In the aftermath of the passage of California’s Proposition 8, Newsweek and Hollywood are the latest players to launch their attacks on traditional marriage supporters and the biblical case against homosexuality.

And Christians are taking issue with the misconceptions, factual errors and holes in the arguments being presented in popular public spheres.

Read this article >>

You can also check out Exodus VP Randy Thomas’s thoughts on his blog.

The disruption came from a group that calls itself Bash Back, and involved demonstrations outside the church and inside the sanctuary while services were under way, said Mt. Hope Church communications director David Williams.

Members of the group inside the church shouted pro-gay slogans, threw leaflets, unfurled a banner and pulled a fire alarm, then hastily departed, Williams said. There were no injuries, he said.

Other reports note that the demonstrators threw condoms at the congregation, shouted “Jesus was gay!” and made out at the pulpit.

Stories like this can evoke a lot of responses; fear, anger, frustration, doubt–just to name a few. While this particular ‘protest’ definitely falls into a more extreme category than most, there’s no doubt that tensions are rising in the Culture War.

Many within the LGBT community were hurt and angered by the passage of marriage protection measures in California, Arizona and Florida in the 2008 election. This is no surprise, since most people with same-sex attraction have bought into the idea that “gay” is who you are–it’s your unchangeable identity. With that sort of mindset, Biblical standards concerning homosexuality can seem like hatred, and the choice of voters to uphold the Biblical definition of marriage can come across as a personal rejection (even though it’s not). Media fixation on the explosive nature of these topics as well as rhetoric from extremist groups definitely add to the tension and anger on both sides.

The election, however, only underscores a cultural tension that was already pretty strong. On the one hand, you have some in the Christian community who see homosexuals as a “threat” to the nation. Likewise, there are gays who consider Bible-believing Christians to be the source of all the hardship in their lives.

So as the culture war gets more and more heated, how are we as the Body of Christ going to respond? What is our goal, and what resolve do we have?

Standing Strong

We’ve got to realize that we can’t reject, omit or ignore Scripture’s teaching on sin of any kind.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves…
1st Corinthians 6:9 (NLT)

Don’t fool yourselves. It doesn’t make any sense to compromise the Gospel to make it more attractive to people–because then it’s not really the Gospel at all! But in the face of ever-intensifying opposition, many Christians think that’s the way to go. It certainly seems easier, when Biblical teachings on hot topics like homosexuality stir up the kind of anger expressed by this “Bash Back” group.

The truth is, Christ-followers have been getting into hot water for calling sin what it is and promoting an uncompromised Gospel since the very beginning:

Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John . . . John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” So Herodias [the wife] bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. Mark 6:17-19 (NLT)

Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property… Hebrews 10:33-34 (NIV)

We haven’t really seen this kind of treatment of Christians in the USA yet. Many could probably claim the “exposed to insult” part; we are stigmatized with labels like “bigot” and “homophobe” and sometimes mocked by popular culture for believing what the Bible says about a variety of issues. Is that reason enough to shy away from Biblical truth?

The early Church, though, faced so much more persecution. Just in these short verses we see people doing jail time and having their personal property seized by the authorities. Oh, and Herodias was eventually successful in her attempts to get John killed. But look how they responded–sympathizing with others who suffered the same persecution, and even accepting it joyfully! Imagine that! Where did they get the strength to have that attitude?

You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.  So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. Hebrews 10:34-35 (NIV, emphasis added)

A truly eternal perspective will give us all the hope and confidence we need to live faithful to the teachings of Jesus Christ. Not only is the persecution we suffer minimal to what our Christian forefathers experienced, but even their trials were no match for the hope that they had in Jesus.

Don’t Forget About the Love

In a culture that seems addicted to polarized debate and rivalry, we can’t forget that a big part of following Jesus is learning to love when it’s the hardest thing to do. We have to really care about and seek to serve those who might be considered our enemies (Matthew 5:44).

Some people won’t acknowledge or receive our love if we refuse to compromise our faith in Scripture. They will probably even accuse us of hate. We have to be okay with that, and keep on loving them anyway.

Love is about telling the hard truths sometimes, but even more than that it’s about caring for the needs of others. Do you have gay neighbors, classmates or friends? Be thinking about practical, kind things you could do for them. As much as we tend to think about preserving and promoting Biblical truth about sexuality, let’s try to think twice as much about how to show Christ’s love in simple, everyday ways. Jesus, after all, made a priority of healing the sick, helping the needy and defending the abused. He didn’t grill them about how they got sick, needy or abused; he just helped.

There are lots of ways we can help those who identify as LGBTQ without compromising Scripture. Stick up for them when they’re being picked on; speak up when people talk demeaningly or abusively and ask them to stop. Reach out to those who are hurting–for whatever reason. Do these things regardless of whether they are acknowledged or appreciated.

Above all, pray for the gay-identified people in your life–all the more for those who really push your buttons!

I’ve had my share of run-ins with radical gay activists. To be honest, they can make me pretty angry. There’s nothing wrong with feeling that way, but you can’t let that anger pollute the way you think and how you treat people. And you can’t let it steal your own personal peace!

