Pope Francis Approves Homosexual Marriages? (Can A Catholic Disagree With Pope Francis?)

             Recently, Pope Francis called for a civil union law that legally protects same-sex marriages. Pope Francis claimed that gay couples have an inherent right to this protection because they are God’s children, ““Homosexuals have a right to be a part of the family. They’re children of God and have a right to a family. Nobody should be thrown out, or be made miserable because of it...””¹

            In this context, two antecedent events are remarkable.

            First, in the past, Pope Francis did not approve of a civil union law for gay couples. He characterized the civil union law for gay couples, if implemented, as an anthropological regression, “In the 2013 book “On Heaven and Earth,” Pope Francis did not reject the possibility of civil unions outright, but did say that laws “assimilating” homosexual relationships to marriage are “an anthropological regression,” and he expressed concern that if same-sex couples “are given adoption rights, there could be affected children. Every person needs a male father and a female mother that can help them shape their identity.”²

            Second, the official Catholic teaching opposes the practice of homosexuality and the implementation of a civil law for gay couples, “In 2003, under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and at the direction of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith taught that “respect for homosexual persons cannot lead in any way to approval of homosexual behaviour or to legal recognition of homosexual unions…” “Legal recognition of homosexual unions or placing them on the same level as marriage would mean not only the approval of deviant behaviour, with the consequence of making it a model in present-day society, but would also obscure basic values which belong to the common inheritance of humanity…” “Not even in a remote analogous sense do homosexual unions fulfil the purpose for which marriage and family deserve specific categorical recognition. On the contrary, there are good reasons for holding that such unions are harmful to the proper development of human society, especially if their impact on society were to increase,” the document said.”³ [Emphasis Mine].

            This then is the problem.

            Advocating for a civil union law to protect gay marriages is synonymous with endorsing the homosexual practice. Furthermore, this may sway young Catholics towards accepting and practicing homosexuality.

            The theological stumbling block is this: God, through the Bible, deemed homosexuality as a sin. But Pope Francis seems to have declassified homosexuality as an acceptable practice before God.

            Only God has the authority to classify a practice as a sin. So if a practice ought to be declassified from sin to an acceptable practice, then it is God who should exercise HIS authority to execute the declassification. 

            Essentially, Pope Francis has played God again.

            The temptation to play God could be a consequence of ‘Papal Infallibility.’

            Anything that the Pope says or does would have consequences to the Catholic community. In this context, would the radical shift in Pope Francis’ perception of gay marriages influence the Catholic Church to change its stance on gay marriages? Alternatively, should the Pope’s opinion change or detrimentally influence the doctrinal stand of a catholic?

            In order to arrive at an answer to these questions, we need to understand the concept of ‘Papal Infallibility.’ In other words, did the pope assume infallibility while making such comments?

            To understand Papal Infallibility, we need to understand a few technical terms:

            1. The Magisterium is the authority to teach, in the name of Christ, the truths of Christian faith and life…⁴

            2. The Extraordinary Magisterium “is exercised when a doctrine pertaining to Faith and morals is proclaimed as definitive and infallible:

                      1. by the pope alone or

                      2. by the pope and an Ecumenical Council with him.

            The pope makes infallible pronouncements when he speaks “ex cáthedra” (Latin:    from the throne), i.e. with the full weight of his office.”⁵

            3. The Ordinary Magisterium “is exercised when the pope or the bishops in communion with him propose, without pronouncing in a definitive manner, a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of Faith and morals.” ⁶

            Ed Feser, one of the best contemporary writers in Philosophy, explains Papal Infallibility well. This, interestingly, is in response to a question if the pope, in theory, could reverse the Church’s teaching about homosexuality.

            Feser puts forth the following points in his blog entitled “Papal fallibility (Updated)” [Emphasis Mine]:⁷

A. “Some people think that Catholic teaching is that a pope is infallible not only when making ex cathedra declarations, but in everything he does and says.  That is also simply not the case.  Catholic doctrine allows that popes can make grave mistakes, even mistakes that touch on doctrinal matters in certain ways.”

