The REAL Truth about Sodomites

Wow. Just....wow. I knew there were some hateful people in the world but I had no idea they were intelligent enough to start their own church and figure out how to post their hate on the internet.

In this video, Steve almost makes me want to put on a rainbow headdress and march in the next Gay Pride parade that goes through my town. Okay, not really, but seriously: It is very hard to preach against homosexuality with guys like Steve Anderson (and Fred Phelps) taking it to this kind of extremism. In all seriousness, it's enough to make me want to stop saying anything against homosexuality, but unfortunately if I want to keep preaching the Bible, I have to.

Homosexuality is a sin. There's no getting around that. I've seen some people try to "correct" our false interpretation of the Bible and show us that it isn't actually against homosexuality, but that we have instead read the verses wrong, or read our own biases into the verses to corrupt them and make them say what they don't say.

I've read the arguments on both sides in great detail, and let me say that the only way you could come away from those verses thinking they said ANYTHING other than that homosexuality is a sin is to read your own pro-homosexuality biases into the verses. It takes some massive leaps of logic, and pathetically poor exegesis, to make these verses into something else. Plus, this still leaves the problem of the fact that the Bible is full of positive examples of heterosexual relationships (there's even an entire book dedicated to celebrating married heterosexual love), but not a single example of a positive homosexual relationship. Also, Jesus may not have said anything about homosexuality directly, but that was because He didn't have to. It was already written down as law. Not only that, but in the Jewish community He preached to, homosexuality was unheard of. Finally we have his description of marriage in Matthew 19:4-6: "From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; and the two shall be one flesh...What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder..."

Jesus may not have spoken against homosexuality, but he defined "marriage", and it wasn't between two men or two women, nor did he leave it open to interpretation. The Bible is against homosexuality.

But the Bible is also against drunkeness (Eph. 5:18), sloth (Prov. 6:6), envy, murder, fornication, etc. But it doesn't EVER say that those who commit those sins are forever damned. So why does Steve insist that when it comes to homosexuals, they are? Let's look at the passage he examines and see what's actually there:

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Ouch. That's pretty harsh. There's a lot of sin being committed by these people. You're free to read the entire passage, but I've bolded the parts that Steve focuses on, and the parts that seem to go against what it is he's saying this passage says. Let's examine it together.

First of all, Paul is talking about a specific group of people: those who have seen and known God, and yet don't worship Him as God, and instead "change the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man." They knew God, but decided they were smarter, wiser, better than God, and changed their image of who God was to suit themselves.

Steve's right: This passage says God gave them up to their own sinful desires: "vile affection", or homosexuality, but also fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, etc. Not only are homosexuals on the list of those "given up" by God, but so are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful people, proud people, boasters, inventors of evil things, those who are disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable and unmerciful.

By Steve's logic, every single one of those people are headed for Hell with no chance of redemption. If you've ever lied, disrespected your parents, boasted, been despiteful, debated anyone, been envious, etc. you are damned with no hope of salvation. Steve says that God has "given up" these people and will never accept them.

Or, rather, he stops at verse 27, the parts that specifically talk about homosexuality, and fails to read the rest of the passage which says that the people who hated God and tried to put themselves above Him not only became homosexual, but these other things as well.

Since scripture tells us that all have the hope of salvation, why is this verse telling us that apparently, none of us do? It's simple: this passage isn't saying they have no hope of salvation.

Steve chooses to interpret "their foolish hearts were darkened" as if it's written in stone that some outside force, that is, God, was darkening their hearts. This is pure speculation on Steve's part. Elsewhere in the Bible it says "their hearts were hardened", etc. and it's clearly not supposed to be God hardening their hearts. God never takes action and then doesn't take credit for it. If that was God darkening their hearts, it would say "God darkened their foolish hearts." Their hearts actually WERE darkened by something else: their sin.

He then says that the phrase "God gave them up" means that he damned them forever. Folks, God is not in the practice of saving people who don't want to be saved. These people had already rejected God, so of course, God said to them "Okay, whatever. You think you're wiser than Me who created you? Go on with your lives and see where it gets you." My parents said the same thing to me when I turned away from God in High School and told my parents I hated them. Did they mean they would never speak to me again; that I was no longer their son? No. And while God may give us free will to turn against Him and sin all we want, if we truly accept His salvation, we're totally within His grace now. No matter WHAT we've done.

Does the Bible say "For God so loved the World (except the fags)" or "He who comes unto Me I will in no wise cast out, unless he's a fag"? Of course it doesn't.

