Justin's Lengthy and Unsolicited Opinion, Episode Two 11:37 AM

Justin’s Lengthy and Unsolicited Opinion, Episode Two- now lengthier, and with anecdotes!

Well, really episode five hundred and something, more likely, but I’ve just started numbering them, so we’ll go with two.

A Tale of Four Christians

Yes, there is an actual story here, but first some background and scriptural stuff.

The genesis of this essay lies in a comment from my friend Ori’s FB wall where he reposted my first L&UO regarding homosexuality and the Church. It was a great discussion, but I eventually walked away due to internet argument fatigue (yes, even I am susceptible). One of the commenters there opined that shunning open and unrepentant homosexuals would be an appropriate and scripturally sound policy on the church’s part.

This individual’s argument, troubling as many of you may find it, is not without basis in the Bible. Amongst other passages, 1 Corinthians Chapter 5, Romans Chapter 16, 2 Thessalonians Chapter 3 and 2 John Chapter 1 all indicate that followers of Christ should avoid the socializing with unrepentant sinners.

The low hanging fruit would be to point out that the church, to avoid a great big plank in its own eye, would also have to ferret out and shun everyone who hadn’t repented of greed, drunkenness, idolatry (and keep in mind, there are far more subtle and varied forms of idolatry than dancing naked around a golden statue), and all other forms of sexual immorality. That argument hardly proposes a solution, though, and this fellow’s opinion might be that the church should do just that, so let’s not linger here.

Tangentially, it is important to note that some of these passages refer specifically to other Christians who are flagrantly immoral, and not necessarily unbelievers, in 1 Corinthians 5:12 (ESV), Paul writes, “For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?”

In 1 Corinthians Chapter 6 Paul notes of sinners, “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.” And in Galations 6:1, “Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.” I don’t think I need to number the occasions Jesus reclaimed those who were lost. Clearly, grace abounds.

I do not mean that these scriptures contradict each other- they don’t. I mean (and this should be no surprise to anyone who is trying to live a Christian life outside a hermitage) that there is always a tripartite tension between standing up for what is right, allowing room for those that have strayed to return to the fold and trying not to stray yourself in the process.

I believe this is God’s intention for Christian life to balance and strengthen our own faith and convictions with patience and compassion for others. You have to do all three at once or you’re not doing it right. Pro-tip: None of us is doing it right, but that shouldn’t stop you from doing your best.

Which brings me to Lassen Union High School, just before the turn of the century.

As a teenager, I was utterly assured that the collection of Hebrew mythology known as the Bible was no more real than the fantasy novels I devoured and not as fun to read (except for the stretch from Joshua capturing the promised land to the reign of Solomon, those chapters make Game of Thrones seem tame).

If there was an intelligent Prime Cause, a possibility I grudgingly conceded, why would He/She/It favor some random Semitic tribe of sheep herders with the ONLY spiritual truth over, say, the ancient Egyptians or the Athenians or the Han Chinese? It seemed too random to countenance.

Being in love with the sound of my own voice (some things never change), I was not shy about my opinion on religious matters.

The first eponymous Christian of this tale is a girl I will not name. We traveled in many of the same circles because of honors classes and other nerdy school things. We were, if not friends, then friendly acquaintances.

Right up until the day she told me with smug assurance that I was going to hell, as were all my other atheist, agnostic and Mormon friends and family. There was no sorrow, no regret, no hint of empathy, not even the faintest echo of, “Forgive them for they know not what they do,” just the self-righteous satisfaction that she was the elect, favored by God over her fellow man. In retrospect and fairness, I’m sure I had antagonized her as well in that conversation, so she probably deserves a little more slack than I’m cutting her, but that was the impression I received.

Regardless, have you any idea how easy an interaction like that makes it for a prideful young person to dismiss your beliefs? Oh yeah, not only do you believe some bronze age nonsensical fairy tale with talking snakes and donkeys, you’re also a bunch of uppity A-holes.

The second and third Christians I will name. They are my dear friends, Jake Hosier and Stacy Reger. They were far from my only Christian friends. In fact, I remember a few theological discussions with Anthony Prince, who is now a pastor, and my friends Joseph Turner and Beau Haertling were never ashamed of their Mormon faith. That’s hardly an exhaustive list of Christian friends in my high school.

But Jake and Stacy were the closest friends I had in that phase of my life. Jake stayed at my house so frequently that my parents might as well have had joint custody of him. Stacy is the closest thing I’ve ever had to a sister and was my confidant through the now-trivial problems of adolescence as well as the genuinely dark days that followed high school.

When the subject came up, and when you’re that close it does pretty frequently, neither gave up an inch on their faith. Neither of them nerfed the scripture to make me more comfortable. Neither of them made me feel like they loved me one iota less for not sharing their belief.

Predictably, I’m the fourth Christian from the title. Why I came to accept Jesus in college after an adolescence of unbelief and merry debauchery is another story. Suffice it to say, I had a personal, internal and revelatory experience in which God made it clear to me it was time to accept or deny Him. I accepted Him, and I struggle to keep accepting Him every day.