B. “Some think that a Catholic is obliged to accept the teaching of a pope only when that teaching is put forward by him as infallible.  That too is not the case… Others think that a Catholic is obliged to agree more or less with every view or decision of a pope regarding matters of theology, philosophy, politics, etc. even when it is not put forward as infallible.  And that too is not the case.” 

C. There are “several conditions for the exercise of this extraordinary Magisterium.  First, the pope must appeal to his supreme teaching authority as the successor of Peter, as opposed to speaking merely as a private theologian, or making off-the-cuff remarks, or the like.  An exercise of the extraordinary Magisterium would, accordingly, typically involve some formal and solemn declaration.  Second, he must be addressing some matter of doctrine concerning faith or morals…Third, he must be “defining” some doctrine in the sense of putting it forward as official teaching that is binding on the entire Church.  The extraordinary Magisterium doesn’t pertain to teaching that concerns merely local or contingent circumstances.”

D. The pope cannot contradict the Scripture.

E. Papal infallibility, then, is not some magical power by which a pope can transform any old thing he wishes into a truth that all are bound to accept.  It is an extension of the infallibility of the preexisting body of doctrine that it is his job to safeguard, and thus must always be exercised in continuity with that body of doctrine.  Naturally, then, the pope would not be speaking infallibly if he taught something that either had no basis in Scripture, Tradition, or previous magisterial teaching, or contradicted those sources of doctrine.  If it had no such basis, it could be mistaken, and if it contradicted those sources of doctrine, it would be mistaken.

F. Popes could err. In his blog, Feser mentions instances of errant popes, some in an extremely serious way. Feser writes, “if popes can err gravely even on matters touching on doctrine and the governance of the Church, it goes without saying that they can err gravely with respect to matters of politics, science, economics, and the like.”

G. Why do popes err? Feser predicates papal error upon free will, “The sober truth is that Christ sometimes lets his Vicar err, only within definite limits but sometimes gravely.  Why?  In part because popes, like all of us, have free will.  But in part, precisely to show that (as Cardinal Ratzinger put it) “the thing cannot be totally ruined” -- not even by a pope.”

            Thanks to Ed Feser, it’s quite obvious that Pope Francis did not exercise extraordinary magisterium when he spoke about the civil law for gay marriages. Moreover, since the Bible is extremely explicit about homosexuality being a sin, Pope Francis cannot, and is not authorized to, contradict the Bible to declassify homosexuality from being a sin to an acceptable practice. Furthermore, it is abundantly clear that popes have erred and can err. So Pope Francis has indeed erred.

            So we infer that Pope Francis’ opinion about civil laws for gay couples cannot influence or change the Catholic doctrine on homosexuality.

            Therefore, a Catholic need not consider Pope Francis’ statement to be infallible. But can legitimately disagree with the pope and continue to do what the Bible says i.e. do not practice or endorse homosexuality because it is a sin (Genesis 19:5; Leviticus 18:22, 20:13; Romans 1:26-27; I Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:10; Jude 1:7).

Endnotes:

¹https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-calls-for-civil-union-law-for-same-sex-couples-in-shift-from-vatican-stance-12462

²Ibid.

³Ibid.

⁴https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2014/05/29/the-magisterium-defined/

⁵CCC 891;  http://www.catholic-catechism.com/?searchtext=magisterium

⁶CCC 892; http://www.catholic-catechism.com/?searchtext=magisterium

⁷http://edwardfeser.blogspot.com/2015/11/papal-fallibility.html

Websites last accessed on 1^st November 2020. 

Pastor Joel Osteen, Lady Gaga, Gay Pride Month; The Enemy Within & A Bright Future

            Any school going teen raised within the confines of Historic Christian worldview will consider gay marriage as an aberration. But LGBTQ movement is gaining traction in every nook and corner of our world. This unholy movement will continue to assault the traditional heterosexual marriage (between a male and a female). So our next generation may even consider gay marriage at par with the monogamous heterosexual marriage.

