Should the Boy Scouts Change Policies on Homosexual Leaders?

Boy Scouts has also gotten a lot of flack lately for its policies regarding homosexuals - for its decision to not allow homosexuals in leadership roles. My response to this follows in the same line as my responses to the negative publicity Chick-Fil-A has received for its stance on gay marriage.

Much of the problem is that the stereotype of gay men is that they cannot be "manly" role models. They can be role models in other senses, but not in the more outdoor activities, rough and tough, brave, etc sort of way that the word "male" seems to imply. Certainly there are gay men who can provide models in these things, but it also seems to go with the territory of being gay (in many cases) that they are role models in other areas that may not necessarily fit what Boy Scouts is going for. There are other places to send your children for that sort of role model.

Of course, there's also the moral foundations that likely lie behind the stance, too, which is where the controversy really takes shape. But it's not discrimination if you're standing up for what you believe in under the rights that are entitled to a private organization. There are other orgs out there for those looking for more "gay-friendly" groups to be a part of.

Ironically, those who say Boy Scouts and Chick-Fil-A discriminate against gays are the ones discriminating against these organizations and businesses, their rights, and their Christian founders. Many liberals defend themselves by saying there should be a complete separation of church and state, that these orgs have no right to do what they do, but by standing against these orgs they themselves are putting their own opinions as law and forcing others to accept what is a religion in the sense that it is a belief system being forced down everyone's throats.

A Misconception About Choice and Homosexuality

Continuing my posts inspired by the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

I had lesbian tendencies. During my addiction to porn, I liked the lesbian videos just as much as I liked the other videos. And it was, indeed, my choice to indulge in such passions, even though they never ultimately made me happy.

Of course, most homosexuals would say that their sexual tendencies are not a choice and that they are, indeed, happy with who they are. And, to a certain extent, they would be right. But let's look at this in a bit more detail.

Choice. What does it mean when we say a person has a choice when it comes to LGBT lifestyles? There was a time when I automatically thought of the lifestyle, personality and action all as choices. And, in one sense, they are. If someone holds a knife up to your neck and tells you to choose not act on your homosexual tendencies, you do have a choice to either die or change. But such a choice is not really a free choice, as it's a forced one. Still, the situation in theory allows for the idea that a person can choose not to act on those tendencies.

But if that person does what the guy with the knife orders, does the person in himself really change? No. His or her tendencies and personality remains the same at core. We cannot force a person to change, and thus, this theoretical person could be posited as being "born this way."

That said, at the heart of Christianity is a realization of the fact that we are fallen, imperfect human beings who ask God to change our hearts through a lifetime of transformation. Catch that? It's not an immediate change. Most of us will deal with our sins and temptations for the rest of our lives, even after recognizing them as wrong. I still deal with attraction to other females. I still deal with the temptation to think about or look at pornography. And some might say I was born with that tendency. I've had it at least since I was very young. But I've chosen not to act on those tendencies.

You see, you always have a choice. And that choice does not lie in what you feel you are. It lies in what you do.

I also think many Christians fail to realize that you can have the personality of what people stereotype as a homosexual personality and still be straight - still love the Lord - still be a Christian.

Can we compare the gay rights movement to the Holocaust and slavery?

Continuing my posts on the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

A friend of mine recently compared the gay right movement to what happened to Jews during the holocaust and what happened to African Americas in American history. 

I find it difficult to accept any comparison of the homosexual plight to Jews and African Americans. Jews and African Americans were slaves, were tortured, killed, not allowed to live in any semblance to the regular lives the leading "race" was allowed to live.

I recognize that some homosexuals are made fun of, bullied and even murdered for their lifestyle, and I'll gladly stand against such intolerance and evil, but that is not a majority and that is not the right that is at issue here, nor is it something CFA has attempted against homosexuals.

A note on the religious and moral convictions behind each of these: Nazis thrived on national socialism, much of which was anti-religion, survival of the fittest idealism. They believed in stripping away people of ALL rights to the point of murder and holocaust in the interest of furthering a "master race" that lived above everyone else. The Christian convictions behind CFA's decisions and the majority of Christian ideologies that exist out there do not seek a theocracy where Christians live over everyone else and force their beliefs on others. They don't strive toward a V for Vendetta world.

The same goes for KKK and such. To compare CFA to KKK is to say CFA wants every homosexual dead. That's an extreme comparison, and a very wrong one to make. In addition, the "religious" South that allowed and supported the slavery of African Americans had no solid Biblical support of their mistreatment of the slaves. Many manipulated Scripture and took it out of context to support their ideas while others were Christian in name only and didn't really give a care about what the Bible said. But when it comes to homosexuality, the Bible is very clear in its stance, just as it is clear about the evil of promiscuity, rape, affairs and the lot.

