homosexuality – Page 3

gay marriage, homosexuality, point of no return, sodom

SCOTUS helping to bring in the Days of Lot (Updated)

Posted on June 26, 2013 by elizabethprata

Updated to add Martin Luther quote

THE NEWS

Wall Street Journal: Supreme Court rulings boost gay marriage
“WASHINGTON—The Supreme Court delivered the history-making ruling sought by [homosexual] marriage supporters, striking down a 1996 federal law that denied benefits to same-sex couples. The court was more cautious in a second case involving California’s ban on [homosexual] marriage, Proposition 8, saying it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. But the result was likely again to benefit same-sex couples because it meant that a federal district court’s ruling striking down Proposition 8 stands, clearing the way for [homosexual] marriage to resume in the nation’s most-populous state.”

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POLITICAL REACTION

“My thoughts on the SCOTUS ruling that determined that same sex marriage is okay: “Jesus wept.” 5 people in robes said they are bigger than the voters of California and Congress combined. And bigger than God. May He forgive us all.” ~Mike Huckabee

“It’s an amazing overreach in arrogance by 5 members of the court who think they can redefine marriage for the Federal Government…there clearly is an overreach here on the CA Prop 8 case.” ~Tony Perkins of Family Research Council

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SPIRITUAL REACTION

“Can we now stop talking about the United States as a “Christian Nation” so that we can get back to preaching the Gospel to pagan Americans?” ~Chris Rosebrough

“The decision of an earthly court does not make so much as a ripple in the eternal decrees of God.” ~JD Hall

“We learn from Jeremiah among others that, as usual, the nearer the punishment, the worse the people become; and that the more one preaches to them, the more they despise his preaching. Thus we understand that when it is God’s will to inflict punishment, he makes the people to become hardened so they may be destroyed without any mercy and not appease God’s wrath with any repentance. So the men of Sodom long ago had to not only despise the righteous Lot, but even afflict him because he taught them—even though their own affliction was at the door [Gen. 19:1–13]. Likewise Pharaoh, when about to be drowned in the Red Sea, had to oppress the children of Israel twice as much as before [Exod. 5:6–21]. And Jerusalem had to crucify God’s Son when its own final destruction was on the way” – Martin Luther

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GOD’S REACTION

“For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.” Genesis 2:24

“Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Sons-in-law, sons, daughters, or anyone you have in the city, bring them out of the place. 13 For we are about to destroy this place, because the outcry against its people has become great before the Lord, and the Lord has sent us to destroy it.” (Genesis 19:12-13)

“…Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion.” (Jude 1:7)

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TO BE CLEAR:

“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— 30so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28)

“How was it in the days of Lot? Lot lived in a city called Sodom. We have a word today called sodomy. We know exactly what that means. That is a homosexual sin. That is a vile kind of behavior drawn out of that city in the plains south of the Dead Sea. What did God do to Sodom? Buried Sodom under fire and brimstone completely. What kind of people lived in Sodom? Read the nineteenth chapter of Genesis and find that when two angels came to visit Lot, the men of that city tried to rape the angels. And when God blinded the men of that city, they still tried to feel their way to smash down the door to get to those angels. That was a vile, wretched place.”

“So the first thing you know about the days of Noah and the days of Sodom is that they were days of wretched, vile, massive, sweeping, consummate evil. And that’s the way it will be in the days when the Son of Man comes.” [source]

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MY TAKE

The verse above regarding the Days of Lot is speaking of the days during the Tribulation when evil pervades the world and the Messiah returns to end it all, not the run-up to the rapture. However, we see the current culture helping satan along to lay the infrastructure that will give immediate rise to such perversions when the rapture does take place.

In Romans 1 we read that homosexuality is not a sin like any other. Homosexuality in itself is an expression of God’s wrath. It is the only sin that IS a judgment upon the person exhibiting it.

However, though any nation that teeters too far against His ordinances will be judged in wrath, His grace is such that any individual is not a lost cause in terms of wanting to repent and find reconciliation with God. The wrath will be poured out on America but it already has been poured out in Jesus for all sins, including the sin of homosexuality.

“we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” (Ephesians 2:3)

“Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,…And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9, 11)

“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” (1 Corinthians 6:19b-20)

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Do not be fooled by the inclusion of a Pastor on this season’s Masterchef

Posted on May 23, 2013 by elizabethprata

There is no realm that the gay lobby won’t enter to normalize homosexuality.

I enjoy a tv cooking competition show called “Masterchef.” Chefs/restaurateurs Joe Bastianich, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Elliott audition home cooks and choose 18 to perform a series of contests to see which one over time will emerge as the most professional chef with the best cooking skills.

It is different from Ramsay’s other cooking show, H-ll’s Kitchen, because it features non-professional chefs, just home cooks. Because of this, the judges are nicer to the cheftestants, and the show is overall more wholesome and charming. Wednesday evening was the Masterchef’s fourth season premiere.

Here is a quick rabbit trail. I noted that with the onset of Hulu and Netflix, the tv watcher’s viewing habits have changed, including mine. I tend to watch an entire show’s run all at once. I watch one show after another each evening, so rather than having to wait a week and during hiatus to see each episode, you get a feel for the show very quickly because little time has elapsed. TheWrap.com explains, “The move is a nod to the binge habits of its members, Netflix says, who prefer to see an entire season in a few sittings as opposed to tuning in for the latest episode at a particular time every week.”

In viewing shows this way, the dark truth emerged. I noticed a pattern. In all the shows I binge-watched, season 3 consistently seems to be a turning point. Darkness enters in. Satan gets his clutches into the writers and the storylines become more immoral, more violent and worse overall by season 3. Oftentimes, gay characters are introduced, or gay themes.

This pattern was kept with Masterchef. Last night in watching the premiere, I was saddened to see much more sexual innuendo than in previous shows. I was briefly joyful that a pastor was chosen as a final contestant for the final audition but became concerned when I researched who this pastor is. He is a practicing homosexual living with a partner, had adopted three boys, and is promoting gay marriage.

A website chronicling Chicago Gay History lists this 52 year old “pastor” named Kevin Tindell’s bio thus:

“Rev. Kevin E. Tindell is a change management consultant and minister. He and his partner are raising two sons. Tindell is active in Black gay and spiritual groups. He co-founded ONYX, a Black leathermen’s group; Praise Center Chicago; and the Sanctuary Ministry. His involvement has included Chicago Black Lesbians and Gays, Adodi, Minority Outreach Intervention Project, Equality Illinois, Youth Pride Center, AIDS Legal Council, Jelani Unified Men’s Project, Black Alumni of Notre Dame, and much more.”

