2008 Woodie Awards
RE: Student Examines Homosexuality on Campus
Issue date: 5/11/07 Section: Letters to the editor
Biblical Foundation
Any argument has a conceptual underpinning or philosophical basis. Thus my premises rely on a biblical foundation in principle and a call to the Christian life in particular. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
To paraphrase Mathew Henry, we must in essence prefer the salvation of our souls to the pleasing of the flesh. Luke continues recording Jesus words in verses 24-27 with " For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." In essence in battle between the soul and the flesh we must observe "Animus cujusque is est quisque"-the soul is the man.
The call of the Savior is clear and scripture is replete with references to sexual morality. Paul's letter to the Romans, Jude, Timothy, Leviticus, are only a few places where God's expectations for man are listed. From Genesis to Revelations the Creator's design is clearly communicated to his people. Many will reject God's authority, as recording in II Timothy 3:5 where Paul writes that many will have "a form of godliness but denying it's power." To them the gospel has no authority over their lives and no power to enable man to exercise freedom, personal sovereignty, or choice with regard to the flesh, instead they have become subject to the flesh. No reasonable man can accept scriptural authority and reject God's standard on sexual purity.
Philosophical Foundation--1st Amendment and Free Exercise
Unfortunately there are those both inside and outside the church who deny biblical authority over their lives, and in the process are denying biblical authority over our lives as well. For them we must be ready to examine this issue within the context of natural rights, God-given rights, and freedom/ liberty which provide the foundation of this country. The 1st amendment guarantees the "free exercise" of religious beliefs. This guarantee is being replaced with the Gnostic idea "believe what you want, but act only in private." This perverted idea dictates that although we are benefactors of the 1st amendment we may not converse with one another according to our expectations of moral behavior. The loss of moral accountability seems to free everyone to become a law unto themselves, but is in fact the trappings of self-imposed slavery of ourselves to our passions, and ultimately to anyone (ask Sampson) who controls those passions. Instead of love, we are confined to anger, jealousy, strife, and a multitude of inclinations which we now bow to, acknowledging their power over us by means of our cravings. We have become slaves to the very cultural idols that promised us freedom. Liberty, the rule of law, and holy living for the Christian become vestiges of a forgotten life, swallowed by the selfishness of living on cheap grace.
Any argument has a conceptual underpinning or philosophical basis. Thus my premises rely on a biblical foundation in principle and a call to the Christian life in particular. In Luke 9:23, Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me."
To paraphrase Mathew Henry, we must in essence prefer the salvation of our souls to the pleasing of the flesh. Luke continues recording Jesus words in verses 24-27 with " For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels." In essence in battle between the soul and the flesh we must observe "Animus cujusque is est quisque"-the soul is the man.
The call of the Savior is clear and scripture is replete with references to sexual morality. Paul's letter to the Romans, Jude, Timothy, Leviticus, are only a few places where God's expectations for man are listed. From Genesis to Revelations the Creator's design is clearly communicated to his people. Many will reject God's authority, as recording in II Timothy 3:5 where Paul writes that many will have "a form of godliness but denying it's power." To them the gospel has no authority over their lives and no power to enable man to exercise freedom, personal sovereignty, or choice with regard to the flesh, instead they have become subject to the flesh. No reasonable man can accept scriptural authority and reject God's standard on sexual purity.
Philosophical Foundation--1st Amendment and Free Exercise
Unfortunately there are those both inside and outside the church who deny biblical authority over their lives, and in the process are denying biblical authority over our lives as well. For them we must be ready to examine this issue within the context of natural rights, God-given rights, and freedom/ liberty which provide the foundation of this country. The 1st amendment guarantees the "free exercise" of religious beliefs. This guarantee is being replaced with the Gnostic idea "believe what you want, but act only in private." This perverted idea dictates that although we are benefactors of the 1st amendment we may not converse with one another according to our expectations of moral behavior. The loss of moral accountability seems to free everyone to become a law unto themselves, but is in fact the trappings of self-imposed slavery of ourselves to our passions, and ultimately to anyone (ask Sampson) who controls those passions. Instead of love, we are confined to anger, jealousy, strife, and a multitude of inclinations which we now bow to, acknowledging their power over us by means of our cravings. We have become slaves to the very cultural idols that promised us freedom. Liberty, the rule of law, and holy living for the Christian become vestiges of a forgotten life, swallowed by the selfishness of living on cheap grace.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Joe Crain
posted 5/11/07 @ 1:22 PM EST
I don't know who this guy is, but I think he hit the nail square on the head. Don't get me wrong, we have to show love to the members of the Homosexual community, but there is a very clear distinction made in scripture about the morality of this lifestyle. (Continued…)
Nielsen
Ben Nielsen
posted 5/14/07 @ 10:14 PM EST
Dear Readers,
I apologize to Dr. Chuck Lentz, the author of this letter, for not confirming that his name was included in his post. This is my error. (Continued…)
Brett Miller
posted 5/15/07 @ 10:52 AM EST
Wow. Re-introduce the law. Be careful what you ask for, Joe. Hope the weave in your garments is correct. Hope you haven't eaten any shellfish lately. Hope you have no sin in your heart. (Continued…)
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