As thousands of students across the nation participated in the "The Day of Silence" – a vow among students to remain silent throughout the day in recognition and protest of the perceived “silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies in schools” – Christians found themselves facing a dilemma.
Although many Christians were vocal in their opposition to what they claimed was an annual endorsement of homosexuality – many called for a boycott of the event, and a number of organizations even urged parents to keep their children away from school that day – other Christians looked for ways to reach out to their homosexual peers while emphasizing the loving teachings of Christ.
Dr. Warren Throckmorton, associate professor of Psychology at Grove City College, and Michael Frey, Western PA Director for College Ministries with Campus Crusade were both instrumental in organizing what they called the “Golden Rule Initiative,” an alternative non-confrontational approach to The Day of Silence, which took place Friday.
As part of the “Golden Rule Initiative,” students passed out cards throughout the day vowing to live in the manner of Christ’s teaching to “Do to others as you would have them do to you” in reference to the passage from Scripture. The cards also read, “As a follower of Christ, I believe that all people are created in the image of God and therefore deserve love and respect.”
Over a dozen schools and campus ministries across the nation participated in the Golden Rule Imitative, and responses from students were reportedly positive.
Jordyne Krumroy, a student at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC., wrote in an email to Throckmorton that the event had helped bridge important gaps between Christian and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) students.
“The LGBT community saw something revolutionary – they saw Christians loving them and more than that, they saw the love of Christ. What would happen if next year, hundreds of Christian students walked around with duct tape in silence?” she recalled in her email, a day after the event.
“The truth is, this group has been disappointed by the church. I know that as people read that, some will become angry with me. ‘Not my church’ they will say. But when ‘Christians’ hold signs on campus that read, ‘God hates Fags,’ and ‘fags burn in hell,’ the LGBT community associates that with Christianity,” she continued.
“Many people have told me that they have never said anything derogatory to the gay community, but the problem is they haven’t said anything at all. You see, half of the church is screaming hate at them, and the other half is silent. If there is one thing I have learned, it is that silence is powerful. The failure to not say anything, has said a lot,” she added.
First organized in 1996 by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in collaboration with the United States Student Association, The Day of Silence was first held at the University of Virginia, and has since spread across the nation's schools into a yearly event.
RSS
Why do you guys take every story having to do with homosexual events as an opportunity to debate whether homosexual behavior is ok?
If it were me passing out the cards, mine would have added, "As a Christian, I do believe that homosexual behavior is wrong, as is pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and divorce in most cases. But I believe that God loves you as you are and wants you to come to him to be washed of your wrongdoings and receive new life. I hope you will come to our next club meeting and find an embracing atmosphere of students hoping to share their faith experiences with you."
That way there would be no mixed message that Christians are standing with homosexuals in solidarity--only a message of Christ's love to sinners.
BmoreTeacher
correction to Part 3
"What is the real love?: Feeling good in your homosexuality on the earth or going to heaven when you die?"
should read
"What is real love?: Christians who tell you that God is OK with homosexuality, who make you feel good in your homosexuality on the earth but you end up going to hell because you didn't repent or Christians who tell you the truth that results in you repenting and going to heaven when you die?"
BmoreTeacher
Part 1
I know that in my previous posts to you I have been a little harsh. Please forgive me.
You said: "Have you ever really studied the Bible, "
Yes, I have and still do study the Word of God. I have been doing so since 1981. I rely on God to teach me the Word of God (John 14: 26) and to lead me into all truth (John 16:13) as His Word promises He would do.
You said : "If the word of God is so plain, why don't you also condemn people who wear clothing made of more than one material, sow crops in more than one field,..., If you're on your period, you are unclean and shouldn't be in the house of God. "
I have attended back in the late 80's Bill Gothard's Institute of Basic Youth Conflicts where these very issues were discussed. The medical reasons why God established those laws were dicussed along with others like no sex while a woman is having her period, circumsizing baby boys at 8 days, the dietary laws, and etc..
You said: "...why don't you still keep your slaves?"
This is not an issue that I am able to respond to authoritatively since I have not done any study on the issue. I don't know much about the OT laws regarding owning of slaves but in the NT the Word of God does say that if a Christian own slaves they are required by God to treat them in a God fearing way (Eph 6:9). In applicaption to our society today, if I, star2, a Christian, was a wealthy woman who made a contract with some poor people to live on my property and work my land or work at my business in exchane for a small wage, food, clothes, housing, and medical attention, then God would require of me to treat them fairly, with respect, and to keep my promises. If I didn't then I could expect to be corrected by God through some form of chatisment. I would also teach other 'slave owners' to do the same.
