Chase Harper Tells Wheaton College Students to Speak the Truth about Homosexuality

  We commend this young man, Chase Harper, who inspired the “Day of Truth” as a response to the pro-homosexuality “Day of Silence” in schools across the country. How many grown adults could learn from his example of standing up for godly values, with courage and conviction, and not giving an inch to pro-homosexual political correctness? Harper is now a student at Wheaton College. Note his admonishment to fellow Wheaton students.–PL

By Chase Harper 

I spent the better part of last Monday talking and praying with a homosexual man who recently attempted to commit suicide. His life has been a trail of suffering. Society has almost universally told this man that his sexual lifestyle is one to be celebrated, while in fact it is the root of much deep-seated fear and pain.

He had known Christians who had spoken of God’s deliverance from sin, yet none of them ever told him that homosexuality was something from which he must be delivered. How did these Christians expect this man to be set free? Our love for people in bondage to homosexuality must include the truth regarding the destructive nature of their lifestyle. In this situation, love without truth is utter hypocrisy.

A person trapped in homosexuality is often like a cancer victim who is unaware of their disease. A “good hearted person” would gladly cry with them, hug them, and hold their hand beside their deathbed. Yet would it not be an abominable thing to leave that person in ignorance or self-deception concerning their condition? Truly selfless love would compel you to burst into the room screaming, “Friend, you have a horrible cancer and it is killing you as we speak! Come with me and we’ll go to the Doctor who can save your life!”

Homosexuality is dangerous. People who are given over to a homosexual lifestyle are far more likely to experience disease, mental illness, drug abuse, depression, alcoholism, suicidal tendencies, and even a shortened life span.[1]  It is understandable that the Bible speaks so harshly against sexual “freedom”.

My high school not only endorsed, but glorified homosexuality. While the school-endorsed Day of Silence claims to promote wonderful things such as creating safer environments for LGBT students, in actuality it proved to be a way for my school to portray diverse sexuality as healthy and normal.

Teachers and counselors would suggest to troubled students that their emptiness in life might stem from a denial of homosexual orientation. Students looking for a way out of homosexuality were warned against even considering a search for one. A close family friend of mine arrived at this high school only to be convinced that he was truly homosexual and that embracing his new sexuality was the answer to his troubles.

In an effort to applaud sexual freedom, the school brought an adult male drag queen to speak on campus, only to be outdone by the student vote electing a gay prom king. Sexuality without boundaries was “the way to go”. The school even went as far as providing students with counseling material explicitly stating that the Christian Bible does not in anyway condemn homosexual behavior. Many students, even Christian students, saw sexual diversity as a beautiful part of God’s plan for our lives. Our silence in such circumstances is affirmation of perversity.

The night before the Day of Silence at my high school I was reading in Paul’s writings to the church at Corinth, a place that had been overcome by sexual immorality. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 2:4:

“But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.”

The next day I wore a T-shirt plainly declaring the Biblical truth that “Homosexuality is Shameful.” I had a ton of other students coming up to me and asking what the hell I was doing wearing a shirt like that. Very calmly I explained to them that homosexuality is a destructive behavior from which the blood of Jesus Christ can set people free.

From circulating literature to preaching on a bench at lunch, I was adamant in my message of the redemption and deliverance that can be found in Christ. During one lunch period, I preached a message of deliverance from sinful bondage to some 200 kids at one time. Yet such a message can only be preached after people realize how badly they need deliverance!

The Day of Truth was birthed from my stand on homosexuality. In some schools, pro-gay students went to protest a Day of Truth rally only to hear a message of truth concerning homosexuality and the redemption offered in Christ. In multiple instances, some of the students who came to protest the event gave their lives to Jesus Christ during that rally.

I hope the student who made the comment that “the wrongness of homosexuality” is “a pretty useless thing to talk about with anyone who doesn’t take the Bible seriously”[2]  will reconsider her remark.

I have seen people give their hearts to Christ when confronted with the dangers of their sinful lives, even ones I have personally led to the Lord. One might say they become like someone who has finally realized that they are dying of cancer, and have become desperate for the cure.

My choice to wear that T-shirt has received the loudest support from leaders within the world’s largest Christian ministries to homosexuals; such as Exodus [International], Stephen Bennett Ministries, and a number of churches with ex-gay pastors. Remember, these are not only people who have a tremendous grasp on the issue[3] , but whose lives are committed to serving those struggling with same-sex attractions. These people recognize that you cannot correctly love the sinner without unapologetically speaking out against the sin that is destroying their life.

Urvashi Vaid, a pro-homosexual author, spoke on behalf of the gay community when she stated, “We have an agenda to create a society in which homosexuality is regarded as healthy, natural, and normal. To me that is the most important agenda item.”[4] And you know what? Their agenda is working.

“In 1988, 74.9% of the American public thought that sex between two people of the same gender was always wrong. By 1998, the percentage had fallen to 54.6%.”[5] It scares me to death to think about what that statistic will be in 2008, 2018, 2028… In places like Germany, eight out of every ten people now commend homosexuality.[6] Redemption for the hurting homosexual becomes exceedingly difficult in such societies.

From the studios of modern media to the pulpits of the Christian church, voices are praising sexual immorality from all corners of society. Amidst such moral degradation, speaking the truth about sin is not a cute option, it is an imperative.

You, the Students of Wheaton College, have caused me deep and grave concern in the last few weeks. I offer my tremendous praise to you for acknowledging the Church’s need for far more compassion towards these people. However, I am severely fearful that some of you have found proclaiming truth about the destructive nature of sin to be incompatible with the radical, unfaltering love we are to have for those in bondage to homosexuality. Love without truth is utter hypocrisy.

Please, I beg you brethren, do not stay silent while our society systematically teaches that sin is harmless and beautiful. Sin is deadly. Christ is the cure. People need to know both.

They shall know the truth, and the truth will set them free.

_____________________________

 1. One could make the claim that some of these symptoms are caused by the “homophobia” of others; however, studies conducted in communities where homosexuality is widely accepted have concluded that symptoms are only aggravated in such a setting.
-The dangers of homosexuality are validated by a large amount of research pulled from various sources. I encourage you to search the matter out more deeply.

  2. Found in a recent [Wheaton College] Record article
  3. Many of these people have come out of homosexuality themselves
  4. Quoted in Rotello, Gabriel. Sexual Ecology: AIDS and the Destiny of Gay Men. New York: Penguin Books, 1997.
  5. Sears, Alan, and Craig Osten. The Homosexual Agenda. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2003.
  6. Pew Global Attitudes Project: Should homosexuality be accepted by society? Pew Research Center, 2003.