No Tolerance for “Tolerance”…

I have long had a song lyric floating around in my head. It is a simple idea, but I have never figured out how to attach it to an actual song. Here is the lyric:

I have no tolerance for “tolerance”, and the “tolerant” have no tolerance for me.

Simple.

But true.

With everything that is flying around in the news and through the media regarding same-sex marriage, I decided that it is time for me to weigh-in on the subject. (It’s not so much that I think anyone will actually care what I have to say, but I have so many thoughts regarding the subject that I think I will actually feel better if they are compiled in a blog and at least available on the world wide web).

Same-sex marriage is an issue that has been obviously coming down the pipeline for a long time. I can remember back in 2000 while my future wife and I were watching “Survivor” on CBS and I was thinking to myself, “Why does there always have to be a gay person on TV shows?”

And so it continued…

TV show after TV show, movie after movie, thing after thing, a homosexual agenda was clearly being pushed on the American public.

Fast forward to 2012 and the President of the United States of America claims that his opinion on same-sex marriage is “evolving” in early May. On May 9 he declares that he is in support of same-sex marriage. Obama told ABC News, “At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married”.

It bothered me to know that the President of the United States of America was willing to make such a non-Biblical statement. I won’t say that it surprised me, because it didn’t, but I was significantly bothered.

In the days that followed I was even more bothered that his comments were received… and received very well. It has become a major issue (now platform) in the upcoming election. Apparently all of the media (dare I say propaganda) that has been coming for more than a decade has made a much bigger impact than I had originally thought.

Of that I was surprised.

Apparently TV really does rot your brains!?

Fast forward now to July 2012, Dan Cathy (the president and chief operating officer of Chick-Fil-A) told a reporter that he supports “the biblical definition of the family unit.”

And all hell broke loose.

The media took this simple statement (which similar to President Obama’s statement was completely in line with the First Amendment, by the way) and labeled it as “anti-gay” and “hate”.

Wow.

Really!?

I feel like there is a huge difference between being “anti-gay” and being “pro-God”.

I have no tolerance for “tolerance”, and the “tolerant” have no tolerance for me.

Since Dan Cathy’s words were reproduced and skewed for the whole world to read -along with every imaginable slant, I have been amazed by the hateful comments that I have read online from people who were apparently offended by Dan Cathy’s words (and any other “Bible-thumper” who dare comment on the blogosphere).

It’s crazy.

I hate to be a part of all of those comments going back and forth, fueling the fire. I did feel compelled to leave the following comment on Chick-Fil-A’s Facebook page (along with more than 70,000 other comments at the time):

I feel like there is a difference between being “anti-gay” and “pro-God” or “pro-Bible”. Thank you Chick-Fil-A for being “pro-God” and “pro-Bible”.

I thought that was fairly harmless.

My critics did not…

And so now I feel compelled to give a comprehensive statement on the subject for anyone who is caffeinated enough to actually read it in it’s entirety. My statement will be split up into several sections that are really just my own personal questions or observations.

Here we go…

How is this an Equality Issue?

I have to start here.

Seriously?! An equality issue?

I was not allowed to drive until I was 16. Is that an equality issue? I am confident that I was a better driver at 14 than many well-aged drivers that I have witnessed first-hand in my lifetime. I demand my rights! (Just kidding)

I am still not allowed to go into the women’s restroom. What’s up with that!? Why do they have their “special” room that I am not allowed to walk into? Come on! Are we equal or not? (Just kidding)

Last week I was in Michigan and I noticed a sign on a restaurant that read, “1 Free Cup of Coffee for Indians. 1 Free Cup of Coffee for Veterans. 2 Free Cups of Coffee for Indian Veterans.” I am actually 1/8 Cherokee, so I should probably be qualified for 1 free cup, but not being a Veteran kind of disqualifies me from my second free cup. You can see where I am going here…

I WANT 2 FREE CUPS! (Just kidding)

These are ridiculous examples of “Equality Issues”. And so is same-sex marriage.

If you want to talk about Equality, let’s talk about right to life. Let’s talk about abortion. Let’s talk about the KKK (an organization, by the way, that was started by Democrats to get rid of Republicans -of which nearly ALL African Americans were at the time thanks to Abe Lincoln and his determination to end slavery. That’s right, KKK was not originally a racist organization, it was a political extremist group that saw African Americans as an easy target, but I digress….)

The point is this, the right to marriage is a poor excuse for an “Equality Issue”. Let’s label it as it is -this is a “Want Issue”. But the media can’t really push a “Want Issue” to the general public, can they? No. And no one cares if Dan Cathy is “pro-God”. Instead he has to be labeled as “anti-gay”.

Are people really born gay?

I want to at least touch on this subject because I think that there has been some ignorance and opinions given on a subject that we really don’t know anything about. I will briefly talk about science a little later, but for now I will simply say this: whether or not someone is born gay really doesn’t matter.

It is a worthless discussion.

And here is why.

The Bible clearly teaches that we are all sinful from birth (Psalm 51:5). As a result of the fall of man as documented in the third chapter of Genesis, we are all born sinful.

So whether we choose to become even more sinful or just stick or our original sinfulness, we are sinners nevertheless. This condition that I am speaking of is typically referred to as the “Depravity of Man”.

This is really bad news.

Personally, I don’t care if I was born gay or not. I was born a sinner in one way or another.

All of creation is getting worse, not better, as a result of the fall of man. We are degenerating. Some of us are born with bad eyesight or a weak heart. Some of us are born with a deformity, or an addiction to crack cocaine, or even with HIV.

