Tag Archives: Christianity

Open Letter to the Southern Baptist Convention about their stance on the Boy Scouts of America

Dear Southern Baptist Convention Members and Leaders:

I am certain you have heard a great number of people commenting on your recent non-binding resolution to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America because they are now choosing to allow openly homosexual boys to join its ranks. I am responding in kind as well; however, I will try to not rant at you, but rather be more Christian in nature and try to appeal to your theological nature.

I will start simple. Certainly, you agree with Jesus’ words when he stated that the two greatest commandments were to “…love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, The second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these” (Mark 12:30-31 NRSV). You even state within your resolution that you continue to hate the sin, but love the sinner as evident in your resolution when you state, “we declare our love in Christ for all young people regardless of their perceived sexual orientation, praying that God will bring all youth into a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” (SBC Resolution 6, 2013).

The issue here with your response though seems to be your use of the word “perceived” when it comes to their sexual orientation. That would infer that homosexuality is a choice. Many studies have shown that homosexuality occurs in the natural world. Since humans are part of that natural world as we are the highest form of primate, should it not follow that it could also be a natural occurrence in the human race for some people to be born homosexual? If it helps, Jesus does say something to this effect as found in the Gospel of Matthew when he states:

For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by others, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this who can. (Matthew 19:12 NRSV)

Could it not be that those who were “eunuchs who have been so from birth” are what Jesus knew to be the homosexuals of his time? The Jewish culture that Jesus would have been familiar with did not see eunuchs as simply being those born without testicles, but those men who exhibited characteristics that were more in line with females of the time, much like what is seen sometimes among modern homosexual men. Therefore, it could be seen that Jesus believed that even homosexual men were valuable to God and not an abomination.

I would like to offer another perspective as well. The Apostle Paul has some issues with the Galatians due to the law versus faith. It seems Peter did not want to associate with the Galatian Gentiles because they were not circumcised. This angered Paul, who himself was if you recall a very orthodox Jew prior to his conversion. Paul states in his letter to the Galatians,

Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourself with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:23-29 NRSV).

Just looking at these verses sets the tone as to what God’s kingdom should look like, doesn’t it? People lived under the law until Christ came and saved all who believe in Him. Christianity was meant to bridge the space between men and women, races, and even gender preferences. “No longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NRSV), what a wonderful world for Christ we would have then, right?

I do not expect that you will change your position on the Boy Scouts of America or even on homosexuality, but it would be nice if you would just pay closer attention to the Christ in whom you profess to believe. He ate with sinners. In fact, he hung out with them and even made some his disciples and apostles. He did not come for the elite or for those who held themselves tight to the law as seen through eyes that refused to change. Even Paul had to be blinded by Christ in order to see His kingdom more clearly. I, along with many others, will keep praying for your denomination to have a road to Damascus moment as well. Peace be with you.

War against Christianity?

There are some people who continuously say there is a war waged by the “left” or “those liberals” against Christianity. I consider myself relatively liberal in thought and I am not at war with Christianity. Rather, I see Christianity as being probably more “liberal” than it is “conservative” when it comes down to the preaching that is attributed to Jesus. After all, he hung around with sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers and other unclean people. He preached to both Jew and Gentile. He even died, in at least the earthly part, due to the “conservative” element in both Judaism and the government wanting him dead. He told people to forgive one another and that His Father’s kingdom was accessible for all who believed in the Almighty.

Perhaps, really the “conservative” element is at war with the Almighty. Consider this, Jesus taught that we should clothe the naked, feed the hungry, and care for the widows and orphans. If this is the case, then why are there regular people and politicians in the “conservative” element who want to cut funding for welfare, head start and education, Medicare, Medicaid, and other social programs that benefit everyone, especially the poor, the young, and the elderly? Would not increasing funding to those areas be more Christian in nature?

This weekend is the Christian church celebrates Palm Sunday. This is when Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the cheers of the crowds shouting, “Hosanna.” By this time next week, those crowds were shouting to crucify Him. I think there is an element that is still shouting this. It is those who prefer to act as Christians in their words, but cannot do so in their deeds who are crucifying Jesus continually. We have elected officials who have chosen to represent the wealthy at the cost of helping the poor. These politicians have passed a budget proposal this is very unchristian in nature with its cuts to programs that help the poor, the young, and the old. It will likely not pass the Senate, which is a good thing. Now, do not get me wrong, I do not believe that one political party is more Christian than the other is. There are plenty of good Christians in every political party; however, if they truly are good Christians who have listened to the words of Jesus and actually heard them, then they should also be able to act upon those words over the din of those who offer them money to ignore the poor, the young, and the old.

Yes, it is time for the war against Christianity to end. It will end when those who profess to believe in Christ actually listen to His words and act accordingly on them rather than against them.