LGBTQ+ = Subverting the Created Order
Spring into March by renewing your prayers and support for the Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty’s efforts to contend for the freedom to proclaim the faith.
“The LGBTQ community." What other sin is talked this way? Is there a murdering community? A gossiping community? Since when does an alliance in sin spoken of in such positive terms? But this community is one that speaks lies that lead to the destruction of the family and to loneliness and isolation.
Typically, when attempting to cloud the issue, we are told that questions concerning sex and gender are "complicated." Really, it isn't. God created us male and female. The confusion arises from the deceptive ideology that pushes it. We are told that detransitioners are extremely rare. Have they not met and talked with those in the growing detransition community? We have members who have been lied to and have escaped the clutches of the deceivers, though they are not unscathed medically or emotionally. We are told that trans people do not simply decide to be trans. But they mention nothing of the work of Abigail Shrier and many others who have clearly demonstrated that the transgender phenomenon is a social contagion, especially now among women, an ideology that is spread by the secular left and through destructive influencers on social media.
Our children are being misled and lied to, told they can find their true identity by claiming to be the opposite or fabricated gender. But it is a false, misleading dream that leads to a lifetime of misery and medical treatment. It is a regime that begins with drugs that sterilize, followed by surgery that is mutilation. Coming to peace in one's own body is also hidden in the deceptive language of "conversion therapy." The Christian teaching is that God made us male and female and that we find peace in who we really are. These folks are pushing a kind of gnosticism that thinks of men as women as spirits who happen to be living in a body that does not fit them. True compassion is to save our children from these predators.
The biblical evidence is glossed over and the little interpretation that is offered is misleading. Again and again, we are told that people have different opinions, though God's Word is quite clear, as is the natural law to which St. Paul appeals. Levitical laws concerning homosexuality are compared to Sabbath laws, which is absurd. The host of the show surely knows this. This section of Leviticus also condemns incest and prostitution. Shall we pretend that these Levitical prohibitions are no longer valid? The biblical witness is clear, that man and woman were made for one another. Sodom and Gomorrah are said not to be about homosexuality, which is also deceptive, as the sin involves homosexual rape. Jude calls it "going after strange flesh." Romans is dismissed by saying that serious biblical scholars have different opinions. Well, that can be said about every biblical issue, and there are always false teaching and bad shepherds who distort God's word. It's actually quite clear.
Of course, we are told that Jesus does not speak to the LGBTQ issues, but that is also misleading, as our Lord comes not to overthrow the law, but to fulfill it. He expressly endorses the creation of man and woman, and He defines marriage likewise. Those in the conversation lie again by saying that same-sex parenting can work out well. That flies in the face of the created order. Gay marriage purposefully denies a child a father or a mother. A child needs both for a healthy balance. Gay marriage turns children into a commodity. Or to put it another way, every child is born of a woman, and every child has the right to know his biological father as his dad. To be loving and caring is to do our best to make sure that every child has a mom and dad and surely not to celebrate when children are raised in the rebellious dysfunction of gay marriage. It's humorous that one of the participants speaks incessantly of justice but cannot offer up a word of justice who is purposefully deprived of a mom or dad. I would refer them to Katy Foust and her book Them Before Us, which explains how marriage has been redefined and undefined for the sake of adult desire and against the health of children.
Other lies are dropped along the way. We are told that the Old Testament defines life by the first breath. No way. Our Lord says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made in the womb.
So, where is true compassion? Speaking the truth. And that means about everything. But the LGBTQ ideology poses another problem. We are all born with original sin, and we are all beset by various types of sinful inclinations. In 1 Corinthians, our Lord places homosexuality in a list alongside of thieves and swindlers and more. The difference here is that the LGBTQ movement actually holds parades for sins, promotes sin as something that is good. Subversively, the movement has attempted to co-opt God's rainbow.
The funny thing is that these conversationalists think they are on the cutting edge when, in fact, the evidence is coming in and is exposing their lies. I would direct everyone to a promising movement called "Greater Than" that in the spirit of compassion is pushing back, speaking of what marriage truly is, and why it matters for children. I would also point people to the Ruth Institute.
We are told that nothing can separate us from God's love, and that is true; sin, unrepentant sin, is a problem that causes separation. If we want to be Gospel people, we have to know that our Lord forgives sin, not that He overlooks it or pretends that sin is not sin. Sheep are always confused, but woe to the shepherds who do not lead them into better pastures, into the way of the One who is the Truth. And when we don't talk about sin as sin, we close the door of repentance and forgiveness. And that is not compassion.
The Rev. Dr. Peter Scaer is chairman and professor of Exegetical Theology and director of the M.A. program at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Ind.
Be Informed
Hear from Mr. Kelly Shackelford, president and CEO of First Liberty Institute—the largest legal firm in the nation dedicated exclusively to protecting religious freedom for all Americans. He and the Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz discuss the latest updates on religious liberty decisions and cases at the Supreme Court and why they matter to YOU!
Be Equipped
Need a good podcast for your commute? Listen to the Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz and Tim Goeglein of Focus on the Family discuss the welfare of the state and the health of the family.
Be Encouraged
“This is love—the God who became a human baby for us, who suffered for us, who rose from the dead to give us everlasting life. This is love, shining into our own darkness to give us joy and salvation.” –Lutheran Hour Ministries Daily Devotions
