I can already hear what the television pastors and radio preachers are going to say when the next big catastrophe hits America:
This [fill in the blank] happened because of the Supreme Court decision about gay marriage….
Can’t you hear it? Maybe the heat wave spreading across America will get blamed on the gays. If there is another hurricane in Oklahoma, or maybe if an earthquake hits California, or if the stock market crashes… we know who to blame – the gays!
The sermon will go something like this:
This nation has turned it’s back on GOD… and so GOD is turning his back on US! When we allow gays to get married, it is an ABOMINATION to the LORD!!! God sent this [fill in the blank catastrophe here] to warn us that if we don’t return to God, he will send more death and destruction upon us all until our nation is no more!
Look, I frankly don’t really care what you believe about homosexuality, whether it is a sin or not, please, please, please, PLEASE don’t blame gay people for the bad things that happen to our country.
Not that we should be blaming anybody, but I have said it before, and I will say it again, if anyone is to blame for the state of our country, it is church people not gay people.
If anyone is at fault, the church is at fault because we have not loved enough, forgave enough, and presented a vision of God that is compelling enough for people to want to love, serve, and follow Him. God doesn’t get people to follow Him by bashing them over the head and forcing them into obedience. He gets people to follow Him by overwhelming them with His love and grace. Let us Christians start doing the same.
So when the next disaster occurs, let’s not point the finger at anyone unless we point it at ourselves.
Pride is what will do it.
Pride is what will do it.
Agreed
It’s always dangerous when preachers, (especially on national TV) make dubious connections between particular acts of particular groups of people, and calamities and natural disasters. Especially since they most likely have not heard from God and are just conjecturing,usually without much sensitivity.
Jesus talked about those who were killed when Pilate “mixed their blood with their sacrifices”, and others who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them, and asked his hearers if they thought that these people were greater sinners than all others because these things happened to them. The clear implication was that they were no different, neither better nor worse.
He went on to say to His listeners, “but unless you repent, you will likewise perish”. (Luke 13:1-5). He was implying that we all fall short of God’s standards, no one is better than anyone else, and we will all perish if we don’t repent and turn to Christ in faith as our Savior for healing and forgiveness. So those who condemn others, gays or whatever other group of people, blaming them for these disasters, conveniently forget to look in the mirror!
Great explanation of that passage from Luke. It is so true that before we go blaming others, we must look in the mirror. This seems to be a constant theme of Jesus.
…He who is without sin…
…Before you take the speck out of your brother’s eye…
Sorry to disappoint you, but we will continue our series on the Sermon on the Mount and hopefully bring it on as Jesus brought it on and not as the religious Pharisees would have dished it out.
Eh…. Did I ask you stop your series? I have no clue what you mean by your comment.
That was a sarcastic statement….my apologies. Certainly didn’t mean it as it appears.
Clarification – I am doing a series on the Sermon on the Mount with an emphasis on attitude over action. If our action is seemingly right, but our attitude is wrong, the whole deal is blown. Should I continue this teaching or check out on it and preach a series on homosexuality since the Supreme Court has taken up the cause? The Pharisees probably would have…eh?
I think I will just continue to deal with our own attitudes.
Actually my comment to you was made light heartedly, with a more serious underlying point.
Ah. I see. Yes, sarcasm doesn’t always come through in typed comments. ha!
Yes, I say continue your series through the Sermon on the Mount, especially since you have correctly seen that Jesus is focusing on attitude over action.
And you are right. Religious pharisees would take the opportunity to preach against homosexual marriage and do as much as possible to bash gays… all the while, ignoring the great many sins of pride, greed, and arrogance in their own lives.
absolutely