Prayer is a great way to overcome offended feelings. Hope in God’s power to change hearts keeps negativity at bay. Just think how great it would be for the most hard-core, Christian-hating person to experience the kind of transformation that the Apostle Paul did. Did you know he was a vicious persecutor of Christians before he himself became one? (Galatians 1:13) It’s amazing to think that this man who killed Christians in his religious zeal went on to write a big chunk of the New Testament!

I pray for that day that we can say of the most extreme gay activist, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!” (Galatians 1:23)

Not every gay-identified person participates in these often militant efforts, but the efforts are very real and they have specific goals when it comes to youth. Those goals include:

• Promoting homosexual, bisexual and transgender lifestyles as healthy, positive and normal.
• Disintegrating all meaning of gender.
• Silencing and vilifying any different point of view.
• Undermining parental authority to indoctrinate kids.
• Rewriting Christian principles.
• Polarizing students, so that anyone who is not “gay-affirming” is labeled a bigot.

These may seem like pretty extreme statements, but there are several organizations and tens of millions of dollars a year dedicated to these goals.

GLSEN and GSA’s

Most notable among these organizations is the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), an educational lobbying and activist group that is the primary force behind the promotion of Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) clubs in high schools, middle schools and universities nationwide.

Their ‘resources’

A quick browse through the books GLSEN recommends for 7th through 12th graders will give you a glimpse into the value system they want the next generation to adopt. Here’s a look:

Free Your Mind by Ellen Bass and Kate Kaufman, for instance, is a comprehensive guide-to-life for youth who think they may be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. In truth, this book is full of deceptive, dangerous advice. Teens are encouraged to find “meaningful new relationships” via gay and lesbian chat rooms on the internet. The book also greatly overstates the protection offered by condoms, and lists “bathing together” and mutual masturbation as “safe” sexual practices.

Furthermore, Free Your Mind attacks the faith of teens. Throughout several chapters, young people are repeatedly urged to leave their churches if they do not embrace homosexuality. A whole chapter is devoted to “debunking” the Bible.

“…there isn’t any single truth…The one thing you really should beware of in life is when any human being tells you that they have the truth. Run as fast as you can. No one has the truth.” (Free Your Mind, p. 274)

Another book GLSEN recommends for teens, Revolutionary Voices, portrays dangerous lifestyles as positive forms of “diversity.” In the book, one young man shares his story of doing “sex work” involving cross-dressing and sadomasochsim. Revolutionary Voices calls these things an “empowering experience.”

The GSA Network also produced Beyond the Binary, a “gender activism” guide that encourages students to fight the notion that we are made male and female. The booklet teaches that gender is arbitrary, that one can move back and forth between genders, be both at the same time, or invent a new gender altogether–and that schools and other individuals should be forced to recognize these assumed “genders.”

Other controversies

The state of Massachusetts has always been at the forefront of homosexual activism. At least two years in a row, GLSEN (funded by state tax revenue) hosted workshops on school grounds, in which students received graphic instruction on how to perform different homosexual acts. Sex “kits” were passed out, and after a sweeping public outcry, parents were banned when the event was repeated.

More recently, the GSA Network in California elected a man to its Board of Directors who was widely known as a pornographer who peddled pictures of young men to x-rated magazines. When contacted and asked whether they were aware of this individual’s activities, no one from the GSA Network responded. The board member, however, subsequently stepped down.

The actions and attitudes of those who run these organizations don’t quite reflect those of the kids who actually take part in the clubs themselves. Most teens who join GSA’s (who are not all gay-identified) are drawn to the ideals of safety, equality and tolerance that these organizations espouse. What they get, though, is a deceptive and destructive crash-course in immorality.

School Policies

Gay advocacy groups spend millions lobbying every level of government in order to have an impact on school policies and curriculum. California is an example of where they’ve had the most success. The State Senate there has passed bills requiring schools to portray homosexual, bisexual and transgender lifestyles positively through “Tolerance Training.” Other legislation would force schools to allow transgender-identified students to use opposite-sex bathrooms and locker rooms.

As a matter of course, these activists seek to shut parents out while they are changing the educational system. The legislation mentioned above explicitly states that parents are not to be notified about “Tolerance Training” courses, and are not allowed to opt their children out of them.

So What Can You Do?

It’s so important for Christian parents to be involve themselves and communicate with the school. Make sure you know about meetings with school board and faculty members that parents can have access to. Find out the best way to stay up to date on changes in curriculum and policy in your district.

Christian legal groups like the Alliance Defense Fund can advise and support parents facing legal issues with their local districts and governments.

The most effective response to this growing movement, though, comes through Christian students. More than anyone, they have a greater freedom of opportunity to share the truth and love of the Gospel on their campuses. So make sure your youth pastor is educating and equipping students with the truth about these issues. We’ve got some great resources available to help them do that.

Students also have the most freedom (legally speaking) to bring Christian-themed information and resource onto their campuses. Through special campaigns like Allies, Too and the Day of Truth, young Christians can have a huge impact on public schools.

Related Links:

The World According to PFLAG: Why PFLAG and Children Don’t Mix from the National Association for the Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH)