JRHS Writing BLOG

response to Gay Union on joining the UCC

In World Mag. issue No. 25, 2006

In the article of Gay Union there is a particular church in Dallas, Texas called the Cathedral of Hope.  The Cathedral of Hope now has 3,500 members and is widely know as the world’s largest homosexual church.  In October 2006 they joined the United Church of Christ which has 1.2 members.  The Cathedral of Hope is the fourth largest congregation in the UCC.  It ordained Jo Hudson as their senior pastor and also she has been a UCC minister since 1997.  The original power is still in the hands of controversial cathedral Dean Michael Piazza, a nationally known gay activist who has been at the church since 1987.  Cathedral of Hope abandoned the gay-oriented Metropolitan Community Churches denomination in 2003 during an investigation on the MCC into their financial abnormalities at the MCC church which involved Mr. Piazza.  Mr. Piazza decided to resign from his position and then months later he returned to that same position. The conservatives from UCC had ineffectively challenged the denominational leaders from Texas to further investigate Piazza before they would vote on the cathedral.  The UCC has been ordaining homosexuals since the 1970s.

I personally find that there should not be any gay churches at all. I disagree because they are being contradictory on the teachings of the Holy Bible and are misleading the youth and even the world on what a true Christian is today and has been since the time of Christ. It says in I Corinthians 6:9 “Don’t you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,” using the New Living Translation. One can see right there in scripture said by God that homosexuals are detestible to God. One of the commands that God gives is for man to be fruitful and multiply. If “we are loving” the same sex then how are we to multiply so even there it is saying that homosexuality is wrong. Genesis 9:7 NLT “As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and increase upon it.” I know you all probably have heard that if God wanted Gay people then He would have created Adam and Steve and not Adam and Eve but it is true. 
(almost done)

Jonah Frye:

I have a few thoughts about your response to Gay Union Joining UCC.  I do not disagree with your conclusion, but your reasoning to get there needs to be sharpened.  You also need to dig deeper into the scriptures for an accurate understanding. Then take what you see and live it.

I am no Greek scholar, but I find online study tools very helpful in getting closer to the original language of the Bible.  This tool is very useful in unlocking important understanding for us today.  Knowing Greek and Hebrew would be even better, but a little out of reach for most.  Using a dictionary and studying the word roots online makes digging deeper in everyone’s grasp.

Try http://www.crosswalk.com and use their online word search.  Many Bible translations are available.  You can then trace to the Greek and Hebrew and find how the Bible used those words in different contexts.  Read as many verses in context and let the meaning soak in.  Look at word roots.  A lot of times, as you look at word roots, you will find various shades of meaning in the English that are meant all at once in the original language, and will deepen your understanding.

So looking at the passage you quoted, no greek word directly translates into “homosexual”.  That does not mean that the concept is not there, but what I am seeing is a deeper and more broadly useful concept.  In the verse you quoted, the greek word is malakao and has to do with male prostitution, reserving a young boy for such use. It has to do with effeminate, soft.  Earlier in the verse the concept for “immoral” and other scriptures are probably more helpful in looking at the concept of homosexuality as practiced today.  I Cor 5:9-11 uses this word translated immoral that in the greek is pornos.  See a connection to our concept of pornography. It has to do with the concept of selling yourself to another to have unlawful sex.  This word apparently was used for male prostitutes having sex with men or having sexual relations in any context outside of marriage.

Romans 1:18 - 32 looks at the concept of homosexuality as well, although the word is never used.  This is a good place to look to see how our human error progresses from knowing about God and seeing His eternal power in creation to being someone who condones everything that God condemns.  Homosexuality is just the end result of failing to acknowledge God for who He is and living in submission to Him and His plan for life.  But homosexuality is no worse than any other form of our human rebellion.  At the end of all our errors we lose our conscience, we see nothing wrong with our own behavior, and approve others who feel the same way as we do. 

Homosexuality, living with someone before marriage, gossip, lying, stealing, cheating, and failing to honor and love God are all from the same human condition - self above all else.

So how did homosexuality get into the church?  The institutional church has stopped being about God.  Human tradition and reason became more important than an accurate understanding of His word and living it in our day to day life.  We no longer understood that following Christ meant carrying a cross and dying to ourselves to obey his command.  The organisation that calls itself church and that is not centered in Christ, no matter what it proclaims, is a false representation.  Quickly run the other way.  False teaching is like yeast that works its way through the whole lump.  We all must examine ourselves closely and compare our belief and practice with the scrutiny of the double edged sword that is able to teach, rebuke, and train us in righteousness.

Christ is calling his body to be pure and undefiled, building each other up in love, until we all reach full maturity and unity in him.

So dig deep.  Examine yourself, that you might be found to handle his word correctly and become a true example that others can follow into eternal life.