Christian Newswire – October 27, 2010
Real Christians Say ‘No’ to Bullying and Homosexual Behavior
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A coalition of pro-family leaders today urges Christian families to be faithful to biblical morality and discerning in the face of false and irresponsible accusations. Christianity and traditional values are not the cause of teen suicides, and attempts to link the two are deceptive and will ultimately harm children.
“Gay” activists nationwide are fueling an effort to indict traditional moral values as “guilty until proven innocent” in some bullying incidents involving teens. Their proposed solutions end up sexualizing teens at young ages into known high-risk behaviors and silencing concerned parents. Now, the U.S. Department of Education seems to be joining the effort, setting the stage for implicating traditional morality as the cause of some cases of bullying, and using the force of federal government to force pro-homosexual, pro-”transgender” indoctrination programs onto local schools.
“Just say no” to these outrageous and unsubstantiated claims, said Buddy Smith, Executive Vice President, American Family Association (www.afa.net). “Bullying can be prevented without endorsing homosexual behavior. Activist adults essentially are saying that American parents who want their kids to avoid high risk homosexual sex acts and remain abstinent until traditional marriage, are harming kids. This is preposterous, and local parents and communities need to resist enforced political correctness.”
Authentic Christians will remember several key concepts from Scripture:
1. Homosexual behavior is always a sin, God’s plan for sexuality is male/female marriage, and God has not changed His mind about this (Genesis 19; Leviticus 18:22; Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:24-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
2. Jesus described marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and that humans were created male and female “from the beginning.” Gender change is a defiant and ungrateful sin against God’s direction and design (Matthew 19:4-6)
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I happened upon your site for the first time today. As a middle aged Canadian with a proud heritage from the prairies; a deep sense of patriotism augmented by a great number of years living in the US (San Diego), & a post war boomer; both of whose parents were veterans of WWII (Canadian Army, & WAC), I’ll correct you on a couple of fine points. The link between conservative Christian rhetoric & anti-gay violence, bloodshed, & suicides; is well established & recognized. No faith based group on either side of the border has stuck to opposition based on verses from the Bible; but rather; have consistently resorted to disproved & antiquated lies, slander, & innuendo. The link that is now widely acknowledged, is verified by the RCMP, the FBI, Interpol, & Scotland Yard(UK). Disdain for lives of homosexual persons goes back to at least; the early days of the AIDS epidemic, which I remember well; as a resident of San Diego. During that period, the religious right, largely under the umbrella of the late Jerry Falwell’s Moral Majority; successfully opposed the use of any public funds for HIV research. The subsequent delay in the development of effective treatment options denied thousands even a fighting chance at survival. I know. Through the years, I have buried fifty-seven good friends. While having been spared any homophobic harassment myself, almost everyone I’ve known; has been subjected to violence & bloodshed; including three friends murdered in crimes of unspeakable brutality that have never been solved. I am a man of science. I could go on, but long messages online are tedious. I would refer to you some of the latest finding in neuro-science research related to brain trauma & cytokines/chemokines. LGBT Canadians are tax payers also, & contribute to every area of human endeavor. After 35 plus years in research & health sciences; I am proud of the work I’ve done. With all due respect; it seems that a significant problem lies with the fact that conservatives often misunderstand freedom of religion. Yes, it is an essential component of liberty, but it does not include the right to diminish, deny, or eliminate; the rights of others. A great piece of wisdom from a US Supreme Court ruling of some years ago:
” At the heart of liberty, is the right to define ones own concept of existence, of the meaning of the universe, & of the mystery of human life.”
Bart,
You said, ” No faith based group on either side of the border has stuck to opposition based on verses from the Bible…” You can’t seriously believe that, can you? You said you were a scientist, so then, can you tell me what makes homosexuality, normal as opposed to queer? (Sorry for the use of that word but I am referring to its meaning not the people) If you hold to evolution then I’d have to ask why there are still such desires in people when the genes which would predispose them to these things would obviously not be replicated and therefore they’d be a quirk as opposed to the volumes claiming they are gay. Or, if you hold to religious views it goes against every religion that I know of except humanism. What normalizes LGBT in your mind?
If you really wish to be kind, Bart, don’t whitewash the lifestyle which has shown to shorten their lives by about twenty years. Christianity is their greatest friend because the LGBT are loved enough to warn them away from his lifestyle which is likely to shorten their lives and lessen the enjoyment of what time they have.
You also quoted, “At the heart of liberty, is the right to define ones own concept of existence, of the meaning of the universe, & of the mystery of human life.” It seems everyone should has access to this “liberty or “right” with the exception of Christians. Is that fair to say?