Obviously, we don't live under a theocracy and I don't ask that we strive toward that (although no one can make political decisions without some sort of religious or moral belief influencing them).

Is homosexuality natural? A Christian perspective.

Continuing my posts on the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

I do not want to compare homosexuals to murderers or other horrible people out there - that would not be right - but there are many things that are natural in this world that are not good. A person's tendency to look at pornography, for example. A man's choice to have an affair. There are many more examples. 

Just because something appears to be natural, does not make it right. Something completely natural can be distorted, as well, and still be considered natural at the same time, even though not perfect - not the way it was made to be.

Don't mistake me as stating two men or two women cannot have an honest, true love relationship. That's entirely possible, as proven by the gay couples that have stayed together for many years. What I'm saying here is more a statement on the Biblical perspective of whether or not that kind of relationship is acceptable and right in God's eyes.

I'm sure you already have a basic understanding of the Christian point of view on sin and a fallen world, so I won't go into that here. Besides, that part of the argument should be more reserved for those with theological inclinations. If you want to discuss it further, do so in the comments.

On Straight Vs. Gay Marriage

Continuing my posts on the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

On the argument that a lot of straight marriages go wrong, so gays should be allowed to marry, too: 

Sure Kim Kardashian's marriage didn't last long. There's a lot of divorce out there among straight couples. There's a lot of affairs and promiscuity among the straight. But that's not reason to say it's OK for homosexuals to marry. 

For Christians, it still goes back to the foundation of the issue. There may be a lot of people out there getting it wrong - all promiscuity is evil - but, from a Christian perspective, that does not overrule what marriage was made for, that does not negate the good, and that does not prove that marriage between a man and a woman is of itself evil or wrong. It's not argument or reason to allow homosexual marriage.


How can we take the Bible at its word when it seems to condone slavery and other acts?

Continuing my posts on the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

In discussing what the Bible says on homosexuality, I've come across many who have a misconception of what the Bible does and does not approve of. Let me lay a few summarized things out, then, for clarification.

Polygamy was never condoned by God, and the Bible states that God created man and woman, not man and woman and woman and woman. That doesn't mean people didn't practice it, though. But God used the weaknesses of man to bring about His will in spite of man's rebellion.

The Bible does not condone slavery, either. The New Testament does give advice to those in slavery to help them find some happiness and contentment within their obviously evil circumstances. But slavery is never said to be good, right, or permissible.

Similarly, bestiality, incest and rape are things that happen the the Biblical accounts, but the Bible and God never support them. Quite the opposite.

1 Cor 6 - "8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God." Also check out Leviticus 18: 6-18 and 1 Timothy 1:9-10.

I’ve done my research, as have many atheists who have become Christians. I’m not going to base my political position on the gay marriage issue on my Christian beliefs alone. But when it comes to the Bible, the research has led me to believe it is all true. And if it is all true, I cannot go against it moral truths/statements, no matter how much I want to.

Do Christians Fear Homosexuals and Gay Rights?

In continuation of my posts on the recent protests against Chik-fil-A...

Speaking of rights, it’s not too far off to picture a future where gay rights leads to the end of the rights of private businesses and organizations like churches. Heck, even I fear losing a job some day over my views, even if those views don’t dictate a bigoted treatment of others full of hatred. 

I know a lot of those who are pro-gay rights defend their position by claiming the rest of us are just afraid, that the heart of our side does not lie with the Bible but with fear. And while I don’t agree with that entirely, I’d say that fear is definitely OK and warranted.  

Fear comes about for a reason.  If I fear somebody who flouts his anger and dresses in the uniform of a gang, is it my fault if I fear him?  If AIDS became epidemic because the homosexual community spread it, is it my fault if I fear their mindset? 

People already lose their jobs over their views and Christian standards. Teachers are banned just for mentioning creation in a classroom (without making it out to be the truth, they just put it next to evolution as a theory, and they still get lectured and thrown out). Churches are sued for not hiring homosexuals in leadership positions. Churches are sued for not allowing homosexual marriages in their churches - pastors are sued for refusing to perform the ceremony for homosexuals. 

And now we have the mayor of Boston threatening to ban Chick-fil-A from building new restaurants in the are because of its stance on gay marriage? 

You lose freedom of speech when everyone starts saying that CFA needs to change it's opinions and stances. People are doing more than disagreeing with and critiquing CFA's stances, they're calling for change, they're calling for CFA to hide it's beliefs as a private business and accept what others consider right. 

Yup, gay rights aren’t the only rights at stake here.