Afterwards, I saw the hypocrisy of painting Christianity with one broad brush because of the Self-Righteous Girl and her ilk when I’d had many Christian friends who were absolutely wonderful to me, despite my unbelief and the fact that I was, well, am, a smartass, opinionated little jerk sometimes.

As I said, grace abounds.

Furthermore, I recognized that those friends, and especially Jake and Stacy, were given to me as examples of how to interact with friends and loved ones who do not believe without compromising my faith. Even though I was never swayed during those teenage conversations, their conduct and words stayed with me, laying a piece of a foundation I didn’t know existed. Truly, they prepared the way of the Lord.

All this to say, when you interact with others, you don’t know what’s going to stick. My brothers and sisters in Christ, only God can save a soul, it’s true. But when you face the maker of Heaven and Earth, would you rather be the one who planted a mustard seed or gave an unbeliever pause to consider Christianity in a more positive light through your deeds and words, or the one who pushed them away through being a self-righteous douchebag?

Sin is sin, in a spiritual sense no one sin is worse than another, but my spiritual state was arguably much worse than a homosexual Christian’s. I wasn’t just engaging in sinful behavior, I was in utter and total rebellion against God. And yet those who had patience and empathy with me, without surrendering their own faith, were the ones who mattered in the end.

So am I saying we can ignore all those pesky passages about staying out of the company of unrepentant sinners?

No. It’s the Word of God, we don’t get to ignore any of it. We wrestle with every jot and line or we’re not being faithful.

Yet another pro-tip, all of us are unfaithful sometimes, just repent and get your ass back on the wagon. Read the bible, most of the folks depicted in it made a career of doing just that.

Third pro-tip, the scripture is inerrant, your understanding of it is not. That’s why I say we wrestle with it, always invoking the aid of the Holy Spirit.

Two things to consider here- whether we’re talking about homosexuality or some other sin, many people have not accepted Christ and your shunning isn’t going to have much effect on them, if anything, it will simply make any steps towards faith and salvation more difficult.

And two, all followers of Christ have ongoing sin in their lives. Every last one of us, it’s why Christ’s intercession is foundational. Try as we might, we cannot earn our salvation. Kick out everyone who has a sin they haven’t repented of yet and the sanctuary is going to be mighty empty come Sunday.

So when do you shun? In my opinion, you shun when you have talked, and ministered, and reproofed and loved as much as you possibly can and there is nothing left for you to do in that person’s life. When that person becomes a temptation or a poison, which is not to say merely a challenge, to your faith. When the only likely result of your relationship is damage- then you shun.

It’s not an easy answer, it requires case by case judgment and we, as “rational” Westerners, break into hives at such subjective criteria, but if you do not engage with unbelievers and Christians whose interpretation you disagree with, you’re not doing much to spread the Word.

And engagement isn’t just flinging bible verses from across the room hoping that they’ll stick. It’s relational and requires actual empathy, not just judgment. Don’t ever change God’s word in an effort to be popular or PC, but don’t forget that you are talking to another human being and, whether they have acknowledged it or not, another child of God. No matter how screwed up they are, God loves them and would have them come home. You can't lie to get them there, but a browbeating or cold shoulder may not move them along the road, either.

Yeah, I know, the guy who killed people for ten years for a living is lecturing you on empathy. Empathy was the primary reason I took and kept that profession as long as I did in the first place, but that is yet another essay.

Finally, even if you're really good about this, even if you are extremely careful about separating sinner from sin in your dialogue, people are still going to call you stupid, backwards, ignorant and bigoted for holding to the scripture- but you will know you're doing your best to love God and love your neighbor. More importantly, God will know.

Thus ends the rant. I’m no theologian, but I hope I have given you something to think about and maybe a small chuckle or two along the way. Peace be with you.

Justin Lengthy and Unsolicited Opinion 11:36 AM

It’s time for Justin’s Lengthy and Unsolicited Opinion, slow Friday afternoon edition.

Religion and politics in one post. No matter who you are you will probably disagree with and possibly be offended by something I’m about to say. Also, if you’re not a Christian or interested in theology, you may just not care about the lion’s share of this essay. You have been warned.

I openly support marriage equality as a secular concept, though I utterly despise the tactics of a lot of gay rights activists with regard to this particular debate. Specifically, the law is not a club to get people to approve of your way of life. To protect you from physical harm, slander or libel, yes, but not to violate others’ right to free association or punish them for their opinions- no matter how objectionable you may find those opinions. It’s called rule of law, not rule of feels and it protects asshole and saint equally. The being said, the government cannot pick and choose which ostensibly lifelong romantic relationships it’s going to recognize based on religious criteria.

But don’t get too happy with me, my liberal friends, because…

I cannot pretend that homosexual marriage is in accordance with anything remotely resembling sound Christian doctrine. I really, really, REALLY want to, believe me, and I’ve been wrestling with my opinion on the issue for a few years now.

I’ve always described myself, simplistically, as something like a moderate libertarian within our borders and something like an unrepentant imperialist outside them. I was these two things long before I accepted my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Ergo, my two ingrained philosophical instincts, and I fully acknowledge I am not entirely rational where they are concerned (then again, who is?), are:

1. The United States of America is awesome and unique, despite her myriad flaws and sins.

2. All human beings should be allowed to do whatever the hell they want as long as they are not demonstrably harming their fellow man. In terms of secular law, if not religious and spiritual conviction, this is still the basis of my opinion on any given issue.