            Given this existential reality, we who subscribe to Historic Christianity should be concerned with another entity. Not the secular world, but another entity.

            Beware of the enemy within!

            ““Watch out for false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are voracious wolves,” says the Bible about the enemy within (Matthew 7:15, NET).  

            The enemy within could be far more dangerous and destructive than the enemy outside our domain. In this context, the enemy within is the group of Christians who actively endorse the LGBTQ agenda. Call them the Progressive or Liberal or the Postmodern Christians.

            Do not be deceived when you observe Pastor Joel Osteen and his wife attend Lady Gaga’s gay pride event, “Joel Osteen has fallen so far down into apostasy that his seared conscience doesn’t even alert him anymore when trouble is on the horizon, such was the case on Monday night at the SiriusXM and Pandora merger event in New York City. Joel and his wife Victoria were in attendance at the Lady Gaga Pride concert featuring drag queens, amazingly foul language and the endless glorification of the LGBTQ+P for Pedophile agenda. It seems that the Osteens had no problems at all attending such an event, which is not surprising considering how they have been creeping ever closer to supporting same-sex marriage.”¹

            It’s a known fact that Pastor Joel Osteen tacitly endorses the LGBTQ agenda, “On October 2, 2013 Pastor Osteen joined Josh Zepps on HuffPost Live for a more relaxed and intimate interview.

            Zepps read a piece that he liked from Osteen’s new book: “It doesn’t matter who likes you or doesn’t like you, all that matters is that God likes you. He accepts you, he approves of you.” Zepps followed up by asking if that included homosexuals.

            “Absolutely,” Osteen insisted, “I believe that God breathed life into every person and that every person is made in the image of God and you have accept (sic) them as they are, on their journey. I’m not here to preach hate or push people down.””² (Emphasis Mine).

            God loves everyone, sinners included. Therefore, God loves homosexuals. But God does not approve of the practice of homosexuality. In other words, God loves the person, who is a homosexual but detests the practice of homosexuality.

            So when Pastor Joel Osteen says that God approves of homosexuals, he seems to say that God approves of homosexuality, but nothing could be further from the truth.

            Sincere yet naïve Christians who may adore celebrity preachers like Pastor Joel Osteen should beware of such false teachings.

            The secular world may force its LGBTQ agenda into our domain. This is expected of them. But instead of remaining true to the Bible, a significant portion of Christian denominations and its leaders, especially the celebrity preachers whom many Christians adore, endorse sins and declassify them as acceptable practices. In the process, these people try to usurp God from HIS throne. But God cannot be usurped. What God termed a sin will always remain a sin. Of course, I am referring to LGBTQ practices.

            We who worship the living God should have the mind to reject such teachings because such teachings contradict the Word of God. If we endorse homosexuality because we blindly accept the teachings of these heretical celebrity preachers, we tread on dangerous ground.

            So beware of the enemy within!

            The future, however, seems to be bright for those who remain true to God’s Word.

            Nancy Pearcey quotes Andrew Sullivan to assert that the support for LGBTQ agenda among our younger generation is reducing. Here's an excerpt of Andrew Sullivan's article from Nancy Pearcey's Facebook page:³

Andrew Sullivan (homosexual columnist) says support for trans ideology is going down

For the first time, we’re seeing a sharp drop in tolerance of “LGBTQ” people among the younger generation. This is an entirely new phenomenon. It used to be the young that spearheaded toleration and inclusion. Now they’re suddenly bolting in the opposite direction:

“The number of Americans 18 to 34 who are comfortable interacting with LGBTQ people slipped from 53 percent in 2017 to 45 percent in 2018 — the only age group to show a decline,” according to the annual [GLAAD] report. And that is down from 63 percent in 2016. “36 percent of young people said they were uncomfortable learning a family member was LGBTQ in 2018, compared with 29 percent in 2017, and 24 percent in 2016. 34 percent were uncomfortable learning their doctor was LGBTQ vs. 27 percent a year earlier. 39 percent were uncomfortable learning their child had a school lesson on LGBTQ history vs. 30 percent in 2017.”

