One Way to Shut Down Debate
By: Chuck Colson
What’s the easiest way to shut down a debate? Well these days, just label your opponent a hate-filled bigot. No doubt at Thanksgiving dinner, many of you shared what you are thankful for. Foremost on my list was the freedom we as Americans still enjoy to practice our religion. This includes the right to promote laws and leaders who uphold our values. But in the week before Thanksgiving, an influential civil rights group that claims to fight “hate and bigotry,” was making a list of its own.
What’s the easiest way to shut down a debate? Well these days, just label your opponent a hate-filled bigot. No doubt at Thanksgiving dinner, many of you shared what you are thankful for. Foremost on my list was the freedom we as Americans still enjoy to practice our religion. This includes the right to promote laws and leaders who uphold our values. But in the week before Thanksgiving, an influential civil rights group that claims to fight “hate and bigotry,” was making a list of its own.
In its newly-released Winter Intelligence Report, the Southern Poverty Law Center labels eighteen Christian organizations as “anti-gay groups.” The charges? “Pumping out demonizing propaganda aimed at homosexuals and other sexual minorities.” Click here to read the full story.
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After reading this article by Chuck Colson regarding the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) attack on "anti-gay groups" it sounds like the end times are getting closer folks! It makes me wonder just how long it will be before your church will be added to the SPLC's "hate groups list" along with the Neo Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan!
Related Story: 'Hate group' designation angers same-sex marriage opponents.
Related Story: 'Hate group' designation angers same-sex marriage opponents.
15 comments:
What a society we live in! And what bothers me more than anything is that we have allowed all this nonsense and division to occur. We have the power to reverse this! Focus on God. Proclaim our faith. Store our treasures in Heaven and not on earth.
It really points out the necessity for keeping our lives right that Peter named in I Peter 3:16-17. "Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing."
an error occurred when i clicked on the icon to read the full story and i couldn't find it on the website.
Hi Lloyd,
We seem to have moved so quickly from discussing issues to validating positions. The gay and lesbian lifestlye cannot be challenged without the accusation of hatred labeled on those who oppose it.
The real threat to societal values are the decisions rendered by the judiciary. These decisions cannot be challenged by legislation.
Dean Spencer wrote an informative post on Same Sex Marriage that logically explains why a same sex agenda just doesn't make any sense.
Homosexuals and lesbians may attempt to mimic the traditional family structure, but that's all they can do, mimic it; mimicry is not the same thing.
I have no idea where American society is going or what it will resemble in 20 years, but if core values and beliefs are viewed as hatred, America will move from a democracy to a society that lacks the spirit of true freedom.
Blessings and peace.
MTJ
I have many family members like this too. It is effective in shutting down all discourse as they don't answer their email either ...
:(
Oh, it is so typical today... If You don't accept special "right" for LGBT, You are named "fanatic". In some countries people are prisoned because of this "fanatism", but gay who tells that Christians are idiots or something like that - is always free.
Lloyd, love your blog. And just yesterday, the Don't Ask, Don't Tell was negated by Congress, even though the Marines have said how harmful this will be.
I agree with that the end times are coming. And I can't wait to go and be with the Jesus. :)
Serving at THE Master's Table with you, Lloyd.
It is my opinion that both the christian church and the anti-poverty law group have it equally wrong.
The christian church has it wrong because they want to point fingers at homosexuals and label them as "sinners". In life, there is a cause and effect relationship in ALL things. Homosexuality is without a doubt the result of early childhood sexual trauma. I have many gay friends, and there is not a single one of them that has not been the victim of some heinous sexual crime against children by adults. Homosexuality is a manifestation of the most deep and unimaginable wounding that humans can survive. These people need Jesus more than you will ever know. But they can't find him, because they are told that Jesus hates them, and Jesus doesn't. Christians and Jews do.
The other position is equally wrong because by seeking to normalize homosexuality, they are removing any possibility of these people getting any help for their childhood trauma. If it is normal, then they don't need help, right?
They do need help. Jesus never uttered a word against them. He came to be the comforter of the least of these lost wounded and destroyed sheep. And it is his good news, and his love that can heal them. But the church is full of wolves and there is no balm in Gilead.