Tindell says he is a neo-Pentecostal starting up a new church with about 20 members. His staff is studying under controversial Obama pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, as this website article explains. “The church claims about 20 members and refers to itself as a neo-Pentecostal denomination. Several members on the ministerial staff are currently receiving training at Trinity United Church of Christ under the direction of that church’s pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. And one of the most important aspects of the church, besides its openness to the ‘gifts of the spirit [including speaking in tongues]’ is special outreach to the Black LGBT community.”

In this video interview from a few weeks ago, “Pastor” Tindell says bible passages frequently quoted that seem to oppose actually mean something else. He explained, “There is no marriage ceremony in the bible. Marriage was around for property ownership. So when the bible says men should not lay with men like they lay with women, they’re talking about…because you couldn’t own men.”

Tindell says “I am the face of marriage Equality” explaining, “But I promised God that if I met the man who was right for me, I would step up and ask him out… So, I did!” he continues. … He adds, “Our faith in a God that created all, loves all, and accepts us just as we are sustains both our relationship and our family.””

I always find it interesting how a reprobate mind twists the clear meaning of the word. In one example from another situation, I watched Todd Friel of Wretched Radio gently and lovingly engage a practicing lesbian in detailed manner through Romans 1:18-32. In Romans 1:18 it says “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.”

The verses go on to describe how God gives them over to improper lusts if they deny God and suppress the truth. This one lesbian Friel was interviewing said, “I she don’t deny God, so the verse does not apply to me.”

Anyway, back to Masterchef and the gay pastor who will be featured for however long he lasts in the competition on this influential and highly rated show. I’m saddened that once again, even the most innocuous media presentation, this time a cooking show, chooses to feature homosexuality as normal. People from all over the world will see him and think that THIS is what Christianity is, or should be. They will cling to his version of who he says Jesus is, rather than the truth.

None of this is surprising. Satan is relentless in claiming any small crack for his own, and then ruthlessly exploiting that crack for his own dark purposes. However, if you are a fan of the show, I wanted to give you the background on this pastor. He is not all he seems, and he definitely needs prayers. So does his “partner” and the sons they are raising.

As far as his twisted interpretation of the fact that you couldn’t own a male slave, that was unbliblical. Exodus 21:20 talks about male slave ownership. So does Leviticus 25:44. Philemon owned male slave Onesimus. Ephesians 6 and Colossians 3 both mention slavery.

Please continue to pray. This particular situation I’ve mentioned on the TV show may not last more than one more week, if Mr Tindell is eliminated from the competition. Or he may persevere for many weeks and bring his message of “Christian homosexuality” to millions. That doesn’t matter. The point here is three-fold-

1. Satan persistently encroaches into every realm he can, but are we as persistent with the message of the GOOD NEWS?,
2. That just becuase a pastor is presented as a pastor doesn’t mean he is a Christian or holds to biblical doctrine,
3. and we need to be discerning about what media we absorb.

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BBC Easter show to compare practicing homosexuals to Jesus on the cross

Posted on March 10, 2013 by elizabethprata

When I listened to John MacArthur’s monumental and devastating sermon in September which was a response to the Democratic Party platform, I thought the culture could not get any lower. (Homosexuality and the Campaign for Immorality). Even though I know in my head it can always go lower, I literally could not envision in my heart how it could. But we know that it always does, and indeed, it has.

In that sermon, which was at the time a low point for the global culture, MacArthur said-

“Isaiah knew sodomy was all around them, a part of life in Assyria, a part of life in Babylon, a part of life in Egypt. In fact there was much about homosexuality among the pharaohs. It took a while, it took about 150 years, but all of this kind of seeped in and what destroyed Sodom would destroy Judah. And later it would destroy Greece, and later it would destroy Rome. This is always a deadly sin, and always a defining sin, and always a damning sin.”

It can be seen as a low point because Romans 1:25-32 is a benchmark of progression of how a culture departs from God and what God does when that culture departs from Him. Rebellion against Him always takes the form of sin. A most damnable sin, and the only sin that IS a judgment, is homosexuality.

The political process at the Democratic Party adopted a platform that uplifted everything God hates and they denied God himself by removing His name from any and all affirmations included in the platform.

Ken Ham of the ministry Answers in Genesis wrote this weekend that the British Broadcasting Company (BBC) is going to present a show on Easter that compares Jesus Christ to homosexuals. Ham writes,

“Yes, you read that title correctly: the British Broadcasting Company will be airing a radio Easter message that compares the treatment of practicing homosexuals to the Crucifixion of Christ. (Read more about the announcement at this link.) The host of the program will be Benjamin Cohen, the founder of the gay UK publisher PinkNews.

Now, Cohen has written an article titled “Like Jesus on the cross, the gay community know what it is to be abandoned.” He explains his view of the Crucifixion and how he believes it relates to the gay agenda. As you’ll see, his reasoning shows a complete lack of understanding of the Bible’s atonement message and why Christ came to earth as a man:

The story of Jesus is one that is inextricably tied up with the notion of him being an outcast and being both abandoned and rejected by his own people, the Jews. Jesus was abandoned because of something he said he couldn’t help, being born the son of God, the messianic figure for the redemption of the Jewish people and ultimately of mankind. Yet he was persecuted for it, treated as a traitor and ultimately executed.

One of the problems with Cohen’s statement is that the gospel accounts of Christ’s earthly ministry don’t center on rejection and abandonment. They are concerned with Christ’s purpose for coming to earth—to offer salvation to sinful man through living a perfect life, dying in our place, and rising again three days later.

What’s more, Christ and His disciples called people to repent and believe. You see, Scripture tells us that homosexual behavior is sinful—so Cohen’s comparison isn’t remotely valid. “

Please go to the link at Ham’s website to read the rest of his essay.

If anything, this shows the persistence of satan. If anything this shows us that sin always has another depth to sink to. This is why the only acceptable sacrifice for our sins to pay the debt of God’s wrath over them had to be Jesus- because He is eternal. His infinite Goodness and Holiness paid the infinite and unholy debt of the depth of the world’s sin.

Aren’t we glad that in one way, when we see sin sinking so low, we can also see Jesus as so high and lifted up?

In the year of the death of king Uzziah, I saw also the Lord sitting upon an high throne, and lifted up, and the lower parts thereof filled the Temple. The Seraphims stood upon it, every one had six wings: with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried to another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts: the whole world is full of his glory. And the lintels of the door cheeks moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then I said, Woe is me: for I am undone, because I am a man of polluted lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of polluted lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, and Lord of hosts. Then flew one of the Seraphims unto me with an hot coal in his hand, which he had taken from the altar with the tongs: And he touched my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips, and thine iniquity shall be taken away, and thy sin shall be purged. Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send? and who shall go for us? Then I said, Here am I, send me. (Isaiah 6:1-8)

He is seated on the throne, powerful King of all the universe, having paid the debt of even these people who compare Holy God to polluted sin. That is why we worship Jesus, He is beautiful in His holiness and purity.

