Author: Thomas Lee Abshier
by: Thomas Lee Abshier, ND
10/14/2009
From: Jonathan
To: “Thomas Lee Abshier, ND”
Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2004 10:45 AM
Subject: Cheney’s daughter
Dear Thomas,
Bush said in the debate he did not know whether homosexuality was a choice or fate.
Jonathan
Dear Jonathan,
From the sharp contrast in opinions expressed in the article, it sounds like people have many different judgments about homosexuality. Some are offended by being referred to in public as being homosexual and some are not. People clearly have different opinions about what is right and what is wrong. But, the most important consideration in any controversy about morality is, “What is the Absolute standard of the Almighty?” In the Bible, there is no question that homosexuality is a sin.
The fact that people are born to lust over their neighbor’s wives does not make it right, true, good, acceptable, and simply a matter of taste or a choice. Acting out homosexual feeling is wrong regardless of the reason for the disturbance of attraction, whether by fate, genes, hormonal exposure, medical intervention or disease. The fact that a person had no part in creating the confusion of attraction likewise has no bearing on the acceptability of the behavior. Having a need, passion, desire, or feeling makes the action more understandable, but justification on the level of human reason and feelings does not make an action right.
A cursory examination of the human psyche will reveal that humanity is subject to many desires which must be contained and resisted. The murderer, rapist, and thief each had the desire to engage in actions that violated the space of their neighbor. Such violators often declare that they were driven by strong desire at the time of the crime. Likewise, the violators often justify their crimes by citing various needs and mitigating circumstances.
Likewise, the adulterer, fornicator, and homosexual defend their actions with such phrases as, “How could it be wrong if it feels so right?” Each of the sexual sins has its own particular rationale that attempts to justify its commission. The secular humanist attempts to reduce the prohibitions of God against such acts to the level of cultural myth and oppression. Modern man has elevated his opinion of his view of proper human behavior to the level of godlike omniscience.
We could argue for the correctness of the Biblical mandate by sociologic study to show the cultural costs of violating the Biblical admonitions. But, for the moment, we will simply argue the case for sexual purity based on the hypothetical existence of an Absolute standard. If the world is in fact governed by an All Powerful Creator-God, and there are in fact standards which He has established as law, with consequences for their violation, then every passion and action must be judged in the light of the rules of life established by the God of Heaven. We can each know the proper way of living life by staying open to the Holy Spirit’s leading of our heart. By mediating on the Word of God, the Holy Bible, we can recognize the voice of the Lord.
The heart must endure and resist the pulls, temptations, and pleasures of sin. If sin were not attractive and if there were no desire attached to wrong behavior, all men would behave as saints. The construction of the universe demands ambiguity and plausible justification for engaging in the sin that feels good but is nevertheless wrong. The maturation of the soul for eternity depends upon confronting challenges to our character that actually tempts our resolve to right action.
This is God’s world, and the lust for sin must be resisted simply out of deference to the rules established for life by the God of Heaven. Our desires and natural affections are not the measures by which the Law is judged. We are judged by the Law.
The fact that God has judged a sin as wrong does not give us the right to be the executioners of His justice. Our job as Christians is to show the light of Christ to our fellow man, we are to be a compassionate people. Any one of us could have been afflicted with the curse of wrong desire, and all of us have fallen short of perfection. On some level, each of us has experienced the pressure and suffering associated with having a heart that falls prey to temptation and error.
Still, compassion that extends into enabling, encouragement, and validation for those who are afflicted by the passion for wrong action is not true friendship or love. True compassion understands the difficulties faced by the afflicted, and supports the fallen brother in right action, even though resisting natural passion is difficult.
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