Thursday, August 20, 2009

Q: “But aren’t Gay people immoral – just because they’re Gay?”

That’s an argument thrown around relentlessly by those who hate Gay people — even by those who hate us “out of love”.

They point to immoral things done (or supposedly done) by some parts of the Gay population, and then use them as “proof” that Gay itself is immoral.

Is that true?

Well, let’s take a look at it. 

There’s nothing immoral that Gay people do that straight people don’t also do – just as often, just as much, and sometimes more. 

For example, sure, there are some Gay people who get drunk, high, naked, even sexual, and otherwise stupid at bars and Pride Parades and such.

But there are also some straight people who get drunk, high, naked, even sexual, and otherwise stupid at bars and events like Mardi Gras (if you don’t believe me, type “Naked Mardi Gras” or something similar in Google Images — but be prepared for some very immoral images, mostly straight but also some Gay. I found the one to the left here even with the standard Google “SafeSearch” turned on supposedly to block such images). There are even whole web sites and film studios that sell images of straight people getting drunk, high, naked, sexual, and otherwise stupid, all for the viewing entertainment of other straight people who think getting drunk, high, naked, sexual, and otherwise stupid is very cool.

And — there are some Gay people who molest children.

But there are also some straight people who molest children. In fact, one study found that “..[A] child’s risk of being molested by his or her relative’s heterosexual partner is 100 times greater than by someone who might be identified as a homosexual.” [from Carole Jenny, MD, Head of the Division of Child Maltreatment at Brown University, 1994, "Are Children at Risk for Sexual Abuse by Homosexuals?"]

And there are also some Gay people (mostly Gay men) who sleep around a lot, and don’t commit (or stay committed) in a relationship.

But the same is true of some straight people, as well. Divorce rates among straight people — including supposedly Bible-based evangelicals — is completely out of control. But also not often counted is the number of straight people who go in and out of sexual relationships with no thought for marriage whatsoever, or who are “testing” the relationship sexually and otherwise first, sometimes for years, before ever (if ever) committing to actual marriage.

So there just isn’t anything we as Gay people can be accused of that straight people can’t ALSO be accused of! That doesn’t mean it’s right when Gay people do these things — but it also doesn’t mean we’re any worse than anyone else, either. 

But isn’t it interesting how some people will only look at all this one way — the way that just happens to make them look good, and us look bad?  

That’s called “prejudice” — “affective prejudice“, to be exact.

And the idea that Gay people all behave in or live certain bad ways are called “stereotypes“.

Of course, people who are prejudiced against Gay people rarely admit to that. They say they’re just trying to “protect children” or other vulnerable innocents, and to “save society” and (their version of) their religion from an evil enemy or conspiracy that’s trying to harm or eradicate “decent” values (which only they hold) and “decent” people (which includes only people just like them).

But that’s just another part of their prejudice. It’s no different than prejudiced whites claiming to “defend” white women and “decent society” from black men, and no different than prejudiced European Gentiles claiming to “defend” their race from Jews.

It’s also just another part of their sin.

