1) First, you have the Christians who want to ignore what the Bible says and just accept homosexuality and gay marriage
2) Then you have the Christians who don't agree with it and view homosexuality as a sin and even know gay marriage is going to be detrimental to our country, but don't want to post anything negative and some of them don't think anyone should post anything negative about it.
3) Next up is the Christians who do post hateful things and rant about Sodom and Gomorrah, etc.
4) And then there are those Christians who do post negative posts condemning the actions of the court and lamenting the effect it will have on our country and freedoms. I fall into that category, and though I have been really down and worried, I try not to be hateful in what I post, though anything negative is seen by hateful by many people in the first two groups and by gay people themselves.
There is also a lot of debate about whether Christians should bake cakes for gay weddings, photograph gay weddings, etc. I fall into the category that they shouldn't have to do so. I also feel the next battle will be in the church, and wonder how many of these same people will feel ministers should just cave and marry gay people so as to not offend them. And there are Christians who feel we should just do things for gay weddings if we have a business.
Other people would likely categorize the people above differently and may even come up with more than four or less than four, but that is how I categorize it.
Homosexuality is like any other sin and it is unlike any other sin. There is no other sin that is being forced on us as like it. There is no other sin that they try to shut down everyone who dares disagree and call it a sin. Even abortion isn't treated the same way. If you're pro-life, you get a lot of push-back, but nothing compared to what you get if you call homosexuality a sin and disagree with gay marriage.
Many Christians still view it as a worse sin than other sins and react terrible and hatefully towards gay people. Sadly, there are still too many churches where people are afraid to come forward and get help with their same sex attractions struggle. And sadly too many churches are going to the other extreme and tossing out what the Bible says and helping gay people believe a lie that will most likely help send them to an eternity in hell, if they don't repent and change their ways.
I am Arminian in theology, which means I do not believe that once you become a Christian, you're going to Heaven no matter what. I believe you can walk away from God and cease to be a Christian, and that if you live a life of sin, whether it be as a person having sex with the same gender, or a heterosexual having sex outside of marriage... or any other habitual sin, I cannot believe you can saunter into Heaven after living a life of sin while claiming to serve God. And I believe there will be Christians who will have to answer to God for helping people believe a lie that they can be a Christian and be married to the same sex and have sexual relations with the same sex.
I could be wrong, but it seems some Calvinists are softer on people living a life of sin after they become a Christian, for to them, the person's eternity is secure and they will still go to Heaven even if they don't leave the gay lifestyle, or other sinful lifestyle. The Arminian, however, believes that person will miss Heaven unless they repent and stop their sin.
There is a fine line to walk with any sin, and since homosexuality is treated differently by pretty much everyone, there is a finer line to walk with it. You can be too in your face and hateful and make gay people hate the church more - although some of them will hate the church as long as the church says they are sinning - and you can be too passive and quiet about it and give the impression or actually verbalize that they are OK the way they are and don't have to change to be a Christian and make it to Heaven.
And those who don't believe that we should ever post anything negative about gay marriage and homosexuality preach at, or at least admonish, those who do that they need to show love. And those who post negative things often look at those who don't and think they are being too passive about it and need to speak up more about it.
But what if both sides are right?
If you know your Bible well at all, you should know there is a wide variety of people God used. There were meek and quiet prophets who were very unoffensive in their approach. And there were bold and outspoken ones who called people out for their sin, who marched into the presence of kings and queens and called down God's condemnation. There were prophets who ran from kings and queens because of what they said. John the Baptist was beheaded because he called out a ruler... wonder how some of the prophets would handle Obama? I could see Elisha or Elijah marching into the White House or Supreme court and calling them out for their actions.
Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. Jesus wept over Jerusalem, yet called out sin, especially among the religious leaders of the day. Jesus threw over the changing tables in the temple and drove people out with a whip.
Yet so many have this idea that we should just be meek and mild and never call out our leaders, never call out sin, but just love, love, love.
Maybe, just maybe, there is a place for passive people who are extra careful to never say anything negative, and a place for those who do. Both groups have a danger of being too extreme. The one group can be so passive that they condone sin, or give the appearance that they condone sin. The other side can be too bold and outspoken and run the risk of appearing hateful or being hateful.
And both groups run the risk of criticizing the others instead of just loving them and being tolerant of differing viewpoints and how those viewpoints are expressed.
There will be people in hell because Christians were too hateful and not loving enough. There will also be people in hell because people were too tolerant and loving and let them believe they were OK in their sin. There has to be a balance, and just maybe.......just maybe, both camps of thought are right, those who are extra careful to not say anything negative about the Supreme Court decision and things relating to gay marriage and homosexuality, and those who do speak up but try not to go too far with what they say.
We need weeping prophets who may not say much about a court decision like yesterday's, but we also need watchmen on the wall who will decry it and warn of the consequences. We need Jeremiahs who will lament over the sins of our country and leaders, and we also need Elijahs and John the Baptists who will call out our leaders and country for our sins and call for repentance.
We are not all alike. God doesn't call us to be alike. We are called to love, to preach the Gospel, and be true to the souls of sinners. We can't all be weeping prophets, nor can we all be bold watchmen on the wall. We need balance, and yes gay people need love, but they also need the truth. And there is a faction of the gay community that will not rest until Christians are silenced and forced to capitulate completely to them.
Even we Christians tend to have this idea that everyone must be like us. They should only post things on Facebook that we agree with, and if they don't... we un-friend or un-follow them. We expect other Christians to react and respond just the way we do...... but that isn't Christianity. That is cloning and being robots. We are all different, even Christians, and are not going to be just like each other....... thank God.
So the next time you think someone is taking the wrong approach on an issue, whether it be gay marriage or what flavor of pop tart is the best, give them some slack. Remember they are not your clone and have different ideas and different ways of responding than you......... and that doesn't necessarily make them wrong, or you.
And we are all to be like Jesus in all we do, but even He both wept and called people vipers, and used a whip to get His point across. So don't fall into the idea that being like Jesus is being like you. It may not be for someone else.
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