We recently ran across an
interesting video on You Tube. The caption reads, “Kevin Rudd shuts down homophobe
in the headlights on Q&A.” The video
can be found here:
In the video, Kevin Rudd (Prime
Minister in Australia), in a Question & Answer session, responds to a local
pastor’s question on “marriage equality.”
Apparently, Rudd’s views had recently changed on the topic of
homosexuality. He is now sympathetic
toward gays and their lifestyle. The
pastor asked Rudd, “If you call yourself a Christian, why don’t you believe the
words of Jesus in the Bible?” A very
good question. But Rudd’s response to
the pastor was, “The Bible also says that slavery
is a natural condition,” to which the crowd erupted in applause. And again, implying that if we are going to
believe the Bible, that “we should have all fought for the Confederacy in the
U.S. Civil War!”
The Attack
He could have said to the pastor, “No, you simply misunderstand the
Bible’s teaching on homosexuality, and it is this…” But he decided to directly attack the Bible, instead. Although Rudd claims to be a Christian, he,
along with the crowd, was apparently implying that you can’t trust everything the Bible says. Therefore, this “weakness” somehow means that
the Bible’s clear condemnation of homosexuality is actually wrong. It is now seen as a fully acceptable
lifestyle. Rudd stated that he had come
to this conclusion after “many, many months and years of reflection,” and he
claimed to have decided this with an “informed” and “good, Christian”
conscience.
The Slavery Issue
But concerning the slavery
comment, he apparently didn’t “reflect” very long on any study of what the
Bible actually has to say about slavery - otherwise, he would have known that
Old Testament slavery of innocent people was a voluntary system, and nothing like the bigoted, hateful and brutal
slavery of the pre-Civil War type in America, which was motivated by
racism.
Biblical slavery
was not like this. It was voluntary unless you were a criminal of some
sort. First, for example, if you were a
foreigner conquered by Israel (because of your nation’s sins), then you could
be forced into slavery. Or, secondly, if
you committed a crime, like theft, and could not repay what you stole, then you
were sold (and forced) into slavery until the debt was paid.
But again, these were either
hardened sinners, or criminals who broke the law. They were not “innocent victims” of
slavery. No one should deny them their
penalty. Even today, anyone going to
prison will, in a sense, be a slave of the state. This may seem harsh, but in many cultures in
those days, the penalty for certain crimes was often slavery or even death. But even these criminals who were forced into
slavery by Israel were relatively well-treated compared to the surrounding
pagan nations.
A Choice
And then there was voluntary slavery, used by those who had
trouble paying off their debts because of money mismanagement, hard times, bankruptcy,
famine, etc. So, rather than die of
starvation, they would voluntarily attach themselves to a wealthy slave owner,
who would often pay off the person’s debt, and then provide food and shelter in
exchange for work. This was merciful and
it was beneficial to both slave owner and
slave.
Biblical slavery was
important because back then, there was no governmental welfare system like we
have today here in America. There were
no bankruptcy laws like ours to help people get out of debt. There were no government give-aways to fall
back on. Unlike our welfare system today, that system encouraged responsibility and
a strong work ethic.
Yes, it was an imperfect
system, but the concept of slavery was already in place in that whole ancient
culture, so God created laws for regulating
this imperfect system, so that it wouldn’t get out of hand. In our easily offended society, it is hard to
understand the cold reality of some of the ancient laws. We are so overly “domesticated” and pampered that
we think that any punishment is
cruel. But that’s the way the ancient
people worked. It was so ingrained in them
that God had to gradually fade out
this culture of slavery.
See these links on biblical
slavery:
God’s “Mistakes”?
But Rudd’s answer to the
pastor concerning slavery is typical of LGBT sympathizers. It seems that Rudd was implying that God made
a mistake by allowing any kind of slavery,
and then made another mistake in calling
homosexuality a sin and an abomination (Leviticus 18:22). The LGBT crowd wants to continue in their
sin. But they (and their sympathizers)
don’t want it to be called sin. They are anxious to prove the Bible
wrong. They want their sin to be
accepted at all costs and they are willing to twist the Scriptures (2
Peter 3:16) and call that which is evil, good – and call that which is
good, evil (Isaiah 5:20).
All or Nothing
But if you’re going to change
God’s Word, why stop there? Why stop with
the sin of homosexuality? Maybe God made
other “mistakes,” as well - maybe the
sins of lying, theft, hating your neighbor, murder, kidnapping, beastiality,
and others are ALSO not really sins!
