Subject: submssn. religious article
From: BEN BUCKLES <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 29 Jan 96 12:54:25 CST

Hello.  I posted this on INTERNET years ago, and its
                     still floating around; I came across it yesterday.
                     Surprised it's been popular all this time.

                     I've updated it.  Thought I'd send it to you for your
                     enjoyment and you may pass it on to others.

                     Thanks for all you time, work, and care.

                     Ben

                     *******************************************************

                     AN UNCONVENTIONAL  APPROACH TO THE QUESTION OF HOMOSEXU-
                     ALITY AND CHRISTIANITY

                     Ben Brian C. Buckles

                     I could launch into detailed analysis of Scriptures  and
                     Scripturally  used  words and phrases  in their original
                     languages  relating  to the topic  of homosexuality  and
                     Christianity, but I shall not; such have been done, cov-
                     ered  extensively,  such  material and dialogue  readily
                     available.

                     The common texts analyzed and discussed concerning homo-
                     sexuality are, but not limited to:

                     Genesis 19:5-8; Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Deut. 23:17; Judges
                     19:22; I Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; II Kings 23:7; Ezek.
                     16:46-56; Romans 1:24,26,27; I Cor. 6:9; I Timothy
                     1:9,10; II Peter 2:6; Jude 7.

                     Discussions have been made  on these Scriptural passages
                     as to  their interpretation,  meaning,  and relevance to
                     foundational and/or modern Christianity.   Much has been
                     debated  about these verses  in what they  and the whole
                     Bible does or does not say about homosexuality.

                     In this discussion, I shall refer to none of these.  In-
                     stead,  I shall  present the  validity  of homosexuality
                     through other Scriptural verses foundational to Christi-
                     anity.

                     You cannot use  Old Testament  passages of Scripture  to
                     prove or disapprove homosexuality for two basic reasons.
                     First, cultural differences.   Accounts of perceived ho-
                     mosexual behavior  or activity in Old Testament accounts
                     must be reviewed  in the context  of the type of culture
                     and societal structure of the time.

                     It is  these cultural  differences  which bogs down  the
                     discussions of the stories in  Genesis and Judges  as to
                     whether or not  these Scriptures refer to persons engag-
                     ing in homosexual rape,  homosexual orientation,  or not
                     sexual activity at all but rather some other "sin."

                     Paul,  in the New Testament,  laid to rest the arguments
                     of cultural differences in Christianity.   In his minis-
                     try  Paul rightly  proved  three  foundational truths of
                     Christianity:

                     ONE

                     "There is neither  Jew nor Greek,  there is neither bond 
                     nor free,  there is neither male nor female:  for ye are
                     all one in Christ Jesus."  Galatians 3:28.

                     Paul destroyed the argument Gentiles needed to adhere to
                     Jewish laws of circumcision, dress,  dietary, social and
                     political structure.

                     The United States waged a civil war to resolve the argu-
                     ment of slavery.  To Paul, slavery was not an issue;  in
                     fact, he sent a converted slave back to its owner.

                     In this verse Paul creates lively debate in interpreting
                     his  views on women,  declaring universally  there is no
                     difference in sex,  yet writes, "I suffer not a woman to 
                     teach..." (I Timothy 2:12a) and other verses on the role 
                     of women  in Christianity,  forcing us  to rethink  what
                     type of women Paul is referring to in other verses.

                     Paul further destroys  cultural differences in I Cor. 8:
                     4-13,  the  discussion  of  eating  foods  sacrificed to
                     idols.  Paul says we know there are no idols,  only God,
                     and  food offered  to an idol  is acceptable to eat.  To
                     Paul,  it makes no difference  to him  what is the food,
                     how it is prepared or presented (see also I Timothy 4).

                     Yet, Paul admits there are those believers of "weak con-
                     science"  who are offended by those believers who freely
                     eat,  and says,  therefore,  in difference  and love for
                     them,  he/we  should not so eat  in their  presence.  In
                     this discussion of food, Paul touches on the second rea-
                     son for  not using or referring to Old Testament  Scrip-
                     tures, i.e. the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law.

