My motive in this blog is to speak the truth in love in regards to the issue of homosexuality. As a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it is my desire and my duty to make sure people know what God teaches about this topic. I feel the greatest way I can demonstrate love is by telling people the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes it contradicts our feelings and challenges our thoughts. However, truth will ultimately set us free if we will embrace it. Let me give you an illustration from my parenting.
I love my three sons. One of the main ways I show them my love is through discipline. They rarely like my discipline and many times wish I would let them do what they want. For example, my five year old wants to constantly ride his razor in the street. I’m sure it is fun for him to play in the street, but it is not safe. My love for him teaches him not to play in the street, and instructs him to stay in the driveway. If I did anything less as I parent, I would be negligent and irresponsible instead of loving.
As a parent or a pastor, one of the greatest ways I can express love to people is by telling them the truth.
In our “Choices” series, during the message “Is Your Sexuality a Choice”, Pam Ousley shared her testimony and answered many questions about homosexuality. I want to encourage you to listen to the message on our ENT Podcast. In this blog, I want to highlight some of the questions we talked about.
1. Is there any scientific evidence that proves homosexuality is a matter of birth or genetics?
No. Research indicates that there is simply no correlation between homosexual behavior and genetics. Studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, pro-homosexual scientist Evelyn Hooker and Masters and Johnson all deny a genetic link. They agree the connection between genetics and homosexuality is a myth. No scientific study affirming homosexuality has ever been replicated.
2. Is it true that 10% of the population is gay?
No. Even though this is a common myth purported by popular culture and flawed reporting to justify homosexual behavior, it simply is not true. We need to tell the person struggling with their sexual identity that they have been lied to by our popular culture. The truth is not that one in ten people are functioning as homosexuals. In fact, the number may be more like 1.5 to 2 people out of 100. For example, in 1994 the American sex survey, the most exhaustive piece of work that’s ever been done in this country about people’s sexual orientation, found that 2.7% of the population were homosexual men and 1.3 were homosexual women.
3. Is the homosexual lifestyle a normal, healthy “alternative” to heterosexuality?
• No. Over 50% of all homosexual men are carriers of the human papilloma virus, which produces anal warts and can often lead to anal cancer, according to Stephen Goldstone, assistant clinical professor of surgery at Mount Sinai Medical Center, speaking at a 1999 Gay Men’s Health Summit in Boulder, CO.
• Male homosexuals are about 1000 times more likely to acquire AIDS than the general population (National Center for Infectious Diseases, 1992).
• A survey of more than 2300 gays in New York and three other cities found that 37% of men and 14% of women reported having a non-HIV sexually transmitted disease.
• Hepatitis B is about 5 times more prevalent among homosexuals than among heterosexual men, according to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys, 1976-1994 (American Journal of Public Health).
• 78% of gay men have had or have an STD, according to H.H. Hartfield in “Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Homosexual Men” from 1981.
• The average age of death for gay males in the U.S. is 42 (only 9% live past age 65) while the median age of a married heterosexual man is 75 (Dr. E. Fields, “Is Homosexual Activity Normal?”).
• 40% of homosexuals report they have had more than 40 partners; 24% report they have had more than 100 partners (genre Magazine, 10/96).
• Homosexuals account for 3-4% of all gonorrhea cases, 60% of all syphilis cases, and 17% of all hospital admissions (other than STDs) in the United States (Lancet, April 25, 1987).
4. Do feelings and attractions to the same sex mean I’m a homosexual?
No. People who have same-sex feelings, urges, or fantasies does not mean in any way, shape, or form that they are gay. If a person is tempted to steal, this does not mean they are a kleptomaniac. Nor does it mean that they are a career criminal. If a person feels the urge to hit someone because they are angry, slugging someone does not become a legitimate and accepted behavior because of feelings. We all are contaminated with sin that causes us to feel and act contrary to God’s righteous standards. Our feelings must be dealt with according to truth.
5. Is it true that once someone is a homosexual, they are always a homosexual?
No. Pam Ousley and many others are great examples of people who have been set free from this lifestyle. Remember, a person with an experience is never at the mercy of a person with an argument.
Both extensive research and the records of many, many people who have come out of the homosexual lifestyle refute this premise. The greatest hope, though, is given to us in the Bible. In 1 Corinthians, after naming many of the sins that are an affront to God, including homosexuality, we are given one of the most hopeful and joyful verses of all Scripture. In verse 11 of chapter 6 we are told: “and such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God (NAS).”
Let us remember here that this was a letter to the church in Corinth. Corinth was the San Francisco of its day, with both male and female prostitutes in abundance. Within the city, a person could be involved in an orgy any time of the day or night, with their choice of sexual orientations.
As Corinthian citizens came to Christ, they had as much baggage ads any of us could imagine. These people were not just homosexuals, but adulterers, idol worshippers, thieves, robbers. They were people just like us; they were sinners. But Paul dismisses their past completely. At the moment they placed their faith in Christ, they were washed and sanctified by Him and made sinless before God. You see, the God of the Bible offers hope. Homosexuality is not a new sin, an unforgivable sin, or a lifestyle that can’t be changed. (Chip Ingram)
6. Are all Christians “homophobic”?
No. However, the tragedy of today’s dialogue between the gay community and the church is that this premise is too often true. Again, for this I deeply and sincerely apologize.
As Christians, we need to communicate to gays that we are willing to “step up the to plate” and speak the truth, but that we are committed to letting love, acceptance, and God’s grace rule our words and actions. We need to tell them that just as many of us have left sinful patterns and habits behind, and so can they. We must commit to stand with them, overcoming our own prejudice and fear. Together we will see God bring forgiveness and transformation to lives in need of healing.
7. Is there a church that will accept me and help me deal with my gay feelings?
Yes. Every Nation Tallahassee would love to help anyone struggling with this issue. Also, I would be happy to meet with anyone who would want to talk about this topic. I desire to extend the love and truth of Jesus to anyone seeking help. I am a person who has been changed by the grace and mercy of God. I recognize and have not forgotten my own need for God’s forgiveness. Once again, my motive is love.
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