Clint - Thank you for the visit and comment. I agree with you totally. As Christians we need to be more outspoken (in a Godly way) and stand firm on our beliefs. God bless.
dfish - Thank you for the reminder that sometimes our actions and how we respond to those who condemn us, including the government, speaks the loudest in winning souls to Christ. Blessings.
Terri - Thank you for the visit. I fixed the problem with the link to the full story. I hope you will be able to read it now and comment.
MTJ - Thank you for your visit and comments. The hardest thing for believers to get across to those who support the gay and lesbian lifestyles is that God hates and cannot condone any kind of sin, but He loves the sinner and wants them to come to Him through His Son Jesus Christ. We have all sinned and fallen short of God's glory and only the blood of Jesus can save us.
I have read Dean's post on "Same Sex Marriage" which I felt was very informative and logically explained. Unfortunately, when it comes to the sin of lust and sexual immorality "logic" is thrown out of the window.
With this acceptance of the homosexual and lesbian lifestyles in today's society as being "morally right", then that pretty much puts it at odds with the Word of God, which in turns places a label of "Hate Mongers" on all true believers in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But we, as believers know that this is going to happen because it is all explained in the Holy Bible. God bless.
Bevy - I think that all Christians have family members that respond negatively too them when it comes to our faith in God. Jesus told us that there will be persecution for those who follow Him. Amen.
Zim - Thanks for the visit and comment. You are right. When it comes to other "religions" in the world, it is only Christianity that is condemned for being intolerant. But I have to say this...it is true. Christianity is very intolerant when it comes to God. There is only one way to heaven and that is through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. All other ways leads to destruction. Blessings.
Robin - Thank you so much for the visit and encouraging comments. I can see a lot of discord and low morale of our troops because of this decision that was made by our law makers in the congress and senate. That is why it is so important for Christians to get out and vote your values on election day. I was still under the impression that the USA is a Government of the People. Problem is that Christians are the minority. Blessings.
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Rom. 3:23
None of us are perfect. But this whole trend is so disturbing. I'm on a prayer team on a Christian forum and we are getting a lot of prayer requests from young people because they're afraid they're gay. Is that what school is teaching? One kid said he has a "gay" gene because one finger is longer than another? The other side that's disturbing and extreme- is reading how the kid who stole classified documents rationalized it because he's gay and got picked on... It's not just gays that get picked on. I certainly did as a kid and even as a woman in the workplace.
Seems like the government is creating chaos in their effort to create equality. They shouldn't be trying to control society at all. I agree sexual preference is inappropriate for soldiers to have to worry about. They're jobs are hard enough. We need a Savior! I pray for our country too. Only God can fix this mess. And we must love the sinner but not the sin- like Jesus did.
Tonjia - I want to thank you for the visit and letting us know your opinions on the Christian church and the SPLC. I do not agree with all of your reasoning regarding the Christian church, but there are times and some denominations that do get a little zealous regarding the homosexual lifestyle. I think that we need to make it clear that everyone of us is sinners and that our Holy God hates sin and cannot tolerate it. Now being I am a sinner, just like you, we need to come to Christ and be washed by His cleansing blood. After we are saved, God only sees His Son Jesus when He is looking at us. Jesus died for our sins, past, present and future.
When I was working as a police detective years ago, I was in charge of investigating child abuse and other sex crimes. I will agree with you that sometimes when a child is sexually molested that child might develop homosexual tendencies, or later live that lifestyle. But that is not true with all children that have been sexually molested. A child molester can be heterosexual just as they may be homosexual. And not all homosexuals are child molesters nor were they sexually molested when they were children.
I agree with you totally that child sexual abuse is the deepest and unimaginable wounding that humans can survive. But lots of sexually abused children grow up to lead normal and productive lives with the help of our Holy and Awesome God.
As far as the SPLC goes...they have good intentions, but sometimes good intentions, when it goes against the Word of God usually makes things worse. I do not agree with the SPLC when it comes to pointing the finger at Christianity and calling them "Hate Groups" just because they do not and will not tolerate sexual immorality.
