Homosexuality 2: Right, Wrong Or Genetics?

Biblegems # 103

Question: I don't want to believe in an "interventionist" God who could find fault with someone for loving someone of the same sex, and who has a strong faith in God as well. How do I deal with this?

In order to discuss this honestly, it is important that we understand and agree upon the terms we use (sexual orientation, homosexuality, etc.). According to the American Psychological Society: “Sexual orientation refers to an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to men, women, or both sexes.”¹

In discussing homosexuality then, it is important to understand that we are talking about an “attraction,” not a genetic inevitability like blond hair or blue eyes. According to the APA: “There is no consensus among scientists about the exact reasons that an individual develops a heterosexual, bisexual, gay, or lesbian orientation.”²

In fact, the psychological community understands sexual orientation to be principally a matter of choice: “Mental health professional organizations call on their members to respect a person’s (client’s) right to self-determination…”³ (italics, mine).

Both the Bible and the APA agree on this: Homosexuality is a choice, not a question of genetics. 

The disagreement comes at the issue of “self-determination.”

As we saw in the previous post, “Homosexuality And The Love of God,” God designed human sexuality as a union between male and female (Gen. 1:27; 2:18). Men and woman are not designed for same sex intimacy. It is not a choice that has been given to us by God, anymore than robbing a bank. “Self-determination” in the area of sexual orientation was never part of God’s plan for us. To break from His design and purpose is to disobey God, which is what the Scripture calls sin.

So when God gives us this clear instruction—Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable (Lev. 18:22)—He is, like a good and loving parent, telling us to stay away from a practice for which we were not designed. For those who claim no loyalty or love for God, this is a non-issue. But for those who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ, disobedience becomes a real problem:

         John 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command.

God in His infinite love for us has given us many areas in life in which we are free to choose. We can choose a spouse (of the opposite sex); we can choose which store we buy our groceries from; we can choose public, private or home-school for our children.

But equally in His infinite love for us He puts a fence around our freedom of choice for our own good, whether we think it’s good or not. We do not get to choose our own birth date, who our children will be, or where or when in the world we will be born. Self-determination is a very precious gift God has given to humanity to be exercised within the limits of His purpose and design for us, not for our own self-centered pleasure.

         Jer. 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

1. American Psychological Association. (2008). Answers to your questions: For a better understanding of sexual orientation and homosexuality. Washington, DC: Author. [Retrieved from www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.pdf.] This material may be reproduced and distributed in whole or in part without permission provided that the reproduced content includes the original bibliographic citation and the following statement is included: Copyright © 2008 American Psychological Association.

2. ibid.

3. ibid.

Homosexuality & The Love Of God

Biblegems #102

Question: How does one reconcile the apparent contradiction that God, who is love, condemns homosexuality, even when two people of the same gender genuinely love each other? And what if that same couple love God as well? Who are we to judge?

Introduction:

There are many who read this question for whom the answer seems so straightforward they can’t imagine how anyone could be confused. They would say something like: “God says homosexuality is sin, end of subject.” However, many others reading this are saying something like: “Finally, someone has the courage to ask what I’ve been wanting to ask for so long!” In either case, I hope you will read on, because even if you are not asking this question, you know people who are—but who may be to afraid to ask out loud. And there are too many Christians afraid to answer the question out loud.

There are several components to the question above: The love of God, human love, the nature of homosexuality, passing judgment on others, etc. I cannot possibly answer all of these interrelated questions in one 500 word blog. So this will be the first of a multi-part response. I know as I post each blog some readers will be saying, “Yeah, but what about…” —because I have to approach this piecemeal, not as a whole. Please be patient, and try to see each blog post as one incomplete part of a larger whole.  

I have used 200 words already just introducing this topic. Therefore, for this week’s blog post, the 500 word limit I attempt to impose on myself for your easier reading begins now:

God is love.

         1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Love is the very essence of God’s nature. It is not so much what He feels, or even what He does, it is who God is. That is very different from human love. Human love at its most superficial reflects how we feel, and that feeling is fleeting, inconsistent. God’s love is constant, unchanging. Human love at its highest chooses to be loving even when not being loved in return— something also achieved with great inconsistency. God always loves, and always acts in love, because He is love itself—unselfish, self-sacrificing, always seeking the welfare of those who need His love.