Take a good, long, real-Bible-as-GOD-gave-it-to-the-world look at the behavior (fruit) and character (hearts) of people who are prejudiced against Gay people. Truth be told, they are no more “good Christians” than the Pharisees were “good Jews”. They can claim all they want to be the only or best “real” Christians in the world today, and to be clinging only to “Bible-truth” — and they are often willing to push their claim at the point of a gun and the end of a fist. But their lives tell an entirely different story — just like Jesus said they would.
“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’ [Matthew 7:15-23]
So, what are the fruits of those who condemn Gay people?
  • Claiming to cling to God’s literal truth, yet doing the same things they accuse others of doing: picking and choosing among scriptures, mistranslating scriptures, and taking scripture out of context, so that God’s truth as HE gave it to the world is lost.
  • Arrogantly re-defining God, God’s truth, and God’s creation according to what pleases and fits their own natures and their own bodies and ideologies, to the exclusion of everything else (including other sexual and gender orientations, other racial and community cultures, and more).
  • Twisting the Gospel message into a false one that glorifies and justifies war, violence, greed, materialism, political ideologies, domination, hierarchy, exploitation, hatred, and more all in the “name of God” — in other words, that seems to make the worst of their sin-nature “ok” by God.
  • Turning more people AWAY from Christ than to Him, even as they themselves are truly turned away from Christ.
  • Promoting more and more wicked, violent, self-worshipping, and just plain weird doctrines as time comes closer and closer to Christ’s return and the devil ramps up what delusion and damage he can do until then.
  • Living “good Christian” lives on the outside while living vile, spiritually filthy lives in the inside, so that they claim to be living according to God’s Word while they are actually cheering on and helping the devil.
  • Being a proud, unrepentant, and even joyful part of the False Prophet of the End Times.
“I want you to just let a wave of intolerance wash over you. I want you to let a wave of hatred wash over you. Yes, hate is good…Our goal is a Christian nation. We have a Biblical duty, we are called by God, to conquer this country. We don’t want equal time. We don’t want pluralism.” [Randall Terry, Founder of Operation Rescue, The News-Sentinel, Fort Wayne, Indiana, 8-16-93]
“I want to be invisible. I do guerrilla warfare. I paint my face and travel at night. You don’t know it’s over until you’re in a body bag.” [Ralph Reed, Christian Coalition, Norfolk Virginian-Pilot (November 9, 1991]
“I don’t know. Just get me a f*cking faith-based thing. Got it?” [Karl Rove, President George W Bush's top advisor, to the (unnamed) volunteer head of the Bush Administration's Faith-Based Initiative office, who had asked Rove how to set the office up in one week, without a staff or a budget, according to David Kuo, former special assistant to the President and the Number Two man in Bush's Faith-Based Office in his book, Tempting Faith (September, 2007)]

People who are spiritually immoral are NOT the ones anyone should listen to to find out if being Gay is immoral

Gay people can certainly BE immoral. But so can straight people, and no one (I think!) is saying “Straight people are immoral just because they’re straight!” (or “Asians are immoral just because they are Asian”, or “Australians are immoral just because they are Australian”, and so on) — that would be just as ridiculous and illogical.

But also ridiculous and illogical is to let people who aren’t themselves even close to “expert” at morality define for us whether we’re moral or not. It’s like letting someone who’s getting a failing grade in English tutor us in how to write an essay. If we do it we’re just setting ourselves up to ALSO fail!

So, why do we listen to them anyway?

Most often it’s because they’re pushy, and most of us don’t struggle back against bullies and people with domineering or controlling personalities if we can accommodate them, instead. We falsely assume — just as did most Jews 2,000 years ago — that the ones who are loudest, most demanding, most glitzy, most financially and politically powerful, and most “Scripture-educated” MUST be right. Otherwise they wouldn’t BE loudest, most demanding, most glitzy, most financially and politically powerful, and most “Scripture-educated”, right?

But that’s just our weak human nature leading us astray. Jesus and the rest of the Bible tells us NOT to go along with the false shepherds, no matter how “right” it might seem at the time.

We’re told to AVOID being eaten by the wolves of the world, not “go along to not make trouble”.

And we’re warned that in the End Times, it will become more and more important to stick ONLY with Jesus and the real Gospel that shows real fruit (as HE defines real fruit), and to avoid the anti-Christs and False Prophet that hope to deceive us and turn us away before He returns again to get us. 

Be yourself — AND be moral. God commands it! 

If God hadn’t wanted Gentiles to be among His people, He wouldn’t have filled them with His Spirit even when it bugged prejudiced Jews no end.

In the same way, if God hadn’t wanted Gay people to be among His people, He wouldn’t have filled US with His Spirit either, even though it bugs prejudiced straight people no end.

Be the Gay testimony to God’s love and God’s Gospel, everywhere God takes you in your life!

You need to be it — and other people, both Gay and straight, need to see it!

2 comments:

  1. Yes, yes... YES!! This post was just perfect for me to read today! Thank you! And I referenced it in the post I wrote today on a similar topic.
    I emailed you the key to the protected posts... and look forward to your feedback soon!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Bridgeout, for your feedback! I look forward to checking out your protected posts.

    ReplyDelete