Christian love is now hate
The Necessity of Godly Outrage as a Moral Force
Several church leaders have stated that Christians should not express outrage during the homosexual marriage debate. Some say outrage and panic are not the responses of those confident in the promises of a reigning Christ Jesus.
Jesus expressed outrage at sin repeatedly in his ministry. The cleansing of the temple is a fairly concrete case in point. So too his "brood of vipers" lambasting of the Pharisees. Most would see outrage in his indictment of Galilean cities: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes. But it shall be more tolerable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You shall be brought down to Hades" (Luke 10:13-15 par. Matt 11:21-24).
John the Baptist too expressed outrage by criticizing publicly Herod Antipas for taking his brother's wife and so violating Levitical incest law. Paul certainly expressed outrage in his comments on tolerance for the incestuous man in 1 Cor 5. So did John of Patmos in Revelation when he compared the Roman Empire and its emperors to a harlot and a disgusting 7-headed beast rising from the sea, a puppet of the dragon that symbolizes Satan; and likewise symbolized the provincial imperial cult leaders as a blasphemous beast rising from the earth.
When I talk about outrage, I'm not talking about hating anyone but rather a holy outrage against injustice that motivates believers to take action. For decades the church has been overly passive about the liberties of their children being taken away and naive about the enormously negative impact of the imposition of acceptance of homosexual relations.
Given the outrage expressed by Jesus, Paul, and every prophet, to claim that outrage against injustice is antithetical to trusting in God's promises is absolutely false and just plain silly. Everybody understands the concept when one is talking about outrage against economic exploitation, racism and abuse of women.
And outrage at egregious immorality is not antithetical to love. This homosexual debate and possible homosexual marriage will harm many, children, families, grandparents, churches, ministries, schools and especially those who experience same-sex attractions. We should have a godly outrage toward that.
Let's all be nice to the homosexual activists - perpetuates the myth that if we were just a bit nicer, we wouldn't be persecuted so much.
Christians often strive to be seen as the 'nicest' or 'most loving' people in their communities. There is a naïve belief that if only we were winsome enough, kind enough, and compassionate enough, the culture would welcome us with open arms. But now our love ... is hate.
Christians who've not suffered for their faith often romanticize persecution. They imagine themselves willing to lose their jobs, their liberty, or even their lives for standing up for the Gospel. Yet when the moment comes, they often find that they simply can't abide being called 'hateful.' It creates a desperate, panicked response. 'No, you don't understand. I'm not like those people — the religious right.' Thus, at the end of the day, a church that descends from apostles who withstood beatings finds itself unable to withstand tweetings. Social scorn is worse than the lash."
Then we have Catholic Principals who not only rebuke their own bishops but go against the gospel itself.
