As everyone will be well aware, in Western countries today LGBTQ attitudes are part of the mainstream.
Those of us who say that homosexual practice is morally wrong are a fairly small minority. Similarly, those who say that people have no human right to identify as a man or a woman if they want to are also a minority.
I think it is possible that the tide has started to turn on these issues, but at the present time those of us who object to these things are still in a minority.
In the midst of all this, Christians often come under fire for their beliefs. From time to time, for example, in interviews you will see Bible-believing Christians being challenged on LGBTQ issues. Usually, these Christians seem to be on the back foot as they are questioned. They sometimes seem even quite apologetic for holding the views they do.
I will admit that I have never personally come under attack in this way from the LGBTQ movement. Nevertheless, when I see interviews like these, I often find myself wishing that Christians did a better job of defending the faith. I also often wish that they were more prepared to call a spade a spade and that they wouldn’t be so reluctant to cause offence.
In what follows, I will list some of the common accusations that this movement makes against Christians, and then I will give the reply that I would want to give if I were personally accused in these ways.
The answers that I will give are quite short, and I don’t for a moment pretend that they cover matters fully. But I think that each answer contains some useful ideas.
There will be a bit of overlap between the answers, because the accusations also overlap.
Accusation:
There is nothing unnatural about homosexuality, and you shouldn’t claim that there is.
Answer:
If by ‘natural’ you mean the way things are, then obviously homosexuality exists, so in that respect it isn’t unnatural. But under that definition we would also have to say that paedophilia isn’t unnatural, since it is also something that exists. And I expect that you, like me, would want to describe paedophilia as unnatural.
So we do better to define something as natural when it fits with how God has designed things. And it should be obvious that homosexuality does not fit with how human beings are designed. Physically, the male body is obviously designed to fit together sexually with the female body and not with another male body. Similarly, females are clearly not designed to have sexual relations with females.
If someone insists on denying this, I find it hard to believe that they are being as honest as they can be. The Bible talks in Romans 1:18 about people who suppress the truth. I would suggest that those, or at least the vast majority of those, who claim that there is nothing unnatural about homosexuality are guilty of suppressing the truth. Deep down, I think their consciences are not clear and they know that what they are saying is not true. Homosexuality so obviously contradicts the way people are designed.
Accusation:
It is well documented that homosexuality exists in animals. So this shows that it is a natural thing in humans too.
Answer:
Again, it depends on what you mean by natural. If you mean the way things are, then yes, homosexuality in animals is natural. However, if you mean how things were designed to be, then I would certainly not agree that homosexuality in animals is natural.
According to Christian teaching, our world is in a kind of half broken state, and I think that people tend to relate strongly to this idea. There is clearly great evil and damage in our world, yet also great beauty.
The animal world is an example of something that is partially broken. And homosexuality among animals is one aspect of what has gone wrong.
Because animals are not moral creatures, they can’t be blamed for acting out their homosexuality. But humans, as moral creatures, can be blamed for this.
Accusation:
You are homophobic.
Answer:
Usually when people use the term ‘homophobic’, they mean more than one thing by it. They usually seem to regard a ‘homophobe’ as all of the following:
(1) Someone who (wrongly) says that homosexual orientation is a problem.
(2) Someone who (wrongly) says that homosexual practice is morally wrong.
(3) Someone who discriminates against homosexuals.
(4) Someone who hates homosexuals.
It is very confusing to use one label to mean several different things, especially when these things don’t necessarily go together.
I don’t accept the label ‘homophobic’ for myself, for two reasons. First, the term suggests a bad attitude towards homosexuals and homosexuality, and I don’t accept that my attitude is bad. And second, the above list of points only partially corresponds to my attitude to homosexuals.
Let me comment briefly on each point.
On point (1), I certainly do say that homosexual orientation is a problem, just as the Bible teaches in Romans 1:26.
I want to stress, however, that I believe that every human being has many problems of various kinds. We are all damaged in many ways. So it would be absurd for me to look down on someone who has homosexual orientation. I don’t personally have that problem, but I have a multitude of other problems, as we all do.
On point (2), I certainly do say that homosexual practice is morally wrong, just as the Bible teaches in a number of places, e.g., in Romans 1:26-27.
However, I have committed plenty of sins in my own life. So the last thing I will do is look down on anyone who is guilty of homosexual practice.
On point (3), I am, firstly, firmly against discriminating against someone because they have homosexual orientation. There are many people with this orientation who accept that they have a problem and fight hard against it. There is a world of difference between someone in this category and someone who freely engages in homosexual practice. I am nothing but sympathetic to those with homosexual orientation who admit that they have a problem.
