”
But we especially need heart. Homosexuals are not evil people who desire to tear apart churches and dismantle family values. Many of them are hurting people who first approached their pastors for help with their gender confusion. Sadly, the response most received from pastors was either hostile or inept. We must become equipped to minister the healing love of Christ to people with sexual brokenness. And we must destigmatize homosexual behavior, treating it no differently than we do heterosexual sin.
By God’s grace and your steadfastness, we will repair this breach in the hull of the Body of Christ. To better enable you to speak confidently and to minister effectively to homosexuals, please consider the following web sites.
26And God said, “Let us make adam (an earthling, humankind, man) in our image, in accordance with our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish . . . birds . . . cattle . . . wild animals. . . and over every creeping thing. . . .”
27And God created the adam in his image,
in the image of God he created it (or: him),
male and female he created them.
28And God blessed them and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish...the birds...and every living thing. . . .”
Genesis 2:18-24
18And Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the adamto be alone; I will make for him a helper as his counterpart.” 19And Yahweh God formed from the ground (adamah) every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the adam . . . 20 but for the adam there was not found a helper as his counterpart.
21And Yahweh God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs (or: sides) and closed up its place with flesh. 22And Yahweh God built the rib (or: side, sela) that he had taken from the adaminto a woman and brought her to the adam.
23And the adam said, “This at last is bone from my bones and flesh from my flesh; to this one shall be given the name ‘woman’ (ishah) for from man (ish) this one was taken.”
24Therefore a man (ish) shall leave his father and his mother and become attached (or: joined, united) to his woman/wife (ishah) and they (or: the two) shall become one flesh.
GENESIS 9:20-27: THE STORY OF HAM'S ACT AND NOAH'S CURSE
20Noah, a man of the soil, was the first to plant a vineyard. 21When he drank some of the wine, he became drunk and was uncovered (or: uncovered himself) in the middle of (or: inside) his tent 22and Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father and told (it) to his two brothers outside.
23And Shem and Japheth took the outer garment (of Noah) and put (it) on the shoulders of the two of them and walked backwards. And they covered the nakedness of their father, with their faces turned the other way, and they did not see the nakedness of their father.
24When Noah woke up from his wine (i.e., drunkenness), he came to know what his youngest son had done to him, 25and he said,
“Cursed be Canaan (= the son of Ham);
lowest of slaves shall he be to his brothers.”
26He also said,
“Blessed by Yahweh my God be Shem (= Israel);
and let Canaan be his slave.
27May God make space for Japheth (= the Philistines?),
and let him live in the tents of Shem;
and let Canaan be his slave.”
GENESIS 19:4-11: THE STORY OF SODOM AND GOMORRAH
4Before they could lie down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom—from young to old, all the people, from one end (of the city to the other)—surrounded the house. 5They called to Lot and said to him, “Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we may know (= have intercourse with) them.”
6Lot went out to the doorway to (meet) them and shut the door behind him. 7He said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act wickedly. 8Here are two daughters of mine who have not known (= had intercourse with) a man. Let me bring them out to you; and do to them according to that which is good in your eyes; only do not do a thing to these men for they have come under the shelter of my roof.”
9But they said, “Step away over there!” And they said, “This guy came to live as an immigrant and he has the nerve to act like a judge! Now we will act more wickedly toward you than toward them.” And they kept putting intense pressure on the man Lot and stepped forward to break down the door.
10But the men reached out their hands and brought Lot into the house with them and shut the door. 11They struck the men who were at the doorway of the house with blinding light (or: sudden blindness), from small to great, so that they grew tired (of trying) to find the doorway.
INTERPRETATIONS OF THE SODOM STORY
(a) EZEKIEL 16:49-50; 18:10-13
16:49-50
This was the sin of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters [i.e., the towns in Sodom's territorial orbit] had pride (or: arrogance), an over-satiation from food, complacency (or: unconcern) brought on by peace and quiet; and she (Sodom) did not take hold of the hand of the poor and the needy (i.e., did not help them). And they grew haughty and committed an abomination (toevah) before me and I removed them when I saw it.
18:10-13
10But if he has born to him a son who is a ruffian (or: a violent person; a burglar), a shedder of blood, and he does any of these things -- 11although he (viz., his father) has not done any of these things: he eats on the mountains, or defiles his neighbor's wife, 12oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not return a pledge, or lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits an abomination (toevah), 13lends at interest and takes an extra charge, shall he (viz., the son) then live? (or: he shall certainly not live). He committed all these abominations (toevoth); he shall certainly be put to death. His blood shall be on himself.
(b) Luke 10:10-12 // Matt 10:14-15
“Whenever you enter a town and they do not receive you, as you go out of that town shake off the dust from your feet. I tell you, it shall be more tolerable on the day [of judgment] for Sodom than for that town.”
(c) JUDE 7 and 2 PETER 2:6-10
Jude 7
. . . like Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them in the same manner as they, having committed sexual immorality (ekporneusasai) and gone after other flesh, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.