MacArthur concludes the sermon series from last fall by saying:

“What’s wrong with our world? Rejected God; same thing that’s always been wrong. What are the solutions to all of the things that come from that? The only solution is to worship God by honoring His Son, the only Savior, the only hope. People talk about hope and change. There’s only one hope–that’s Christ. There’s only one change–that’s regeneration. Otherwise nothing changes and there’s no hope.”

abortion, election, gay, homosexuality, vote

Mitt Romney isn’t as solid on the social issues as you think he is

Posted on October 12, 2012 by elizabethprata

I think that most people assume that 2012 Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, being a ‘faithful’ man and a conservative, is solid on the social issues. Further many people believe that compared to the travesty that is Obama, Romney is a conservative answer to prayer, who operates within the framework of his Mormon faith and is against the behaviors that are the main social ills of today.

They would be wrong.

He is not.

I took a look at his record on three main issues, though there are many issues to look at, including foreign policy and economics. I examined Romney’s stance on two social issues and a foreign policy issue of interest to Christians: Abortion, Homosexual agenda, and Israel. I included links so you can check them out yourself. I noted the date, some articles are from 1994 and others are from today.

Homosexual agenda

Boy Scouts:
Romney believes that openly gay people should be allowed to participate in Boy Scouts as members or leaders. Currently the Boy Scouts of America does not allow. Romney is in agreement with Obama on this issue. “Romney says Boy Scouts should admit homosexuals“

Homosexual marriage:
Romney’s views on this have changed since 1994 when he first ran for office. Initially he believed in “equality for all citizens”. He declared he would be more liberal and effective than his opponent, Sen Ted Kennedy.

Said the same in 2002 when running for governor. (source)

When the Mass. Supreme court said that denying gays a legally sanctioned marriage, Romney sought to establish same sex civil unions, but stated that his personal views were that marriage should be just for one man and one woman. (source)

Has stated he would seek a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages. (additional source)

Romney has consistently opposed expanding marriage to gays and lesbians, while paradoxically insisting that he supports equal rights for everyone. And he has tailored that message to please his shifting audiences. (source)

Other homosexual issues

He supported the Federal Employee Nondiscrimination Act and President Clinton’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy allowing gay men and women in the military in 1994.

Says he is for Gay Rights, (Aug 2011)

Romney’s stance on homosexual agenda issues is contradictory. When asked if it turned out that one of his grandkids was gay Romney said “I love my children, and I love my grandchildren, and of course I’d want them to be happy. My view is this: individuals should be able to pursue a relationship of love and respect and raise a family as they would choose. I would like to have the term ‘marriage’ continue to be associated with a relationship between one man and one woman, and that certainly doesn’t prevent two people of the same gender living in a loving relationship together having a domestic partnership, if you will.” (source) (source)

Abortion

–Said in 1994 that abortion should be safe and legal for all women (source)
–Said the same in 2002, affirming his stance that a woman has a right to choose
–Said in 2005 said he is staunchly pro-life
(source)

Oct 11, 2012- Believes abortion is wrong but will not seek to institute any laws about it. Abortion issues are not part of his agenda, he told reporters today. (source)

Oct 11, 2012 Later the same day he backpedalled on the statement (source)

Said he would de-fund Planned Parenthood. (source)

Here is a link showing Romney’s “evolution” on abortion issues. (source)

This is a straightforward factual listing of the issues written by AP, just out today. The title is Obama and Romney: where they stand on the issues. Side by side comparison of all issues, not just social. The piece includes compasiton of stances on debt, economy, Social Security, abortion, homosexual agenda, etc, the whole gamut is on this page. (source)

Tracy Bloom at TruthDig reports the following:
“GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney “reaffirmed” his staunch pro-life abortion position on Wednesday, saying his stance on the hot-button issue hasn’t changed. At least not since he became pro-life midway through his political career. Like on many issues—taxes, health care, stem-cell research, minimum wage, immigration reform, etc.—Romney has flipped-flopped positions in a seemingly concerted effort to appeal to a certain ideological group of voters.”

I posted Bloom’s piece because I have found the same flip-flopping as I travel the course of Romney’s life. I agree that whatever his personal feelings on an issue, when it comes to public policy, Romney changes to match the situation, constituency or to attain a political goal. This also includes a less than candid reporting of the reasons his grandfather fled the US to Mexico in the 1880s. And I’m not just talking about flip-flops on issues that are decades apart, but for example, the abortion flip flop that occurred the same day.

Israel

At a private fundraiser, a donor asked Romney how the “Palestinian problem” can be solved. Romney immediately launched into a detailed reply, asserting that the Palestinians have “no interest whatsoever in establishing peace, and that the pathway to peace is almost unthinkable to accomplish.” (source). The Main Stream Media treated this “discovered video” as a smoking gun, but in fact, Romney is absolutely right on the issue. The Palestinians do not want peace and it is futile to pursue it with them.

I agree with Romney on this and I’m also pleased he had a reply that included details. A two state solution only presages the judgment from God in Joel 3:2 where God said He will judge the nations because they have divided up His land. The much vaunted “Two State Solution” is no solution.

I post this tonight because I want us to be aware of the fact that Romney is not the answer to conservative prayer that he is being made out to be. The issue is not black and white and in fact is more complicated. Christians are in a quandary for good reason.

Add to that, Christians are weary. We are dejected in seeing the country crumble. We are concerned about the effect Obama has had in a mere four years and are heartily concerned with what will happen if he gets another four. We long to see faith played out on the national arena. We desire to see standards of morals and behavior applied consistently in at least one leader. The vacuum of goodness surely is dark on our hearts. Romney is the Republican candidate, conservative and intelligent, and many people are despondent enough with the way things are to say “good enough… close enough… what else we gonna do, anyway?”

Be mindful that Mitt Romney, while likely being a very nice man, generous and charitable, intelligent and having a grasp of economic issues, is unsaved. His ethics and morals have only been solid as far as they have served his political ambitions. I say this not to denigrate the man, but because I have spent the last two days reading numerous articles and seeing interviews and his positions change, sometimes over years, but more troubling, sometimes depending on who he is speaking to on the same day. I was saddened to read his responses to the hypothetical query about his grandchildren if they turned out to be gay. He wants them to be happy and in a relationship? As a man who claims God and says he adheres to His standards why did he not say that homosexuality is a sin and he would pray daily for the Spirit to transform the person through the saving grace of Jesus, because the homosexual lifestyle is one of despair, illness, and eventual condemnation by Holy God?