If you are a true believer in Jesus Christ...then you love the sinner but you must not condone the sin. If we commit any sin, as a believer, we must repent and ask God's forgiveness otherwise we will lose fellowship with the Lord. So as you can see, true believers do not hate a person because they are living a lifestyle that is against God's will. A true believer will love the sinner and make every effort to bring them to Jesus. All a sinner has to do too find Jesus is to get down on their knees, reach out to God, confess and repent of their sins and our Lord will wrap His loving arms around them. Please read my side-bar on "What the Bible says about homosexuality?" and "What do I do if I have committed sexual sin?" Blessings and prayers too you my friend.
Karen - I want to thank you for your visit and informative comment.
I agree when you say "We need a Savior! I pray for our country too. Only God can fix this mess. And we must love the sinner but not the sin- like Jesus did." God bless you my sister in Christ.
Lloyd -
You certainly have sparked conversation and passionate debate. I'm not sure there's much I can add here other than I think it's ironic that as Christians reach out to the homosexual community with love (because true love is restoring someone from a life of sin with compassion) finds themselves being countered with labels of hate.
The reality is, as you pointed out, is that we are all sinners. If I condemn homosexual sin, then I ought to condemn heterosexual sin and so forth. I'm thankful that it's not about them or us, but that it is all about Jesus and the grace and mercy He offers.
God bless Lloyd and have a Merry Christmas!
Yes, but this appeal to ‘tolerance’ for the ‘moral voice’ or even ‘leading people out of a life of sin’ would be more credible if there was some balance. In the 1950s Kinsey estimated that male homosexuals made up around 10% of the population. This figure was then somewhat reduced in later years to around 2%... If we carry on at this rate there will be no homosexuals left in a few decades...
Here we are yet again, Lloyd with yet another post on homosexuality – something that affects around 2% of the population and concerns four or so verses of a Bible of thirty-odd thousand verses. I can only conclude you are one of the many who yearn for ‘cheap morality’ – overly concerned with the righteousness of others. What does the Bible say on the subject of presuming one’s own righteousness and concerning oneself with the rights and wrongs of other people?
Search the Gospels and can you find examples of Jesus going on and on about the subject of homosexuality? No – his main anger and condemnation is towards those who are outwardly moral – indeed often inwardly moral – knowing their Scriptures and keeping the requirements of their religion without fail (I am reminded of many modern day Christians, with their ‘The Bibles says this...’ and ‘The Bible says that...’); yet what they did, they did without love. The real truth is that we are dependent solely on the mercy of God and only when we realise we can do no good thing on our own or for our own gratification (otherwise we fall foul of pride) can we arrive at the place of salvation. Jesus only gave a few commandments – ‘Love one another’ and ‘Wash one another’s feet’ – his anger seemed reserved for those who were constantly judging their neighbours and saying how they should lead their lives, while not turning the same attention to their own behaviour.
Honestly it is any wonder there is the branding of ‘bigotry’ and ‘hatred’ when there is so much of this ‘easy morality’. Reach out to the homosexual community... Try reaching out to your neighbour first and also weighing your own sins and your own need for mercy with the same enthusiasm and overkill as is metered out to ‘the homosexual’.
What will be the end of this obsession many Christians with the other people’s sexuality? That is yet to be revealed, but it seems that it is only when the Church is in the minority and persecuted that it can claim the title of Body of Christ. Christians have to ask themselves why they yearn for respectability and social power. The Gospels and history demonstrate when religions achieve this then their end has come.
Happy New Year, Lloyd. Perhaps a useful resolution will be to see if you can keep your blog for a year and not mention the subject of homosexuality once. Perhaps, as a useful rule of thumb, try copying the Bible on the subject and for every four posts on homosexuality you post thirty thousand posts on another subject? As there are only four verses that may (remember there is no word for homosexuality in either Hebrew or Koine Greek) be concerned with homosexuality there are another thirty-odd thousand don’t mention the subject. Perhaps this says more than ever the need for perspective....
Happy Holidays...
Anonymous - Thank you for your visit and comments. I must say that being I hadn't heard from you for so long I was beginning to think that maybe you decided that this blog was not worth your effort. I truly want you to know that I have been praying for you and that I have no hatred at all in my heart for a person who decides to live the homosexual lifestyle. God loves the sinner but hates the sin. I also make every effort humanly possible to love the sinner...but being I am a true believer, I must not condone the sin. I would also like to wish you a Happy New Year and that maybe the Spirit of God will convict you of His Truth. God bless you.
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