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A Little Ocean Ambiance
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WHAT'S WRONG WITH ROSIE?
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By Dr. Richard Flanders
Juniata Baptist Church
Vassar, Michigan
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"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom
of God?
Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor
covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit
the kingdom of God."
(I
Corinthians 6:9-10)
Recently a major television network broadcast what amounted to an
"info-mercial," disguised as a news special, publicizing the campaign to
open the door for homosexual couples to adopt children in Florida. This
campaign is led by famous talk-show host Rosie O'Donnell who has "come
out" as a lesbian in her effort to promote the cause. The two-hour
prime-time program was thoroughly biased in favor of Rosie's point of
view. A paid political advertisement could hardly have been more
supportive of the gay-adoption movement. Yet the viewer who knows the
Bible and the facts about homosexuality could see through the propaganda
and got a better understanding of the danger the "gay-rights" movement
poses to American society.
Our culture's religious foundation has always condemned homosexuality as
a sinful contradiction of God's plan for marriage and the family. The
fact is that all the major religions of the world prohibit same-gender
sexual activity! Disapproval of homosexuality is not a new thing. The
Bible clearly speaks against it again and again. The Book of Genesis
says
that "the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD
exceedingly" (Genesis 13:13). Their sin was homosexuality (Read Chapter
19). The Book of Leviticus says that it is an "abomination" to "lie with
mankind as with womankind" (Leviticus 18:22). Hebrew kings called
homosexual prostitutes "sodomites" and condemned them (See Deuteronomy
23:17; I Kings 15:12, 22:46; and II Kings 23:7). The New Testament
describes homosexuality in terms of "vile affections . . . against
nature" (Romans 1:26-27). We are told that "abusers of themselves with
mankind" shall not "inherit the kingdom of God" (I Corinthians 6:9-10).
Without a doubt, the Bible and Christianity oppose homosexual activity
as
sinful. Rosie and her media friends see it differently.
First of all, they seem to regard the homosexual mind and the actions it
produces as inborn. Since the scientific data so overwhelmingly
contradicts this idea, however, the program approached the issue with a
devious question: "Is it a choice?" A conservative spokesman was given
just enough air time to answer in the affirmative without explanation.
Rosie, on the other hand, argued passionately and persuasively that it
is
not. Who would choose to be homosexual? A better question to consider
would have been, "Is it genetic"? Many people feel overcome by
destructive behavior that is not dictated by DNA, but concerning which
they say they have no choice. The prominence of homosexual activity in
prisons cannot be explained by genetics. The prevalence of it in some
societies compared with its rarity in others cannot be explained by
heredity. The fact (reported on the special program) that foster
children
reared by homosexual couples are more like to live as adult "gays"
clearly points to a non-genetic cause for homosexuality. For many years,
the American Psychological Association listed it as an emotional or
mental disorder. The church used to deal with it as a binding sin.
Groups
that work for the recovery of homosexuals say that home environment,
early sexual experiences, and spiritual problems can contribute to the
adoption of the gay lifestyle. Even though some say that they had no
choice in being involved in homosexuality, the truth is that living that
way is not inborn. Increasingly the opposition to homosexuality is being
treated as if it were prejudice against a race. Traditionalists and
religious conservatives are being labeled as bigots because they believe
that homosexual behavior is wrong. The result is a strange new kind of
persecution that has the approval of the politically correct everywhere!
Organizations such as the Boy Scouts and the Salvation Army which
maintain their long-standing policies against homosexuality, as the
Supreme Court says they may, are being vilified for their beliefs and
practices as if they were the Ku Klux Klan! People have a right to
disapprove of certain behavior, and we all should respect that right. It
is not the same as discriminating against people because of their race!
The show went on to ask if homosexuals can be caring parents. Yet again,
the question is "loaded" and is not the right one to ask. Two better
questions would be these: (1) Should homosexual partnerships be regarded
legally as marriages? (2) Are there long-term negative effects on
children reared by homosexual couples?
