When is it allowable for heterosexuals to reject homosexuality?

These days, there isn't a more divisive topic than homosexuality.  People are touchy about the LGBT issue, it's a lighting-rod issue no doubt.  The latest fodder for the conversation is Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," so now everyone on social media wants to know if you'll see the movie or boycott it.  Which by the way, my wife and I just saw the movie today - if you think it's a pro-gay movie, you need help.

The contemporary social gauge to measure your level of tolerance seems to be your views on homosexuality.  You are allowed to hold divergent views on almost any topic in our culture, save homosexuality.  If you claim to reject homosexuality, in most circles, you are immediately written off as a hateful, antiquated, homophobic bigot.

The amount of peer-pressure our society imposes on the masses to accept the homosexual lifestyle is immense.  I think all lifestyles that are great and correct should speak for themselves and shouldn't need to be defended.  What my views on the subject of homosexuality are, aren't important or even what I'm interested in discussing.  

What does interest me is, everyone is just expected to accept homosexuality, but no one seems to be asking the question: Do heterosexuals have the right to reject homosexuality?  Can someone who disagrees with a given lifestyle, choose to have a different view without feeling like they are going to be crucified for speaking up?

What's gone wrong in our culture when people are intimidated into silence?  If it's wrong to reject homosexuality on the grounds of intolerance, then isn't it equally nefarious to force people to acquiesce to a worldview they disagree with?  Where's the fairness that's being demanded?  This modern pendulum swing seems to be quite unfair.

I feel that the main reaction to any suggestion that homosexuality is inappropriate, from most people who embrace homosexuality, is going to be negative since it's probably being filtered through the experiences with the harsh, hateful, judgmental fundamentalists who claim to represent Christianity.  I get it, there are some nasty people who use religion like a hammer.  There are some really mean people who say some very hurtful things.

But what about people who love others, who don't want to be combative, but they simply hold different values?  Why are their voices being silenced?  Is it because some knucklehead spouted off and said something demeaning or even a whole bunch of somebodys?  Does that give anyone the right to dismiss everyone who disagrees with you?

I do think it's possible to lovingly reject a lifestyle, to keep the dialogue open, to be respectful, and to speak your mind without having to insult those who you disagree with.  And that's something that should go both ways.

Sifting through the Shack

With our culture's penchant towards entertainment that's immersed in violence, greed, or perversion, there seems to be little room left at the theaters for faith-based movies.  Most faith-based movies have been prejudged as second rate, they are known for utilizing b-rated actors, and these movies are considered low-budget.  So my guess is, the Shack will have its work cut out to draw much of an audience.

We watched the screen adaptation today.  I read the book several years ago.  So yes, I'm familiar with the story.  I resisted reading the book for quite some time after it first was released, after I started it I put it down for about 6 months.  It was only at the urging of an older couple who lost their daughter to cancer when she was college age that I returned to the book.  I wasn't really looking forward to the movie, based on my perception of most faith-based movies.  My reservations aren't theological, though I take issue with the plot.  I have a strong distaste over the use of the (implied) rape and slaughter of a preadolescence aged girl to move a plot forward.

But let's dig into the theological scandal that too many Christians seem to be offended by.   Can we portray God the Father as a black woman?  If your faith is that fragile, that you can't handle God being portrayed as a black woman, then you have deeper issues to contend with.  Most church-goers I meet have a difficult time simply articulating the doctrine of the Trinity, so it's no wonder they are upset over this notion God could be revealing Himself as a woman, a black woman "Papa," and the Holy Spirit as an Asian woman...

The bigger issue that the story dredges up falls under the scope of theodicy, which is the defense of why God allows pain & suffering,  If you are turning to the Shack to find fulfilling or complete answers as to why an all-powerful & all-knowing God would allow pain and suffering to happen, you'll be sorely disappointed.  How do you explain away a grizzly torturous murder of an innocent grade schooler?  You wouldn't.   But, I don't think that's really the point the author wanted to communicate, but he did open himself up to some criticism by choosing such a graphic backdrop to his story.

Is there anything redeeming in The Shack?  Yes, absolutely, 100%!

Of course I'm going to say the book was better than the movie, that's a no-brainier.  Either way, whether you read the story or watch the movie, I see it as a positive.  Do I agree with all of the theology or propositions of the story?  It doesn't matter what I think there.  What matters is, books/movies like this get us thinking through tough questions about God, and they get us talking about what we believe with other people.

