At the gym this morning I was listening to a BBC Radio Ulster programme entitled "Everyday Ethics" a weekly programme discussing as it suggests the ethics of the modern day world. Last weeks edition focused largely on the decision of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to ban from membership all of those who did not have a credible profession of faith.
I have to say that I largely enjoyed the programme and the back and forth nature of the debate but it did expose some of the divisions that exist within the P.C.I and to be fair any broad church and that divide focuses on scripture and God's revelation of himself.
One of the contributors Rev. David Latimer made the following statement "that the great commandment of the Christian faith is that we love our neighbour as ourself." This is of course quoting the very words of Jesus himself I mean what could be wrong with that? Well that is the whole problem isn't it? The words of Jesus just quoted above are divorced from their original context.
A teacher of the law has just asked Jesus what is the greatest commandment in the law and Jesus answers you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind this is the first and greatest commandment and the second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
Focusing on the second commandment that Jesus gives here removes the focus from the first our love for our neighbour is an expression of our love for God. By nature we are creatures who seek our own good we are selfish the only way this can be changed is when we love God who reached out to us in His son Jesus Christ.
Rev. Latimer also makes the astonishing claim that the bible did not know anything about homosexuality which is just a staggering claim. The law makes clear that the bible knows about homosexuality:
Leviticus 18:22 states "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman: it is an abomination." Now there are several things to say about this firstly this command comes amidst a long list of sexual sins all of which are condemned. Sometimes as evangelicals we can be focused on same sex marriage and ignore perhaps our own sexual sin or the sexual sin of others.
It should also be stated that this is an Old Testament text and some will say that the New Testament has nothing to say about same sex relationships yet again that is just basically not true. We see Paul is Romans 1:27-27:
"For this reason God gave them up to dishonourable passions. For their woman exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error."
Whatever we want to say about this we can say that basically same sex attraction is condemned here it is a symbol of God's judgement, it is a symbol of God giving them over to their passions, it is a symbol of God's judgement on their suppression of truth.
Again we quote Paul in 1st Corinthians 6:
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
What does Paul say here? That some in the immoral city of Corinth were men who practiced homosexuality and yet they were washed, they were cleansed in Jesus Christ. Notice Paul doesn't say to them keep on doing what you are doing, keep on living in this sinful lifestyle. Rather he says no now that you have been washed and cleansed now you must live a different life.
Whatever we say it is simply erroneous to say that the bible doesn't mention homosexuality both the New Testament and the Old Testament are clear that homosexuality is something that God condemns. Which brings us to the central problem here.
Is the Bible the word of God or not? Is the Bible the revelation of God or not? If it is then we are bound to live by it however society says the church should respond. If it is then it doesn't really matter what we think it matters what God thinks. If the bible isn't the word of God then we can live any way we want.
However if the bible isn't the word of God then we have no hope of right relationship with God, the bible stands or falls as a whole we cannot say that we want the bits of the bible that talk about Jesus and talk about love of God but not the bits that call us to to repentance.
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