You said: "How is it that those words of God are no longer applicable"
I never said that those laws were never applicable. They are still applicable today.
I actually love the law. I love reading the OT laws and even have ask God not too long ago to help me understand why He gave those laws. However, knowing those laws and keeping them will not save me but I will be blessed if I do observe them.
BmoreTeacher
Part 2
You said: " yet you continue to pretend you love gays but actual hate us and call us sinners because you choose to hold on to that one part of the Bible? It makes no sense to me at all!"
God was the authority of the Jewish Nation in the OT. He established what the laws were that would govern His people. He decided what sin was and what the societal consequences would be for committing those sins. When the Jewish Nation went into captivity and were under the authority of a pagan nation then the societial consequences to breaking God's laws were no longer carried out.
In the NT, we see Jesus upholding what God called sin in the OT but not carrying out the societal consequences that God established for a nation He ruled. In place of the societal consequences to sin Jesus gave forgiveness and commanded the sinner to go and sin no more.
Jesus still offers forgivenss for sin in place of His judgment against sin but He requires that the sinner go and sin no more. If the sinner refuses, then he will suffer the eternal consequences to sin which is eternal damnation (ie, hell).
In the OT, God says that gay sex is an abomination (a sin) and all who are caught doing it were to be stoned to death (societal consequence). In the NT, God still says that gay sex is a sin but He offers forgiveness for that sin instead of being stoned to death. But the sinner (homosexual) must repent and sin no more or he/she will suffer the eternal consequences to their sin which is eternal damnation.
BmoreTeacher
Part 3
Which of the two senarios would you call real love:
1) You are a homosexual. The Church says it is OK for you to be gay and that God is OK with it. That makes you feel real good and you feel accepted. You continue to live your life as a homosexual but when you died, you ended up in hell because you didn't repent.
2) You are a homosexual. The Church told you in a loving way as best as they could that God says that homosexuality is a sin and that you need to repent or you will go to Hell. They also tell you that God will forgive you of your sin if you ask Him to, and He will deliver you of that sin if you will let Him and bring healing to your heart in the areas you were wounded in. At first you feel rejected and unacceptable to people. But after awhile you hear what they are trying to tell you God's Word says and you act on it. You give your problem to God and allow Him to set you free and when you die you went to heaven.
What is the real love?: Feeling good in your homosexuality on the earth or going to heaven when you die?
Christians who post on CP who are not homsexuals are usually the ones that hold up the standard of God's Word on homosexuality. They usually can't appreciate the problems that a homosexual has. They are somewhat lacking in sensitivity to the problems you all have. But notheless God's Word says that homosexuality is a sin and all who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God.
There are Christians who were homosexuals but have been delivered from that bondage. Go to http://exodus.to/stories and read about men and women who found healing and deliverance from homosexuality through the Lord Jesus Christ.
No, Star2, that wasn't that the best rebuttal at all! It was actually quite pointless. Have you ever really studied the Bible, and by study, I don't mean read. The Bible has a context in which it must be read. If the word of God is so plain, why don't you also condemn people who wear clothing made of more than one material, sow crops in more than one field, or why don't you still keep your slaves? It says it all, right in the Bible. If you're on your period, you are unclean and shouldn't be in the house of God. How is it that those words of God are no longer applicable, yet you continue to pretend you love gays but actual hate us and call us sinners because you choose to hold on to that one part of the Bible? It makes no sense to me at all!
"You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbour, and not bear sin because of him" in the next verse Leviticus 19:18 you will find these words, "...you shall love your neighbour as yourself, I am the LORD" the same words which Jesus used to summarise the last 6 of the Ten Commandments. (Matthew 22:39)
I dare any homosexual person who has not met me personally to accuse me of homophobia, I would sooner take a homosexual person to lunch, than a so called "Christian" who does not believe the straight forward teachings of scripture on homosexuality.
It is because I am commanded to love my brother, what ever his sin might be that I warn them of their sin, more specifically because I love my country, and because I care about the Church in other nations America included, that taking right ground on this issue is necessary, A homosexual person in practice and orientation, is just as much an enemy of GOD as a thief in practice and orientation. I would hate to see iether go to hell, therefore as you will read in Leviticus 19:17 I rebuke my neighbour concerning sin, as he should do when he see's me sinning because this is loving your neighbour as you love yourself.
star2
That was one of the best rebuttals I've read.
BmoreTeacher
Stubborness is as the sin of idolatry. The Word of God says that behind every idol is a demon. God's Word also says that if you have idols in your life that when you pray God will have the idols of your heart answer you. Your stubborn and willful disregard for God's Word for the opinions of man has made man's opinion that is contrary to the Word of God your idol. When you pray about you sexual orientation God has allowed the demons behind it to answer you.
