Hard Questions – Difficult Answers
Posted: Monday, July 12, 2010
by Carol Allen Anfinsen
AnfinsenArt
Her family called her “Aunt Fran.” She was a shriveled, elderly woman in her late seventies; frightened and terribly ill from stomach pain. She wore a flowered housedress and floppy slippers when they brought her into the emergency room.
At the time, I was a non-medical ER staffer in a state hospital. I managed payroll for 50 nurses, and assisted the Nurse Manager with reports, surveys, insurance data, exit plans – you name it!
That’s how I heard about aunt Fran and assisted in preparing her paperwork. She was obviously a beloved family member. Several relatives had accompanied her. They wanted to be sure she received good care. They were worried about what she might face, and with good reason.
As aunt Fran’s story unfolded, the staff nurses and doctors learned that Fran’s full name was Frank William Church (name changed). The physical facts became known as the patient prepared for examination. Family members explained that Frank had become Fran almost 50 years ago, and the family had called him aunt Fran ever since. Younger family members now endeared to “aunt Fran” had never known.
When I first heard this story, my heart went out to aunt Fran (or Frank). What must he have gone through trying to live a different life than the one in which he was born to? A complete identity crisis and lifestyle change. The family members had given Frank the compassion and acceptance he needed; and from that point forward, he had become aunt Fran.
Homosexuality is a difficult challenge for the Christian. We remember Sodom and Gomorrah. The very word “sodomy” is a derivative of this city; its meaning is “having sexual relations with someone of the same sex” (Webster’s).
Although the word “homosexual” does not appear in the Bible (the term came later), there are references to homosexual relations in Gen. 19:5; Lev. 18:22, 20:13; Deut. 23:17, Isa. 3:9; Rom. 1:27; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:10; and Jude 1:7 (KJV). I urge you to look those passages up. Read different biblical versions of the same text. Review the footnotes and ponder the message.
There is a great difference between God’s laws and those administered by humankind. Governments create laws and then coerce people to obey them through fines, punishment or incarceration. God gives us commandments not to restrict us, but to protect us from disease, danger or death. We obey them or ignore them (at our own risk) through free will. Punishment may come as a consequence of our actions or it may be delayed until we become personally answerable to God.
In Genesis, the Bible clarifies that God made male and female. He commanded them to cleave unto each other (the first marriage) and to none else. He also commanded that they multiply and replenish the earth (something two men or two women could not do). Marriage was an institution ordained and blessed by God.
In the past fifty years, we’ve been conditioned and confused by a society that prefers the word “fetus” instead of baby. And the word “gender” has replaced that of male and female. The lines of distinction between the sexes have been blurred. Behaviors and norms that once were black and white and Biblical are now secular with varying shades of gray.
In this new environment, Massachusetts claims that the federal law banning gay marriage is unconstitutional “because it interferes with the right of a state to define the institution and therefore denies married gay couples some federal benefits.”
Since when in the history of our Union, our Republic, does a state assume the right to define God’s institution of marriage without the consent of the people?
President Obama agrees with Massachusetts. He said the “Defense of Marriage Act” (DOMA) a 1996 law should be repealed (a law voted on and enacted by the people). At issue are Medicaid benefits being denied to gay married couples under Massachusetts former law.
Today, mainline churches are not only debating the history and validity of Biblical marriage, they are ignoring Biblical teaching by ordaining homosexual pastors and ministers as long as they are in “committed relationships.”
The sacred institution of marriage that originated with God is being challenged by the government, by some states, and by a barrage of homosexuals. Gays say they only want equal status under the Constitution, but they are also demanding that the marriage institution itself be changed to accommodate their needs and wants.
The word “hedonism” comes to mind. Definition: “when pleasure or happiness is the most important goal in life. In other words, God, family and country are no longer the focus, but self. To put it another way: if it’s important to me, I don’t care about the ramifications.
I’m not here to bash gays. I have worked with gay people. I have gay co-workers and friends. I believe that gay people are entitled to every legal right and protection under the Constitution as is any other citizen in our great country. What I don’t want is sacred time-honored institutions to be changed or eliminated on the whims or desires of the few or for political gain.
Heaven forbid we should go back to a time when an "eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” were practiced. In some countries, that law still applies. In Iran, a woman, a wife and a mother, was caught in the act of adultery. She received a sentence of stoning to death; a practice still common in many Muslim countries.
Jesus turned this law on its ear when he told a similar crowd of would-be stoners bent on killing an adulterous woman: “He who is without sin—let him let him cast the first stone;” (John 8:7 KJV). When Jesus looked up, the accusers were gone. He told the woman: “Go thy way, and sin no more.”
None of us really knows why someone becomes homosexual. Whether it’s physical, emotional, or simply a matter of choice is up for debate. God the creator of us all is the only one who has the answer. Our Biblical directive is simply to apply the principles of compassion and love to everyone.
We all fall short of the glory of God. We are all sinners. Only God knows and understands the circumstances and conditions surrounding individual choice and action. God sees us from above. From that vantage point, we are all on a level playing field; equally loved, equally covered by his grace.
Many gay people are good citizens, good neighbors, and in some cases, good parents. But these facts should not warrant the overturn of thousands of years of societal and biblical precedent nor ignore historical evidence that confirms the physical and spiritual benefits of the conventional family unit.
If you would like additional informtion about "The Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) go to the Manhattan Declaration at this link: http://www.manhattandeclaration.org
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)The article, I believe, presents a very scriptural attitude toward homosexuality. Homosexuality,and all sin, is a symptom of distance from our Father, and which makes our Savior necessary. However, homosexuality, while Christians treat it with greater concern because of our necessary response to militant homosexuals, is likely no more egregious a sin than adultery.Many of us are born with genetic or environmentally induced propensities to one sin or another and we must struggle all our lives - with lying, thievery, manipulations, materialism, heterosexual conquests, and others. However, we do not give in to our various lusts, make them "civil rights" to pursue, and force all others to accept our sins with a smile.I agree with you wholeheartedly! That is why we must love everyone (and I do mean everyone). I love this quote: "There but for the grace of God go I."
Homosexuality is like any other sin. It is no worse, no better. It is just one of the miriad sins and problems that we as human beings succomb to. Only God knows the why or the how. We must accept people as they are and extend the hand of love and fellowship.
Thank you for reading my article, John, and for sharing your thoughts!
Because we should follow everything we read in the bible without taking context into account eh? Got to love LEVITICUS 15:19-30, DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21, MARK 10:1-12, MARK 12:18-27 and so on.Context is significant and important; but just because men and women cannot live those laws and choose to change them doesn't make it right. Our job is to focus on the things we can control--ourselves. I prefer to live my life by these two commandments: "Thou shalt love the Lord your God with all your might mind and strength; and the second is like unto it: Thou shalt love your neighbor as yourself."
Laws of society change because of sin. Our directive is to do our best, love god, and love each other. We are all sinners. We should be more willing to forgive; more willing to overcome; and more obedient to our God and Creator.
I do believe that in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah Lot offered his daughters to the mob outside. What a righteous dude!You're right, Jonathan. That has always bothered me, too. But it's a perfect example of "context." The customs and mores of that day were far different from ours and women were not considered equal with men.
As I said in my article and comments, we need to focus on our own lives and our own relationship with God and leave the things we don't understand to biblical scholars and historians.
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