The issue of same-sex "marriage" is the key to the question of
homosexual
adoption. Homosexuals all over the country are already adopting kids, as
single adults. Whether we approve or not, many adoptive parents have gay
or lesbian "lovers," some live-in and some not. Rosie is not fighting
for
homosexuals to adopt kids; she is fighting for homosexual couples to
gain
marital privileges before the state. As you know, Congress has already
spoken to this issue in the Defense of Marriage Act (1995). They wrote,
and President Clinton signed, a federal law defining marriage as the
legal union of a man and a woman. But the gay rights movement is still
pushing for the legitimization of same-sex partnerships. And this is
what
Rosie's Florida campaign is really doing. The trouble with this proposal
is that it jeopardizes the institution of the family for future
generations. No civilization has survived the normalizing of homosexual
behavior. The family must have a clear legal identity for it to continue
as the building-block of a society. If a marriage can be two men or two
women as well as a man and a woman, what is to prevent the legal
acceptance of polygamous families, or incestuous arrangements, or any
number of perverted relationships? Society must protect the traditional
family by giving it unique privileges and rights-such as adoption.
The other question was also not really addressed on Rosie's program. Is
it harmful or dangerous for children to be brought up in a homosexual
home? The idea was presented repeatedly that homosexual people can be
loving and responsible childcare providers. What was not addressed were
the strong arguments that research has provided against assigning kids
to
homosexual guardians. Here are some of those arguments.
1. Social research has found conclusively that children are best
reared
in the home of their married mother and father. Also adopted children
brought up by married heterosexual couples do better physically,
emotionally, academically, and behaviorally overall than those who live
in other arrangements.
2. Children brought up by homosexual couples have been shown to be
more
likely to experience gender confusion and to experiment with homosexual
behavior. Developmental Psychology, a textbook written by Tasker and
Golombok in 1995, reported that 12% of children reared by lesbians
became
practicing lesbians themselves, which is about 4 times the base rate of
female homosexuality among adult women. More recent studies confirm such
findings for both boys and girls in homosexual "families"!
3. Children brought up by homosexual couples are more likely to be
sexually promiscuous as adults than those reared by married couples.
4. Homosexual couples experience a significantly higher rate of
domestic
violence and a significantly lower rate of "monogamous" fidelity. A
report published in 1991 showed that "the incidence of domestic violence
among gay men is nearly double that in the heterosexual population."
Many
surveys have demonstrated that homosexual "couples" are very rarely
"faithful" to one another. In 1993, Brad Hayton of the Pacific Policy
Institute concluded, in a published study of proposals to sanction
same-sex marriage, that homosexuals
". . . model a poor view of marriage to children. They
are taught by
example and belief that marital relationships are transitory and mostly
sexual in nature . . . they are taught that monogamy in marriage is not
the norm . . ."
5. Homosexual live-in relationships usually last only a few years.
According to a classic study of homosexuality by Saghor and Robins, the
average male live-in arrangement lasts only 2 to 3 years.
6. Those who live a homosexual lifestyle are far more likely,
according
to statistics, to contract AIDS and other major diseases, to experience
long-term depression, to have addiction problems, and to attempt
suicide,
than the rest of us.
7. There is a greater risk of molestation by homosexual "parents."
Adolescence magazine stated in 1996 that 29% of those in a study that
had
been reared by a homosexual reported sexual abuse by that "parent,"
compared to only 0.6% of those reared by heterosexuals. This risk
certainly cannot be ignored in the light of the child abuse by
homosexual
priests that has been exposed recently.
8. In summary, homosexual partners provide homes for children that
are
statistically less stable, more dangerous, and less healthy than do
married couples.
Obviously the reluctance of child protection officials to assign kids to
same-sex "lovers" is not the product of mindless prejudice. There are
many reasons not to do it, for the sake of the children!