Secondly, as regards people who engage in homosexual practice, things are more complicated. I certainly don’t accept that I ‘discriminate’, since that word suggests that my attitude is bad, and I don’t accept that it is bad. Yet I do believe that sometimes it is right to take account of the fact that a person is a practising homosexual.
As a Christian, I am called to act in love towards everyone, regardless of what they do. And I think that in the vast majority of situations love would mean treating a practising homosexual in the same way that I would treat anyone else. But occasionally it may be appropriate to make a distinction for one reason or another.
For example, if an openly practising homosexual wanted to teach children in some capacity, I would see their sexual practice as a big black mark against them. Children need to be protected from harm, and taught right from wrong, including that homosexual practice is bad. Whether, at the end of the day, I would conclude that this person shouldn’t in fact teach children would depend on how many black marks other potential teachers might have against them.
On point (4), I reject all hatred for homosexuals, whether they are practising or not. As I have said, the Christian life is one of loving everyone despite their sins, just as Jesus loves me despite my sins. But love is sometimes tough. Sometimes it means criticising people for what they do or believe.
It is actually very ironic that Christians like myself are accused of hatred on this topic, since, not only are we opposed to hatred, but those who falsely accuse us of hatred often seem to hate us with a passion. The amount of hatred in Western countries that is directed towards Christians for what we say on sexuality is enormous. The militant LGBTQ lobby is now a major hate movement in this part of the world.
It is notable that many who claim to be against all hatred seem to forget that they are against this when they have no sympathy with the views of a group of people who are hated. This sort of hypocrisy is very common in Western countries today.
Accusation:
You say that gay people will go to hell. That’s a very hateful thing to say.
Answer:
First, it is those who practise homosexuality who are on track for hell. I certainly do not say that having homosexual orientation means that someone is heading there.
Second, this is not an idea that I have invented. The Bible very clearly teaches that those who practise homosexuality are on the road to hell (e.g., Romans 1:26-27; 2:5-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9). I am simply repeating what it says.
Third, anyone who practises sin of any kind while making no attempt to repent is on track for hell. So it’s not as if I am singling out homosexual practice. This is just one sin among many.
Fourth, I take no pleasure in the prospect of anyone going to hell.
Fifth, it is absolutely not hate for me to say what I say on this point. Look at it from my perspective. I believe sincerely that those who engage in homosexual practice are on the road to hell. I don’t want them to go there. So, by warning people, I am doing what I believe is best to help them avoid great suffering in the future. It should be obvious that there is no hate in this.
Accusation:
You are so cruel when you say that gay people aren’t allowed to love each other.
Answer:
I do sympathise with people who feel affection that is wrong to express. However, it is far more important to submit to God’s created order. To perform homosexual acts is to massively insult Him, and this must take priority over how we feel.
Accusation:
You are so arrogant to tell people that they can’t identify as a man or a woman if that’s what they want to do.
Answer:
On the contrary, it is those who think they have a right to identify as whatever sex they choose who are guilty of great arrogance. If God has made someone physically male, then that person is a man, both physically and in his core identity. And if he has made someone physically female, that person is a woman, both physically and in her core identity. To deny this is to mess around with God’s creation and thereby to insult Him.
So-called ‘transgenderism’ is actually a remarkably foolish thing.
If, for example, a man told me that in his true identity he was really a horse, although he was physically a man, I would say that he had some sort of mental illness. I wouldn’t for a moment agree that he really was a horse.
In no way would I look down on this man or want to treat him unkindly. Instead, I would gently but firmly tell him that something had gone wrong in his feelings and thoughts and that he wasn’t really a horse.
Exactly the same is true when a man says that in his identity he is really a woman. Something has gone wrong.
Again, in no way would I look down on a man who said this. But I would tell him that something had gone wrong and that he was a man, not a woman.
To think that people who are physically men are really women is sheer nonsense, and the same goes for those who are physically women and claim to be men. We can’t separate our identity and our physicality in this way.
I do believe that there is one area where there is sometimes a genuine place for a kind of sex-change, and this concerns people who are born as intersexes.
For anyone who doesn’t know, intersexes are people who are born with both male and female genitals, and apparently about one in 2000 new-born babies falls into this category. Operations are often performed on intersex babies and children to remove one set of genitals.