It is a paradox for Romney to say he wants his grandkids, if they turned out to be homosexuals, to be happy and in a peaceful relationship then say he would push for a constitutional amendment banning a legal relationship for them…wouldn’t that make them UNhappy?

People say all the time, choose the lesser of two evils. I don’t agree. Choosing the lesser of two evils means you are still choosing evil. Charles Spurgeon said, “When a Christian is faced with the choice between the lesser of two evils he should do neither.”

In the bible, should a person choose Jannes over Jambres? No. Both were condemned. Choose Ananias over Sapphira? No. Both were condemned. Why? They were both evil. God didn’t say, ‘I condemn the lesser of two evils’, He judged the evil. Period.

We vote for someone who we believe to the best of our diligent ability who will uphold Biblical principles and protect Constitutional government, regardless of that candidate’s perceived likelihood of prevailing. I sympathize with each and every mature Christian out there because I am agonizing over this as well. I know full well that there is no candidate out there who fully represents and lives out biblical principles. There are few enough who even appear moral.

Randy Alcorn wrote in part 1 of a series he began regarding this election, “Honestly, I am deeply concerned about this election, but not excited about it. I have very little faith in politics. Republican and Democratic administrations have combined together in the last forty years to establish a staggering track record of economic, personal and moral irresponsibility. They’ve proven themselves poor stewards of our country. And in many ways we have proven ourselves poor citizens and stewards.”

Here is a response by the pastors over at Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry to the question “Politics, Mormonism, and Christians.” The last few paragraphs get to the meat of the matter.

Here is another essay answering the question, “Should a Christian vote for a Mormon?“

Hopefully, some of the resources I’ve posted on this issue here and at the other blog entry may help you clarify your thinking. My thinking on the matter is clarified. And it was completely clarified last night before I changed my mind today. I am not settled on this by a long shot.

Lord, I not only pray for wisdom to make a God-honoring decision, I admit I also pray for the rapture so that we can be settled at your feet, enjoying a perfect theocracy once and for all. No voting necessary.

bible, gay marriage, homosexuality, traditional marriage

First polygamous marriage in Brazil sparks outrage

Posted on September 1, 2012May 9, 2016 by elizabethprata

First this:
In an article from June 2012 in the UK, we read that, “A lobby group against gay marriage, formed by Ministers of Parliament and bishops, is embroiled in a row after one of its leaflets claimed that the logical argument for reforming the law would be equally applicable to the legalisation of incest and polygamy. The eight-page document, produced by the Keep Marriage Special campaign, whose supporters include the former bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir Ali, warns of the “consequential impact” of the reform. The leaflet claims: “If the only basis for marriage is the desire of the parties to get married then there is, according to the logic of this proposal, no reason not to open up marriage to more than just same-sex couples. Polygamy, polyandry and incest would all be permissible.”

Conservatives and Christians have long predicted that if a government allows the basic definition of marriage to be redefined, it would lead to a downward slide of not only marriage itself but society as a whole. We are mocked for this position, but we see it coming true today in many countries and in many ways.

On National Public Radio a few months ago, a discussion was held between opponents of homosexual marriage and defenders of it. Speaking against gay marriage was Austin Nimocks, senior legal counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative Christian legal consulting group. Mr Nimocks said,

“[O]ne of the reasons that proponents of marriage and maintaining marriage between a man and a woman believe that is because by so doing it stays as a child-centered institution and not one that’s concentrated on the desires of adults. And if marriage is redefined to be about any two adults who are in love or committed to each other and it’s about adults and not the kids that flow from procreative relationships, then from a policy standpoint you have to ask the question, then why can’t three or more adults be just as loving and committed to each other?”

The people who would wish to redefine marriage would indeed ask that question, and they already have.

The debate moderator followed up to that by asking, “In a number of countries in the world where Islam is the dominant religion polygamy is permitted. So why wouldn’t just on First Amendment grounds, the freedom of religion, polygamy then be something that people would pursue?”

After all, The “prophet” Mohammad married the 6-year-old ‘Aisha. According to the Sahih Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 65, “Narrated ‘Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage with her while she was nine years old.”

What IS marriage anymore? If it is for procreation then how can a 6 year old conceive? If it is for pedophilia, then Islam has it covered well, don’t you think? This was reported a few days ago in the UK Telegraph:

“Alarm as hundreds of children under age of 10 married in Iran”
“Iran has experienced a dramatic growth in under-age marriages that has seen the number of girls being wed before the age of 10 double in the space of a year, officially-compiled figures have revealed.”

Defenders of homosexual marriage say that child-marriage (AKA legislated pedophilia) would not happen because gay marriage is not predicated on a religious liberty, but public policy and a civil “right.” But that very redefinition is happening.

It is increasingly obvious that marriage is being redefined, and with it, fidelity, morality, family, and parenting. The California State Assembly has put forward a bill allowing a child to have more than two parents.

Christians are mocked and scorned for stating that such a redefinition not only pokes God in the eye, but that moving the God-given lines of His intended foundational block of society releases sinful man to include all sorts of heinous configurations into ‘marriage’. Skeptical? Shariah Law has led to the legislation of child marriage in 6 countries. (source). Christians warned that homosexual redefinitions of marriage would also lead to polygamy and bestiality but of course we were soundly pooh-poohed. Yet, “comedian” Sarah Silverman’s season finale of her television show featured her own marriage to her dog. This British woman married a dolphin. And we even have people marrying themselves, as documented in China and in the US!

So if marriage between one man and one woman is suspended, so as to include two men or two women, the self, or an animal, what is to stop the next minority group to challenge THAT definition, and advocate for codification of any number of participants, of any age, or between any species? Nothing. Indeed, South Africa is the only nation in Africa to constitutionally recognize homosexual marriage and SA also recognizes polygamy, too. Are these two redefinitions of traditional marriage linked? Of course they are.

So today we discover that conservative Brazil has allowed its first registered and official polygamous marriage.

Controversy in Brazil as first three-partner marriage is unveiled
“Controversy has been sparked as the first civil union between three separate partners was registered in Tupã, in the Northwestern region of Sao Paulo state, Brazil last week. The three-person union has shocked religious groups in the country, and sparked further concerns that the traditional family unit is being further eroded by the current day society. The actual declaration of the union between the man and two women was in fact made three months ago, but it finally became public this week.” [HT Do Not Be Surprised]

The article continues, reporting, “Notary officer, Claudia do Nascimento Domingues, has explained that the three partners lived together and wanted to publicly declare their status in order to guarantee their rights. Checks were conducted to see if there was any legal impediment to the unions and the notary office has confirmed that none were found. Attorney Nathaniel Batista dos Santos Junior oversaw the legal process of creating the three-way declaration.”