Or check this out: 62 percent of young men regarded themselves as “allies” of LGBTQ people in 2016; only 35 percent now say the same — a near-halving of support. Women “allies” have dropped from 65 to 52 percent.

The turn began in the year that the Obama administration — with no public discussion or congressional support — imposed critical gender theory on America’s high schools, determining sex to be whatever a student says it is. The imposition of trans ideology by fiat on the entire country’s young — along with severe public stigma for those with even the slightest questions — was almost textbook left authoritarianism. Well meant, perhaps. But dictatorial.

Even GLAAD, the culture police for the gay left, concedes that the transformation of the gay-rights movement into a trans movement steeped in critical gender theory in the past few years is likely the reason... GLAAD vows to crack down ever more firmly on those who aren’t fully onboard with its agenda. The last thing GLAAD would do is ask itself if it is actually exacerbating the problem, and that the redefinition of almost everyone’s sex and gender to accommodate less than 1 percent of the population is why this resistance is happening....

Kids are not stupid. They know they are being propagandized. This poll suggests the backlash has arrived, and it will likely grow."

Endnotes:

¹https://www.nowtheendbegins.com/little-monsters-joel-osteen-wife-victoria-honored-guests-lady-gaga-pride-concert-new-york-city-monday-night/

²https://www.huffpost.com/entry/joel-osteen-larry-king-homosexuality_n_4591090?guccounter=1

³https://www.facebook.com/nancy.pearcey.7/posts/10157425523754241

Websites last accessed on 30^th July 2019.

What’s Wrong If The Church Marries Gay Couples?

            Some Christian denominations marry same-sex couples whereas others do not [1]. Evidently, denominations endorsing same-sex marriages justify their stand through several methods; a common tactic is to misinterpret Scripture passages that condemn homosexuality.

            For instance, Genesis 2: 18-25 is misinterpreted. The word “helper” in this section is twisted to import an illicit understanding that Eve was a mere helper or companion to Adam. So anyone can choose anyone else as their helper or companion irrespective of their gender.

            Beware of “The Reformation Project” [2] – another recent deception of Satan masquerading as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11: 14-15). This deceptive venture is camouflaged as Bible-centered and Gospel-based to advocate endorsement of gay marriages from a Christian perspective, whereas in reality, they are far away from God and Bible.

            Many Christian denominations, being swayed by such false hypothesis, endorse same sex marriages at an alarming rate in the USA.

            However, certain Christian denominations refuse to endorse same-sex marriages. Pastors of these churches will either face arrests or pay exorbitant fines if they do not perform same-sex marriages. 

            Given this backdrop, a pertinent question is “What’s wrong if the church marries gay couples?”

            Bible unequivocally deems homosexual practice as sin. (Leviticus 18: 20-22, 20: 13; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Tim. 1:9-11 et al). So the teaching that same-sex marriages are biblical is a devious deception.

            Consider the misinterpretation of Genesis 2: 18-25. Deceptive teaching based on this passage conveniently conceals two most important facts:

            A. God intentionally created Eve as a female companion to the male Adam. (The chief function of marriage is procreation. The reproductive systems of male and female are created to complement each other for procreation.)

            B. Eve was created so that Adam and Eve would become “one flesh,” which denotes a lifelong marital union between the male Adam & the female Eve.

            Christ speaking from within the context of marriage appealed to Genesis 2: 24 to reinforce the teaching that heterosexual marriage is God’s only plan for marriage – “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.” (Matthew 19: 4-6, NIV, Emphasis Mine).

            When God intended marriages solely between male and female, churches performing same-sex marriages disobey God consciously. No well-meaning Christian or Christian church would disobey God intentionally.

            The church obeys God by obeying God’s word – the Bible. God, through HIS word, revealed the sinfulness of homosexual practice. Hence genuine Christians and Christian churches would not marry same-sex couples.

