The Political, Physical, and Spiritual Implications of Homosexual Agenda

I write this with all humility and with the hope that someone may find mercy and grace here. I have homosexual friends and acquaintances, and I am not homophobic. I am not trying to change anyone's mind about the topic. What I am trying to do is call us to a recognition of the Truth about the topic. Those who are interested in the Truth will, I hope, recognize that.

The Supreme Court recently refused to hear appeals from 5 states where marriage protection legislation was overturned, essentially making same sex "marriage" legal, de facto, in all 50 states.

I'd like to explore and explain the roots, effects, and eventual outcome of the Homosexual Rights movement in the United States, challenge some of the "truth claims" of the homosexual community, and offer some Truth Claims that I think will stand any test you can apply to them.

First, let's clarify our terms and statuses:

Political Facts:

1. Civil Rights: Homosexuality is NOT a "civil right" that can be violated. Unlike one's physical gender or skin color, which cannot be chosen or altered (technically), engaging in homosexual behavior is a choice. That being said, the homosexual has the right to expect equal treatment before the law (see #3 below.) Beyond that, the argument that a homosexual's "Civil Rights" are violated based on sexual choices is specious and unacceptable.
2. Marriage: Marriage is constituted and ordained by God, as is made clear in the Bible. The primary purpose of the marriage relationship is to reflect the nature and the character of God.
   As such, marriage falls into the realm of "Natural Law", which the U.S. Constitution clearly states cannot be altered by the state. Homosexuals cannot marry, and the state cannot redefine marriage to suit the political correctness of the moment. Therefore, regardless of what the state calls the relationship, and regardless of what homosexuals call the relationship, it is NOT marriage in the true sense. 
3. Individual Liberty: The State has no right or compelling interest to track or even comment on my personal life, as long as my personal choices and preferences do not infringe on the rights of others. The homosexual and heterosexual both have the right to live with whomever they choose. The government has no compelling interest in whether I live with a man, a woman, two men, two women, a dog, a cat, or a moose. If I am not impeding anyone else's ability to exercise their God-given rights, then no one else needs to be concerned about my living arrangements. Similarly, we are all equal before the law. The homosexual and heterosexual both have the right to be secure in their person and their property and to live peaceably as civil equals.

Spiritual Facts:

1. Natural Law, The Bible, and Judeo-Christian tradition all hold that homosexual activity is wrong and should abandoned by the redeemed. However, I believe the Church (The True Church, the body of Christ, NOT the apostate whore church contrived by man) has failed miserably in the conversation on homosexual "sin" and "healing" or "deliverance."
2. Having homosexual thoughts is NOT a sin, any more than thinking about killing someone is a sin. Yes, we should all work to take our thoughts captive, but the Bible makes it clear that our thoughts and desires are not sin, they RESULT in sin. Sin occurs when we act on thoughts and desires that are contrary to God's will and purposes for our lives.
3. Healing and Deliverance: If a person's homosexual inclinations are due to demonic oppression, or possession, than certainly the person can be delivered and set free. Beyond that I don't honestly know if homosexuals can be completely "cured" from their temptation or not. What I do know is that homosexuals can be saved by the blood of Jesus Christ, the same way I was. The message of a changed life is to the saved, not the unrepentant. The Church has no voice in the life of the reprobate, only in the life of the redeemed.
4. The Church and the Homosexual: Those who choose to engage in homosexual behavior, and are unrepentant, have no place in the body of Christ. This is not a matter of "mercy and grace" - it's a matter of preserving and honoring God's Word, the Natural Law that the Creator God has established, and confessing the real power of the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore, any organization that calls itself "Christian" but recognizes any form of homosexual behavior as acceptable, or even tolerable, within the parameters of their organization, is guilty of blasphemy - just as they would be if they tolerated any other violation of God's law or His Word. Homosexuals should experience love and mercy from the Body of Christ, but they should not expect the Body of Christ to condone their choices if those choices are contrary to the Word of God.

Physical Facts:

1. At Risk Behavior: It is a known fact that practicing homosexuals, as a group, have a lower life expectancy than the general population. Forgive me for being blunt, but an anus is not a vagina,a tongue is not a penis, and refusing to acknowledge these basic biological facts is just as dangerous as refusing to believe that a brown recluse is poisonous, or that certain diseases are contagious. The simple fact is that there is NO INTENTION in natural law that a mouth or penis should come in contact with a rectum or its contents. The results of such unnatural and unintended intercourse are very real.
2. Comparative Risk: That being said, there are many activities that men and women engage in that are dangerous; homosexual behavior is not inherently any more abhorrent than any other high risk behavior. It is true, however, that each high risk behavior is associated with unique risks, and to varying levels. The risks associated with alcoholism or tobacco addiction are not the same as the risks associated with homosexual behavior, although all can lead to death.

OK, so now that we understand the political, spiritual, and physical reality of homosexuality, we can have a conversation about the current homosexual movement and the implications for society.

