In 10th grade my history teacher insisted we memorize the Seven Deadly Sins for an exam. Unlike most of the other things I tried to remember at age 14, years later I can still list them all: pride, greed, lust, gluttony, anger, envy, sloth.
In high school I thought those sins must have come from some sort of biblical list. Years later I found out that the development of a listing of the Seven Deadly Sins was actually a gradual, fairly random process across centuries of Christian thought. Like all traditions handed down through the centuries, they have taken on a life of their own and, for many, become an accepted, unquestioned part of Christian tradition. We caution those who are "too prideful," labeling their actions un-Christian.
It was the Seven Deadly Sins that made the budding theologian in me question my first gay pride parade at age 18. I wasn't questioning the morality of LGBTQ people and their relationships. I was questioning the claiming of "pride," a sin that, if Christian tradition is to be believed, is the root of all destruction.
Of the Seven Deadly Sins pride has sometimes been called the worst. It is often seen as the root of the six other deadly sins. Even the 20th century mainline theologian Paul Tillich, sometimes criticized as "too liberal" by conservative Christians, wrote that pride was the occasion for all sin. As I queued up for my first march in a pride parade I wondered, "Shouldn't we find another name for this? Solidarity, maybe? Celebration? Something not on a "sin" list?"
Years later in seminary I thought more about the "sin" of pride. I was reading Tillich and responses to his work. I was also taking Greek, a requisite for ordination. The wonderful thing about learning Greek was that it allowed seminarians to go back to the original sources of Christian thought, the Scriptures, and read them as they were first written. It made us go deeper and learn the contexts of the traditions we held onto hundreds of years later.
I learned that what the Seven Deadly Sins calls "pride" is actually more correctly "hubris." In Greek the word for hubris has less to do with feeling good about one's self, and more to do with shaming another through abuse and violence. Hubris is arrogance brought about by the shaming and victimization of another. It is, rightfully, named as sinful.
Applied today to the status of LGBTQ people in this country, hubris is not demonstrated in the pride parades held across the country each June. It's not in the waving of a rainbow flag or marching with a banner. It's nowhere to be found in the crowds gathered to proclaim their pride in who they are and in those whom they love.
Instead it's here: It's in the pastor who preached in North Carolina that gays and lesbians should be rounded up, placed inside an electrified fence, and held until death.
It's in the parents who taught their child to sing a hateful song about LGBTQ people at a Maryland church that included the words, "ain't no homos going to make it to heaven," and then broadcast it, complete with the cheers of their fellow parishioners.
And it's in the clergy who condemn committed LGBTQ relationships as they hide the sins of other clergy against children. Or who preach a Gospel of hate that encourages the bullies who force LGBTQ kids to the point they feel life has no hope.
These are sins. And they are deadly.
Paul Tillich's insistence that pride was the root of all sin was later challenged by a growing field of women who were theologians. They pointed out to Tillich that for those who have been traditionally oppressed, pride is not an occasion for sin. Instead, the absence of pride, the failure to see one's self as a good creation of God, was the real occasion for sin. The shame that kept one from doing the things God was calling them to do became sinful.
I want to be careful there to not label those who are mired in the shame created by an often homophobic world as sinners. They are not. Rather, the culture that creates that shame in young people growing up LGBTQ is, and that must be changed. A culture whose hubris comes from making LGBTQ people second-class citizens, who makes criminal in some states the very mention of the word "gay" in the classroom, who allows so-called reparative therapy practitioners to keep their licenses, is a sinful one because it is a soul-destroying one. It must be challenged. It must be changed.
And this is how LGBTQ people and their allies change it: they claim their pride. They claim it in parades. They claim it in front of wedding officiants. They claim it in the face of bullies. And they claim it on everyday that God has given to them.
Forty-three years ago this month, at a bar called Stonewall, a group of LGBTQ people who were being attacked claimed it. After years of systemic degradation, violence and victimization at the hands of hubris, they refused to live in shame anymore. That's why each June we who are LGBTQ gather in their honor, and in memory of them and of everyone else who has ever stood up and refused to be ashamed anymore.
It is a good act. It is a holy act. And it is an act of faith. An act of claiming the life and the future that God has created for us. And when one is trying to live into the calling God has given them to live, and to resist those who would deny that calling, it can never be called a sin.
Follow Rev. Emily C. Heath on Twitter: www.twitter.com/calledoutrev
S1: False: Romans 1:26-27 - [26] Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. [27] In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
S2: False: Romans 1:28 - [28] Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
S3: False: Romans 1:32 - [32] Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
S4: True: Isaiah 42:5 - [5] This is what God the LORD says--he who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it:
S5: False: 1 Thessalonians 4:7 - [7] For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.
