New Morality

I read just very recently where the PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH has now accepted the practice of ordaining (I assume PRACTICING) homosexual persons to the ordained ministry. I'm reading posts that people put up on the web through social networking that hold favorable regard for the Presbyterian's decision to ordain gays. In fact I was totally shocked to see one post written by a young person whose father is a pastor who I worked with several years ago. This young person was hailing this monumental decision and asking when will our denomination (the United Methodist Church) might follow suit. All this debate over whether or not to ordain gay people has me really concerned. Let me tell you why.
I make no apologies for my conservative background. And like most people who have it, my theology has been shaped by my up-bringing, the influence of the the church and experience. So what I say here in this blog is certainly in no small way informed by years of formation in the Christian faith. The issue of homosexuality, in my opinion, has little to do with "conservative" or "liberal," "democrat" or "republican" or for that matter "Presbyterian" or "United Methodist." What is at the root of the great debate over this issue in our time is this- THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE.
The church has evidently forgotten the meaning of the word "sin." While the Bible is not explicitly demonstrative about homosexuality it DOES speak to that practice as being something the Great Creator God did not really intend as "normal." The practice of homosexuality is sin. No one will EVER convince me that "we're born this way," or that God has changed His mind about the matter. But here's the thing. Homosexuality is no more offensive to God than adultery, fornication, lying or stealing. It is ALL disobedience to God's will and that makes it sin.
Hey I didn't just make this stuff up - God has laid down this law. But here is another problem we have. We don't consider what the Bible calls sin as sin because WE DO NOT BELIEVE THE BIBLE! If "sin" is not really "sin" then why did Jesus have to go hang on a cross for it? The fact is we humans are desperately trying to clear our collective conscience by buying into the lies of the enemy of God (you know, the devil) who tells us "you can eat of this fruit and you will surely not die! God surely wouldn't do that to you, would He?" Yep, we've taken another huge bite out of the apple of temptation and made ourselves "god." The universalism which is so prevalent today is gradually destroying all common decency. Call it "new morality" or "social/civil justice" but it is in reality no morality at all. If God calls it sin then that is what it is.
Now don't get me wrong. I'm not a "gay basher." In fact I'm in the same boat with the rest of the sinners in the world. I am not the judge of homosexuals or murderers or shoplifters. That's God business. It just breaks my heart that the so-called institutionalized "church" has decided we know better than God-that God somehow made a critical mistake by calling homosexuality "sin" and that we aim to fix that mistake. Should we love homosexual people? You bet. God loves them. Should we "allow" them to be a part of our worship experience and welcome them into the church? Absolutely! Should we place them in leadership roles as ordained clergy (or for that matter lay leadership)? I don't think we should. Well, let me put it another way, if we do, then we need to make room for practicing (the operative word here) sex offenders, prostitutes, murderers, drunks etc in the ranks of the ordained clergy. None of this changes the fact that we are ALL sinners-we are ALL broken and ALL OF US need to come to the divine Jesus to fix our human condition. I pray that we see a corporate change in how we deal with morality and that we will come to our senses and come back to God. Perhaps we all need to live more "righteous" and not just more "moral."
The Methmusician