Call it a springboard or whatever you will, we need sparks like the Shack to ignite godly conversations, we need fuel for the fire, and thank God for any opportunity that comes our way to engage others in conversations that cover eternal, spiritual topics.   So I do hope you'll read the story or watch the movie, and more so, I hope you'll take the time to talk to others about it.

Not everyone is smiling with you, but those who do count most

I can't believe it took me nearly 50 years to figure this out, but not everyone will celebrate your accomplishments with you.  In fact, some of the people you spend quite a lot of time with will take offense at your progress and they actually would like to hold you back.  Therefore, limit your exposure to those who don't want you to shine too brightly.

Unfortunately, not everyone is happy for you when you strive to improve yourself or your station in life, they can even get jealous or become envious.  Therefore, don't let the limitations others impose on you determine your goals, dreams, or ambitions.

Sadly, some people will distance themselves from you or become cold when you begin to advance yourself.  Not everyone thinks you should make your life better or that you should reach your goals.  Therefore, don't let others articulate for you what success is or dictate to you what's fair.

I'm blessed to enjoy the love & support of a great wife, I have the respect & encouragement of our sons, and we have some pretty solid rock'n friends who stand behind us.  Be cautious and selective with who you share life with, who you let your guard down with, and who's perspectives you embrace.

"don't judge me" is such a cliche

In the really gripping stories, the bad guys have some secret weapon that seems to be overwhelmingly superior in strength to anything the good guys can muster, and with a bit of cunning, the enemy will surely thwart the good guys with their diabolical weapon. In these enthralling stories, the bad guys always have some powerful tool at their disposal that disables and immobilizes even the strongest hero. And while we know the good guys will win somehow, we never know how until nearly the end of the story.

How many times in your life have you had a well-intentioned conversation shut down with a simple, “Jesus said ‘Thou shalt not Judge”? It seems like “who are you to judge me” or “you christian people are so judgmental” is like Kryptonite for modern believers.

In our culture, if you feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the direction of any conversation, simply cry out, “Don’t judge me” and like a blue-statically-fizzling-forcefield, you will be protected from a distasteful dialogue, you are instantly shielded from anything incriminating and you can go along your merry way. “Don’t judge” is your get-out-of-jail-free card, and oh, here’s your free $200 as you pass Go.

It seems like we are in quite a quandary. They have us up against the wall. Our hands seem tied. Their ace in the hole has, it seems, successfully stifled us. Who are we to judge? What gives us the right to point out the faults in others? Maybe they are right, and we should just mind our own business.

After all, didn’t Jesus clearly say, “Don’t Judge” and didn’t He say something about getting the log out of your own eye before you go fumbling around, swatting at a speck of dust in someone else’s eye? Of course He did. And isn’t it ironic that people will point to one prohibition from Jesus, that being don’t judge, to justify a lifestyle that elsewhere, had they bothered to read, Jesus would clearly denounce? Yes it is.

My goal isn’t to let anyone off the hook here; judgmental people have issues they need to deal with, and the people being “corrected” for messing up their lives have serious issues to fix too. Perhaps the missing piece for most people is the vulnerability factor. Whenever we go down the road of pointing out the faults in others, we invite in some critiquing of ourselves as well. Which after all, is not only fair, it should also be welcomed, as Proverbs 27:17 points out, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Let’s see if we can reconcile this conundrum about do we judge or do we keep our lips sealed, and let’s see if we can remain inline with the heart of Jesus along the way.

Let’s look at what Jesus actually said in Matthew 7:1-6, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. Do not give dogs what is holy, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.”

Number one, there are ways to address people who are screwing up their lives without being critical or harsh or hateful. And frankly, if someone is on the train-tracks and a train is about to run them over, we have an obligation to warn them about the direction they are headed. So, yes, just like the saying, “friends don’t let friends drive drunk,” if we care about someone, sometimes we do have to interject ourselves. Remember, James writes, ” My brothers, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone brings him back, let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20)

Also, Jesus’ famous statement “don’t judge” comes within the context where He warns about pigs and dogs, and pearls such things, in other words He requires we make judgement calls about situations and people, without sentencing them eternally. There is a difference between judging someone and making a judgement call. Judging someone entails we know their status with God, and we are assigning them their eternal status in heaven or hell. Making a judgment call, on the other hand, is pointing out an observation on an objective fact without playing God. See the difference?