2 Peter 2:6-10
[Refers to “the licentious conduct of the lawless” Sodomites (2:7) and God's judgment on them as a lesson to those who “go after (or: follow, indulge their) flesh (by engaging) in polluting (or: defiling, dirty) desire (or: lust)” (2:10).]
JUDGES 19:22-25: THE RAPE OF THE LEVITE'S CONCUBINE
22While they were enjoying themselves, the men of the city, worthless men, surrounded the house, pounding on the door. They said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who has come to your house so that we may know (= have intercourse with) him.”
23The man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Since this man has come to my house, do not do this disgrace. 24Here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out; and violate them and do to them that which is good in your eyes; but to this man you must not do this disgraceful thing.”
25But the men were unwilling to listen to him so the man seized his concubine and thrust her outside to them. They knew (= had inter-course with) her and they abused her all night until the morning. When dawn began to break, they let her go.
HOMOSEXUAL CULT PROSTITUTION IN ISRAEL
qedeshim (sg. qadesh, sometimes a collective singular), “homosexual cult prostitutes”
(literally, “holy/sanctified men,” “consecrated men,” “men dedicated to the deity”)
There shall not be a qedeshah (the female counterpart of the male qadesh) from among the daughters of Israel and there shall not be a qadeshfrom among the sons of Israel. You shall not bring the earnings of a female prostitute (zonah) or the wages of a “dog” into the house of Yahweh your God for (viz., in payment or fulfillment of) any vow, because both of them are an abomination (toevah) to Yahweh your God. (Deut 23:17-18)
Rehoboam, son of Solomon, reigned in Judah. . . . and the name of his mother was Naamah the Ammonite. Judah did evil in the sight of Yahweh. . . . They even built for themselves high places, and pillars, and Asherah poles on every high hill and under every green tree. And even qadeshwere in the land. They (the people of Judah) conformed their behavior to all the abominations (toevoth) of the nations which Yahweh dispossessed before the descendants of Israel. (1 Kings 14:21-24)
Asa [grandson of Rehoboam] got rid of the qedeshim from the land and removed all the idols which his ancestors had made; and he also removed his mother Maacah from the position of queen mother because she had made a disgraceful image for Asherah. And Asa cut down this disgraceful image of hers and burned it in the wadi Kidron; but the high places were not removed. (1 Kings 15:12-14)
The rest of the qadesh who had been left in the days of Asa his father, he (Jehoshaphat) removed completely from the land. (1 Kings 22:46)
He (Josiah) tore down the houses (or: quarters, apartments) of the qedeshim that were in the house of Yahweh, where the women did weaving for Asherah. (2 Kings 23:7)
The godless in heart put on anger. They do not cry for help when he chains them. Their life-breath expires in their youth, and their life at the same time as the qedeshim.(Job 36:13-14)
See also the references to "dogs" in Revelation:
Outside [the new Jerusalem] are the “dogs” and the sorcerers and the fornicators (pornoi) and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices lying. (Rev 22:15)
But as for cowards and the faithless (or: unbelievers) and the abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers and idolaters and all the liars, their share shall be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. (Rev 21:8)
LEVITICUS 18:22; 20:13: LAWS
With a male (Heb. zakar; Gk. arsen) you shall not lie as though lying (Heb. mishkeve; Gk. koite) with a woman; it is an abomination (Heb. toevah; Gk. bdelugma).
And a man (Heb. ish) who will lie (Gk.: And whoever lies) with a male (Heb. zakar; Gk. arsen) as though lying (Heb. mishkeve; Gk. koite) with a woman, they have committed an abomination (Heb. toevah; Gk. bdelugma), the two of them; they shall certainly be put to death; their blood be upon them.
MARK 10:2-12
2And when Pharisees approached, they were asking him if it was permissible for a man to divorce his wife, testing him. 3And in response he said to them: “What did Moses command you?” 4And they said: “Moses allowed to write a certificate of divorce and to divorce.”
5But Jesus said to them: “With a view to your hardness of heart he wrote to you this command. 6But from the beginning of creation, ‘male and female he made them’ (Gen 1:27). 7‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be joined to his woman (or: wife), 8and the two will become one flesh’ (Gen 2:24). So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9What then God has yoked together, let no man separate.”
10And again in the house the disciples were asking him about this. 11And he says to them: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; 12and if she, after divorcing her husband, marries another, she commits adultery.”
ROMANS 1:18-32
18For the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of human beings, who in (or: by) their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19because what can be known about God is visible (or: obvious) to them; for God made it visible (or: obvious) to them. 20For ever since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, both his eternal power and divinity, are being clearly seen (or: perceived), being understood (or: mentally apprehended) by means of the things made, so that they are without excuse, 21because although they knew God they did not glory (or: honor) him as God or give thanks, but they were rendered (or: became) empty (or: futile) in their thoughts and their senseless heart (or: mind) was darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they were rendered (or: became) fools 23and they (ex-)changed the glory of the immortal God for a likeness made in the image of a mortal human and of birds and of four-footed animals and of reptiles.
