Gay or Straight?

The homosexual front in our culture today is as strong as it has ever been. Perhaps we are not at Sodom and Gomorrah levels, where "everyone in the city" has homosexual encounters. But certainly the push to normalize homosexuality is the strongest it has ever been in modern times. What is it all about? What is it about humanity that pushes this agenda forward for literally thousands of years?

The Bible calls homosexuality a sin. It refers to same-sex attraction as temptation. I believe this is truth. I've known people who confessed to being homosexual. Ironically enough, they never looked like the happy, well-adjusted individuals that you see in the media. In fact, none of the ones I've known seemed very much at peace with it at all. Most were tortured souls crying out for help. It makes one wonder if this line of "I'm gay and proud of it" may be a mask that one wears in public. Does it mask the pain of the reality they live in? Like I said, those that I've gotten to know personally didn't exhibit any of that so-called gay pride. Guilt and shame seemed to be more common denominators. Even without the guilt and shame, the ostracizing that they experienced in society was alone painful to have a significant impact on their lives.

So the TV news magazine "60 Minutes" does this research piece on some common observations about the gay or straight debate. You can watch the news clips at http://60minutes.yahoo.com/segment/68/gay_or_straight. There are several short clips here that look at the differences in toddlers, children, teen-agers, adults, mannerisms and movement, speech, and even rats that exhibit homosexual behavior. Overall, one gathers that the point is to argue on behalf of genetic and physiological causes for homosexual behavior or same-sex attraction. One can reasonably conclude that this is what scientists believe. But it flies in the face of the Bible.

I'll be the first to admit that things like this 60 Minutes segment offer convincing evidence. The facts and results of these studies seem to support a revelation ... a truth. But do they? Does evidence always support truth? Do the facts lead us to the truth? Why do they call the results of research "conclusive?" What does "conclusive" mean? Doesn't it simply mean that something appears to be true enough for sane, rational people to draw what would seem to be a reasonable conclusion? I think it does. The problem is, that it may still fly in the face of the Bible.

So herein lies the dilemma. Moral, theological, philosophical and other deep rooted issues that seem so connected to the truth about life ... can be deceptive. God's Word is true. We know that for a fact. As Christians, we testify to our belief that virtually everything in the Bible is the true and inerrant Word of God --- who can do no wrong, never be wrong and never fail. The problem is that our life experiences, including scientific research, sometimes test our beliefs. I think this is the case with homosexuality.

Don't get me wrong, I love homosexuals. There's a special place in my heart for them. I think I appreciate a hell they go through more so than most people would. But I understand them to be tempted sinners (just like I am). You see, I think I know the difference between a temptation and a definition. Having same-sex tendencies, effeminate mannerisms, or same-sex attractions does not define anyone. These factors may be present and they may tempt. But they don't define. And they definitely test our system of beliefs.

The things that we believe, especially about God and life, require us to not be blown about like the wind with scientific evidence, research results and news stories. We are exposed to that stuff every day. But when we are, we must, as Christ-followers, return to the truth of our beliefs. Every time we see a convincing story, we have to realize that the evidence is flawed. Even if we can't see it, there is something wrong with what we're being exposed to.

Why do we have to do that? Because, my friends, if we didn't, God wouldn't be God. If we were to decide, for example, that the evidence is "conclusive" and that homosexuality (or any other issue for that matter) were explainable through genetics and physiology --- then we would also have to conclude that God is a liar, the Bible is lame and misleading, and that truth is only what we can, as humans, discover.

I don't know about you, but I want truth to be higher than we humans. I need a truth that transcends life itself. It anchors me and holds me steady in the face of the storms that life confronts me with. And so I return to the Bible. I love the sinners, but hate the temptations that they struggle with and hate the sins that they give in to. And then I look into the mirror and I realize that they are me ... a tempted sinner who needs absolute truth. Thank You Lord for giving me Your inerrant Word in the Bible. It is the source of all truth. 60 Minutes is not.