God will not contradict Himself. He says gay sex is an abomination and all those who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God. Your 'biblical scholars' are trying to split hairs with words to make right what God calls sin. God is going to judge you on judgment day with His Word not men's interpretation of His Word. You are in dangerous waters when your reject what is plain and obvious in God's Word for the wisdom of man.
Truthful witness, I don't have to argue it, I have prayed and asked God, as have thousands of other gay Christians. The Bible is crystal clear about very little. Most of God's word is still a mystery to us, and it is incredibly presumptuous to assume you know what the word of God is inside out and backwards (which you implied.) May I suggest you worry about yourself repenting from your filthy sins, and let others worry about themselves?
Homosexuals can argue all they want to but the Bible is crystal clear when it condemns their lifestyle. The problem is they don't like what it has to say so they try to muddy the waters. They are sinning and need to repent (turn from) of their homosexual behavior. Anyone who can continue in a sinful lifestyle without guilt or remorse is not saved.
Any argument that compares homosexuals "goodness" to that of Christians is not valid. God will not judge us based on other's behavior, only on our own.
That being said, every person is a filthy sinner and needs to repent. For some it is homosexual behavior, for others it is something else. That should not keep us from speaking the truth and telling people when they are doing something wrong.
Hmm, Star2, its funny, I do talk to God about it, yet when I hear an answer, folks like you say that it isn't actually God talking. It seems as if you are the ones who need to do more listening and perhaps a little less talking. Jesus most certainly did question the Pharisees on their interpretatation of the Old Testament, just as many Christians today (such as myself) quesiton interpretations of the New Testament. The biblical scholars I follow most certainly do look at the word and its divinity, but they also look at cultural times and the context of the Bible, which is appears you do not. Faith should be based on knowledge, and we can certainly pair current knowledge, theology, and philosophy with what has been written and has changed in the Bible. Don't throw Bible verses at me, don't volunteer to pray for my soul, pray that God's will be done, and leave it at that. How very arrogant of so many Christians to believe that they know and fully understand God's word in the Bible, when in fact we cannot know without a doubt until we die.
BmoreTeacher
Jesus never questioned the Old Testament.
These 'biblical scholars' that you get your information from do not rightly divide the word of truth.
BmoreTeacher
Excuse me, sir, but you need to talk to God about it not man.
Star2, I detect pompous arrogance in you. How could you tell someone what God says to them? How horrifically presumptuous and sinful! I actually forgive very easily, I also study quite a bit. You might be interested to know that when the Bible was written, there was no term for homosexuality, so it has since been added (hence, not divinely inspired.) Also, abomination doesn't mean the same as sin. It actually means more of a social taboo. Ask Jewish experts who have studied the Old Testament for thousands of years, they'll say the same. The problem is that so much of the Bible was written with social laws to ensure God's people could move on, and obviously procreation was necessary. At the time, orgies were popular among the pagans, and anything considered to be pagan was to be rejected. Much of the other talk in Levitticus actually roots into rejection of Pagan culture because it so directly clashed with God's people (however, homosexuality was not a word or a common practice, but rather the verse was referring to lying with men and women all together during an orgy.) It helps to study, it actually opens the Word of God up more and makes it a true faith. When you are able to start questioning the Bible, just as Jesus did the Old Testament, then you can start living as Jesus.
P.S.: The Catholic Church was the first church made by Christ, and it says homosexuality is not a sin in itself or a choice, so anyone saying otherwise needs to talk to their biblical scholars :)
BmoreTeacher
Re:We are saved through belief as well as our good works, so you'd better recognize that Jesus looks for people who walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
Yes, I would agree with you but God also requires that we live godly (Titus 2:11-14) in Christ Jesus. That means that we need to repent from active sin in our life. The Word of God is quite clear that gay sex is an abomination (Lev 18:22, 20:13) and all who practice it shall not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10). If a Christian is homosexual then he/she needs to surrender that sin to God and allow Him to deliver him/her from it. God did it for the homos in the Church of Corinth (1 Cor 6:11) and He can do it today. Sometimes being set free from homosexuality is a process because there are many issues that God needs to help the ex-homo Christian deal with. A Christian that is a homosexual has to repent just like any other sin a Christian is involved in like adultery, pornography, lying, stealing, drunkedness, drug abuse, hatred, unforgiveness, occultism, and etc.
You cannot continue to live in sin as a Christian and expect to be right with God.