Maybe the Ten Commandments are really all wrong! Why believe some of His Word, but not all
of it (2 Timothy 3:16-17)? Where
do you draw the line? You see, once you
open that door and start questioning or changing God’s laws, then things start
spinning out of control.
True Love for Gays
In his defense of gays, Rudd also
said that focusing on what the Bible says about homosexuality is “missing the
centrality of the gospel.” He said, “The
human condition and social conditions change,” (as though time changes God’s Word – Psalm 119:89; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 5:18). And he also emphasized that the fundamental
principal of the New Testament is “universal love,” i.e., (“loving your fellow
man”). Yes it is, but allowing someone
to openly continue in sin is NOT “loving your neighbor” at all! (James
5:19-20) True Christians are
concerned about their fellow man’s eternal destiny. But Rudd is denying the clear warnings of the
Bible.
Born That Way?
Rudd also asked that if gays
are born that way, how could we condemn them?
Another good question. And he’s
right. But the flip side of that
question is that God would NOT call homosexuality an abomination IF a person is
born that way. Yet, it is clearly
revealed as sinful in the Bible. So, two
choices remain: Either, people are born
gay, and yet God condemns their sin when they really had no choice – or, no one is born gay, and homosexuality is a learned behavior, and is
indeed an abomination exactly as He said in both the Old Testament and in the
New.
The Smokescreen
People often use the same tactic
that Kevin Rudd used: They want to
excuse their (or someone else’s) sin, so they use a diversion, a
smokescreen, to try to catch
Christians off guard. They will point to
some little-known (and little understood) Old Testament dietary or ceremonial
law that might forbid the eating of shellfish - or the wearing of two different
kinds of fabrics at one time - or the planting of two different crops together
- or they’ll point to laws calling for the death of someone who works on the
Sabbath, etc., etc. And they will say,
“See, we don’t follow these any more.”
But these were part of the ceremonial
laws that were strictly for Israel,
and they were only intended for a certain
period in time. These ceremonial
laws were simply types and shadows (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews
8:5-6; 10:1) and the reason we don’t follow them today is because they were
all fulfilled in Jesus Christ. But there
were also moral laws in the Old
Testament that carried over into the New Testament, like the Ten Commandments
and many others, including the prohibitions against homosexuality (Matthew
19:4-6; Romans 1:26-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Jude 7).
Conclusion
So, pointing to these types
of Old Testament laws to justify your sin is simply making excuses for your
unbelief. Many people will purposely use
these obsolete laws or these inflammatory “hot-button” topics (like slavery) to
stir up anger and confusion, and to divert attention away from the truth of the
Bible. But this generates more “heat”
than “light,” i.e., more controversy than understanding, and it is only an
attempt to downplay the Bible’s reliability.
Perhaps the “Honorable” Kevin
Rudd would say that he does believe
in the whole Bible, but that the prohibition of homosexuality is simply some
kind of symbol or allegory. Well, if you want to go that route, then maybe
the resurrection of the dead, or the Christian life, or Jesus, Himself, is also
just an allegory! We could carry this
concept to absurd conclusions. The
question is this: Does man decide what is sin, or does God
Almighty?
But there IS no allegorizing
of the ban on homosexuality. There IS no
explaining it away, no sensible alternate interpretation. And there IS no mistake on God’s part. The Bible is God’s Word to mankind and it plainly
says that homosexuality is sin.
Jesus, Himself, made it
absolutely clear that, from the beginning, God’s plan and intent for marriage
is one man for one woman:
And He answered and said, “Have you not
read, that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female,
and said, ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall
cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh’? Consequently they are no longer two, but one
flesh. What therefore God has joined
together, let no man separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6)
What God has joined together
in holy matrimony is a man and a woman.
Will anyone dare to purposely violate the intent and purpose of God’s
plan?
People may ask, “Why do you
Christians focus so much on homosexuality?
Aren’t there other types of sin in the world about which you should be
concerned?” Absolutely. But the adulterer and the thief and the
kidnapper, etc., all seem to know
that their deeds are sinful. That’s why
they HIDE them! At least they’ll admit
what they do is wrong. But many, if not
most, LGBT people today will tell you up front that they don’t care who knows of their lifestyle… they just insist that it
is not sinful. They either reject God’s
Word altogether, or they twist it to accommodate their sins. This is the proverbial “shaking your fist in
God’s face.” Surely, judgment is coming.
