TRUTH Part 1

In light of the Supreme Court's decision and the numerous attacks on Christians, the Bible, and Christianity by the LGBT community, I feel it is time to shed some light on all of it with some truth.

According to demographic statistics, it is estimated that only 1.6% to possibly 5% of Americans self-identify as members of the LGBT community. There are just over 320 million people in America. So, there are approximately 5-16 million people who self-identify as members of the LGBT community.

Recent reports indicate that over half of all members of the LGBT community say they are Christians, even though they fiercely attack Jesus, his followers, and the Bible. This is ironic, because the literal translation of the word means “little Christ’s,” which better translates as imitators or followers of Christ. So what does that mean, to be a follower of Christ?

Well, Jesus himself said in order to be his followers, we had to deny ourselves (meaning of what we want or think is best for ourselves), forsake all other things (meaning loving him more than other things and people, so that he is our # 1), and take up our cross daily (meaning to crucify or kill fleshly desires; anything that goes against his ways and law), and follow him.

Living a lifestyle associated with the LGBT community is not synonymous with being a follower of Christ, because it goes against his law and teachings found in his word, the Bible (both Old and New Testaments).

There are three arguments that I have heard from members of the LGBT community, who proclaim to be Christians, which have been twisted versions of scripture and God’s word on the subject.

1) Levitical Law – found in Leviticus in the Old Testament, or the Jewish Book of the Law. The argument is that it’s outdated and invalid in today’s culture.
 

The argument against this is as such: The Levitical Law says you can’t eat certain foods, it’s OK to own slaves, women are the property of men, and certain fabrics and types of clothing should not be worn. None of these are relevant to today. i.e., we can wear what we want, eat what we want, women have rights and owning slaves has been so out since President Lincoln. Therefore, homosexuality is not just OK, but should be celebrated, because of equality (based on Dr. MLK Jr’s Civil Rights Movement and legislation that followed), and the "God made us this way" argument.

There are numerous problems with this argument. For starters, Christianity is not defined by what’s “accepted” or “celebrated” in pop culture. The Bible stands alone on this and we must interpret the Bible with the Bible, NOT pop culture. We will look at the Creation account for this (found in Genesis 1, in the Old Testament, or Jewish Pentateuch written by Moses, circa 1445 BC), the Levitical Law (found in Leviticus in the Old Testament, or the Jewish Book of the Law, also known as the Jewish Pentateuch written by Moses, circa 1445-1407 BC), the teachings of Jesus (found in the 4 gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament, written by 4 different eye witnesses to Jesus’ life, teachings, and ministry, circa 55-90 AD), and the book of Romans, chapters 1 and 6 (written by Paul, also in the New Testament, circa 57 AD).

But before we go there, let’s break down the points of the arguments and address each one. In order to do so, we must understand one very important detail, and it’s something Jesus himself said. He said, “I have not come to do away with The Levitical Law (meaning it still stands), but I have come to fulfill the law" (meaning I met every requirement to pass God’s test of holiness, according to the law). When Jesus died on the cross he fulfilled the law in his sinless perfection, so that there could be a way to escape the law and the punishment for breaking it. Jesus is our loop hole against the law, but to bypass its penalties, we have to be found in him. We have to be his followers, as he charged us to be.

There were certain aspects of the law that were nullified under the law of grace found in the New Testament, based on Jesus’ teachings. Dietary laws, laws on fabrics and clothing, the treatment and elevation of women as equals, even the treatment of slaves and the concept of slavery were all changed because of Jesus and his teachings. Jesus said it is not the food that goes into the body and passes out as bile that makes one unclean, but it is the condition of one’s heart that makes him unclean. The same was said about clothing by Jesus and Paul. Peter was given a vision of all animals, even those that were once considered unclean and he was told to eat them all. When he argued with God about this, God said do not call something unclean that God has declared as clean. Jesus elevated the position of women in society by the way he treated them, spoke about them, and reminded everyone that God created male and female, both equal in his image (mirrored reflection).

SIDE NOTE...
Much has been misunderstood about this in Paul’s letters to a few churches who were dealing with some cultural issues related to women converts of the cults of Baal and Ashtoreth (temple prostitutes who vocally lewered men into the temple for pagan sexual acts of worship to Baal and Ashtoreth. It was natural for these worship leaders to lead the men in these acts in loud and boisterous ways. These former temple prostitutes approached their new faith in Christ in a similar way, leading men into new holy acts of worship in loud and boisterous ways. This was a distraction to many new converts and caused chaos and confusion in the early church, so Paul made a cultural judgment call for that particular church to help them get past the issues causing church division. He simply said let the women be quiet in church and not lead the men. This was for then, in light of what had been happening. It was not for all time.

