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Showing posts with the label Same-sex unions

Is homosexual orientation the same as race or ethnicity - like a human right?

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Is the homosexual orientation / gay marriage debate the same as the African American revolution of the 1960's? Christians must engage carefully in the task of biblical theology. The diversity of races and ethnicities comprises part of God's plan (see, for example, the table of nations in Genesis 10). The Bible also indicates that God is pleased that his human creatures are organized by families, clans, languages, and nations. Furthermore, Revelation 5 indicates that this pleasure is an eternal pleasure for God. Those gathered around the Lamb's throne are men and women from every tongue, tribe, and nation who have all been ransomed by Christ. Thus, Scripture celebrates racial differences. The Bible celebrates these distinctions as part of God's glorious diversity in creation. The Bible, however, unquestionably expresses only one legitimate pattern of human sexuality. Only one framework exists in which conjugal acts can be enjoyed and celebrated-the monogamous, f...

If the church cannot come to a consensus on homosexual marriage, doesn't that mean the Bible is not clear?

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To answer this question we go back to the  Reformation . One of the great affirmations about Scripture made by the Reformers is what is known as the perspicuity of Scripture , which is another way of talking about the clarity of Scripture . Scripture continually speaks in such a manner that clarifies issues, not obscures them. The reality in a sinful world is that our understanding is often unclear even where Scripture is clear. The Reformers pointed to the clarity of Scripture in order to affirm that any Christian who opened the Bible heard the word of God and faced the decision to obey or disobey. That was true when the church received the New Testament and when the Reformers asserted the principle, and it remains true now. If people who affirm the truthfulness of Scripture cannot come to a consensus on the issue of homosexual marriage , same sex unions, same love - the problem is not in Scripture-it is in a failure to rightly understand and obey it. Related articles ...