            Disobedience to God is the primary problem when the church marries gay couples.

            Endorsement of sin is the other problem.

            The Bible mentions the sin of homosexuality together with sexual immorality, adultery, theft, drunkenness, etc (1 Corinthians 6: 9-10). When churches marry same-sex couples, the sin of homosexuality is blessed.

            When churches bless a particular sin, what prevents them from blessing other sins? If churches marry homosexuals, by implication shouldn’t the church bless adultery, theft, drunkenness and all the other sins?

            Sin removes people from God. When churches bless homosexual marriages, the church removes itself from God’s presence and leads others away from God.

            The face of the church is its pastor. Pastors know that it is easier to preach than practice.

            When popular culture opposes Christ and Bible through its affirmation of homosexuality, pastors will have to either stand for or against Christ. Pastors standing for Christ will refuse to marry same-sex couples. Thus they will be under intense scrutiny and persecution.

            These are difficult times for pastors aspiring to obey Christ. The threat is genuine. Fear of shame, imprisonment, and joblessness will be intense. Pressure from their families could destabilize these pastors to accommodate the demands of contemporary culture over Christ.  

            The dialogue between the serpent and Eve in Genesis 3 would become an intense reality in the lives of these pastors. The plaguing doubt in them would be the serpent’s question to Eve, “did God really say…?”

            Did God really say that homosexuality is a sin?

            Variant questions prompted by Satan into the minds of these pastors would be: what if homosexuality is not a sin? What if my understanding - that homosexuality is a sin - is incorrect? Have I misunderstood the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality?

            To stand firm or to doubt God’s word is the first temptation that should be overcome by pastors.

            Crisis situations should not alter our understanding of God’s Word. Our understanding of God’s word during peaceful moments of our life cannot change during moments of crisis.

            If we change our theological position during crisis or due to popular demands of culture, then we allow crisis and/or culture to supersede God. We sin against God when we relegate HIM to a secondary position in our lives.

            There surely is no merit whatsoever to doubt our understanding of God’s word during calamity and due to cultural demands.

            The second temptation that ought to be overcome is whether to live for Christ or ourselves. When suffering and pain is an imminent prospect, the disciple of Christ could selfishly protect himself than face the wrath of the world.

            When our lives are committed to Christ, our lives are surrendered to HIS Lordship. Selfishness cannot exist if Christ is the Lord of our lives. When a disciple backslides into selfishness, Christ’s Lordship reduces or ceases. A selfish disciple of Christ commits to being politically and culturally correct by denying Christ.

            If a pastor protects himself by denying Christ, he rejects the Lord and HIS calling in his life. This is another spiritually dangerous situation for the pastor to be in, for he trusts himself more than Christ, which is effectively to not trust in the Lord.

            To live for Christ is to deny the world. To live for Christ is to deny our material comfort and security. To live for Christ is to love the Lord our God more than anyone or anything else.

            It’s easier said than done.

            Not everyone will inherit the kingdom of God. Those who are en route to inherit God’s kingdom should “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3: 2, NIV). Therefore, we ought to pray for those pastors who desire to stand firm with Christ.

            Mere prayers would not suffice. Our constant physical support and our encouraging presence ought to be with them during their trials. This is the need of the hour.

            The Bible categorically asserts that our allegiance to God cannot be compromised, “If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us” (2 Timothy 2: 11-12, NIV).

            May the Lord grant us the strength to live for HIM and HIM alone.

Endnotes:

[1] http://www.pewforum.org/2015/07/29/graphics-slideshow-changing-attitudes-on-gay-marriage/

&

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/02/where-christian-churches-stand-on-gay-marriage/

[2] For a profound refutation of the “The Reformation Project” please read:

http://www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Aug%202015%20The%20Reformation%20the%20Church%20Doesn't%20Need%20Part%201-1.pdf

&

http://www.str.org/Media/Default/Publications/Solid%20Ground%209-2015%20Reformation%20the%20Church%20Doesn't%20Need%20Pt.%202-1-1.pdf

“To Murder All Homosexuals” - A Biblical Teaching?