For me, it is highly conceivable that “homosexual tendencies” belongs on the long list of birth defects resulting from the fall of man. I have no problem believing that. I just have a problem with actually caring.

The bottom line is that we are all born sinners. Jesus Christ died to rescue us from sin.

That was the bad news followed by the good news.

Don’t get hung up on the DNA or supposed scientific studies. If science proves that people are born gay, then science has really just proven Psalm 51:5.

Cool.

What does God really think about Homosexuality?

Well, it’s not good…

The first chapter of Romans lists homosexuality as “shameful” and as an “error”. (To be clear, it does not actually say homosexuality, but the picture in verses 26-27 are too obvious to miss.)

The book of Leviticus lists homosexuality (again not by name, but by description) in 18:22 and 20:13. Both times the act is described as “detestable”.

It’s very clear. Engaging in sexual relations with someone of the same gender as you is sin. God is not very excited about sin.

The list of sexual sins in Leviticus 20 ends with this idea that God “detests” people who engage in the sexual acts listed. As I have already pointed out, the good news is that Jesus Christ died to rescue us from sin. It is important to know that homosexuality really is sin if someone is going to be rescued from it.

An alcoholic often sees nothing wrong with alcohol.

As long as we live in a culture that celebrates something that God detests, it will be difficult for someone with homosexual tendencies to find freedom.

When I am rewarded for lying, it makes it more difficult for me to be motivated to tell the truth.

The passage in Romans 1:18-32 does a great job of describing the consequences of what I’m talking about here. I’ll just let the Bible speak for itself:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:18-32, ESV)

Yeah. It’s bad.

There is freedom for those of us who pursue Christ and accept his death and resurrection on our behalf. But for those who exchange the truth of God for lies and idols (no matter what the idol looks like), well, it’s not good.

I realize that some people who may be reading this are a bit frustrated that I used so much scripture to make the point. How can we trust scripture, after all? Shouldn’t we have a more reliable resource?

Well, personally, I am definitely a believer of the Bible. I have studied it, poured over it, tried to disprove it, gawked at it, misunderstood it, hated it, and ultimately came to the point of realizing that truth is truth whether I believe it or not.

That led me to believing it.

I have found the Bible to be utterly and amazingly true over and over and over again.

Science on the other hand… well…

How can the scientists have it both ways? (or how could evolution support gay marriage?)

Science is weird. Don’t get me wrong, I love science.

I love experiments and I love learning and I love forming a hypothesis and then finding out whether or not it is true.

The problem is that I have found Science to be far more inconsistent than the clear teachings of the Bible.

For instance, regarding the earth’s beginning, Science has all kinds of explanations as to how and when the earth began. All of these are theories, of course, since none of today’s scientists were eye-witnesses of the events. And there are hundreds of theories with hundreds of differences and discrepancies. Still, somehow each Scientist is sure that his theory is true.

Hmm.

Well, they can’t all be true, can they?

The Bible, on the other hand, has one version of creation. God Himself is the eye-witness.

But I digress… let’s get back to the point of this article (for really great reading on Science, check out the chapter on “Creation” in “The Explicit Gospel” by Matt Chandler. It is fantastic!)

What I want to know from the Scientific community is this: How can you have it both ways? Or how can evolution possibly support gay marriage?

On one hand, Science says that there is no God and that humanity is “evolving”. I believe that Darwin referred to it as “survival of the fittest”. The basic idea is that we evolve to make humanity better and better as means for survival.

And on the other hand, homosexual activity simply cannot reproduce on it’s own.

So… how is that supposed to work?

How is humanity supposed to get better and better by ceasing to exist?

Or would Science suggest that evolution is leading us to non-existence?

I mean, seriously… how can evolution possibly support gay marriage? And if it cannot, then I suggest that evolution (at least on a macro scale) is a complete farce -and that leads us back to finding a better understanding of the beginning of life as we know it -and that leads us back to God the Creator who spoke the world into existence -and that same God has spoken very clearly about homosexual activity being something that is detestable.

Come on, people. Are you getting this? It’s really quite simple.

What should our response to all of this be?

Okay, so it’s really not all that simple.

I have no idea what our response should be to all of this.

I do know this: God has spoken and He said we cannot hide His radiant love inside of us. Followers of Christ should not be involved in hateful conversations or leave hateful comments on blogs or Facebook pages. However, we are called to speak the truth in love (see Ephesians 4:15).

I hope that this statement has not been read as hateful, because that is not my intention. I have aimed for truth. I hope that I have hit the mark.

Even so, many will misinterpret our words or intentionally misunderstand our words so as to fit their own agenda. My Lord promises that we are blessed when people insult us, persecute us and falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of Him (see Matthew 5:11).

I don’t know that boycotting companies because of their political views is necessarily the right thing for a Christian to do, but I do think it is wise to invest in the Kingdom of God.

I want to see God’s will done on earth as it is in heaven, and that is why I will intentionally support companies like Chick-Fil-A who will use that money to invest in the Kingdom of God. I am certainly less excited about supporting a company that is investing their revenue in ways that advance the kingdom of darkness on earth.

Perhaps the most essential response for those who follow Christ is to realize that we are, in fact, in the middle of a spiritual battle and it is time for us to stop moping around and asking why this is happening to us. Instead, we should follow the advice that God thundered towards Job: “Dress for action like a man!” (Job 38:3 and Job 40:7 -twice for good measure…)

It’s time for us to get in the battle. It’s time for us to get on our knees. It’s time for us to love like crazy and speak truth even when we know it is going to get us in trouble.

I love these words from Jude… Let this be our response:

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. (Jude 17-23, ESV)