Thursday, February 09, 2012

The Gospel and the Gays
The California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 8 which banned same sex marriage. Of course many in the evangelical community had apoplexy over such a thing. Why we as believing followers care about the moral or religious practices of a fallen government perplexes me. As it pertains to Christ honoring practices we would do well to examine the church. We have more than we can say grace over. Let the dead marry the dead.
But the gay issue continues to exhume gospel issues which must be addressed and prayed over.
************
His name was Bobby Griffith. He grew up in a Californian suburb, and his family belonged to a conservative Presbyterian church. From a very young age he felt a little different. Because he knew what his church believed as well as his family’s derogatory remarks, he suppressed his feelings. He attempted to date girls and drum up some feelings for them, but again his attempts fell short. He thought often of suicide.
He confided in his older brother and out of concern his brother confided to their mother. Bobby’s mother was confident that God would change Bobby’s same sex attractions. His mother felt that counseling and Scripture would “cure” her son. The church’s position was Scriptural, however their approach was intransigent and void of any redemptive perspective. Bobby sunk deeper into a walking depression.
Many, many months passed and things did not change, although Bobby made earnest attempts to alter his feelings. But he was still haunted by them. Eventually Bobby struck up a relationship with another young man. But that only heightened his sense of self loathing. He had let his family down and he could not escape the growing feelings of worthlessness and depression. He eventually became distraught at his failure to over come the ever present feelings. He hated himself.
This is from Bobby’s diary:
“I can't ever let anyone find out that I'm not straight. It would be so humiliating. My friends would hate me. They might even want to beat me up. And my family? I've overheard them....They've said they hate gays, and even God hates gays, too. Gays are bad, and God sends bad people to hell. It really scares me when they talk that way because now they are talking about me.”
After a long struggle Bobby went to a highway overpass, waited for a tractor trailer, and fell in front of the truck to his death. That was on Aug. 27, 1983.
That was a true story. And now I will share a personal perspective and conundrum concerning this very issue. If you have all the answers you need not read this post from April 8, 2008. It is called
An Inconvenient Truth

5 comments:

Cal said...

Excellent post and heart-wrenching too.

I wrote something on this and I agree the 'evangelical' (which gospel?) hypocrisy is rank and many times, like the Pharisees, travel land and sea to make a convert and twice as much a son of Gehenna than he.

When I was rescued from the kingdom of darkness, I still was dealing with the sin of nationalism and yet Messiah led me along by His Spirit.

And the suicide, it just crushes my heart. I have a cousin named Tony who attempted suicide over his mental condition. He survived with broken legs and a broken back, if I can ask for your prayers for all who read.

Cal

Anonymous said...

Bless you, Rick, for writing these things.
It reminds me of the "now and not yet" aspect of the gospel.
Some things about us are transformed immediately - overnight. The rest takes place over time.
We work it out and He works it out in us - opening our eyes more and more.

How dare we judge someone's transformation process. I do it all the time by referring to certain people as "so-called Christians" or to "people who call themselves Christians". Maybe they are - and are simply in the process of being transformed - like me.

If they will know us by our love - how many times would someone have said about me - I don't see any love there - she must not be the Christian she considers herself to be?

A lot to ponder and pray about there. How often have we not loved someone because we were too busy judging them?
There are so many "acceptable" sins in the body of believers today. And so many unacceptable ones. It's like - mine are acceptable - but theirs are not.
That is not love.

Lisa

And I will pray for poor, broken Tony. May this bring him to Jesus.
It is the best thing that could come of it.

Richard Ludwigson Jr said...

Rick, I know for a fact that when I came back to the Lord I was far from the person I am today. Like the song says "I'm not who I was." Thank you so much for challenging me every day to open my heart and grow in the Grace of God. I Praise God for His leading me to your blog so that I would be so challenged. It has been a long slow journey and as I read on another blog, "Paul tells us to crucify the flesh. Crucifixion is a slow death, but it is a sure death." Change takes time and will never be finished until we reach Heaven. Thanks again, Richard Ludwigson Jr

Anonymous said...

Thank you again. The Inconvenient Truth post is the most truthful and compelling I've ever read; it's true very few have tried to address this subject and my spirit just agrees with it.

I know that only Jesus is the Judge, he knows each and every heart down to the core. He knows the hurt and confusion of the homosexual. He knows what and where and why and how this happens. Just as He knows what and where and why and how believers struggle with secret sins every day.

All I know is that Jesus, on the cross, forgave the thief who asked for forgiveness and wanted to spend eternity with Jesus in paradise and was granted salvation. He was like the workers who only worked for an hour and got the same wage as those who worked for a full day. Those who work for the full day are the ones clamoring they feel cheated because the Giver of Life pays the newcomer a full day's wage (salvation) because in their minds, it's "not fair".

I also recall in the epistles where Paul? (I believe) said there were so many miracles and things that happened during Jesus' time on earth that the Book couldn't contain it all (am paraphrasing, sorry, must go and seek that verse). There may be many questions we will never get answers to until we get to heaven.

The Lord's mercy endures forever!!

Anonymous said...

Hm...that was John actually. Look for it at the end of his gospel.
Great comments, though. We must remember the thief and the late-day workers and the man who was forgiven but wouldn't forgive another.

I was just talking with my mother-in-law and she was remembering that years ago she tried and tried to get one of her brothers, his friend and her son (my husband) to go to church with her on Sunday night. Finally, for some reason, they went. There was a guy at the door who looked at them and grunted, "Huh. Seems like you could've at least cut your hair before you came here." They never went back. My husband eventually - decades later - came to Christ but as far as I know the others didn't. That "Christian" man (there I go putting quotation marks around it again) has something to answer for because of his lack of love for those boys.
Lisa