24Therefore, God gave them over, in (or: because of) the desires of their hearts, to a (sexual) uncleanness (i.e., filthy conduct) consisting of their bodies being dishonored amongthemselves25—the very ones who exchanged the truth about God for the lie and worshiped and served the creation (or: creature) rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever, amen. 26Because of this God gave them over to dishonorable passions, for even their females exchanged the natural use (i.e., of the male as regards sexual intercourse) for that which is contrary to nature; 27and likewise also the males, having left behind the natural use of the female (as regards sexual intercourse), were inflamed with their yearning for one another, males with males committing indecency and in return receiving in themselves the payback which was necessitated by their straying (i.e., from the truth about God to idolatry).
28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do what is not proper, 29filled with every sort of unrighteousness, evil, greediness, badness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceptiveness, bad habit; gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, pompous, pretentious, inventors of bad things, disobedient to parents, 31senseless, faithless, loveless, merciless; 32who, despite knowing full well God's righteous decree that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do them but also applaud those who do them.
ROMANS 6:15-23
15What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? May it not happen! 16Don't you know, the one to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, whether of sin for death or of obedience for righteousness? . . . . 19For just as you presented the members of your body to sexual uncleanness(or: filthy conduct) as slaves [see Rom 1:24 for the reference to same-sex intercourse as “sexual uncleanness”] and to (other acts of) lawlessness for the purpose of doing lawless acts, so now present the members of your body to righteousness as slaves for holiness.20For when you were slaves of sin, you were free with respect to righteousness. 21What fruit were you bearing at that time?—for which things you are now ashamed, for the end result of those things is death. 22But now, having been freed from sin and enslaved to God you are bearing fruit for holiness, and the end result is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death. . . .
1 CORINTHIANS 5-6
5:1It is actually reported that sexual immorality (porneia) is among you, and of a kind that is not [found] even among the Gentiles, so that a man has his father's wife [i.e., incest]. 2And you have become inflated (with pride)! Should you not rather have mourned, so that he who has done this deed would have been removed from your midst? 3For I, being absent in the body but present in the spirit, have already pronounced judgment, as though present, on the one who perpetrated this, as follows: 4in the name of the Lord Jesus, when you have assembled and my spirit is (present) with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5you are to hand such a one over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, in order that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord. 6Your boasting is not a good thing. Do you not know that “a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough”? 7Clean out the old yeast in order that you may be a new batch, as you really are unleavened. For our paschal lamb, Christ, has been sacrificed. 8Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of evil and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
9I wrote to you in the letter not to associate with sexually immoral people (pornoi), 10[writing this] not in an absolute sense, [that is,] with reference to the sexually immoral people of this world or the greedy (or: covetous) and robbers (or: swindlers) or idolaters, since you would then need to go out of the world. 11But now I am writing to you not to associate if anyone who bears the name of brother (or: any so-called brother) is a sexually immoral person (pornos) or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler (or: slanderer) or a drunkard or a robber, not even to eat with such a one. 12For what business is it of mine to be judging those outside? Is it not those inside that you are to judge?13And God will judge those outside. “Drive out the wicked person from among you” (Deut 22:21).
. . . . 6:9[continuing the discussion of the case of the incestuous man in ch. 5] Do you not know that unrighteous people will not inherit the kingdom of God? Stop deceiving yourselves. Neither the sexually immoral (pornoi [here in context specifying those who engage in incest and those who solicit prostitutes]),nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate males who play the sexual role of females (malakoi: soft men), nor men who lie with a male (arsenokoitai), 10nor thieves, nor the greedy, not drunkards, not revilers, nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And these things some of you used to be. But you washed yourselves off (or: were washed), you were sanctified (or: made holy), you were justified (or: made righteous) in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
12(You or someone says) “All things are lawful for me (or: within my right and power to do),” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by (or: brought under the power of) anything. 13“Food for the stomach and the stomach for food,” and God will destroy both one and the other. But the body is not for sexual immorality (porneia) but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14And God both raised the Lord and will raise us up by his power. 15Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Should I therefore [as a hypothetical example] take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute (pornē)? May it not happen! 16Do you not know that the one who is joined (or: united) to a prostitute is one body (with her)? For it is said, “The two shall become one flesh” (Gen 2:24).17But the one who is joined to the Lord is one spirit (with him). 18Flee sexual immorality (porneia)! Every sin that a person does is outside the body; but the one who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.
1 TIMOTHY 1:8-10
8Now we know that the law is good, if anyone uses it lawfully, 9knowing this: that law is not laid down for the righteous, but for the lawless and disobedient, the ungodly and sinners, the unholy and profane, killers of fathers and killers of mothers, murderers, 10the sexually immoral (pornoi), men who lie with males (arsenokoitai), kidnappers (or: slave dealers; andrapodistai), liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound teaching that accords with the gospel....
