Over the last few weeks much ink and many megabytes have been used discussing the suicides of three homosexual teens. A constant undertone in much of the rhetoric is blaming Christianity for these suicides. The charge is that if Christians were not so bigoted and did not keep calling homosexuality a sin these kinds of thing would not happen.
On the surface there seems to be a problem with these charges. If it is just because Christians call homosexuality a sin and preach against it then why do teens that are exposed for having heterosexual sex outside of marriage not commit suicide regularly, or pregnant teens end their lives? Some in Christian circles have addressed this by saying that these suicides just prove the guilt of sin. I would argue though that the real issue is much deeper and exposes real problems in Christian’s attitudes towards sin and culture.
One thing that Christians seem to have real trouble with is seeing the Bible as their authority when it comes to sin. Too often they let cultural norms become equal with Scripture, and subsequently when culture deviates from the established norms it is viewed as sin. A classic example of this is with the stance of many Christians back in the sixties and even in some circle up until recently against male facial hair. I have heard actual sermons preached against men having beards. This stemmed from the fact that in the fifty’s the cultural norm was for men to be clean-shaven. When the hippie movement came along and they started among other things growing beards the American culture at large rose up and condemned the hippies and everything associated with them. Many Christians went along with this but instead of just addressing real sin issues, they began to actually preach about the culturally deviant practices of the hippies whether or not Scripture actually condemned the practice.
This illustration has a close connection to the current discussion in some regards, though there is one big difference. While beards may not be considered a sin biblically, homosexuality is and cannot be down played in this regard. The similarity though lies in our treatment of the sin. Since for so long homosexuality has been considered a morally deviant practice in the American culture, much of our society has risen up against it whether or not they are Christian. Think of the sports world where in spite of the fact that infidelity and almost any sin imaginable is par for the course, it is almost impossible for a homosexual to come out of the closet until after their career is over. The bigotry and hatred is so strong that they cannot even continue to play. These attitudes by professional athletes are not based upon scripture, but are part of their cultural response. The problem is when Christians appropriate these same attitudes of bigotry and excuse them since the act that they are condemning is sin. We applaud an athlete who is committing infidelity with multiple women, for standing up to homosexuality. In the end our response is not based upon Scripture but cultural norms. The real problem is not that culture is feeding off Christianity, but that Christians are feeding off the culture. We treat homosexuals as second-class citizens. In scriptural language we treat them as Samaritans. We cross the street when we see them coming to keep from even encountering them. And run them down in the most hateful and spiteful ways. None of these responses are called for in Scripture, and in fact are antithetical to the Scriptural response to sin.
Scripture gives us a different view. It is very interesting to note that in the New Testament. While both Jesus and Paul give rather scathing and vitriolic speeches against some people, their vitriol is generally reserved for the religious elite, the Pharisees, the Judaizers and any one who would look to their own actions as holy or righteous. To the sinner Christ calls out “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28-30 ESV)
The first thing that we need is a reminder of what sin really is and how much each of us is controlled by sin. When we understand our own sin we can better grasp how amazing the grace of God truly is. Then we can be like our Master who was a friend to sinners and causes it to rain on the just and the unjust alike.
We can never take a dim view of sin, but we can also never use condemnation of sin to justify cultural biases that breed bigotry and hatred.