Obviously, then, true love must be measured against the highest, perfect standard, which is God. The goal of true love is not for God to love like us, but for us to love as He does. So when John says, Whoever does not love does not know God, God is the standard: whoever does not love [i.e., as God loves] does not know God.

So how do we love as God loves? Jesus gives us the answer:

         John 14:15 If you love me, you will obey what I command.

To disobey God is to selfishly choose what we want rather than lovingly choose to live as He designed us to live. We did not design ourselves. We are created with a carefully crafted design and purpose by a God whose very nature is love. We are designed to be like Him:

         Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

         God designed human sexuality as a union between male and female, and that union is designed to be a mirror image of Himself.

Gen. 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

Gen. 2:22-24 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he 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,’ for she was taken out of man.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

The “suitable helper,” according to God’s perfect design, was not male to male or female to female, but the union between a man and a woman who share a similar essence, but who have been intentionally separated by God into two genders. It is part of God’s design for human beings that we find our truest self by becoming united with our “other half.” For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

Made In God's Image

Biblegems #10

Gen. 1:26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness…” Gen. 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

What did God intend for us to understand “image” to mean, both here and throughout Scripture?

It is not insignificant that these first three uses of the word “image” in the Bible are followed by a nearly parallel passage in 5:3: Adam “had a son in his own likeness, in his own image.” In other words: like father, like son. They are identical in kind (human) and similar in likeness (sharing similarities in appearance, personality, etc).

In its simplest context, without adding later NT theology, Genesis is telling us that Adam (lit., “of the earth”) is a physical, limited facsimile of God. Human beings are physical and limited in nature, whereas God is unlimited and spirit in nature (Jn. 4:24). Human beings are created, whereas God is uncreated. Man is like God but not God. Adam’s son was born like Adam, but not Adam.

This is precisely what the Hebrew words for “image” (selem) and “likeness” (demuth) indicate. Selem is the word used of carved images, such as statues and idols (1 Sam. 6:5; 2 Ki. 11:18), and demuth indicates an exact model, pattern or representation of something (2 Ki. 16:10). So, like God, we have a spirit, but we are not solely Spirit, as He is. Possessing a spirit enables us to relate to God on a spiritual level (1 Cor. 6:11), but being one with Him does not make us identical to Him.

The New Testament brings a greater depth of revelation: When Jesus took on human nature (Phil.2:7), the Scripture is clear that He was “made” (not created) in human likeness. For example, all marine life was created at once, brought into existence where none had previously existed (Gen. 1:21), but He “made” the atmosphere by separating the watery substance of the primal earth into two bodies (Gen. 1:7).

Likewise, the pre-existing Jesus (Jn. 1:1ff) was “made” in human likeness. He was formed and patterned after Adam, the first perfect “image” of God. “So it is written: ‘The first man Adam became a living being’; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit” (1Cor. 15:45). As a human being, Jesus was made in the image of Adam, who was made in the image of God.

As God in human form, Jesus stands apart from the rest of God’s image bearers as the only One who can give life. We can only receive that life and so become children of God (1 John 3:1). But even that high privilege does not make us divine, for we are always heirs—recipients—of the promise that is granted to us by His grace. Jesus alone is the “author and perfector of our faith” (Heb. 12:2). We will always be in His debt and subject to Him. Even as we reign with Him in eternity, it will not be on His throne, but at His right and left hand (Mk. 10:40). What an honor to be among those in God’s masterful creation who bear His image! But it is an honor granted, not earned, and therefore one that should keep us in a state of perpetual humility and gratitude.

References: 1. (Vernon O. Elmore. Butler, Trent C. Editor.. "Entry for 'IMAGE OF GOD'". "Holman Bible Dictionary".
 . 1991.) 2. Henry M. Morris. The Genesis Record, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michgan. Copyright, 1976. 3. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, Moody Press, Chicago, Ill. Copyright 1980.