However, it seems that occasionally the wrong operation is performed. And even when there is no operation, it seems that mistakes are sometimes made regarding whether to raise the child as a boy or a girl.
In cases like these, I do believe that there is a legitimate place for a kind of sex-change or a switch in the sex that a person identifies as. In such cases, this has nothing to do with accepting that there is a difference between physical sex and ‘gender identity’. It is simply about correcting a mistake that has already been made.
Accusation:
You hold extreme and deeply offensive views on sexuality and gender identity.
Answer:
Firstly, you seem to be implying that most people don’t hold views on sexuality and ‘gender identity’ that many others find extreme and deeply offensive. But that is completely wrong. Everyone holds views on these issues that many others find extreme and very offensive.
For example, take the view that so-called ‘gay marriage’ is a good thing, something that you agree with. Quite a large majority of the world’s population thinks that ‘gay marriage’ is a bad thing. And there must be at least hundreds of millions of people, maybe billions, who find it extreme and deeply offensive.
So you and many others find my views extreme and offensive, and I and many others find your views extreme and offensive. We are all in the same boat in this respect.
Secondly, it is never my goal to be offensive to people. However, my big concern is not to offend God, and if that means offending people, then that is what I will do.
Accusation:
It is a fundamental human right for people to have gay relationships or change their gender identity if they want to. You should accept that.
Answer:
No one has a human right to do anything morally wrong.
At its core, the worldview of mainstream Western society is completely mistaken. In this worldview people are typically seen as standing in the place of ultimate authority with rights to do whatever they want, as long as they don’t cause direct harm to anyone else. In this worldview God is essentially nowhere to be seen.
In reality, God should fill our worldview. Human beings are under His authority with huge obligations to Him. We are designed and duty-bound to fit in with His created order. It is not an exaggeration to say that the mainstream Western worldview completely misunderstands what human beings actually are.
No one, then, has a human right to do anything that conflicts with God’s created order. And homosexual practice and so-called ‘transgenderism’ both conflict with this.
Whether people should be given legal rights to do immoral things is a much more complex issue. But no one has a human right to do anything morally wrong.
Accusation:
You are so intolerant of gay and transgender people.
Answer:
The problem with this accusation is that those who use this label to blame Christians tend to use the words ‘tolerant’, ‘intolerant’ etc. in a strange way.
Usually in the English language, when we speak about tolerating someone, what we mean is that we put up with that person although we dislike what they do or stand for.
However, those who accuse Christians of being intolerant of people in the LGBTQ movement are not usually suggesting that we don’t put up with these people. Instead, they are really blaming us simply for disliking their values in the first place. If someone dislikes the values of people in the LGBTQ movement, even if that person puts up with what this movement tries to do, he or she will be accused of intolerance.
In response to this accusation, it is surely true that all human beings dislike the values of many other human beings. And it is just as true that every human being holds to values that many others dislike. So we are all in the same category in this respect.
And if someone insists on using the word ‘intolerant’ (in a strange way) to refer to this situation, then we are all intolerant in some ways, both those who support the LGBTQ movement and those who are against it. But we do much better to avoid using this word in this way.
Accusation:
You are wrong not to respect the views of people in the LGBTQ movement.
Answer:
First, if you are suggesting that everyone should respect the views of everyone else on matters of sexuality and so-called ‘gender identity’, it should be obvious that people in the LGBTQ movement typically have no respect at all for what I believe on these issues.
Second, I make no apology for not respecting the views of people in this movement. When people support something that is against the will of God, they are supporting something evil. And we should never respect an evil viewpoint.
Accusation:
I have no time for uncaring, right wing people like you.
Answer:
I am not right wing, and I share your concern that many people on the right are quite uncaring. My political views are pretty centrist.
Homosexual practice and so-called ‘transgenderism’ are extremely important moral issues that have to do with insulting God. Essentially these are not issues of the left or right at all.
Have courage
I hope and pray that readers of this article will find what I have said useful.
If you are a Christian who is under fire on LGBTQ issues, know that you are not alone. There are many other brothers and sisters who are being persecuted in this way too.
Don’t be embarrassed or hesitant to stand up for Christian truth. Have courage, even if many people are against you. Remember, one person with God is a majority.
And when you are hated, show love in return (Luke 6:27-29). The Lord will be with you.
See also:
What Attitude Should Christians Have to Homosexuality?
What Did Jesus Make of Homosexual Practice?
The Importance of Distinguishing between Sexual Orientation and Practice
Most People in Western Countries
Completely Misunderstand What Human Beings Are