Steve is also totally wrong when he describes certain sins, such as lying or lust after the opposite sex as "natural", but homosexuality as "unnatural." First of all, no sin is natural. We brought sin into the world, but it wasn't mean to be. Second of all, when Paul talks about unnatural relations, he doesn't mean that homosexual sex is unnatural, but heterosexual promiscuity is to be expected. He means that these people started using their sexual organs in ways nature didn't intend. The anus is a waste facility. There is nothing in the anus, or excreted by the anus, that is used in reproduction. That is not true of the penis or the vagina. Anal sex is unnatural. But this isn't the same as saying it's impossible for a normal human being to be tempted into homosexuality.

Steve's example of billboards is inherently flawed. He says that he, or a man in his congregation, might be tempted to look at a billboard of a scantily-clad woman, but would not at all be tempted to look at a scantily-clad man. This supposedly "proves" that homosexuality is not just a sin but an unnatural state of mind that only utter reprobates with no hope of salvation would ever fall into. Actually, all that proves is that the person doing the looking isn't gay.

What Steve doesn't understand is that Satan tempts certain people certain ways, and because we're a fallen people, some of us may be born with pre-dispositions toward various types of sin. Some of us are weaker when it comes to resisting gluttony. Others may be less able to resist the temptation of alcoholism. Others may have violent tempers. These are all proven inborn traits. They are also sins. Does this mean that God expects us to sin? No, it just means that we are sinners, and our salvation is only through grace. To say that another person's sin is unforgivable because it's not the same sin you fall into is to look at the speck in their eye and ignore the log in your own eye. I'm surprised Steve can even see his congregation around that log.

Some of us may be born with an innate temptation toward homosexuality. Again, that doesn't mean "God made them gay" or that he wants them to "accept who they are." It's still a sin, whether it's inborn or learned (and quite frankly I don't know which it is. It could be either, or both, but that's immaterial. Either way, it's wrong. By the way, "inborn" doesn't mean "genetic").

Steve has probably never met a homosexual, or if he has, it's been very brief. He likely has an image of homosexuals as grown-up sissies with flamingo hair and tight spandex clothing who play their Barbra Streisand music while on the hunt for the next young boy to violate.

What he doesn't realize is that most homosexual men start feeling unwanted same-sex attraction almost as soon as they become sexually aware. Chad Thompson, author of Loving Homosexuals as Jesus Would, describes in the opening chapter his own struggle with same-sex attraction when he was a young boy, and how desperate he was to find a way to escape it. Does this mean that God had already damned him, that even though he is now a heterosexual involved in a committed marriage with a woman? Not at all. For that matter there are many young men who struggle with same-sex attraction who don't ever give into their feelings. Are those feelings by themselves indications that they are damned? Does Steve not understand that there are thousands of young men with feelings of same-sex attraction that they do not want, and never did anything to ask for? What does Steve have to say about the numerous young men who grew up professing Christ as their savior and doing their best to live for Him, yet were struggling with same-sex attraction the entire time? Would Steve have us believe that God damns his followers to Hell as early as age 14 for sins they're not fully aware of?

Apparently so, and for that matter he fails to liken their struggle with the struggle of Christian men who can't pass a bar without wanting to go inside and drink until they can't stand up, or a person who is tempted to fly into a blind rage every time something makes them angry, or a person who can't eat a meal without wanting three or four more helpings. The feelings aren't the sin. Acting on them is.

And just because we commit sins, that doesn't keep us out of Heaven. If it did, none of us would go to Heaven because all of us are sinners.

Personally, I think we in North America blew it with homosexuals. We wanted to pretend they didn't exist at first, but we opened our church doors to alcoholics, drug addicts, ex-cons, single mothers, etc. We didn't want anything to do with homosexuals. Society told them they were foul things, and they had nowhere to run because we agreed with society.

So after decades of denial and living in the closet, hearing nothing but condemnation on all sides, the homosexuals took action. They marched on Washington. They ran for, and got elected to, public office. They became writers, actors, directors, screenwriters, singers, etc. and used the forum of the media, the true opinion-maker in America, to rally others to their cause. And what did we do? We kept right on condemning them left and right, proving their point that we're a bunch of hateful people who just want to see them hurt.

And after all those years, we've still got men like Steve Anderson hurting OUR cause by still preaching total damnation for all Sodomites. We failed to understand that God's love, mercy and grace covers ALL sins, and we created men like Steve Anderson who really believes that God's grace doesn't cover all sin, and we stood idly by while militant homosexuals normalized homosexuality in our country.

The REAL truth about "sodomites" is that sodomy is a sin, but the grace of God can cover that sin, too, if they'll let Him. And Steve Anderson, congratulations on continuing to twist God's word to be the weapon of choice for you. I fear for any closeted homosexuals under your influence who commit suicide thanks to your message of hate.