The “don’t judge me” phrase being tossed around these days forgets, we do have the obligation to discern good from evil, safe from harmful, right from wrong, and this is in the context that we need to do a little self-checking along the way. Jesus never forbids or prohibits us from stating the obvious, He simply says make sure your own lifestyle reflects someone with credibility. Be someone worth listening to. Don’t miss it, Jesus said once your log is out of the way, you’ll see clearly enough to help remove that irritating speck of sawdust from your brother’s eye.

Brother’s eye. Brother’s eye? Does this mean this passage is built on the relationships between believers, and those outside the church aren’t even at stake here? Wouldn’t that be judgmental too, though? Paul wrote in Romans 6:20, “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.” Yet, if someone is outside of Christ, don’t they deserve to hear about His saving grace? From Jude 1:22-23, it looks like yes, “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.” Perhaps christians should be held to higher standards, but everyone deserves a shot at life.

One thing is clear here, our standards which we have for others will be held up for us to uphold. If we expect perfection from others, Jesus may just expect that out of us. Also, it seems like it’s human nature to point out other people’s mistakes while ignoring our own, this may be one of our greatest character flaws. But also notice, this whole paragraph requires we recognize the significance of sins, i.e., lesser & greater wrongs summed up as sawdust & logs. And, we need to be cautious with whom we distribute holiness to and with whom we share our jewels with. Events could turn bad quickly, and we could be endangered instantaneously if we are unable to make a judgement call.

So, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t be a christian who lives like a hypocrite and call out the sins in others, and, you also can’t live like a reprobate pagan and quote Jesus only on the “don’t you judge me” verse. If you want to help others live holier lives, set the example. If you want to use Jesus’ phrase about not judging others, you need to accept the rest of His teachings as well, which call us to submit to Him and live lives of holiness.

The reality of it is, there are consequences from our actions and attitudes. When we live in sinful lifestyles and when we are judgmental, we suffer and other people suffer. I could be wrong, but I think Jesus teaches in this passage that being judgmental might just forfeit our own salvation. I doubt I’m wrong about this, but I’m fairly certain that Jesus teaches several times in the Gospels sin is bad because sin separates us from the Father.



Everyone seems to think Jesus will condone whatever course of action they see fit, at the time. Would Jesus condemn a critical person’s judging of another? Yes, absolutely. Would Jesus let the one being judged off of the hook because they got “judged” by some bible-thumper? Hardly.

Maybe, if we showed more respect, lived lives that displayed unconditional love, and freely offered forgiveness, maybe people would ask us for advice or help more often? And, maybe if we didn’t make stupid choices, people wouldn’t feel obligated to point out our mistakes. Ouch.

Consistency, that’s usually what’s missing whenever we take the words of Jesus out of context and seek license to live however we want or treat others however we want. Seek for better consistency, and maybe you’ll gain the credibility you desire. I’m pretty sure consistency is the way we disarm the evil one’s secret weapon. Now, do we cut the blue wire or the red wire…?

What doesn't add up about distrusting modern day journalism

I'm a recovering News Junkie.  When I fall off of the wagon, it gets intense.  I'll listen to NPR all morning, watch Fox news all night, and read the Washington Post and New York Times online throughout the day.  Oh yeah, I'll also check my BBC and AP apps and twitter feeds too.  My family knows when I binge on the news.  It gets ugly when I neglect the world around me to catch up on the world.

Who do you turn to for news, where do you turn?  Newspapers, cable TV, radio, internet, this list goes on.  Chances are, there are more news outlets you avoid than ones you feel you can trust.

Over the last few years, the biases of many major news outlets have become so crystallized that they overtly share their political leanings quite freely.  The corollary to this is, many Americans now judge the reliability or trustworthiness of their colleagues and friends, based on what news source their acquaintances consume.

Haven't you ever been suspicious of someone simply based on their favorite choice of news?  It's nearly impossible not to fall into this divisive trap.

It's not that reporters and commentators have gotten lazy.  The entire "information production" is charged with energy and it's clear there is a lot of effort poured into the pyrotechnics of delivering the news these days.  There's something far more sinister afoot regarding the way our news is being distilled.

Mainstream journalists have gotten away from presenting simple facts, and they have mastered entertaining us with their prejudices and opinions.  We have a place in our culture for news sources to spread opinions, it's called the column.  Columnists are paid to share their opinions about current events, even editors have their own page.  Talkingheads on TV have their monologues too.  There's nothing wrong with this, what is disturbing is when "news" is reported as news but it's clearly sharing a company's policy preferences or biases.

