The "Christian" Left claims quite boldly that Jesus says NOTHING about homosexuality and the BIBLE and JESUS do NOT condemn the act of homosexuality and my all time favorite, equating Matthew 19:12 "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb..." with homosexuality.
The myth that Jesus didn't mention homosexuality is a staple of the "Christian" left who care more about fashionable feelings than about sin and repentance, and the emergent crowd who care more about "meat in the seats" and a healthy coin count at the end of the weekly rock festival than about sharing the Gospel. Carl Lentz, the Hillsong Hipster, went on national TV in 2013 and loudly proclaimed to the world
You go look at what Jesus did, he was always talking about the heart of an individual and the soul of a person, not these symptomatic societal problems. People hate that, because a lot of churches are about what they're against. We're about what we're for. (source)
If he were actually familiar with the bible Carl may have noticed Mark 10:2-8, Matthew 5:32, and Luke 16:18 where Jesus talks about divorce. This was the hot-button issue of the time, as hot if not hotter than today's talk of homosexuality and do it yourself gender assignment. Since Carl claims that Jesus talked about the heart of the individual what did Jesus say a man's heart, and what did He say about homosexuality?
It can be either one, or just ignorance of what is actually in the text, which may be Carl Lentz' case. We need to keep in mind the fact that the New Testament wasn't written in English, it was written in Greek so we can't take what's on the page in our English translations at face value, we must Be The Berean and get to the original meaning.
When Jesus said "adulteries" the Greek text reads μοιχεία (moicheia) which means adultery; voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse. He then said "fornication" which is translated from the Greek word πορνεία (porneia) which is illicit sexual intercourse of all kinds including pre-marital sex, adultery, incest, homosexuality, lesbianism, and bestiality.
So yes, Jesus did mention homosexuality, and not in a complimentary way. He listed it along with all other sexual sins, and all other sins that defile a man, and they all come from the heart. Sorry "Christian" Left, there's nothing in the bible about a "loving homosexual relationship", sin is sin. We're all sinners and we are called to repent of our sins, no matter how good they feel.
18 But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders. (Matthew 15:18-19)Jesus is talking about what makes a man unclean (defiled) and it's evil thoughts which come from a man's heart. Notice the word "Fornication", the "Christian" Left will have you believe that Jesus is just talking about premarital and extra-marital sex, but Jesus had already said "adulteries" why would he say that twice? He didn't, there's a huge difference, and thinking that adulteries and fornication are the same comes from bad exegesis (not getting the meaning out of the bible) or horrific eisegesis (injecting what you want the bible to say into the text)
It can be either one, or just ignorance of what is actually in the text, which may be Carl Lentz' case. We need to keep in mind the fact that the New Testament wasn't written in English, it was written in Greek so we can't take what's on the page in our English translations at face value, we must Be The Berean and get to the original meaning.
When Jesus said "adulteries" the Greek text reads μοιχεία (moicheia) which means adultery; voluntary sexual intercourse between a married person and a partner other than the lawful spouse. He then said "fornication" which is translated from the Greek word πορνεία (porneia) which is illicit sexual intercourse of all kinds including pre-marital sex, adultery, incest, homosexuality, lesbianism, and bestiality.
So yes, Jesus did mention homosexuality, and not in a complimentary way. He listed it along with all other sexual sins, and all other sins that defile a man, and they all come from the heart. Sorry "Christian" Left, there's nothing in the bible about a "loving homosexual relationship", sin is sin. We're all sinners and we are called to repent of our sins, no matter how good they feel.
Great points. I cringe whenever I hear that argument from people, especially those who should know better. I think those people like it the most because they think it gets them off the hook.
ReplyDeleteMy standard reply to those who use it: The argument that Jesus never said anything about homosexual behavior (or abortion, etc.) fails on many levels. If a church leader uses it you can be confident that he or she is ignorant and/or malicious.
Short version: Yes, He did say something about it, but the theological Left ignores or distorts it as they do with many things about Jesus and his teachings. Note how Jesus defeats oxymoronic "same-sex marriage," same-sex parenting, transgenderism and even Darwinian evolution in one simple passage. No true follower of him should disagree on any of those topics.
Matthew 19:4–5 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?"
Longer version
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Arguing from silence is a logical fallacy.
Jesus is God and part of the Trinity that inspired all scripture.
He supported the Old Testament law to the last letter.
The "red letters" weren't silent on these topics in the sense that they reiterated what marriage and murder were.
He emphasized many other important issues that these Leftist theologians completely ignore (Hell, his divinity, his exclusivity, etc.).
He was equally "silent" on issues that these folks treat as having the utmost importance (capital punishment, war, welfare, universal health care, taxpayer-funded abortions, etc.).
He was a devout Jew and upholder of the law, so the burden is on the pro-gay theology side: Where is that verse when Jesus condones homosexuality?
He didn't specifically mention rape, child abuse, pedophilia, bestiality and other obvious sins though that wouldn't justify them.
Abortion and homosexual behavior simply weren't hot topics for 1st century Jews. They actually thought children were a blessing and they had laws against homosexual behavior.
And the Gospels never claimed to include everything He said. John specifically notes that the whole world couldn't hold it all! (John 21:25).
And Jesus never said anything about the "sin" of criticizing homosexual behavior, so it must be OK!
Lately I find that I cringe whenever the "Christian" Left and the Emergent rock stars say almost anything. As you can see from my post that Carl Lentz claims Jesus "was always talking about the heart of an individual" as if that's a good thing. Jesus clearly said "out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders"
Delete“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure..." Jeremiah 17:9
He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, But he who walks wisely will be delivered. Proverbs 28:26
And Carl missed it - and that can only be from complete ignorance of the Biblical view of the heart, or the Biblical admonishments were purposely ignored in order to pander to the touchy-feely "Follow your heart" message that is polluting the world.
I can only imagine the excuses that the "Christian" Left would come up with had Jesus clearly and plainly said "All forms of homosexual activity are sinful - period." but then I'm sure Satan would have picked another sin to popularize
Carl Lentz's "church" is part of the Hillsong "denomination," which pretty much explains his ideology. The man brags about how many homosexuals attend his goat pen.
ReplyDeleteAs for what Jesus said, I like this article:
http://www.renewamerica.com/columns/popp/140101