            On 3^rd December 2014 a pastor was reported predicting ‘AIDS free Christmas’ if all homosexuals are killed, “A Baptist pastor in Tempe, Arizona called for the mass extermination of LGBT people on Sunday in a sermon entitled “AIDS: The Judgement of God.” In the sermon, which was uploaded to YouTube on Monday from Faithful Word Baptist Church, Pastor Steven Anderson said that God has ordered in the scriptures that gays should be killed, and that if humanity wants to have an “AIDS-free world by Christmas,” he said, that’s what should be done.

            “Turn to Leviticus 20:13,” he says in the video, “because I actually discovered the cure for AIDS.” “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them,” Anderson read aloud. “And that, my friend, is the cure for AIDS,” he said. …Because if you executed the homos like God recommends, you wouldn’t have all this AIDS running rampant”…There will never be any gays in his church, he said, not ever, ever, ever. “No homos will ever be allowed in this church as long as I am pastor here,” he insisted...”¹

            (Leviticus 20: 13 in New International Version translation is, “If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.”)  

            Some key questions, in this context, should be addressed, and they are:

1. Are the Old Testament Laws Applicable Today?

            Not all Old Testament laws are applicable to Christians today.

            God did not intend Old Testament laws to be timeless ethical codes. God gave Israel laws that were appropriate to their historical circumstances.² 

            Consider divorce as a case in point. Divorce was permissible under the Old Testament law (Deuteronomy 24: 1-4), but Christ revised the law on divorce. First, HE said that divorce was not God’s ideal for marriage established at creation (Matthew 19: 8). Second, Christ taught that sexual immorality could be the only reason for divorce (Matthew 5: 32, 19:9).

            The Old Testament law on divorce was only appropriate to the morally calloused hearts of the Israelites, for Christ radically narrowed the scope for divorce.

            Furthermore, some Old Testament laws do not apply to the life of a Christian (e.g. circumcision: Acts 15 & 1 Corinthians 7: 19). 

            Advocates for homosexuality strive to legitimize homosexuality by claiming that none of the Old Testament laws are applicable to Christians today. They refer to Paul’s argument that he was no longer under the law (1 Corinthians 9: 20) to legitimize homosexuality as permissible by God.

            While striving to legitimize homosexuality in Christianity, these heretics ignore the verses from the New Testament (verses written by Paul) that deem homosexuality as sin (Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9). Since both the Old and the New Testament deem homosexuality as sin, mankind, especially Christians, should not indulge in homosexuality.

2. Does God Desire the Death of Homosexuals?

            God did say what HE said in Leviticus 20:13.  Leviticus 20:13 teaches that homosexuality is sin, and death is the punishment or consequence for homosexuality.

            The New Testament affirms death for sin (Romans 6: 23). The only difference between the theocratic-then (divine governance: God ruled Israel directly then) and the non-theocratic-now (human governance within God’s absolute control) is the timing of God’s judgment.

            Judgment [for homosexuality] was immediate in the theocratic-then. But now it could happen in the present (e.g. death due to AIDS) or in the future – when Christ will judge mankind once and for all.

            Unless man repents and believes in Christ, whose perfect sacrifice will save everyone who believes in HIM from sin, the sinful man will eternally die for the sake of his sin, be it homosexuality or any other sin.

3. Should Homosexuals be Murdered Today?

            No, the Bible does not teach that homosexuals should be killed now.

            If Levitical laws are to be considered today, then each of them needs to be followed. For instance, all adulterers should be murdered as well (Leviticus 20: 10).

            God was not solely biased against the homosexuals that HE pronounced death sentence against them. In fact, God was against any form of sex outside the precincts of marriage, which is precisely why adultery was also judged with a death sentence.