                       TWO

                     Those who try to justify  the forbiddance of homosexual-
                     ity  through the use of  the Leviticus and other similar
                     passages,  bind themselves  to the requirement to adhere
                     to all Old Testament Law.   To skirt this, many scholars
                     have attempted  to divide the Law  into categories, i.e.
                     governmental,  social,  and religious laws,  saying some
                     Law  are now void and others still in effect  because of
                     their  "location"  within  the  code.  This is  invalid.
                     Paul states whoever desires to follow any "part"  of the
                     Law is "a debtor to do the whole law" (Galatians 5:3).

                     The foundational  truth  of  Christianity is Christ ful-
                     filled the Law, the Law now void,  believers now under a
                     different code.  What code?

                     "Owe no man (woman) any thing,  but to love one another: 
                     for he (she) that loveth another  hath fulfilled the law
                     ....if there  be any  other  commandment,  it is briefly
                     comprehended  in this saying,  namely,  'Thou shalt love 
                     thy  neighbor  as thyself.'  Love  worketh no ill to his 
                     (her) neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the
                     law."  Romans 13:8-10.

                     "For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; 
                     'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'  But if ye be
                     led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law."  Galatians 
                     5:14,18.

                     Believers are under only one law, the Law of Christ, the
                     Law  of Love.  If you  try  to live  under the Law,  you
                     shall fail,  but if you live under the Law of Love,  you
                     shall fulfill all Law.  Learn by example:

                       Parenthood.  One day  just a person,  then through the
                       birth  or  adoption  of a child,  you become a parent.
                       With the title  of parent  comes all manner  of duties
                       and/or responsibilities  (Law)  you must fulfill.  You
                       must be responsible  in the child's  care and welfare, 
                       providing food, shelter, clothing, teaching and train-
                       ing how to live properly in the Faith and our Society.

                       If you made  it your  goal each day to fulfill all pa-
                       rental duties and were to ask your child upon reaching
                       adulthood if he/she felt you loved him/her, the answer
                       would be, "No."  Why?  Because your child was not your
                       focus,  rather your focus was all those duties and re-
                       sponsibilities.

                       Yet,  if you make it  your goal each day to do nothing
                       but  love your child  with all your heart  and were to
                       ask your child upon reaching adulthood if  he/she felt
                       you loved  him/her,  the answer  would be, "Yes;" AND,
                       you would have naturally and without effort  fulfilled
                       all parental duties and responsibilities, for "love is 
                       the fulfillment of the law."

                     So, too, when we are birthed as Christians, with the ti-
                     tle  of  "Christian"  comes all manner of duties and re-
                     sponsibilities,  some Scripturally ordained, others cul-
                     tural or modern day Pharisaism.  If we determine to live
                     up to these duties,  whether real or imagined,  we shall
                     miserably fail.  Yet,  if we determine to love in accor-
                     dance with Christ's Law of Love, letting the Holy Spirit 
                     power and enable us to so live, we shall succeed.

                     Any what is this Love?   I shall not get  into a discus-
                     sion of the  various original language  words translated
                     into  English  as "love."  Instead,  I refer  simply  to
                     Christ Himself in His life and activities, and to Paul's 
                     discussion in I Corinthians 13.

                       THREE

                     "Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?   If 
                     any man (woman) trust to himself (herself) that he (she)
                     is Christ's,  let him (her)  of himself (herself)  think 
                     this again,  even so  are we  Christ's."  II Corinthians 
                     10:7.

                     "...for the Lord seeth not as man (woman) seeth; for man 
                     (woman) looketh on the outward appearance,  but the Lord
                     looketh on the heart."  I Samuel 16:7b.

                     "For  if ye  live after  the flesh (law),  ye shall die:  
                     but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
                     body,  ye shall  live.  For  as many  as are led  by the
                     Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.  The Spirit it-
                     self  beareth witness  with our spirit,  that we are the
                     children of God."  Romans 8:13,14,16.

