It seems recently that I have been saying some things that have
really been causing people to take offense. While this has not been my
intention, it has been occurring nonetheless. I think, though, that
the things that people are taking offense at stem from a
misunderstanding of my heart on these matters. So, I am going to take
a few moments and explain where my statements come from.
Abortion
Let me make it clear that I am pro-life. I think abortion on demand
is a horrible thing and it needs to stop. There are only a couple of
reasons for someone to have an abortion that I can justify, and merely
a desire to screw around is not one of them.
To explain further, the reason I feel that, in some instances,
abortion is justifiable, is that it is technically a means used in
Scripture of finding out if a woman has been unfaithful. According to
the Law (
Numbers 5:11-31),
if a husband suspects his wife of adultery, he can take her to the
priest, who makes a potion out of the dust on the temple floor, and
gives it to her. If she has, her uterus spills its contents. If she
hasn’t, nothing happens. I take this to mean that, in some instances,
ending the pregnancy is ok.
In light of this thought, my take on the banning of abortion is that
it simply cannot be done in one swift motion. Abortion, sadly, has
become a part of the fabric of our culture and, as a result, to remove
it would weaken certain aspects of our culture. Women have fought
tooth and nail for freedom in so many ways. To force women, even women
who may die as a result of an ectopic pregnancy, for example, to keep
their children would set them back in their fight for equality.
This doesn’t justify abortion. Rather, it shows how much more
complicated the issue is. One must take into consideration the
individual lives that are effected by abortion. Not just the babies,
but the mothers as well. To outlaw abortion, protections must be in
place for the mothers as well as their children. The system must be
ready for the sudden influx of children AND women who will be thrown
into it. Until it is, we simply can’t ban it.
Homosexuality
This is another issue that seems to cause tension between myself and others. So, let me briefly explain my stance.
I believe that homosexuality is a perversion of God’s intention for
human sexuality. People fell from original perfection, and, as a
result, everything was tainted. People traded natural relations with
the opposite sex and were inflamed with desire for the same (
Romans 1:25-27).
God intended for human sexuality to be expressed solely between one man
and one woman. It was intended to be a symbol of the coming back
together of what God has at one time separated. It is intended to
bring mutual satisfaction.
But I will never go up to a homosexual and call him or her a pervert
and tell them they are going to burn in hell for all of eternity
because of it. As a sin, homosexuality is no worse than cheating on
your spouse or stealing from the local Wal-Mart. Sin is sin, and we
must treat all sin as such. If God hates something, we should hate it
to. This means we must hate homosexuality, but this also means that we
must hate stealing, adultery, and gluttony.
My Response to These Issues
It is not so much my stance on this issues that offends people so
much as how I respond to them. When someone presents me with the topic
of abortion and wants me to make a stand on it, I refuse to take the
hardline stance. The same with homosexuality. While I find each of
these things sinful, I have the heart of a Pastor. When I look at a
broken humanity, my heart breaks as well. When I look at sinful
people, I don’t see them as “fags” or “murderers.” I see them as God
does:
as sheep who have gone astray. And like God, I refuse to condemn them, but rather I offer them redemption.
I truly believe that this is to not only be the heart of the Pastor,
but also the heart of the one who has been truly transformed by the
power of God. We should seek to rebuild what has already been broken;
to pick up those who have fallen. We are to be the good illegal
immigrant and help those who have been battered and bloodied by the
evils of this world. This is the sign of a truly changed heart. It is
the mark of a true Christian.