No legal definition had been previously necessary because who would have thought even a few years ago that marriage definitions would be under such attack? But such an attack makes logical sense. According to this excerpt from Focus on the Family’s essay “The Divine Order to Marriage,”

“And the spark, the power of that union is meant to gloriously reveal the very image of God to angels and archangels and all the company of heaven and earth. That is why Satan fights tooth and nail to pervert and distort rightly ordered human sexuality, holy matrimony, the family, and fatherhood in particular. In fact, the amount of time and effort that Satan expends to destroy the image of God reflected in marriage, fatherhood and human sexuality is a barometer of just how incredibly important it is to God’s plan and the expression of His glory.”

His glory is the main point of the world, our lives, and the plan of salvation. His glory is exhibited in His name, His majesty, His holiness, His works, His power, and His ordinances. (Deuteronomy 28; Nehemiah 9:5; Job 37:22; Psalms 93; Psalms 104:1; Psalms 145:5; Psalms 145; Exodus 15:1; Exodus 15; Psalms 19; Psalms 111; Exodus 15; Jude 1:7).

“Yea, they shall sing in the ways of the LORD: for great is the glory of the LORD.” (Psalms 138:5). His glory is expressed through a traditional marriage, united under covenant with Him and persevering in love and submission throughout the decades. Stay true to your spouse, for in so doing you are at once showing God’s glory and striking a blow against satan!

homosexuality, pastor worley

Pastor Worley and his electrified fence for homosexuals

Posted on May 24, 2012 by elizabethprata

Yesterday a video went viral, having accumulated a critical mass that penetrated the top levels of news media, internet, and consciousness. A North Carolina Pastor said some terrible things about homosexuals

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Pastor: Build Electrified Fence For Gays So They ‘Die Out’ (video at link)

“A North Carolina pastor has come under fire after calling for gays and lesbians to be killed off by keeping them locked up behind an electrified fence. During his sermon at the Providence Road Baptist Church in Maiden, Pastor Charles Worley said he figured out a way to “get rid of all the lesbians and queers.” “Build a great big, large fence – 100 miles long – put all the lesbians in there, fly over and drop some food,” Worley said during his May 13 sermon. “Do the same thing with the queers and homosexuals and have that fence electrified so they can’t get out … and in a few years they will die out.” Worley went out to say that gays and lesbians will die off because “they can’t reproduce.”

Predictably, and rightfully, there is backlash. Today’s headlines state:

“Internet helps expose bigotry”
“Video shows pastor is a lost soul”
“Former Worley Church Goer Saddened But Not Surprised by Homophobia”

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

True Christians know how heinous the pastor’s remarks are. Christians lament and sigh and mourn over incidents like these because first, remarks like this besmirch the holiness and the reputation of Jesus. Secondly, we know we have our work cut out for us doubly hard when hate speech like this comes across the boards, because we have to make up for it. Also, it IS hate speech, and the lost and the homosexual-pushing agenda folks simply lump his remarks into one bundle and soon we’re accused of hate speech even when repeating bible verses that state unequivocally that homosexuality is a sin. So this post isn’t for Christians. It is for the lost, who want to believe that like this pastor, all Christians have a flawed and twisted perspective on God’s mercy. Let’s dig in.

While the pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity, it is a fact that homosexuality is a sin. People who engage in it will go to hell if they do not repent. However, homosexuality is ONE sin. Unrepentant thieves will go to hell. Unrepentant adulterers will go to hell. Unrepentant liars will go to hell. (1 Corinthians 6:9). And so on. Yes, homosexuality is gross, and it is an example to the ungodly (2 Peter 2:6) of how far their perversion has gone (Romans 1:24-28) but is is a sin that Jesus can and does forgive. It always comes down to Jesus’s grace. As AW Tozer said, “For every person it must be Jesus Christ or eternal tragedy.”

Christians are not “homophobic“. “By definition, homophobia is fear of homosexuals, but its meaning has been broadened to include hate for homosexuals. Correspondingly, being homophobic tends to manifest itself through an outward demonstration or behavior based on such a feeling. This, in turn, sometimes leads to acts of violence or expressions of hostility. The truth is that homophobia is not just confined to any one segment of society. It can be found in people from all walks of life. Such hate groups have viciously attacked homosexuals and have used especially violent language in attempting to persecute and intimidate homosexuals. More often than not, Christians are said to be homophobic simply because they condemn homosexual behavior as sin. But the real fact of the matter is that the term homophobic is merely a “politically correct” scheme used by homosexual activists and supporters in their attempts to deflect a genuine criticism of an immoral and unhealthy practice.”

Christians have a fierce love for unrepentant sinners, having been sinners ourselves- and though we are repentant and forgiven we still struggle with our sin nature! Praise the Lordhe sends the Holy Spirit to live within us to help us resist it. We are familiar with the sin-struggle. Unforgiven sinners go to hell and hell is serious! We wish that on NO ONE. Jonathan Edwards captured the horribleness of it in his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of and Angry God:

“It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For “who knows the power of God’s anger?”

We do NOT enjoy thinking of anyone in hell, and we do not utter words that indicate we want to hasten their eternal doom. The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Before I was saved, I believed that all Christians were like Pastor Worley. It only confirmed my attitude that Christianity was just the same as all the hate I’d already experienced in the world, and therefore was not worth exploring. Attitudes like that pastor’s is what the world expects and it does much harm to the lost who need Jesus. Therefore, be Christlike, because He urges us to actions that the world does not expect. Who expects that if our cheek is slapped we give the other one to be slapped? Who expects love in the midst of enemies? Who expects meekness, humility, and service?

The pastor’s speech misrepresents Christianity.

Stating that homosexuality is a sin is not hate speech, it is the truth of Jesus. Stating that all homosexuals should be rounded up and left to starve behind an electric fence is hate in the extreme. Each person on earth was made in the likeness of God (Gen 1:27). Saved or not saved, we are to treat people with respect. 1 Peter 1:22 says how to treat believers, “Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” As for how we are to treat everyone, 2 Timothy 2:24-26, Matthew 5:16, James 5:16 are all good verses that instruct us on proper Christ-like behavior.

Focusing on the Matthew 5:16 verse, which says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” remember, it is all about the glory of Jesus. When you like a life of meekness and love, unswervingly adhering to His standards of uttering the truth in love, not hate, we shine more brightly for Him. And what seeker isn’t attracted to the light and not the dark?

end time, homosexuality, sin

Backsliding Baptists muddy waters of gay marriage issue

Posted on April 25, 2012 by elizabethprata

Dr. David P. Gushee’s bio on Wikipedia states he is an historian, ethicist, public intellectual, and professor dealing primarily with ethical issues and Christian thought. Gushee is the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, and was formerly the Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy and the Senior Fellow of the Carl F. H. Henry Center for Christian Leadership at Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Gushee also serves as the president of Evangelicals for Human Rights, an organization advocating for an end to torture, especially that sponsored by the United States government. Additionally, he is a columnist for Christianity Today and the Associated Baptist Press.