Rosie is wrong about "gay adoption." She is also wrong about the
homosexual condition. She wants us all to accept this behavior as inborn
and somehow normal. Yet even a limited understanding of human
reproduction would keep thinking people from calling it "normal." Fifty
years ago society and science considered homosexuality a disorder. When
the media in the sixties began to inform us of the habits and culture of
these people, and defined for us the terms of their private slang (such
as "gay"), they questioned society's treatment of them but still
considered the behavior abnormal. But in the '70's the "Gay Rights"
movement began to push politically for society to accept their ways as
normal, and even as constitutionally protected! It was political
pressure
that caused professional associations to drop their classification of
homosexuality as an illness. But logical minds still recognize the
verdict of nature against this behavior. It is not bigotry that calls it
perversion; it is reason.
The Bible calls homosexual activity sinful, and in the past most
societies have agreed. Then many were persuaded to call it a sickness.
Now we are being asked to call it healthy. But if our society fully
sanctions it in this way, the normal family as an instituion will be
doomed! The experience of countless human generations has proven that
the
best arrangement for rearing children is by the biological parents in a
legal, life-long union. The best situation for children who cannot be
reared by their own parents is with a couple in a heterosexual marriage.
When people come to think that every sort of sexual connection is
acceptable and normal, the basis for solid families disappears. Marriage
must be defended and upheld in our generation if it is to survive in
future ones! Make no mistake about this. The traditional institution of
marriage is under assault today by the gay-rights movement, and
particularly by Rosie's adoption campaign!
Rosie is also wrong about curing homosexuality. It can and is being
done!
Christian ministries such as Exodus, Where Grace Abounds (WGA), Eagles'
Wings, and Amazing Grace Ministries, as well as many local churches are
seeing them converted to Christ and changed! The Bible that condemns
homosexual behavior also offers hope to homosexual people! Read what the
Word of God says in I Corinthians 6:9-11. Verses nine and ten list the
"effeminate" and "abusers of themselves with mankind" (descriptions of
homosexual orientation and behavior) as those with sinful habits which
prevent them from inheriting God's kingdom. Then verse eleven says,
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are
sanctified,
but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God."
This early Christian congregation was populated with people who had been
"washed" from sinful lives. Notice that this washing results from being
"sanctified" and being "justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by
the Spirit of our God." Justification is the act of God by which he
declares the sinner righteous in His sight when he puts his faith in
Christ for salvation. Read a thorough description of justification in
Romans 3, 4, and 5. Sanctification happens for the justified believer
when he puts his faith in Christ for daily victory over the sinful
impulses of his flesh. Read about this in Romans 6, 7, and 8, as well as
in the book of Galatians. We are justified by faith in Christ, and we
are
sanctified through the Holy Spirit, also by faith. When a man or woman
overcome by homosexuality turns to Jesus Christ and trusts Him to save
his soul, the Spirit of God immediately comes to live within him. God's
Spirit then gives him victory over his sins as he trusts God for that
victory day by day!
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil
the lust
of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that
ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit,
ye
are not under the law . . . And they that are Christ's have crucified
the
flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk in the Spirit." (Galatians 5:16-18, 24-25)
"Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the
victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?" (I John
5:4-5)
Rosie is wrong about the homosexual condition, homosexual couples, and
the homosexual cure, as well as about "gay adoption." But there is
nothing about her or others of her mindset that cannot be corrected by
the Word of God and by the Savior it presents. There is hope for the men
and women who are caught in the degrading and depressing homosexual
trap.
That hope is in Christ Jesus!
"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." (I
Timothy 1:15)
Monthly Article
5/02
by Dr. Rick Flanders
currently Pastor of
Juniata Baptist Church
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Juniata Baptist Church
5656 Washburn Road
Vassar, MI 48768
juniatabaptist@juno.com
(517) 823-7848
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Dr. Rick Flanders Biographical Data
Converted in 1963 through a radio ministry.
Earned B.A. and M.A. degrees from Bob Jones University.
Honorary D.D. from Pensacola Christian College.
Pastor at Juniata Baptist Church since 1973.
On BCPM Board, (Baptist Church Planting Ministry)
and also MACS. (Michigan Association of Christian School)
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- Articles published in the;
- Sword of the Lord
- Baptist Preacher,
- Frontline,
- Christian View of the News,
- Pulpit Helps,
- Maranatha Watchman
- Church Bus News,
- and other national periodicals.
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