Church on a pollitical collision

This post might get me into some trouble, with whom I’m not definite about. I just have a feeling.

It’s Valentine’s Day if you were not aware of it already. On this holiday it has become tradition that we celebrate relationships, intimacy, and good old-fashioned romance. Yes it’s a Hallmark holiday, but at one point it wasn’t. This post actually has not much at all to do with Valentine’s Day except for the fact that it is Valentine’s Day.

Right… So, on with it already.

On my way back to suburbia from class this morning I tuned into Moody radio. For you Chicagoans that’s 90.1 FM. This radio show, “Talking it Over,” was on. If you have never tuned in for this – as I had never done until today – it’s a talk show that focuses on inviting discussion from callers and a guest specialist(s). The host facilitates the discussions. At least this is what I can deduce from my first time listening. Now, the topic of today’s radio show was every Christian’s favorite political agenda, gay rights, or what ever the antithesis of that would be. Ok that’s a little harsh, so how about a quote from the show to sum up the topic.
“There is perhaps no greater issue that challenges the Church today to speak the truth in love than the issue of homosexuality. From television shows to court decisions, it seems everywhere we turn the Church is confronted with this subject. Joe Dallas of Genesis Counseling will teach us how to have a sensitive, balanced and biblical approach to homosexuality.” - www.moodyradio.org/talkingitover.aspx

Now being of solid mind (at least I think so) and a product of Chicago’s liberal culture I have my own opinion on all sorts of things, and my personal opinion on this issue is similar to what is being stated here on the synopsis of the show.

That is, the homosexual community needs to be ministered to just as much as any other community out there, and we need to do so in absolute love.

That of course sounds good until we need to start applying truth in our ministering efforts. How do you tell an entire culture that your culture is based around sin and still sound loving? How do you tell a whole community that demands equality - something that is so Biblical - “The things your equality represent are biblically wrong.”

This radio show, as is in its regular program, brought in callers that offered their two cents, and each sounded, well… sound. The thing is after listening to these people discuss the depravity of the homosexual and the Bible’s stark black and white stand on homosexuality, I felt angry. I was literally fighting myself. If these people are preaching truth, truth that I believe in, why am I angry?

I was angry at the way that these people and this specialist were obsessing over the possibility of the passage of bills that allow gay marriage. I was angry that even though this sub title said, “will teach us how to have a sensitive, balanced and biblical approach to homosexuality,” they didn’t teach it. They didn’t tell me how to approach my homosexual neighbor with love. They didn’t tell me how to be sensitive toward the subject. In fact they were quite harsh. One woman called in sharing her experience with her lesbian sister-in-law. The woman had said that she and her husband both shared with the sister that they did not agree with her, but she was careful to add in the point that we still love her of course. I kept hearing people speak similar things, who would say what and quickly follow it up with that validating, “but of course we love them.” Only I wasn’t buying it.

Yes, the bible is black and white on the homosexuality thing, but I kept seeing this image of Jesus in my head that was saying, “love.” And I kept thinking, if all sin is equal then why do we stress this so much. It seems we are faster to reconcile with a murderer than welcome a homosexual into our church.

I don’t know. Am I wrong? Is this not the case? Then why was I getting angry? Am I subconsciously being saturated by our culture telling me, “Equality is justice.” Maybe I’m getting soft.

Or could there possibly be something a little more important for the Church to be focusing on than trying to blend worldly politics with God’s law. I’m listening to this radio show and there at every 4 seconds a child dies of starvation or some curable disease. I’m listening to what seems to me like political jargon and teams of people are scavenging a burnt plane wreck for peoples loved ones. There just seem to be so many other things that are simply more important for the church to be focusing on than driving a bigger wedge between the Church and people who have a different sexual preference.

Ok I’m done. I’ll be lucky if any of that made any sense.