I detect unforgiveness in you. If you do not forgive God will not forgive you (Mark 11:25-26). FORGIVE. Give the problem to God and ask Him to help you forgive people from your heart. He will honor that prayer request. When He gives you forgiveness for the person who has offended you, then confess it and ask God to forgive you for having done the same thing. If you do then God will set you free from the people who bother you, give you godly respect for that person(s) who have offended you, and give you the ability to love them the way He wants you to as defined in 1 Cor 13:4-7. I know that He will because I speak from personal experience.
correction
"You have to test what you EAR up against the Word of God." should read "You have to test what you HEAR up against the Word of God."
tampaheights
God's Word is quite plain about how God views homosexuality. It says that gay sex is an abomination (Lev 18:22, 20:13) and all who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9-10).
If what you or anyone hears in prayer contradicts the Word of God then what you heard was not from the Holy Spirit it was from the unholy spirit (ie, satan).
You have to test what you ear up against the Word of God. If it contradicts God's Word then reject it.
I just prayed to God for an answer and some guidance on this issue. He told me he created homosexuals in his image. So knowing that, I'm prepared to accept them as one of God's blessed creations.
Well if your "walk" is actively living a homosexual lifestyle, you're not walking the walk Jesus was talking about.
Y'all are talking about gay people like we're some wicked breed of humans who eat babies and dance around flaming crosses. Get real! I know plenty of amazing gay people who are waaaay nicer and have purer hearts than those who claim to be Christian and are straight. Everyone sins, stop talking about gays in terms of being "wicked" because that is judgmental and not at all of God. Don't presume to know that you can judge or are better than me because you can quote every verse of the Bible, because I am quite sure none of you would dare step foot in the ghetto I teach in daily. We are saved through belief as well as our good works, so you'd better recognize that Jesus looks for people who walk the walk as well as talk the talk.
ten10,
Homosexuality is wickedness, but let's just keep in mind ...
Ezekiel 33:11 NIV - As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.
I thought God hated the sin, but loved the sinner. Do you all really believe you will not be held accountable for those wrongs you don't speak out against, while speaking out against those that are easy/safe for you to speak out against? And by the way the concept of the golden rule isn't exclusively Christian. Almost every civilization and religion that has ever existed taught it in their own way. Even pagans.
I'll tell you what would happen if next year hundreds of Christian students walked around with duct tape on their mouths, they'd look like everyone else! If my recollection is right Jesus never showed support of sinful behavior. What He did do was to speak the truth in love (remember that "go and sin no more" talk). Participating in this demonstration and encouraging others to do so as well is like the blind leading the blind. How about following Christ's example to speak the truth in love instead. We shouldn't go along with the rest of society. This is just another form of politically correct bull. How about encouraging people to stand up for what is true, right, holy?
Sorry Chicago24
The Bible at least the one I read (KJV, NIV, and NLT) all say at Psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5 that GOD hates the wicked, the New Testament at John 3:36 says that these the wicked remain under the wrath (anger) of GOD, and in James 4:4 sinners are described as enemies of GOD.
"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
Please do look at the afore mentioed scriptures, and keep in mind that New Testament Christianity is based on these same scriptures, and I do trust that you will or have run to Jesus to escape GOD's anger.
"and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come." 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Dannypoo: I agree with you on your example of the parent. That is why I used the words "intrinsically harmful, i.e. in-and-of itself.
Also, there is nothing harmful in male homosexuality per se. Yes, certain acts that are performed can be harmful but that's true with heterosexuality as well.
chicago24,
I respectfully disagree. Coming from a family where a parent is homosexual, there is harm in it. Primarily psychological for both the parent and the children. Also male homosexuality is actually physically harmful to both parties, and dangerous I might add.
Ten10: Loving the wicked more than the righteous is the heart of Christianity. It's exactly what makes Christianity unique to other religions.
Also, adultery and murder are intrinsically harmful to other people. Being gay is not. Big difference.
I am afraid that some well meaning campus ministries are going to silently love Homosexual people all the way into hell. This is not the love of the Christ that I read of in the scriptures who told religous hypocrites in His day that they smelt worse than graves, and were serpents.
Love is putting the murderer, adulterer, and blasphemer to death (solely governments responsibility), in the interests of a GOD fearing society. Many Christians show more love to the wicked than they do to the GOD fearing.
Good so far as it went but how did Jesus love and respect to the women at Jacobs well.?He met her at her place , drew out her sin, dealt with it and brought her into the kingdom. There is love and there is sentimentality. Know the difference
“The truth is, this group has been disappointed by the church. I know that as people read that, some will become angry with me. ‘Not my church’ they will say. But when ‘Christians’ hold signs on campus that read, ‘God hates Fags,’ and ‘fags burn in hell,’ the LGBT community associates that with Christianity,” she continued.
that is an excellent point.