The "Gaying" of the Evangelical Church: a Response to Kirsten Powers (Part 6 of 6)

Author: Andy Woods
Date Written: August 1, 2014
From the archive of thewordonpolitics.com

Recently, TV political commentator, columnist, and professing evangelical Christian Kirsten Powers offered a troubling and controversial perspective related to the issue of homosexuality and Christianity. Because her point of view seems to be representative of some within the evangelical movement, and also seems to be gaining ground. See evidence of that in this article here, (accessed 22 July 2014). I decided to respond to it through a series of blog posts. In a recent USA Today column, while claiming to “hold a ‘high view’ of Scripture, meaning it is the final authority on all matters of faith and life,” Powers simultaneously endorses the homosexual relationships as long as they are committed and monogamous. Powers invites the church to reverse two thousand years of moral thinking on this issue when she writes, “The church has done this before on issues ranging from slavery to the solar system,” in her article here, (accessed 6 June 2014)

However, does the Bible really promote slavery and a geocentric solar system with the same clarity that it condemns homosexuality? As explained in a prior post, the bottom line is that, contrary to Powers' insinuation, the Bible nowhere clearly advocates either slavery or geocentricity. Homosexuality, on the other hand, is an entirely different matter. Biblical prohibitions against homosexual relationships, even of the monogamous sort that Powers endorses, are crystal clear. The Bible condemns homosexuality from beginning to end. In a prior post, we briefly surveyed what the Old Testament reveals concerning homosexuality. The New Testament is equally clear in its affirmation of heterosexual monogamy as the divine standard and in its condemnation of homosexuality. In a prior post, we noted how heterosexual monogamy is clearly affirmed in the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In last week's post, we began examining what the Apostle Paul taught about this important subject. In this week's post, we conclude our series as we complete our look at the Apostle Paul's treatment of homosexuality. Paul continues his condemnation of homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

Or 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 effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God. (Emboldening added.))

Two points are worth noting here. First, notice how Paul equates homosexuality with the sins of fornication, idolatry, adultery, theft, covetousness, and drunkenness. In other words, just as all of these sins epitomize unbelievers, homosexuality is equally a sinful lifestyle that characterizes unbelievers rather than believers. At this point, Powers seeks to convince her readers that the Scripture is not condemning monogamous, committed, homosexual relationships but rather only homosexual acts taking place outside of this lifelong bond. She writes:

"In evangelical gay Christian Matthew Vines' new book, God and the Gay Christian, he examines the six passages on same-sex behavior and argues that they do not address today's long-term gay relationships. New Testament scholar James Brownson, who wrote the 2013 book Bible, Gender, Sexuality, concurs. He told me, "Male-male sex in the ancient world was episodic. It was mainly young boys with older men or male slaves and masters. It was not mutual. These were not relationships, they were not marriage and they were not meant to turn into marriage." Brownson said to compare what ancient writers viewed as heterosexual "sexual excess" — akin to gluttony — with the modern concept of sexual orientation is misguided." (Kirsten Powers, "Christianity's New Look on Gays," 1.)

However, while quoting left-leaning authors in an attempt to find support for her worldview, Powers ignores the standard Greek lexicon. The Greek word translated "homosexuals" in this passage is arsenokoitēs. This lexicon defines this word as follows:

"‘...one who has intercourse w. a man as w. a woman’...a male who engages in sexual activity w. a pers. of his own sex...1 Cor 6:9...rendering of...w. the single term ‘sexual pervert’ is lexically unacceptable...Paul’s strictures against same-sex activity cannot be satisfactorily explained on the basis of alleged temple prostitution...or limited to contract w. boys for homoerotic service... (Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, ed. Frederick William Danker, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000, 135.)

Thus, far from condemning only homosexual behavior outside of a lifelong, monogamous relationship, Paul was condemning all homosexuality, which also includes homosexual behavior taking place within a marital commitment. Second, notice that Paul at the conclusion of his condemnation of the homosexual lifestyle says, "Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” Here, Paul teaches that a bonafide change out of the homosexual lifestyle is entirely possible under the Spirit’s guidance and empowerment. Apparently, homosexuals can change their stripes just as drunkards, adulterers, and thieves can. Powers ignores this verse and instead states, "...there is plenty of new evidence to consider, including the fact that same-sex orientation is not a choice." ((Kirsten Powers, "Christianity's New Look on Gays," 1.)) Not only does her assertion contradict Paul's teaching that homosexuality emanates from a rejection of God (Rom. 1:18-19, 26-27) and that homosexuals can change (1 Cor. 6:11), it also ignores a lot of contrary scientific findings. According to “Dr. Robert L. Spitzer–the renowned gay activist psychiatrist who in 1973 successfully managed to have homosexuality removed from the American Psychiatric Association’s list of mental disorders–has published results of his new study which shows homosexual orientation can be changed to heterosexual.” ((Gregg Jackson, Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies: Issue by Issue Responses to the Most Common Claims of the Left from a to Z (Bridgeport, PA: JAJ, 2006), 257.)) According to Dr. Spitzer’s findings, which were eventually published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, 200 homosexuals changed their lifestyle as a response to therapy during the five year duration of the study. ((Robert L. Spitzer, "Can Some Gay Men and Lesbians Change Their Sexual Orientation? 200 Particiapants Reporting a Change from Homosexual to Heterosexual Orientation," Archives of Sexaul Behavior 32, no. 5 (October 2003): 403-17.)) The final place in Paul's writing where the Apostle condemns homosexuality is found in one of his pastoral letters. In 1 Timothy 1:9-10, he writes:

...realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching. (Emboldening added.))

Because the Greek word translated "homosexuals" in this passage is again arsenokoitēs, it carries the identical lexical meaning mentioned earlier. If Kirsten Powers is indeed a believer, I am elated if only for the sake of her eternal destiny. However, when she opines about biblical matters, especially the gay issue, I do not trust her point of view. As an immature believer, she speaks from the perspective of the world and not God. The divine point of view on the subject of gay marriage is crystal clear. The clarity of the Scripture on this matter explains why the church for the last two thousand years has opposed the normalization of homosexual marriage on equal par with heterosexual marriage. The Book of Genesis, the Mosaic Law, Christ's teachings, Paul's letters, and the General Epistles all speak with one voice: heterosexual monogamy is the divine standard and homosexuality of any sort contradicts and diminishes God's standard. My hope and prayer is that today's American Christians will stand strong on God's Word and not follow the pattern exhibited by Kirsten Powers, who has allowed her reading of the Bible to be warped through the lens of a politically correct and humanistic culture. As forcefully articulated by Jonathan Merritt, "And mark this down: If the battle over same-sex relationships being fought among conservative Christians is won by the pro-gay advocates among them, the larger cultural war is all but over" (Accessed 14 August 2014).