The "Gaying" of the Evangelical Church: a Response to Kirsten Powers (Part 3 of 6)

Author: Andy Woods
Date Written: July 25, 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. 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 last week's 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 this post, we will briefly survey what the Old Testament reveals concerning homosexuality.   At the dawn of human history, heterosexuality is established as the norm for marriage. In Genesis 1:26, 28, God said, “'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness'...God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply'.” ((All scriptural citations, unless otherwise noted, are taken from the NASB.)) Such a command excludes homosexuals who obviously have no ability to reproduce. God's pattern for heterosexual marriage receives greater clarity in Genesis 2, which is an amplification of the sixth day of creation.

Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him.” Out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man.” For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.

Not only does Moses in Genesis describe what is normal in terms of marriage between a man and a woman, but he also depicts what is abnormal. Genesis 18:20 says, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave." The sin of this city is found in Genesis 19:4-5: "Before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot and said to him, 'Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them.'” The King James Version translates the end of verse 5 as, "that we may know them." The knowledge spoken of here is carnal knowledge or sexual intimacy. In fact, the Hebrew construction is analogous to Genesis 4:1, which also speaks of sexual union: "And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord." Thus, the sin of Sodom entailed a gross deviation from God's monogamous heterosexual standard. On account of this sin, God purposed to destroy the city.

It is common for gay rights apologists to note that the sin of Sodom had nothing to do with homosexuality but rather indifference toward the poor. They quickly point to Ezekiel 16:49: "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy." However, this verse mentions carelessness toward the poor as a sin of Sodom, but not its only sin. Genesis 19:4-6 describes homosexuality as yet another sin of Sodom. Jude 7 even amplifies this latter sin, when it says, "just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire." ((Italics and emboldeni added.))   In addition to being condemned in Genesis, homosexuality is also condemned in the Mosaic Law. Although it is true that the Law was given only to national Israel (Ps. 147:19-20) and therefore is not binding upon the New Testament church in the exact same way that it was legally binding upon the nation, the Law still represents a perfect revelation of God's moral character. Thus, the Law serves notice regarding the types of behaviors that are both pleasing and displeasing to God. Leviticus 18:22 says, "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." Leviticus 20:13 adds a punitive element that was to be imposed within Old Testament Israel for those involved in homosexual relations: "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their blood guiltiness is upon them."  

These Levitical injunctions against homosexuality are interesting for at least two reasons. First, in the larger context of these chapters, the practice of homosexuality is mentioned right alongside other practices that most would deem detestable, such as incest (Lev. 18:6-18; 20:10-12, 14, 17, 19-21), adultery (Lev. 18:20; 20:10), child sacrifice (Lev. 18:21; 20:2-5), bestiality (Lev. 18:23; 20:15-16), witchcraft (Lev. 20:6, 27), and disrespect for parental authority (Lev. 20:9). Second, in both chapters, God clearly states that these detestable practices (including homosexuality) constitute the reason that He is expelling the Canaanite nations from the land (Lev. 18:24-28; 20:22-23). Thus, homosexuality should be considered a transnational sin warranting divine judgment not just for Israel but also for the Gentile-Canaanite peoples.   Beginning with next week's post, we will also see that the New Testament is equally clear in its affirmation of heterosexual monogamy as the divine standard and in its condemnation of homosexuality.  

(To Be Continued)