Why do we distrust the majority of the news outlets?  Simply put, they all seem to break the cardinal rule of journalism, i.e., simply report the facts and leave your opinions out of it.  Instead, it seems like news sources want to shape the story, and then shape their audience's perspectives.

It is almost as if news companies have decided to take it upon themselves to shape our minds, and to shape culture and society itself.  Here's where it gets interesting to me...

It's interesting being in a relativistic culture that says, "What's true for you isn't true for me" that people crave and even demand that truth and fact be reported, and these same people become outraged when a news sources slanders objectivity.  Now, we are cynical and jaded.  We don't trust anyone or anything, yet.

And maybe the larger question remains, why do we continue to tolerate or pay attention to news sources which we by & large mostly distrust?  It just doesn't add up, unless we are the lazy ones.

Are we reaping the fruits of an embittered and estranged culture?

I’m being vulnerable here -- I’m really struggling with our culture’s current milieu. Basically, lately, I’m feeling spiritually exhausted by our extremely divisive circumstances. I think our actions, attitudes, and what we are doing to ourselves collectively, is taking it’s toll on us.

We’ve entered an emotionally dark and cynical cycle. We are distancing ourselves from people we disagree with and we’re losing our ability to dialogue. It’s hard to find peaceful examples of people offering respect and tolerance to others who happen to think differently.

My observation is, we are hatefully funneling people into “silos” as we easily jettison them, casting them into opposing camps and applying derogatory categories to people with opposing ideologies. Just like strip-mining leaves a barren landscape in its wake, and just like harvesting grain leaves a field full of empty stalks, America is truly at risk of looking far different than any of us dreamed of or wished for because of our major disdain for people who aren’t “just like us.”

Lately, our polarized nation has been castigating and hurling insults across political party-lines and across our liberal-conservative spectrum. It seems like we can’t find any middle ground anywhere in our country, and everyone labels everyone else as a threat or an enemy.

This world is draining us of our compassion and joy whenever we find ourselves positioning people as winners and losers, or, when it comes down to an “us versus them” mentality. As good as many people are in the world around us, and with the many blessings we experience, there is still a great amount of evil and suffering we are exposed to, and sadly many Christians are adding to the vitriol too. Just check in on social media if you doubt that last sentence.

We cannot sustain this hatred and animosity forever; something has to give. What will give first? More than likely, our faith. Faith can survive persecution, pain, and destitute times. But faith can’t endure for long when it’s being poisoned or when it’s not being fed and nurtured. These are toxic times. We are in a spiritual famine.

Our capacity for faith is like a sieve, therefore, our faith “reservoir” needs to be replenished often. For example, simply participating in a worship service or two every year (like only going to church at Christmas & Easter) isn’t sufficient for sustaining spiritual growth. We need to pray consistently, sing often, share in the Table together as we take the bread and the cup continually, etc.

The difficulty is, anything we do repetitively/habitually has the danger of becoming a mindless act and we tend to go into autopilot mode. Or worse, mandating that people attend services every time the doors are open, becomes deadly and legalistic. Yet, the repetition of all things spiritual is what we need most when the world changes all around us, albeit with balance.

Here’s where it gets difficult, because we have a situation of sorts that supersedes all of the anger and slander our culture is propagating. We, as believers, seem to have grown apathetic and we need to grow spiritually, particularly if we are going to be a beacon of hope to a lost world. So, it looks like we need more maturity. How do we do this? How do we develop further as followers of Christ?

We need to be challenged. But we resent being told what to do, and we resist being challenged.

The Church is a multifaceted, supernatural miracle, it is God’s chosen people, His bride, His redeemed flock. God gives us the church to shape us, encourage us, bless us, and also to stretch us, to wake us up, to help us see the eternal. Sadly, what happens when a church begins to challenge us to see the world through a different lens, we balk and get offended and we, like an ill mannered rebellious child, we pout. Therefore, the very avenue or channel that helps us grow in our time of need is shunned.

Here’s where we in the church kind of fumble things. We don’t have a great track record at motivating people gracefully; we tend to shoot our wounded. Part of the problem is, many churches forget that contending for the faith doesn’t mean being contentious. We don’t need to be mean, combative, negative, or sour to get our message across. You know, we don’t have to be hateful to spread the message of love.

These truly are desperate times. You might be thinking therefore, maybe we need to be more aggressive, and if we offend someone, well then, the ends justify the means. After all, didn’t Jesus offend people? And, isn’t it true, there’s no sugarcoating some truths, and handholding only goes so far. My dear friend Bruce once shared a quote with me which I’d like to pass on to you, “Jesus offended the mind, in order to reveal the heart.”