                     Each of us  knows  in our  hearts  if we  have  embraced
                     Christ and His Love, have acknowledged in our hearts our
                     inability to live the Law and called upon God to forgive
                     us through Christ our  failings and enable us to live a-
                     new in God.  No person  has the power to say or judge us
                     otherwise,  no matter the fact  we may yet  wrestle with
                     addictions,  weaknesses,  or  temptations   Scripturally
                     listed or believed sinful in his/her mind or culture.

                     Our faith  is rooted and grounded  on salvation based on
                     faith  not actions or  manner of living.  Christians are
                     called  not to do (Law), but to be (faith),  adoption by
                     Blood into God's household.

                     CONCLUSION

                     The rules apply equally to those of heterosexual and ho-
                     mosexual  orientation.  We get  our  identity in Christ,
                     not in our sexual orientation; our sexual orientation is
                     but one part of the many facets which make us human.  It
                     does not matter what your sexual orientation, nor wheth-
                     er or not your sexual orientation is biologically or so-
                     cially determined and/or developed, it is how you rever-
                     ence, use, and express it which matters.

                     In Christ  there  is  neither  male or female,  slave or
                     free, Jew or non-Jew,  Homosexual  or Heterosexual.  God
                     looks  at the heart and determines  if God there resides
                     and therein lives an attitude and motivation of Love.

                     In  Paul's  discussion  of  food sacrificed to idols  (I 
                     Corinthians 8) he states:

                     "....Knowledge puffeth up, but charity (love) edifieth."
                     verse 1.

                     Further, in I Corinthians he also states:

                     "All things  are lawful unto me,  but all things are not
                     expedient:  all things are lawful for me, but I will not
                     be brought under the power of any."  6:12.   "All things
                     are lawful  for me,  but  all things  are not expedient:
                     all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not." 
                     10:23.

                     Only those  things done in  Love edify.  Heterosexual or
                     homosexual orientation,  as we now understand and define
                     it, is not discussed in Scripture.  The Bible is full of
                     verses discussing  sexual activity,  desire,  and/or ex-
                     pression.  Any  expression  of sexuality  which  is  not
                     rooted and grounded in Christ's Law of Love is sin.

                     Homosexuality  and heterosexuality are equally lawful to
                     us, but the manner  of expression of either is not often
                     expedient or profitable,  constructive and beneficial to
                     the individual, life partner or society as a whole.

                     A homosexual  Christian is  bound by the same guidelines
                     as a heterosexual Christian,  i.e. to live a life sober,
                     respectful of  persons  and  property,  temperate,  non-
                     judgemental, honorable, self-sacrificing, gentle, faith-
                     ful, and all  other expressions of Christ's Law of Love.  
                     A homosexual  oriented  person's  expression of  his/her 
                     sexuality is the same as that of a heterosexual oriented
                     person's,  i.e. responsible to honor Christ,  self, life
                     partner and society;  be chaste, honor marriage/partner-
                     ship, and the marriage/partnership bed.

                     Homosexuality is no more a sin than heterosexuality;  it
                     is the attitude and  expression of the heart of  a homo-
                     sexual or heterosexual  oriented person wherein lies the
                     potential for sin.  Any  expression of  sexuality  which
                     demeans, exploits, uses or abuses another person is sin,
                     and is so  criticized  in Scripture.  Any  expression of
                     sexuality which uplifts, supports the individual and the
                     individual's life partner and society as a whole,  which
                     is  expressed in a heart attitude  of the Spirit's  Love
                     is lawful  and  Scripturally supported.

                     You may spend a lifetime debating, discussing and/or di-
                     secting  Scriptures.  You  cannot debate  Love or Christ
                     nor judge those whom God embraces as children  purchased
                     by Blood.

                     (Scriptures quoted herein are KJV modified gender neu-
                     tral).

                     c1990, revised 1996

                     Ben Brian C. Buckles   *  *  *  *  *   We're Here! 
                     Librarian                *  _|_  *     We're Queer!   
                     Topeka, KS USA             * | *       We're Christians!
                     Telephone:                   *         Get Used To It!
                     INTERNET:[email-masked]
                     Where the Wheat Grows Tall, the Horse is Jealous, and
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