But just because the Church cannot and should not enforce scripture via the government does not mean she should simply surrender her principles in those debates where sin and law clearly do not overlap. The Church should not ignore the inspired word of God because it has become inconvenient and highly uncomfortable to live it. In short- the Church should not lobby against secular homosexual weddings- but pastors and priests shouldn’t be performing them either.

Have I managed to piss everyone off, Left and Right, yet? Wait, there’s more!

I’ve attended Methodist churches since I became a Christian. In complete honesty, this was the default choice largely due to Michele growing up a Methodist. Regardless, it has been, I think, a good fit. Methodists run a wide gamut politically, philosophically and theologically. Base on my own anecdotal experience, I’d guess the average Methodist is more liberal than an average Southern Baptist, more conservative than an average Episcopalian.

Episcopalians already allow openly homosexual priests and leave their clergy latitude to perform homosexual marriages. I doubt Southern Baptists, by and large, will ever accept homosexuals with anything other than gritted teeth and attempted conversion therapy. Methodists are wrestling with the issue at present, I expect the denomination will have to sway one way or another and possibly schism over it.

My emotions are with the liberals on this. I want to be accepting, I want to tell my homosexual brothers and sisters in Christ that their sexual orientation doesn’t violate the scripture and they should feel free to love whomever they choose, provided we’re talking about consenting adults, of course.

But I just can’t. Oh, I can like and love homosexuals, but I can’t pretend that I know their behavior isn’t sinful. It’s not in accordance with the scripture, even if you squint and look sideways, it’s still not quite there. I know- I’ve tried.

I’m going to unpack the most common arguments I hear in favor of Christian recognition of homosexual marriage and why I think they fall apart under scrutiny.

1. Well, Leviticus/Deuteronomy has all kinds of dietary/clothing/customary restrictions you don’t follow, how is homosexual conduct, and therefore gay marriage, any different?

Response: Jesus Christ did not abolish the law, but he did fulfill it. Many of the disciplines of the ancient Jews are not necessary for Christians because our new covenant takes their place. You can find elaborations on this topic in the gospel of Matthew and in Paul’s letter to Timothy, off the top of my head, I’m sure there are other places. There is no such easement when it comes to the restrictions against homosexual conduct. I am dying for someone to prove me wrong on that.

2. Jesus doesn’t say anything about homosexual conduct in the gospels.

Response: Well, he does reiterate what the book of Genesis said about marriage, “for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, etc.,” but I’m going to go ahead and give my imaginary opponent the point, the gospels do not specifically condemn homosexual behavior. But the Old Testament does without being specifically modified by the New Testament and so do a couple different epistles IN the New Testament. Is the cornerstone of your argument that being Christian entitles you to ignore the other sixty-two books of the bible? How is that sound theology?

3. Jesus says to love your neighbor as yourself, how is counseling homosexuals that their only holy options are abstention from romantic and sexual love or “conversion” therapy loving in any way?

Response: The best argument of the lot, in my opinion. I’ve used it myself. And based on my own limited experience, it does seem cruel to tell homosexuals that they are simply wired so that they can never have a romantic relationship that isn’t sinful. I’ll come out now (no, not that kind of coming out) and say I suspect conversion therapy is ninety-nine and forty-four one hundredths percent pure bullshit. I don’t believe I or anyone else can convert a gay man into wanting sex and romance with women any more than one could convert me into wanting sex and romance with dudes. That just doesn’t make any fucking sense.

This third argument continues to haunt me and sow doubt, because I know how deeply sad my life would be without my wife and it is not beyond my capability to imagine that a gay man might feel as deeply for another man what I feel for her. I cannot reconcile it except to say that we are not supposed to follow Christ only when it makes us feel good, only when we know it’s going to turn out okay, or even only when we agree with him philosophically. We are supposed to follow, not mindlessly or unquestioningly, but in genuine faith and, uncomfortable as this word is for modern Westerners, obedience.

What does that all mean in practical terms? Well, to reiterate, nothing legally. The Church does not wield the authority of the government, and the government does not wield the authority of the Church. As it applies to how Christians should treat homosexuals on a personal level, it sure as shit isn’t a justification for anyone to be an asshole towards or exclude homosexuals, including open and unrepentant homosexuals, from worship.

If you’re reading this then you’re likely one of my friends, which means you’re friends with someone who has sinned and does sin and will continue to need Christ’s intercession for his sins. No, I’ve never wrestled with same sex attraction, but I’ve got plenty of other deeds and thoughts in my ledger that would send me straight to hell with a first class ticket on an SR-71 if it weren’t for Jesus. We are all broken, our fractures are just in different places. I understand that you have repent of your sins to be forgiven of them, but how the hell do you expect anyone to repent when you try to exclude them from the body of the church or make them feel like their special sin makes them double bad because it happens to be a hot topic right now?

If anyone has a good scriptural argument to prove me wrong about this, please, by all means, lay it on me.