It is so clear to anyone who's read the whole passage that Paul is not condemning faithful monogamous same-sex relationships, so why do people feel it is right to . You have quoted Isiah saying that God gave breath to all his people and life to all those who walk on the Earth. Well God gave life and breath to homosexuals too, both Christian and non-Christian. So I see no reason why it is right, first of all, for any Christian to condemn anyone (since Jesus taught against it in the sermon on the mount), but secondly, for any Christian to condemn someone that the bible itself doesn't condemn, and whom the bible itself asserts is as much a part of God's creation as you and I.
I have no doubt there are homosexuals who are not only saved but who cheerfully and wholeheartedly worship God and follow His Word.
However, it is clear that practicing homosexuality is a sin. I am predisposed to committing sinful acts myself. I can have a terrible temper. I lie. I can be supremely arrogant and look down on others, [enter any sin you want here] etc. But when I commit sin I know I must confess it to Christ and truly repent.
I recommend you read the book of James. Just because we are saved through Christ does not mean we get to do whatever we like afterwards. We should strive to become more like Christ and follow the Word of God. Our lives should reflect an inner change where we no longer give in to our desires of the flesh.
Read Matthew 5:17. Jesus did not abolish the old law, he instead fulfilled it. The 10 Commandments still stand. The Law still stands. The difference is that we now have Christ as our representative to God when we are judged. But if we are truly Christians, we should not be interested in trying to abuse Grace so that we can continue to sin and enjoy a "fallen" lifestyle. One's heart should reflect God's desires for purity and perfection.
BECAUSE OF THIS
Because of what? Idolatry. That's the sin in question. Not being gay.
I remember being in at home and learning 1+1=2 and my abc's. I remember doing the same in pre-school and kindergarten. But as we advanced in school, we did not continuously go over simple mathematics, but built upon it. The high schools did not have us recite or abc's or try to memorize "In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue." At a certain stage there were things that we should have already know and be cable of doing.
God's word is no different. In actuality Paul talks about first feeding people on milk and then as they matured, they feed something heartier. Time and experience does that in all things, even with the Bible.
https://www.facebook.com/MisterKennyM/posts/10151773597590391?notif_t=feed_comment
Rights movements in the US have typically been named in response to how the groups they feel they’ve been oppressed. “Black power” responded to the powerlessness of having been slaves and remaining oppressed even after the passage of Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments. “Women’s liberation” responded to the oppression of economic inequality (among other things) which left many women dependent on men (husbands, fathers, etc.). “Gay pride” was a response to the societal messages that homosexuals should be ashamed. To equate pride in “gay pride” with the “sin” of pride would be playing a self-serving word game. The fact that the same word, pride, is use in both contexts is purely coincidental. The synonym dignity could have just as easily been chosen for the LGBT movement and the synonym “hubris” could have just as easily been chosen for the “sin.”
Pride is essentially saying to God I don't care what you say I'm going to do my thing. It is rebellion against God which according to Isa. 14:13 and Ezek. 28:2 is what caused the schism between Satan and God and brought the ruin of his creation. So it follows, sadly that those who reject God's truth and walk in their own way are following their father the Devil.John 8:44
"...hubris has less to do with feeling good about one's self, and more to do with shaming another through abuse and violence. Hubris is arrogance brought about by the shaming and victimization of another. It is, rightfully, named as sinful." from the Reverend above.
These Satanic christians use the Christ for their own fear, ignorance and hatred of members of their community or even their family.
Gay Pride is a way to show that we are here, we are not going anywhere. It is no more prideful than the Fourth of July celebrations. Homosexuality/heterosexuality happens at birth and just like blue or brown eyes is just what is. There is no choice in the matter.
Bigotry IS a choice and the continual hatred and discrimination that this country has for its fellow American citizens is the larger sin and THAT sin is the hubris that will keep those bigots from any ticket to heaven. Loving and caring gay and lesbians who live a good life will not have any problem getting into heaven (someone has to do the decor anyway).
haha.... enjoyed your comments
Everyone is born broken, in need of restoration. That is what the Gospel is all about. Jesus died to brake sin's power over us and sent the Holy Spirit to indwell the believer to enable him to live above our sin. You have a choice.
You have a bigoted attitude against me because I do not agree with you. If not then why am I a bigot for not agreeing with you.
As far as heaven is concerned who will be there and who will not be there is between the individual and God. When I read Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 6:9" Don't fool yourselves those who indulge in sexual sin....have no share in the kingdom of God," I want to keep clear of what he describes.
God created man without sin. He rebelled against his creator and was cursed. All who came from the loins of Adam were born broken in need of a savior. Sexual sins are an indication of our brokenness. God gave the pattern, the ideal to Adam in Genesis 2:24, one man one woman for life. That is the natural way, the way we were created and the way that works best. Acting out from our brokenness in ways that violate God's ideal will only result in ruin and hurt.
Nature is clear on the matter. Your body was not made for homosexual activity. As far as the science it's clear to. Homosexually active men have a lifetime STD incidence of 75% compared to 17% in the general population.