AHermit, now that you’re back, you’re not behaving any better. We’ll see if Ian wants to respond, but if you’re not going to use reason and respect, you’re not going to be welcome around here.
“can you tell me what makes homosexuality, normal as opposed to queer?”
Do you mean ‘natural’ perhaps? If not, the problem begins at defining ‘normal’.
“I’d have to ask why there are still such desires in people when the genes which would predispose them to these things would obviously not be replicated”
While there are no definite answers to this yet, there are a lot of simple theories that explain it. The cause may not be the individual, but their parents. It may be an effect that is caused by the combination of two or more genes that are otherwise unrelated. It may be caused by a recessive trait that doesn’t always express itself.
“to warn them away from his lifestyle which is likely to shorten their lives and lessen the enjoyment of what time they have.”
I believe the disagreement here is over what qualifies as a warning, as opposed to harassment. I also believe that many would object over what you are qualifying as a ‘lessening of enjoyment’. If the concern is over something like AIDs, why not provide better sex education to prevent its spread? There is a lot of research that suggests that sex ed is the only effective means to prevent the spread of STIs, regardless of sexual orientation.
” Is that fair to say?”
I believe the objection isn’t against allowing Christians the right to define their own existence, but rather their instance to define the existence of others.
” heterosexuals don’t feel the need to parade their sex in public or to force it down the throats of the young.”
You are referring to Pride Parades, I assume? If so, I’m under the impression that they are more about celebrating freedom of expression than they are about expressing ‘gayness’. Also; can you elaborate on how they are ‘forcing’ it on anyone? I’d like to address the point, but I’d prefer not to generalize.
EDB,
“…the problem begins at defining ‘normal.’” Yes I fully agree. If you believe we are but animals, then you must realize we are above the other animals on this planet. The evidence is plain to see in that we have social order which convicts wrong doing, such as murder, rape, thefts, assault and so on. We also have an innate ability to generally know right from wrong, (I believe that is God’s calling card so none can deny Him, but you call it what you like) which makes us different.
To look at “normal” as though it happens in the animal kingdom therefore we must accept it in ours, isn’t logical. In the animal kingdom there is murder, rape, thefts, assaults and so on, should we decriminalize these things because they are “normal” in the animal kingdom? Of course not. So if homosexuality is “normal” because it is just an animal urge like one sees occasionally exhibited by animals, then call it a sexual choice, an animal urge, whatever you wish to call it, just don’t claim they are born that way or they have a genetic variant which makes them that way. Phycologists have reported for years they can cure a person with those sexual urges with a high success rate. Geneticists say (I am not claiming to have read them all) there is no genetic link to homosexuality, which makes it a learned behaviour. I think consensus amongst experts is clearly towards homosexuality being a learned behaviour and therefore a choice, although I’m sure those caught in the grip of it don’t feel they have much choice.
Now from a Christian perspective. God said you “shall not” do certain things just simply because He doesn’t want us to have fun, right? We should all be sticks in the mud who don’t laugh or enjoy life, or wonder at the magnificence of creation whether that be a sun set or the beauty in birds and flowers or landscapes, right? WRONG!
God said, “The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. The Christian life is not about don’t do that and you must do this. That is just religion which is boring and dead. Jesus came to set us free from the “thief.” Sin is a thief and sin is easily defined as disobedience to God. It robs you of the good God intends for you and only seems pleasurable, for a short season, whereas the dedicated life in Christ is a fulfilled life.
Myself as a married man, the scriptures teach me to be faithful to my wife. The reasons are painfully obvious by looking at the hurt and damage that is done in unfaithfulness in marriages. It rips families apart creating such a deep hurt that many become embittered for the rest of their lives. How many studies does one have to read to know that our prisons are vastly populated with persons from broken homes? None of this makes any real sense unless you go to the bible which describes the two becoming one when they wed, it is a spiritual unity. God commands me as a husband to love my wife “as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it,” Ephesians 5:25. I am to be faithful to her so we can have the abundant life Jesus came to give us. God didn’t tell me to be faithful so I’ll not have any fun, He told me to be faithful so I could enjoy the gift, that marriage between one man and one woman is and should be.
God’s ways are to protect us from our own actions and selfishness, so when God says don’t do this or do that it is for our benefit because He loves us and desires to give us what is good. Homosexuality isn’t a healthy lifestyle because of STDs and many other negative effects associated with it and if Christianity is guilty of anything it is guilty of trying to help people turn form what is hurting them and that isn’t just homosexuality as if we are just a one issue political party.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world the He gave his only begotten Son, in that whomsoever believes in Him should not perish but have life ever lasting.”