“Judge not,
that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.” Matt:
7:1-2 KJV
The Christian Dilemma
It
is the mainstay of Christian doctrine that others must be treated with charity
for we are all sinners: Jesus said unto
him. “Thou shalt love the
Lord they God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy
mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto
it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” Matt: 22: 37-39 KJV
We
are reminded that judgement is God’s prerogative alone and to love thy neighbor
is a corollary of our love for God. If
we do not treat our neighbor with charity we deny God’s love. Thy neighbor is all humankind.
Christians
living in democratic countries under the rule of law recognize that the law
ought to apply equally to all persons regardless of race, creed, religion or
sexual orientation. The LGBT community
is now equal under the law of the land but they are not ipso facto (by this mere fact) equal under God’s law. This means that Christians ought to treat
persons who identify as homosexuals with charity while recognizing that sodomy,
their deeds, are unrighteous acts; a selfish turning away from the love of God. Consequently God condemns sodomites.
As
the Apostle Paul, speaking for the Lord Jesus Christ, reminds us: Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not
inherit the Kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind [homosexuals], Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers,
nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed,
but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of Lord Jesus, and by
the Spirit of our God.” 1Cor 6: 9 -11 KJV Paul reminds the churches of
Corinth that as they have been baptised they are under Grace of Jesus Christ. He continues these thoughts in another letter
to these churches. “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what
fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath
light with darkness?” 2 Cor 6:14
KJV And he concludes “Wherefore come out from among them, and be
ye separate, saith the lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will
receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.” 2
Cor 6: 17, 18 KJV
So now the Christian dilemma
becomes very prominent as a 21st century struggle to be righteous
while being charitable to, but not condoning, the unrighteous. The unrighteous have no struggle unless they
strive to be righteous but for most this is not a consideration. It is enough to make a stout-hearted
Christian weep.
Let us be clear, sodomy is the practice of anal intercourse and to
condone such practice is to be a homosexual by definition. Those who condone transgression are as guilty
of the offence as the transgressor.
There are those who only take on the active role of the sodomiser and
those who only prefer to be passively sodomised (they refer to themselves as
either a top or a bottom.). It is not
always, and often seldom, the case that they switch roles. In men’s prisons these roles are strictly
maintained. Women have also willfully submitted to being
sodomised thereby condoning the practice of homosexuals.
While
there has been a LGBT community for as long as humanity has existed it has only
been in the latter days of the 20th century that they have begun to
openly recruit and publicize their existence.
This is partly because Democratic countries have recognized they have a
case for equal rights. There are many in
society who condone the practices of the LGBT community and regularly go to
their parades, Mardi-Gras, rallies and drag shows to show their support. I have a strong suspicion there is an element
of voyeurism in such support. Then there are other equally non-religious
types who would rather go to a football game.
Not all non-Christians have a care for what goes on outside of their
special interest. The poor and homeless
among a society, in particular, struggle with a burden that dominates their
existence, offering little time or inclination to contemplate the problems of
those who are better off. Unfortunately this latter group is growing larger day
by day.
Nevertheless,
those who condone the practices of the LGBT community is growing and Christians
recognize that a number among their family are falling away and becoming
disbelievers. They both welcome and fear
this activity for they know it is a sign that they are nearing the beginning of
the end. As Paul has warned: “Let no
man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a
falling away first…” 2 Thess:
2:3 A crack in the dam of Christianity has
appeared but there is no indication that it will be more than an annoying drip,
drip, drip in the near future. But the
great apostasy will come and Jesus
Christ warns: “And then shall many be offended and shall betray
one another, and shall hate one another.
And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love
of many shall wax cold. But he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.” Matt: 24: 10 – 13 KJV
The LGBT
community is an organized transgressor not unlike organized crime groups and
organized brothels and pornography dispensers which are all
interconnected. It is to be expected
that they find Christian theology a threat to their existence. The threat comes from the fact that
Christians regularly worship Jesus Christ and ask for forgiveness for they are no
less a sinner than the LGBT community; they are equally impure. But
transgressors of God’s word seem to be steadfast in their opposition. It would cost them little to repent but they
are hell-bent on holding to their disbelief.
More despair for stout-hearted Christians.
It may be the
case that our despair is in for a severe shaking. Paul, again give us no solace. “This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God.” 2 Tim: 3:1-4 KJV Does this description sound like anyone we
might know? It is alarming that the
current President of the United States might be a warning sign. There seems little doubt that a shadow of
the end times is being cast. When God
has had His fill of persons or groups He gives them up. He lets them go to be whatever they will be
for He no longer concerns Himself with them. “He that is unjust,
let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and
he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him
be holy still. And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to
give every man according as his work shall be.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last.” Rev: 22: 11 – 13 KJV
© Launt
Thompson
Auckland
2018
· The Boys in
the Band is Mart Crowley’s breakthrough 1968 play about Manhattan gay
life. “…a
scintillating portrait of the self-loathing that festers in ghettoized
subcultures, perhaps as much now as then.” 5/31/2018.
