|
|
|
A message to a Church employee; what are you marching for?
Modern priests want to appear tolerant and progressive, but at the same time they give their support to injustice
Dear Message Recipient and Church Worker! This text is primarily aimed at people, who drive the consecration of same-sex people to the church, even though others can read it. Personally, I admit that I represent a traditional view that seeks to honor the texts of the Bible, especially the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, as such. This applies e.g. to the teaching of sexuality that marriage is right only between a man and a woman (1 Cor. 7: 2. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.). Therefore, in the light of the Bible, I consider wrong the idea of marrying same-sex couples but also the practice of ordinary heterosexual sex outside of husband and wife marriage. So why deal with this issue? Of course therefore, because the matter is topical and profoundly affects the life of the Church. The church is divided in this matter, because e.g. Representatives of the "Tulkaa kaikki"- movement are enthusiastic about this issue, while representatives of the traditional view see such action as harmful. In any case, this text is mainly aimed at a person who advocates the consecration of people of the same sex. Such a person often pursues this matter in the name of love and equality, and as a sign of tolerance, but has he thought about it more closely? Has he thought about what he is actually defending with his “love” and equality talk? This and other issues are addressed in the text I write. I will begin by discussing how “modern” priests actually defend the abuse of children and youth.
“Modern” priests defend the abuse of children and youth. When trying to understand why many in today’s society advocate homosexual behavior, the main reason is apparently that many see homosexual tendency as an innate trait, just like skin color. It is thought that if it is a congenital trait such as skin color or left-handedness, is it not right then to defend a homosexual lifestyle and people who have such a trait? Isn’t it right to support people in their sexual choices? The innate tendency of homosexuality has also been invoked by many representatives of the Christian gay movement (here in Finland, for example, the Connect movement and the Come all movement). Liisa Tuovinen, the director of the Yhteys- movement, presented this general idea in a TV discussion as early as 2002:
Paul doesn’t understand the concept of homosexuality, which is an innate trait in humans, that it cannot be changed to something else. (1)
But what is the truth about the subject? Many homosexuals themselves don't believe that their tendency is innate. Some may argue the matter innate, but many admit that the sexual seduction of the same sex, and conditions have played a role in borning of their tendency. These were common notions also in psychology a few decades ago. The following are quotes that have interviewed homosexuals (bolds added afterwards):
Ole does not believe, however, that there is some kind of a "homosexual gene". He believes that homosexual feelings stem from a more complex pool, and he mentions, for instance, that he knows many pairs of identical twins of which only one of the pair is homosexual. Ole believes that many factors contributed to his behaviour, such as his complex and poor relationship with his father when he was a child. Ole does not hold back when telling about his relationship with his father as a child. He felt that his father was never there and he feared his father. The father sometimes had a raging fit, and Ole felt a few times that his father intentionally humiliated him in public. Ole says bluntly that he hated his father. (2)
Harri is interested in the discussion about homosexuality in the media and studies about homosexuality. He is convinced that homosexuality has very little to do with congenital factors. He bases this view on, for instance, the fact that it is often easy to find out why people have homosexual inclinations. They have usually been subjected to sexual violence or have a difficult relationship with their parents or peers. "This has convinced me that it is not first and foremost about genes. However, I don't think that it is impossible for some people to have some genes that make them more susceptible to homosexual inclinations," Harri says. (3)
Tepi believes that her homosexuality has been caused by some sort of an emotional vacuum she is trying to fill. Tepi says that she feared her father as a child and is still "kind of freaked out by men". Tepi says that she is looking for a mother in women. Even though Tepi wonders why she is a lesbian, she also says about being attracted to women: "It has been somehow so natural that I've sometimes wondered how this could be." On the other hand, she believes that there is some reason for this, too. Tepi does not believe that homosexuality is caused by genes or that a person could be a gay or a lesbian since birth. She believes that a person grows into a gay or a lesbian, and this can happen also without any special incident. (4)
