The Christian church in all its various denominations has been losing members for many years. Many people have theories about why that is happening. Polls have been conducted on the “unchurched” to have a more factual explanation about why people have left church. I could cite numerous theories and “facts” concerning this matter but I have a simpler explanation. Some may scoff at my ideas but here they are anyway. God has great expectations for man. Jesus came to earth to “set the bar high” for human behavior. As Christians, many of us have not tried hard enough to live the words of our Father and mirror the life of His Son. We have given ourselves a “pass” on acceptable Christian behavior. We have invented the idea that a lower standard for Christian behavior is acceptable. In reality, we have lost our way.
People inside the church and especially people “outside” the church have been taking notice for some time now and they have left the institution of “the church.”
Christians seem to think that becoming allies to politicians will give us power and maybe this does, but at what cost? Did Jesus play politics with the powerful of His day? Romans 13: 1 says “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established.” Jesus knew that there was only one Divine Leader and that is the way He lived His life. The Apostle Paul knew that Jesus the politician did not exist and doing His Father’s will was His only guide (as it should be ours). Paul knew that there are no Scriptural examples of Jesus cozying up to politicians like Christians do today. Christians take the Bible and twist it to fit the policies of the day or even turn their faith into a political movement. Some see this and say “I can’t be a part of this anymore.” Those on the outside of church looking in only see hypocrisy as some politicians advocate policies that are anything but loving, the idea that Paul advocates for in First Corinthians 13: “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Why join with those people who say one thing and show another?
Christians seem to think that taking stands against certain groups of people “outside the mainstream” is also a proper attitude. That is why I am doing this discussion of Christian thinking on the LGBTQ+ issue. Trying to be even-handed in today’s world is tough. We live in a world where intolerance is the watchword, as some seem quick to condemn someone who has different thoughts than they do. Too many Christians seem quick to condemn a lifestyle that others are living if it is a different lifestyle than their own. Trying to discuss this issue with a pastor who advocates for the LGBTQ+ community (Peter Gomes) and a pastor who advocates against the LGBTQ+ community (Kevin DeYoung) and a pastor who makes an effort to see both sides of the issue (Preston Sprinkle) is challenging but I feel is worthwhile. Meanwhile Christians keep on denigrating others, forgetting Jesus’ call to love.
And the church keeps on hemorrhaging members and new member recruitment seems almost impossible.
Dr. Preston Sprinkle is making the effort to understand the world of the First Century middle-east. In my January 4th post entitled “Exegesis: Same-Sex Texts in Ancient Times” Sprinkle explains the idea of same-sex relations in a First Century context. Too often we read The Bible and try to understand Scripture in our 21st Century framework and that does not accurately represent what the original writer has said. Sprinkle’s study on this topic makes us see that concern for same-sex relations and gender identities were not uppermost on a person’s mind in the First Century. However in my January 4th post, he focuses on the Greco-Roman cultural context, not the Jewish. What was Jewish First Century thinking on same-sex relations? Jesus was a Jew and He had rabbinical knowledge of existing Jewish texts in His lifetime.
Sprinkle states “This is one of the most important questions in the current debate. It’s important because Christianity was birthed out of Judaism and still maintained a very Jewish perspective on most ethical questions” [64].
How does Sprinkle address this question? He turns to contemporary Jewish writers of the First Century on the subject of same-sex relations and he researches the most socially acknowledged form of homosexual behavior [pederasty].
Two examples of prominent Jewish writers were Josephus and Philo. Both of these writers were steeped in their Jewish heritage and they were also aware of Greco-Roman cultural practices. Josephus writes regarding same-sex relations: “The Law owns no other mixture of sexes but that which [is] according to nature [kata physin]. Josephus is writing about marriage, with the idea that opposite sex intercourse is the only context for sex. Josephus believes because Leviticus 18 and 20 say same-sex relations is wrong, that means it is wrong. Philo comments on the Sodom story and states that men lusting after men is “unnatural desire.” Other less prominent Jewish writers have commented that same-sex practices for men “defile themselves in their relationships” and “We [Jews] are quite separated from these practices”. It is quite obvious that the Jews of Bible times were not accepting of homosexuality.
The most socially acknowledged same-sex practice was pederasty. As seen in my January 4th post, Greco-Roman culture accepted it. Did Jewish culture? The short answer is no. Since Jewish custom was that Jewish women got married between the ages of thirteen to seventeen and pederasty involved boys from that age group, the practice was condemned for practical reasons. Also, related to this idea is that the practice of sex was for procreation, not pleasure [pederasts focused solely on pleasure]. The First Century Jewish thinking on this was the human body is designed for opposite sex intercourse, not same-sex intercourse. Sprinkle cites writers who provide reasons for this prohibition and the main reason given is “God said no.”
Today it seems like some Christians are reading a non-Jewish New Testament and clearly that type of Bible has never existed. “Every Jew who wrote on the subject five hundred years before and five hundred years after Christ agreed on one thing: same-sex relations were against the will of God.”
Dr. Sprinkle is an example of a contemporary writer who is trying to find middle ground between those who advocate for LGBTQ+ people being totally accepted in the church and those who condemn LGBTQ+ practices and are willing to say these people are not fit for church leadership or receiving a Christian marriage ceremony. Yet he has turned to the original texts and found little support for LGBTQ+ acceptance.
As we leave Chapter Four of his book* it is pretty clear that some Christians who seek to accept same-sex behaviors are reading a different Bible than those who condemn those behaviors. Love one another [literally] does not extend to sexual relations between the same sex. Sprinkle says it best after providing us with the context: “If we say that Christians should endorse same-sex relations, then we will need to recreate a rather un-Jewish Jesus and an un-Jewish New Testament” [68].
Can we do that? Society says we should, but Scriptural context says we can’t. Maybe contemporary society has “evolved” to the point that acceptance is the norm, but a look into the thoughts of First Century writers provides little support for this evolution. Christians may be condemned for standing against same-sex relations, but maybe it is how we choose to discuss the issue. Can we treat others who have different orientations with respect? Yes we can and we should. Not feeling we can endorse other lifestyles may be justified, but hateful condemnation is not the way to show others that Jesus is our Lord.
If Christians keep expressing damnation and hatefulness, the trend of the amazing shrinking church will continue.
*Preston Sprinkle, People to Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue.
St. John Studies 