For all that, here is some news about something he said and did recently- this is from the Associated Baptist Press–

Gushee: Covenant best model for sexual relationship
“The co-convener of a conference on sexuality and covenant said April 20 that long-term committed relationships are the best model for Christians struggling to make sense of changing morals about sex.”

Don’t get excited. It sounds good. But it is not good. Read on.

“I believe that covenant is a, if not the, single best way that has emerged in the great Christian tradition to talk about what we are supposed to do with our sexuality, and for that matter, our relationality,” said David Gushee, an ethics professor at Mercer University, co-sponsor with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of the April 19-21 conference at First Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.”

Still don’t know why I’m disappointed? He hasn’t said MARRIAGE yet. Read on.

“Gushee defined covenant as a “voluntarily entered sacred pact between two persons and between those two persons and the God to whom both are committed.” OH NO! Why, you ask? Because he said ‘two persons’. Not “man and woman.” Read on:

“Gushee said he doesn’t think the main issue facing the church today is which groups of people are to be viewed as eligible to make covenants. “The main issue is to rescue the very practice of covenant before it disappears forever, not only in society but in our own house,” he said.”

BAD BAD BAD. He wants to ‘rescue” covenants (like God needs human help with maintaining covenants) but declines to specify who is eligible to enter them. However the bible is clear on who is eligible to enter the type of covenant he is talking about, marriage. It is a man and a woman. The Bible condemns homosexuality as an immoral and unnatural sin. Leviticus 18:22 identifies homosexual sex as an abomination, a detestable sin. Romans 1:26-27 declares homosexual desires and actions to be shameful, unnatural, lustful, and indecent. Defining “which groups” are eligible to enter sexual covenant is not a necessary endeavor for today’s Christian because it already has been defined for us. All we need to do is proclaim the truth and obey it. Failing that and instead focusing on the covenant and not the people in the covenant is a backwards approach that leaves out Jesus.

First Corinthians 6:9 states that homosexuals are unrighteous and will not inherit the kingdom of God. it stands to reason that a sacred covenental relationship between same genders would be entering a sinful relationship and not approved by God. That Gushee declined to specify that, thereby proclaiming less than the whole counsel of God, is a severe disappointment.

The Baptist Standard covered the conference this way–:

Christians lack consensus on sexual ethics, speaker tells conference
“Christians no longer share a consensus that sex outside of marriage is always wrong and must find new ways to deal with that reality besides splitting into smaller and smaller groups over issues like homosexuality and contraception, a keynote speaker said April 19 in the opening session of a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant co-sponsored by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Mercer University’s Center for Theology and Public Life. … David Gushee, head of Mercer’s Center for Theology and Public Life, said the university was happy to co-sponsor the event because of its long identity as a Baptist institution and interest “in promoting dialogue about an important and sensitive issue that some people would be afraid to host a dialogue about.” Gushee said his center normally deals with public policy issues, but in this case cordoned off that part of the discussion to make it easier to have conversation. He said the conference still could have implications for public policy if it demonstrates that people really can discuss a sensitive issue like sexuality constructively and with respect.”

Here is the perspective on “dialogue”. I’ve always been interested in language, and how language, particularly through media, influences the mind. How it can clarify or obfuscate. The Emergent Church penchant for insisting on ‘respectful dialogue’ is part of the tactic of obfuscation. It brings muddiness to the clarity of scripture and it is simply a defense mechanism for satan to deflect dogmatic truth.

I posted a blog entry a short while ago titled “It’s 2012 and homosexuality is still a sin” as a jab at emergent post-modern culture that says we have to get with the times and dialogue about these points to see whether they are still relevant. I have an answer for you. They are still relevant. End of dialogue.

As a result of my interest in how language is used or misused, the emergent church, and John MacArthur’s solidly biblical sermons, I’ve heard just about everything MacArthur has said or written on the subject. Here is his explanation of the tendency toward dialogue in his essay “The perspicuity of scripture“

He wrote- “A new movement is now arising in evangelical circles. Apparently, the main object of attack will be the perspicuity of Scripture. Influenced by postmodern notions about language, meaning, subjectivity, and truth, many younger evangelicals are questioning whether the Word of God is clear enough to justify certainty or dogmatism on points of doctrine. Ironically, this new movement to a certain extent ignores all the previous debates. Instead, its proponents are more interested in dialogue and conversation. As a result, they scorn and rebuff propositional truth (which tends to end dialogue rather than cultivate it) as an outmoded vestige of twentieth-century modernism.”

He’s right. Proclamation tends to shut them up. There is no debating God.

Peter said that Jesus preached to the spirits in prison, (1 Peter 3:19) and the word preached means proclaimed. The Greek word is kērýssō (“to herald”) and refers to preaching the Gospel as the authoritative (binding) word of God, bringing eternal accountability to all who hear it. (Strong’s Concordance).

Do you really believe that scripture is so unclear about what’s a sin that we need to have endless discussion as to whether marriage is meant for life between a man and a woman under God or can be included to mean two men for whatever period of time as their lust brings them together? If so, do you believe that when Jesus descended to prison to speak with the demon spirits, He said “Let’s promote a dialogue about an important and sensitive issue that some people would be afraid to host a dialogue about. And I promise to be respectful”?? NO. He proclaimed GOD’s RIGHTEOUSNESS. His death & resurrection meant He triumphed over death, over hell and over sin, sin that includes homosexuality!

I’m really disappointed in the Baptist segment of our denomination that is behaving this way. Failing to stand on the word of God as authoritative and binding means one is actually standing on a house of sand. And we all know what happens when the storm comes. “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” (Matthew 7:24-27)

Note the last line of the parable. “Great was its fall.” The Greek word defines ‘great’ as megas, “large, as in the widest sense.” Jesus is saying that unless you stand on His word as the foundation, your fall will be so great it couldn’t be any greater!

bible, child porn, homosexuality, perversity, teacher semen

Sadly, I report two child pornography stories

Posted on February 2, 2012 by elizabethprata

Ontario child porn bust snares 50
“Police in Ontario are expected to release details Thursday morning of what could be the largest child pornography bust ever in Canada. According to Ontario Provincial Police spokesman Sgt. Pierre Chamberlain, police will release “results of a provincial-wide sweep of child sex offenders that occurred over the last couple of days in the province of Ontario.” Police have scheduled a 10 a.m. news conference in Vaughan that will include participants from more than 20 police departments across the country. “We’ll be drawing attention to the serious blight that is child pornography,” Chamberlain told CBC News. Police said they have taken more than 50 people into custody after raids across Ontario on Wednesday. Those arrested were not part of an organized child porn ring, police said. Members of the provincial strategy to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation on the internet have laid more than 200 charges while the investigation continues.” Video of the news spot at link

The CBC news spot video opens with this statement: “The victims are society’s most vulnerable, young children, even infants. The crimes against them, heinous.” The video reporter stated that child pornography doesn’t just include still photos of children in abusive situations, as most people suppose, but nowadays also includes live streaming of the abuse. Worse, “victims are increasingly younger, sometimes, even infants.”

In another story from California in the US, we read something that is positively sickening in its inventive evil:

“Teacher who ‘bound and gagged children, put roaches on their faces, and fed them semen’ jailed on $23 million bail“

This teacher had taught for 30 years in that school, and was held in high esteem by parents and community. The children victims ranged in age from 7 to 10.

A hallmark of Christianity is care for society’s most vulnerable– the poor, the widows, the children, and the oppressed.

For example, God regards equally the rich and the poor: “How much less to him that accepteth not the persons of princes, nor regardeth the rich more than the poor? for they all are the work of his hands.” (Job 34:19)

So James warns us not to show favoritism, either: “My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t show favoritism. 2Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. 3If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?

“Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him?” (James 2:1-5)

It is the same with the widows. They should be treated with honor, 1 Timothy 5:3; and they should be helped, 1 Timothy 5:16.

How widows were treated is a component of judgment:

“And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Malachi 3:5)

As for children, the Lord has a special place in His heart for them, because they are a special gift from His grace: if I may be so bold as to interpret thusly from the following:

“Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.” (Psalms 127:3).

Children are capable of glorifying God and therefore should be brought to Him, (Psalms 148:12-13; Mark 10:13-16) and trained in His ways.

I’ve been speaking of progressive judgment. God does give individuals, and nations, over to their depravity. It doesn’t happen all at once. It is described in Romans 1:18-32. First we are told that God reveals His glory and His wrath in creation. Why? because God’s glory is obvious and man deliberately suppresses it. (Romans 1:18-20).

Not only to they suppress it, but they fail to give Him thanks and they fail to glorify Him, so then their thinking becomes futile and their foolish hearts are darkened. They start worshiping the creation instead of the Creator. In this, they think they are so wise, but they are fools. (Rom 1:21-22).

Next, because they cannot think straight, sinful desires of their hearts arise and sexual impurity enters in, and they degrade themselves with one another. (Homosexuality). (Romans 1:24)

But sin can always go deeper, and in the progressive judgment of God, the sinners are allowed to follow its natural course to shameful lusts, and “even” the women (mothers and widows, who are the moral compass of a family and thus of society) become lesbians. (Rom 1:26).

Finally, in verse 28-29, they end up with a depraved minds. They are out of their minds with degrading shameful lusts and cannot think of what is right and good any more. By now they are completely unmoored from anything resembling purity or goodness. “They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity….”

Filled. No room to squeeze into a conscience anything good or pure, only depravity. Now, the verse says they exchanged normal lust for unnatural lusts to do with each other. Adults. But what about the terrible stories we read above, the shameful, evil, and degrading lusts perpetrated involving children? Given how the Lord feels about children, would it not seem that a special wrath would come upon those who abuse their own bodies with children in such a way? Paul finishes the chapter thus:

“…He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” (Romans 2:28b-32)

They are brutal, depraved, “doing what ought not to be done”. They invent ways of doing evil. If ever there was a verse that spoke to my heart regarding these precious children subjected to trafficking, porn, and degrading bondage games, this is it. And we know that many people applaud these kind of activities, such as members of the North American Man/Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). We know that in dark corners of sticky, sour rooms, men will smirk and gleefully applaud the teacher’s inventiveness who subjected the children to what he subjected them to.

Are we at the point as a nation and a society where God has given us over to shameful lusts and deserved wrath? I would venture to say yes. Though I began the essay with the title “Sadly, I report two child pornography stories” I can end it with pointing to Jesus. HE is good, pure, perfect. He loves all His creatures, especially children. Though we suffer now in the fallen creation from witnessing such sin, He has vanquished it. If we are in Him, we are victors through Him of the victory over sin. (Romans 6:18). And there WILL come a day when he wipes sin from the earth!!!

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29)

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.” (Zechariah 13:1)

On His day, the Lord will put an end to sin (Daniel 9:24) When he calls for those who had believed in Him and whose names are entered in the Lamb’s Book of Life, He will install us in the place He has prepared for us, New Jerusalem, and nothing impure will ever enter it.

“Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” (Revelation 21:27)

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God who is sinless, who takes away our sin, and with whom we will dwell in sinless purity forever!!

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forgiveness, gay, homosexuality, lesbian, sin

It’s 2012 and homosexuality is still a sin

Posted on January 22, 2012 by elizabethprata

Culture and Godliness are anathema. We do not belong to the world. “If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. (John 15:19). What God wants for His people and what the World wants for its people are distinct opposites. Just remember the scene from the Garden in Genesis 2 between the serpent, Eve, and Adam. So as we approach the end, we are reminded of Jesus’ words about the state of the culture at the time He calls an end to sin and He intervenes personally and visibly. These are known as the Days of Noah and the Days of Lot:

“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.” Luke 17:26

The Days of Noah were described in Genesis 6:5: “The LORD saw how great man’s wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.”

Jesus also went on in Luke to say that despite the wickedness people would still be doing normal things and thinking these were normal times, just as those in Sodom did when Lot was called out if the city by the angel. “People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building.” Luke 17:27-28.

As for Days of Lot, you remember that Lot hailed from Sodom, a most wicked city. That city was destroyed because of its sins, homosexuality being chief. Homosexuality is a judgment upon a progressively disobedient culture. (Romans 1:18-26 describes the effects of unbelief and its consequences)

Matthew 10:15 reminds us that the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah are still to come. ” tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.” The cities themselves have been erased from earthly physicality but their sins have not been dealt with. They will be. And this is a reminder that they serve as an example to any nation who promotes, tolerates, accepts homosexuality (and any sin) to the degree that those two cities did. (Jude 1:7- “In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire.”). In other words, Sodom is gone but not forgotten by God. And Sodom is gone but should not be forgotten by us.

Please keep those verses in mind as you read the following news excerpts from this week…

Why gay people make the best parents
“But research on families headed by gays and lesbians doesn’t back up these dire assertions. In fact, in some ways, gay parents may bring talents to the table that straight parents don’t. Gay parents “tend to be more motivated, more committed than heterosexual parents on average, because they chose to be parents,” said Abbie Goldberg, a psychologist at Clark University in Massachusetts who researches gay and lesbian parenting. Gays and lesbians rarely become parents by accident, compared with an almost 50 percent accidental pregnancy rate among heterosexuals, Goldberg said. “That translates to greater commitment on average and more involvement.” And while research indicates that kids of gay parents show few differences in achievement, mental health, social functioning and other measures, these kids may have the advantage of open-mindedness, tolerance and role models for equitable relationships, according to some research. Not only that, but gays and lesbians are likely to provide homes for difficult-to-place children in the foster system, studies show.”

Indiana unveils its first license plate for gay youths
“Indiana’s first specialty license plate that benefits gay causes is now available for purchase. Bureau of Motor Vehicles spokesman Graig Lubsen said the Indiana Youth Group plate has been available since Dec. 28. The plate bears a logo with hands in rainbow colors reaching up. Some $25 from sales of each $40 plate goes to the group serving lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. The Indianapolis-based organization operates an activity center, helps develop Gay Straight Alliances in high schools and assists communities in forming youth services. The group serves about 1,400 youths and young adults ages 12 to 21, The Indianapolis Star reports in a Wednesday story. She said Indiana is the second state in the nation with a specialty plate benefiting gay youths. Maryland was the first, she said.”

Gay marriage gaining momentum in WA Legislature
“The last time same-sex marriage was debated in the Washington state Legislature, lawmakers voted to ban it. Fourteen years later, the issue is before the Legislature once again after a multiyear effort that has incrementally increased rights to gay and lesbian couples in the state. And this time around, it looks like Washington could very well become the seventh state plus the District of Columbia to legalize same-sex marriage.”

Rumor of the day: Obama to endorse gay marriage in State of the Union Address this week
White House won’t rule it out
“White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Friday he wouldn’t rule “in or out” the possibility of President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage in the upcoming State of the Union address. Carney made the remarks on whether Obama would announce support for marriage equality during the State of the Union address, which is set to take place Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, in response to a question from the Washington Blade.”

I’ve said before that governmental promotion of homosexuality will bring judgment upon the nation.

Whenever the Bible mentions marriage, it is between a male and a female. The first mention of marriage is in Genesis 2:22-24 shows the God-ordained model for marriage:

“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.”

In passages that contain instructions regarding marriage, such as 1 Corinthians 7:2-16 and Ephesians 5:23-33, the Bible clearly identifies marriage as being between a man and a woman. Biblically speaking, marriage is the lifetime union of a man and a woman, primarily for the purpose of building a family and providing a stable environment for that family. (more here).

That we are seeing such acceptance of homosexuality, transgenderism, lesbianism, and perverted lifestyles, is not just a symptom of the state of our culture, it is a judgment.

God in His mercy will forgive any penitent person when they appeal to God. If you are in a lifestyle that you know deep down is harming you, failing to bring fulfillment, and you want out, then throw yourself on the mercy of Jesus, who forgave your sins at the cross. He will forgive, then He will send the Spirit to help you resist the devil, and the devil will flee from you. (James 4:7).

If you are in one of these lifestyles and you do NOT feel it is harming you, if you think it IS bringing you fulfillment, then I submit that you are in deep danger of missing out on the universe’s greatest blessing, the blessing that comes after repentance and forgiveness by Jesus, His bringing you into the very family of God. Stop now and pray to Him before your heart becomes even more hardened to the soft influence of conscience, which is the Spirit telling you Jesus is near. Because once He gives you over to your desires, that’s it. (Romans 1:24)

If you are in a family where you are devastated to have a beloved family member involved in one of these lifestyles, then keep praying, pray! Jesus is bigger than any sin, and He hears the prayers of the righteous.
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homosexuality, lesbian kiss, navy

"Kiss heard ’round the world: Lesbians chosen for Navy tradition"

Posted on December 23, 2011 by elizabethprata

This news from the LA Times last night:
“A public embrace between two female sailors from California is being hailed as “the kiss heard ’round the world” by activists who fought for a repeal of the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military. Navy officials said it was the first time a same-sex couple was chosen to have the first kiss. The first-kiss is a Navy tradition for ships returning to port. Petty Officer 2nd Class Marissa Gaeta from Placerville shared a kiss with partner Petty Officer 3rd Class Citlalic Snell of Los Angeles on Wednesday as Gaeta’s ship, the amphibious landing ship Oak Hill, returned to base at Virginia Beach, Va., after an 80-day deployment to Central America.”

Homosexuality is a sin.

“and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly lives thereafter;” (2 Peter 2:6).

More than that, it its own judgment.

“Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.” (Romans 1:24-26).

When unrepented individuals sin, they are or will be judged. The progression of judgment of sin in the verse above actually begins in verse 18. It says that people suppress the truth by their wickedness, therefore God is wrathful. The truth that they are suppressing is the knowledge of the Creator in His creation. He has made it plain to them! But because they were wicked, they suppressed it, and in their suppression, they failed to give Him glory or thanks.

The next part in the progression is that He then darkens their foolish hearts. Then, though they claim to be wise, them become as fools, and they squander the glory of God by exchanging the “glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (v. 23)

Then our verse picks up. Therefore He then gives them over to their sinful desires. And still progressing down the pipeline, next He gives them over to their degrading lusts. See, it goes from bad to worse. Last, “Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.” Not just the men, but the women too.

It is one thing for individuals to be sinful. But when an entire nation is sinful it seems to me to be the end of the line. How is the entire nation being sinful, you may wonder? Because the Navy is a part of the US Government. The US government being the Navy chose, promoted, and sanctioned “their women exchanging natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.” The Navy didn’t just allow this, it didn’t happen accidentally, they actively chose this and worse, they did so knowing that the kiss is emblematic of the cementing of family relations after separation in military duty upon return to port.

An Army Chaplain said the following in his essay about porn,
“Sex is like a living parable: when we engage in sex within a different context, we are creating a picture or image that stands in opposition to the one instituted by God. In short, when we engage in sex outside the covenantal relationship of marriage, we present a picture of a torn humanity seeking to replace closeness with God with the creativity of his own mind. This is why the language of Romans 1:24-26 is so shocking in the Greek: Paul is essentially saying that homosexuality is, itself, a judgment from God to depict in physical terms the spiritual counterfeit of mankind’s idolatry. But unnatural heterosexual relationships are just as vile in their depiction of man’s rebellion and defection from a right Creator/creature relationship with God.”
(source Ben, Chaplain, US Army Bowie, MD Potomac Presbytery, PCA)

When ‘even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones’, we are surely a nation under judgment.
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