I have – and many other homosexuals – wondered what causes homosexuality. I think that the personality of a child is formed during his or her three first years, also in terms of sexuality. This is influenced both by the environment and human biology. I don't believe that homosexuality is hereditary. Many of my male relatives have trouble dealing with my being homosexual just because they are afraid that it runs in the family. (5)
Bill Hybels: I read an interesting study by an expert: it was a survey to find out how many actively homosexual people believed they were born that way. Eighty-five percent of the interviewees were of the opinion that their homosexuality was a learned way of behaving caused by destructive influence early on in their home and enticement by another person. Nowadays, my first question when meeting with a homosexual is usually, “Who gave you the inspiration for it?” All of them can answer me. I will ask then, “What would have happened to you and your sexuality if you hadn’t met your uncle, or if your cousin had not come into your life? Or without your stepfather? What do you think would have happened?” This is when the bells start to toll. They say, “Maybe, maybe, maybe.” (6)
Dear reader of the message! If homosexuality is not an innate trait, then what is it? That was evident from the last quote. It referred to how most homosexuals felt that the devastating impact of the home and the seduction of another person were the biggest reasons. Thus, there is often in backround mental violence, sexual exploitation and the absence of a father or mother in childhood (The absence of father and mother is indicated by an extensive study. It found that 27% of lesbians and 2% of heterosexuals had experienced the loss of a mother before the age of 10. The ratio is thus more than ten times higher). All of these point to the effect of conditions and the human response to them. So what does the previous one mean? When many defend homosexual behavior and are on Pride-marches, they are actually supporting the fact that children and young people have been abused or even sexually exploited. Isn't that the case? That is, if it is not a congenital trait but a traumatic experience, these people indirectly give their support to human abuse. Certainly no one directly supports the abuse of children and young people, but indirectly they do support it when by defending a homosexual lifestyle. Thus, a person’s past can affect his or her current attitudes and lives, as it manifests in the lives of homosexuals. It has also been found that criminals, prostitutes or, for example, alcoholics often have a broken background and growing conditions. They usually come from difficult circumstances, but it is not the circumstances themselves that cause their behavior, but their own choices and how they react to the past. Thus, no one should justify their misconduct by the past circumstances. Jesus' teaching to all of us is, "but, except you repent, you shall all likewise perish." (Luke 13: 3). This applies to homosexual practitioners, prostitutes, criminals but also other sinful people like we all are by nature.
Prophesied development. Nowadays, there is talk of increasing tolerance, but this does not seem to be true. Instead, only the boundary between right and wrong has been shifted in the realm of morality. This has happened in matters such as premarital sex, extramarital sex, abortion but also homosexuality. Before all of them, it was considered immoral and wrong behavior even among secular people, but now these things are being accepted more and more , also within the church. However, it is interesting that the current development in the churches has been prophesied decades ago. Well-known David Wilkerson prophesied as early as the early 1970s in his book “Näky" (The Vision) of how homosexuality will be accepted in churches, just as many have in the past favored premarital sex and cohabitation. We cannot deny that the development has not gone in the direction mentioned in the book. Is that a sign of Jesus' soon coming? Are you, dear reader, a person whose actions have been predicted decades ago? So here are excerpts from Wilkerson’s book 47 years ago, when this issue was not relevant at all. Now it is relevant.
I see high church accepting gays and lesbians as members in a disguised “understanding”. Leaders of the church defend gay and lesbian love, not only welcoming it but also encouraging people to practice it. Gay and lesbian priests are appointed and given influential roles in this church union, and they are welcomed as new innovators who present new concepts of love and the gospel.
"There are two forces that prevent gays from dedicating themselves completely to their sin: society does not accept them and the church's teachings are against them. But these barriers will disappear when society no longer resists their sin and deems it abnormal, but on the contrary encourages them to continue, and when the church no longer preaches about their sin but supports them in their sexual activities. The floodgates will open, and the gays will be encouraged to continue in their sin. I have seen in my vision that these two obstacles will be wiped away and when they are taken away, chaos will follow."