Jesus wasn’t cavalier when dealing with with people’s hearts, and carrying a Bible doesn’t give us licence to run roughshod over the people we disagree with. Jesus was known to embrace the whores and thugs while simultaneously chastising the religious crowds filled with self-righteous people who thought they knew their Bibles. Which brings me to my point, let’s not ever hammer people with our Bibles. Consider John 5:39-40, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life." If the doctrine you follow isn’t life-giving, or if your Biblical stance doesn’t elevate love and help draw people to Jesus, you need to rethink your theology.

May we hold to the integrity of the Scriptures, while humbly approaching people we aren’t aligned with, with the goal of unity, peace, and love for everyone. Go out of your way to let the Bible shape you and let God’s Holy Spirit guide you as you let down your guard and let other people into your circle.

Do you really know how to treat refugees? Let me guess, you used the Bible to support your views

Our government's recent immigration ban sent shockwaves across the globe and it has polarized an already divided nation.  As a result, many people are citing Scripture on how we should treat refugees. The reality is, we need to be more careful when we try to use the Bible to support our contemporary political stances.  The politics of Ancient Israel and those of the Greco Roman world, bear little resemblance to our American Republic.   

Without understanding the historical and political context of any passage of Scripture, we risk misrepresenting the original idea of the text.  Here’s where it gets dicey, especially since it’s nearly impossible to use logic and reason when dealing with emotional circumstances.  The Bible, especially the Old Testament, wasn’t penned in a democratic culture.  The Old Testament was delivered during a Theocracy, and the New Testament was written under the rule of emperors.  

It’s a poor student of the Word who views ancient passages through the filter of their contemporary culture, we are called to do just the opposite.  We must filter our modern day life through the lens of the Scriptures.  Bridging the two worlds together is possible, but it comes with more than a little effort.  

Another problem, perhaps even a greater issues, is the way some people cherry pick passages of the Bible to support their views on any given stance.  So, for example, when people quote from the book of Leviticus to support the idea that we should offer all refugees a special treatment, it’s an interpretive mistake to not also realize two important facts.  There was a specific context that made sense to the Israelites, a personal experience which they understood, since they once were refugees, and secondly, their borders weren’t fully established yet.  They would be expanding their borders, the Israelites were entering the process of acquiring more land while forcefully expelling six particular nations, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.  

Why would God command the Israelites to remove these six nations from the soon to be inherited Promised Land?  Those six nations were ruthless, violent, dangerous, and pagan people who would harm the Israelites in many ways.  Destroy those seven nations and love the sojourner were commands that were given simultaneously to the ancient nation of Israel, like a two-sided coin.  It’s disingenuous to only polish one half of that coin.  

Back to Leviticus, especially Lev 19:33-34. “33 When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong.34 You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.”  This is pretty cut and dry.  Be kind to the people passing through your country, love those who are displaced or relocating.  But just a few verses before this passage in Lev 19:28, the Israelites are prohibited from getting tattoos.  And in the next chapter, Lev 20:10, people who commit adultery are to be put to death.  Why would we, culturally, pick one part over the others to obey?   

Something else to consider.  The New Testament, which was written under the reign of dictators and emperors, has specific guidelines for believers when it comes to submitting to their government, see the first part of Romans chap 13 for example.  Our government has well established laws on establishing citizenship.  There are real established borders.  We need to respect these laws, and we should probably expect people who want to join us to respect these principles as well. But are our laws fair?

The Bible isn’t merely filled with warm fuzzy affirmations of do-gooding, it’s complex and it’s easily used to justify any stance we want to take, when we don’t take the time and exert the effort to understand it.  Nearly 100% of the Old Testament commands on how to treat refugees are tied to the principle, “You know what it felt like.” Read them and see if each of the passages also remind the Israelites of their painful past.  

But what about the general command to love our neighbors as ourselves?  I can't argue with that. But what is America’s track record of showing compassion for indigenous tribes, of taking care of our elderly, of housing our homeless, and protecting abused peoples already?  

By this point, you might be wondering about my views on the current refugee crisis.  It doesn’t matter what I think about how we should treat refugees if I cherry pick which subcultures I want to defend.  I think it’s a huge mistake, attempting to apply the doctrine of Love only when it’s popular, defiant, or hip, while we continually neglect tons of people who are already in need.    

If that didn't make sense, watch this and maybe you'll get the point: