Homosexuality — The Evangelical Temptation

Cizik, Jones, Campolo represent troubling trend away from Biblical worldview

“Emergent” Christianity leader Tony Jones says “biblical Christianity” and the Church can bless homosexual relationships.

We’ve pulled some excerpts from the excellent article below by Peter Jones of truthXchange — which could not be more timely given that some prominent evangelicals are straying from a Biblical worldview on homosexuality. Consider these examples:

• Richard Cizik — who recently resigned from the National Association of Evangelicals after causing widespread outrage for embracing homosexual “civil unions”; click HERE for a defense of Cizik by the Bible-twisting, homosexual lobby group Human Rights Campaign, whose own Harry Knox refers to homosexual bonds as “our most sacred loving relationships”;
• “Emergent”Christianity leader Peter Jones supporting homosexual monogamy as “biblical” and worthy of church blessing (see below); and
• Homosexual-“marriage” advocate Peggy Campolo, who justifies her anti-Biblical campaign on behalf of homosexual relationships using justice rhetoric (Peggy’s husband Tony supports “civil unions”).

Obviously, liberal cultural pressures and proud, vocal “gay” activism are leading people who should know better to defect, as it were, in the “culture war” over homosexuality. We presume that each of the above would deny that characterization, but their compromises with homosexualist ideology invariably require negating clear Scriptural prohibitions against the sin of (changeable) homosexual practice.

How sad when men and women who profess to believe the Bible as the Word of God end up earning the praise of sin-celebrating groups like the Human Rights Campaign, which is busy promoting a subversive, pro-homosexuality version of Christianity. When one considers that Christians are being slaughtered by Hindu mobs in India, having to endure the persecution (so-called) of being called a “homophobe” or a bigot for affirming politically incorrect Bible teachings on sex and marriage seems a small price to pay for remaining loyal to God.

While we applaud the resignation of the NAE’s Cizik as the price to pay for his Scriptural sellout, he is hardly alone. In the weeks ahead, we’ll look at some other evangelicals who have taken anti-Biblical positions because they cannot “stand the heat” of defending divine truth in a decaying culture.  — Peter LaBarbera

Emphasis added below:

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Homosexuality: The Evangelical Temptation

By Peter Jones, Dec 3, 2008, TruthXChange

In spite of the millions in California who democratically voted against gay marriage, the Governor, leading politicians, and all the major California newspapers are calling to overturn Prop 8. Power, it would seem, lies with ideology not democracy.

For instance, for twenty-four days since November 4, the reputable (?) LA Times, has run at least one and sometimes three pro-gay articles, without one article from the other side. An editorial made the accusation: “this [Prop 8] is a hateful measure, passed after a campaign of misleading scare tactics.”  Just kooky Kalifornia, you say? President-Elect Obama has promised to grant full civil right to gays and lesbians as soon as he gets into office and even the Evangelical church is wobbling.

This is the watershed issue of our time, both for our Western culture and for the Evangelical community. If (when) the gay agenda wins, the cultural river will begin to run their way, and faithful, biblical Christians will be left high and dry to lose their jobs and maybe their freedoms.

Some Christians won’t.

Not Neil Clark Warren, a former dean at Fuller Theological Seminary, who founded the on-line dating service, E-Harmony.com, with a great assist from Focus on the Family. The site is now worth $100 million, but Warren has lost his focus.  When sued for discrimination against gays, Warren capitulated. Though not even found guilty of the charge by the courts, they spinelessly settled. After three years “it [became] a burden in terms of the high costs of litigation and the time and resources management devoted to it.” PTL! Harmony is reestablished. Warren will not lose his job and can spend all his millions in this world undisturbed. But time is running out. He will carry a moral burden for a long, long time, for, with cute homosexual pictures and bios, his site now actively endorses perversion,  in direct competition with the gay site, ManHunt.net! Also, eternity is a long time to count your meaningless millions when even a paving stone up there is made of gold.

This is a great temptation for the Evangelical Church, a love affair with commercialism with no ultimate commitment to the honor of its bridegroom, Christ. Let it never be said of us that financial and social ease was more important than truth.

Evangelicalism is also tempted by intellectual and cultural acceptance. Jay Bakker, son of noted TV evangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, along with a group of young Christian ministers, has adopted an “inclusive” view of the church’s task, and is now actively identified with Soulforce, a “Christian” homosexual pressure group.

On the same day as the E-Harmony affair emerged, another “evangelical” surrendered to the gay agenda. Tony Jones of Emergent Village publicly declared: “I now believe that GLBTQ (gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals, trans-sexuals, and queers) can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity… and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state.” I guess it all depends on what you mean by “biblical.” ….

In 2006 Jones invited people who think like him to join Emergent Village, but not to expect “a position paper on homosexuality.” Well now, thanks to his changing experience, we have one—an unabashed endorsement and consecration of sexual perversion, and the apostle Paul be damned.

With no apostolic foundation (1 Corinthians 3:10) the Evangelical movement is imploding. Under the pressure of these various temptations, how many will abandon ship? What will we look like when it all shakes out? How many will be left? How many “evangelicals” will join the Progressive Liberals who have already joined the pagan spirituals, who presently have a strong global wind in their sails? How many will have not bowed the knee to Baal? But, as Elijah learned, that is not our concern.

We may lose our jobs and freedoms, but we must never lose our message–of “true truth” about God the loving and personal Creator, who, for his glory, made human beings male and female; nor the complimentary message of Jesus, God the Redeemer, who, moments before his atoning death for sinners, addressed all skeptics, Christian or non-Christian, with words unique in all of human history: “I am the way, the truth and the life.” ….

Click HERE for Peter Jones’ full essay, “Homosexuality: The Evangelical Temptation”