Paul also mentioned these women needed to cover their heads and wear proper attire in church. Again, it goes back to who they were before they converted to Christianity. They thought it was come as you are and act as you always have. And why wouldn’t they think this, until instructed otherwise? If that’s what they only knew, that’s how they would continue to be. They used to dress for sexual worship of pagan gods, so it was most definitely provocative and seductive. They also shaved their natural hair, so they could wear very colorful “look at me” wigs for their former roles as pagan worship leaders. Showing up to church with a shaved head gave away who they were in their previous lifestyle, and we all know church folks love to gossip. So, you can just imagine the struggle that church had just trying to stop the drama and the gossip to be able to preach a sermon. Hence, Paul makes an executive decision for that church at that time. As these new converts learned about Christianity, their old ways became old ways and what had been issues in the church were no longer issues. Hence, there’s no other mention of it, or to other churches for that matter.

END SIDE NOTE:

Jesus himself told the women at the tomb to go and tell his disciples, who were men, that he had risen. They were preaching to men and leading them to the truth about Jesus’ resurrection. They had to set a leadership example for men who were in deep sorrow and in hiding after Jesus’ death on the cross. If he wanted women to be silent, trust me, he would have sent a man to do the job. Jesus’ ministry was supported financially predominantly by women. Again, if they were inferior, he would not have allowed this. In other books of the New Testament, Paul mentions several women in the faith who were in leadership roles, and he encouraged them to keep strong in their faith and what they were doing. One was teaching men in her home, with her husband in one of the first home life groups of the early church. I am referring to Priscilla and Aquilla (notice Paul mentioned the wife first).

Slavery was an accepted practice in ancient times amongst all cultures, not just those found in the Bible. Both Jesus and Paul had a lot to say about the view of slavery and the treatment of slaves. One major key concept was that no master is greater than his servant. This meant equality. By teaching this, slaves and servants were basically changed into employees who worked for an employer. This meant no unfair treatment or abuse of one’s servant was acceptable. The very concept of slavery became an analogy for Paul to explain how God is his master, and he is God’s servant, just as we are today. He willingly and gladly bound himself to God, as a faithful servant. Paul refers to himself as a slave of Christ, which paints a very different picture of what we knew of as slavery. Culturally, things were changing and it was all due to Jesus’ teachings.

By the way, slavery still exists today, so members of the LGBT community that use Lincoln’s abolition of slavery as an argument that the Old Testament is outdated are seriously wrong and missing the worst case of slavery in human history! This form of slavery has just taken on a different form than what we learned about in history class. There are more slaves on planet earth today in our civilized, modernized, culturally tolerant 21^st century than has ever existed on the planet! That’s 27 million to be exact; mostly women and children, who are sex slaves (forced against their will). It’s called Human Trafficking and it happens all over the world, as well as right here in America. Many young girls, women, and even young boys in the porn and sex industry are victims of human trafficking. Where is the anger at this great injustice and where is the compassion of the LGBT community to rise up and fight to eradicate this evil from the planet?

SIDE NOTE:

The modern day Harriet Tubman’s and William Wilberforce’s that I see are Christ followers, like Christine Caine of Hillsong Church in Australia, who founded the A21 Campaign to educate, expose, and eradicate this most heinous form of slavery. Did you know that’s what A21 stands for A=Abolishing slavery in the 21=21^st Century. Christine and her husband Nick are fighting a fierce battle and winning. The tide is turning. Laws are changing worldwide to seriously  sentence and fine traffickers. Slaves are being set free once again and the abolitionists are once again unashamed Christ followers! Nancy Alcorn, who founded Mercy Ministries right here in America, is one of my Great American Heroes! Joyce and Dave Meyer founded Hand of Hope to end this evil and many others. James and Betty Robinson, Lisa and John Bevere, and the list goes on and on…all caring, loving, giving, unashamed Christ followers risking their very lives to free slaves! Yet, the LGBT community calls them bigots and judgmental people when it comes to LGBT issues.

END SIDE NOTE:

Homosexuality is the only thing in the Levitical law that was not overturned by either Jesus’ teachings, nor his disciples or apostles. You will not find one place in the Bible where it is acceptable behavior. Jesus did not mention homosexuality by name in his teachings, but he didn’t have to because he clearly defined what was acceptable to God in terms of love relationships.

Stay tuned for TRUTH Part 2...