Are you in faithf and saved? Dear reader of the message! Now let's move on to the most important thing, salvation. I always have a doubt as to whether a kind of person is saved, who rejects a clear teaching of the Bible, such as teachings about homosexuality or extramarital sex — things that are mentioned as sin everywhere in the Bible. I’m not arguing that such a person couldn’t be saved, but I have my doubts. At least, I think that many of these people, even if they are priests, have never been born again and come to a real salvation. They have never been with their whole being before the law of God, they have not seen their sins and how they in themselves are far from God. Everything has remained superficial to them and they think they are on good terms with God, even if the opposite is true. They are like stupid virgins who had the appearance of Christianity, but they had never gotten inside for real salvation. How, then, to identify such a false faith? One of the clearest signs is how a person views biblical teaching, including the teaching of sexuality. Does he value the teachings of Jesus and the apostles, or does he stand above them, despising them? I will take a few quotes that go into more detail about the arrogant attitude of these people:
The second problem with such people is that they are unable to fully accept the teachings and the authority of the Bible. I believe that this is the ultimate reason. They do not consider the Bible an authority and do not, unconditionally and finally, surrender to the Bible’s teachings. If we approached the Bible like small children, taking it at full face value and letting it talk to us, there would be no such problem. However, such people mix their own ideas with the spiritual truth. Naturally, they claim that they do accept the Bible as a whole but – this is their fatal mistake – they immediately start to edit the message. They accept some thoughts but still want to retain other thoughts and philosophies from their old lives. They mix natural thoughts with spiritual ones. They say that they love the Sermon on the Mount and Chapter 13 of 1 Corinthians. They say that they believe in Christ as the Saviour but they also think that we should not go too far but keep in moderation. This is where editing the message starts. They refuse to accept the Bible as an authority both in sermons and in real life, both in teachings and in relation to the world. “Times have changed,” they say, “and life is not what it used to be. We are now living in the 21st century.” They edit the Bible here and there to suit their ideas. The truth is, however, that the Bible is the word of God and timeless, and since it is the word of God, we must be subject to it and trust God to use His own tools in His own way. (7)
This is not always the reason, however: as often the reason is the people themselves. First of all, such people usually reject clear definitions; they do not like certainty and assurance. They consider religion nice as long as it is weak, uncertain and vague, full of rituals. I am not at all surprised when people are drawn to Roman Catholicism. The weaker and vaguer your religion is, the nicer it is. There is nothing as uncomfortable as clear biblical truths, which demand solutions. This is why such people say, “You are too precise, you are too legalistic. I do not like this one bit. I do believe in the Christian faith but you are too rigid and narrow-minded.“ (8)
I will bring up the vision of John Bevere. It tells of countless people who expect to get to heaven but who have not changed inwardly. This, I understand, is the condition of many priests and spiritual workers, because they have never been in the light of God’s law, that is, seen their true condition, and who have never been born again. They lack the desire to be obedient to the will of the Father:
I received a breathtaking spiritual vision in prayer. It changed my life and my service work. I saw a large group of people, countless of people, a group so large I had never seen such before. These people were gathered outside the gates of Heaven, waiting to be let in and hear the Master say, ”Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:” (Matt 25:34). Instead, they heard Him say, ”Depart from me, you cursed.” I saw their horrible shock, anguish and horror. They actually believed they would go to Heaven because they confessed the faith and Jesus as their Lord. However, they had not understood the true meaning of sin. Even though they wanted to get to Heaven, they lacked a burning desire to be obedient to our Father’s will. (9)
Dear reader of the message! As I said, I am not sure of the spiritual condition of every human being; is he really saved or is he just in theoretical faith, and I don’t want to be anyone’s judge. However, I will not discuss this topic further here, but if you are interested, you can go to my homepage (www.jariiivanainen.net or in Google my name Jari Iivanainen). There, I've written about this topic mm. in the writings “Religiousness or Faith?”, “Theoretical belief,” and “Are You a Foolish Virgin?”. I hope you think about this thing, that is, the relationship with God and the question of whether you are truly saved and received the forgiven of your sins.
Respecting and blessing you Regards Jari Iivanainen
References:
1. Liisa Tuovinen, ”Synti vai siunaus?” Inhimillinen tekijä. TV2, 2.11.2004, klo 22.05. 2. Espen Ottosen: Minun homoseksuaalit ystäväni (”Mine homofile venner”), p. 104 3. Espen Ottosen: Minun homoseksuaalit ystäväni (”Mine homofile venner”), p. 131 4. Lesboidentiteetti ja kristillisyys, p. 87, Seta julkaisut 5. Sinikka Pellinen: Homoseksuaalinen identiteetti ja kristillinen usko, p. 77, Teron kertomus 6. Bill Hybels: Kristityt seksihullussa kulttuurissa (Christians in a Sex Crazed Culture), p. 132 7. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Terve usko, Raamatun apu masennukseen (Spiritual Depression. Its Causes and Cure), p. 45,46 8. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Terve usko, Raamatun apu masennukseen (Spiritual Depression. Its Causes and Cure), p. 45 9. John Bevere: Turvapaikka (Under Cover), p. 47,48
|
Jesus is the way, the truth and the life
Grap to eternal life!
|
|