            We would do well to recollect that Israel was a theocratic society when God handed down the Levitical laws to Israel. The period of theocracy has ceased ever since Israel rejected God’s rule over them. God then gave the Israelites over to human kings (1 Samuel 8: 4-9). (Theocracy will once again be established when the Lord Jesus will rule again from Jerusalem in the future for 1000 years.)

            Since we are no longer a theocratic society, God has commanded us to submit to the governing authorities. So we submit to the laws established by the governing authorities (Romans 13: 1-7).

            Christians are not called to take the law into our own hands. Christians are called to submit to the righteous rulers who govern for the good of the people.

            Since there are no laws promulgating death upon homosexuals today, homosexuals should not be murdered. Everything that’s immoral or that which is a sin against a Holy God cannot be judged with death or termed illegal in a non-theocratic society we live in now. Thus, calling for the murder of homosexuals is unbiblical, insane and depicts a distortion of the Bible.

            Homosexuality is a violation of God’s creational intent. God created man and woman for sexual intercourse, therefore homosexual relationship, as an aberration of the creational intent, is an assault on God.

            God has assured in HIS Word that homosexual offenders will not inherit God’s Kingdom. Murdering homosexuals will deprive them of an opportunity to repent and renounce homosexuality. Moreover, it is God who has the sole right to take life off the earth.

            Hence, it is our bounden responsibility to love homosexuals so to lead them to Christ by whose presence and power they could renounce the sinful practice of homosexuality.

4. Are All Homosexuals Pedophiles?

            The pastor from Arizona termed homosexuals as pedophiles (an adult who is sexually attracted to young children). The term pedophile does not apply to homosexuals, since homosexuals, by definition, indulge in same sex relationships, and normatively are not pedophiles.  

5. Should The Church Marry Homosexuals?

            Obviously not. The church should not marry homosexuals.

            The Bible deems homosexuality as sin (Cf. Genesis 19:1-13; Leviticus 18:22, 20: 13; Romans 1:26-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9); hence the church should not encourage sins. Consequently, the church should not marry homosexuals.

            Sadly, quite a few churches marry homosexuals and even ordain and appoint pastors who practice homosexuality. Similarly Evangelicals concerned is a movement that seeks to legitimize homosexuality in Christianity.

            Those striving to legitimize homosexuality in Christianity misinterpret the verses from the Bible that deem homosexuality as sin so to render homosexuality as a God-approved practice. This hermeneutical distortion is a sin since it falsifies God’s Word to misrepresent God.

            They also deceptively emphasize that to love your neighbor is to love their sins and encourage them in their sins. If we apply their faulty interpretation to human existence, then one should legitimize all the sins e.g. greed, slander, drunkenness, adultery, theft and what not.

6. Could Practicing Homosexuals Worship In Church?

            Church is a congregation of sinners. There is none righteous in the church (Cf. Ecclesiastes 7: 20, Romans 3: 10).

            Consider this verse, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6: 9-10, NIV).

            Minimally, the church includes greedy, drunkards, slanderers and thieves (those who use their workplace resources for personal and other gains could be considered as thieves). If these sinners can worship the Lord and be in positions of leadership in the local church, then why can’t practicing homosexuals worship the Lord in the church?

            If practicing homosexuals are denied access to the church, then how can one expect them to renounce homosexuality? What then is the ministry of the local church?

            A key role of the church is to edify its worshippers. In other words, a greedy person who worships in the church should renounce the sin of greed by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of the church.

            Similarly, a practicing homosexual or a prostitute should renounce their sins through the ministry of the church by the power of the Holy Spirit. Renouncing sins is more likely possible when the church ministers to the sinner in Christ’s love and the power of the Holy Spirit.

            Therefore, the church should graciously and lovingly include practicing sinners in its community and that includes practicing homosexuals as well.      

Endnotes:

¹ http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/12/arizona-pastor-predicts-aids-free-christmas-if-all-gays-are-killed-as-god-commands/comments/

² For a detailed study, please refer to Paul Copan’s Is God a Moral Monster?