Political Implications:

• As noted earlier, the government has no right to tell me who I can and cannot live with or associate with.
• However, neither does the government have the right or the authority to redefine "right" and "wrong", or to redefine any institution established by God, or to usurp or challenge Natural Law.
• In the current political conversation on homosexuality, homosexuals have been lobbying hard for the "right" to "marry". They claim they want this "right" so that they and their partners can be equal in terms of healthcare benefits, death benefits, property ownership, and a host of other legal matters. The claims, and the basis for those claims, are patently false.
•  Healthcare is not  a right, it is a privilege. Healthcare benefits have traditionally been a tool used by employers to attract talented individuals to an organization. There is not time or space here to explore this subject in depth, so we'll just leave it that any "benefit" I derive as a result of my employment is based on a private contract between myself and my employer, and the government has no compelling interest - EVER - in interfering with a private contract between two consenting individuals, or between an individual and a business entity.
• All of the other legal claims of homosexuals, as enumerated above, are based on the fact that the law itself is faulty at its core. The tax law is flawed, property and inheritance laws are flawed and unjust, etc. It is the laws surrounding these topics that need to change, NOT the definition of marriage.
• The Truth about the homosexual agenda, as admitted by several of the movement leaders in less guarded moments, (and noted here and here, for example) is nothing less than the destruction of marriage altogether. Why is this important? Because, as noted above, the marriage relationship is intended to be a physical representation of the nature and character of God. By destroying this representation, those who oppose God hope to destroy His claims of divinity, and to set themselves free from the constraints they perceive in His law, and in Natural Law.
• The bigger concern in the political arena is that the state has now attempted to usurp territory reserved to God alone, and to make a mockery of God's law. Make no mistake, judgement will fall on any nation that takes this hostile stance toward a Holy God. Do not ask why the United States suffers natural and unnatural calamities in the near future. One need look no further than an official government position that puts the entire nation at enmity with God. Just as with the killing of millions of unborn babies, the collusion of the government in attempting to make the profane sacred in marriage is heaping up judgement for the nation. That judgement is coming as sure as the sun rises in the east. And of course, when it comes, many will say "how can God do this to us?" or they will curse God and die, as the Bible says. Unfortunately, precious few will actually repent, turn to God, and be delivered.

Spiritual Implications

• As noted above, the goal of a movement such as the homosexual rights movement is not equality; it is instead the destruction of "true religion". Those things that are attacked in the current "open society" are almost exclusively Judeo-Christian in nature. Abortion, Homosexuality, "Robin Hood" tax codes, secular humanism, all have at their root a hatred for anything reflective of the nature and character of God. Make no mistake, there is a war going on; and the hosts of hell are arrayed against the hosts of heaven. Here on earth, in the temporal realm, the battle is reflected in the state of our hearts; and when the wicked and perverse are given the opportunity to change the course of society, the entire society becomes worthy of judgement.
• The Great Whore Church, the apostate institution created by man, birthed by the emperor Constantine, and continued to this day, has attempted to "accommodate" political correctness on a variety of levels, from the Episcopal and Presbyterian churches openly embracing the sin of homosexuality to the United Methodist church tolerating the sin in their midst. Rather than calling sinners to repentance, these false churches have encouraged the sinner to have a false sense of "salvation" - implying that they can keep their sin and still make it to heaven. Such a false gospel is an abomination to God and constitutes true blasphemy. Judgement begins in the house of God; expect to see some serious "outbreaks" of judgement on these apostate organizations and their leaders as they continue to proclaim a false gospel based on lies, instead of the true Gospel based on the Word of God.

Physical Implications

• Homosexuality is not the only behavior with serious physical outcomes on the individual and society. As society embraces increasing numbers of at risk behaviors, the general health of the population will decline, and the population as a whole will be much more susceptible to ravaging plagues such as Ebola, Enterovirus, HIV and others.
• In addition to the risk of massive disease outbreaks, other sins our culture currently indulges have implications for our food supply, water supply, power supply, and infrastructure, making us much more vulnerable to natural disasters and terrorist attacks.
• The bottom line is that we, as individuals and as a society, are sick - rotting from the inside out. Eventually that putrefaction will be exposed where it can be seen, and we won't be able to hide our sickness, or say we are "healthy and wise" any longer.

A final word on judgement:

• It is often true that God does not have to judge people; we judge ourselves. As noted above, it is not the hand of God, but our own choices and behaviors - both explicit and implicit - that open us up to negative consequences - the "law of sin and death." This law is immutable, and we are all subject to it. A society cannot long live in defiance of God's ordained order and not suffer the consequences.
• As individuals, we may not directly engage in behavior that brings judgement; but if we tolerate such behavior in our society, and don't endeavor to change it, we can only expect to be "collateral damage" in the results. The rain falls on the just and on the unjust together.

The Word of God makes plain the fate of individuals and societies that refuse to acknowledge God, including Isaiah 44:20 and Romans 1:18-28.

Let him who has hears to hear, hear what the Spirit is saying.

Interesting Headlines

These two headlines appeared on facing pages of the most recent issue of The WEEK Magazine. I found the juxtaposition interesting. The alarm level is going up, but apparently not high enough... yet.

The "Anti-President", Grace, and Truth

Just as the Roman Catholic church has had "anti popes" - pretenders to the papal throne who were not rightfully entitled to the office, or who failed to uphold the principles of the office, so America now finds herself with perhaps the first "anti president"

That Barack Obama holds the United States of America and her citizens in utter contempt is an indisputable fact. He himself has stated plainly that he believes he is above the law, above the will of the people, above the congress, and above the constraints of the office he pretends to. America's enemies are Barack's friends, and America's friends are treated with scorn and contempt by this arrogant, sinister being.

The question becomes for me, as a believer in the omnipotence of YHWH and the grace manifested in Yeshua, "How then should I pray?"  My heart cries out to be delivered from the very bondage that Obama seeks to deliver me into. My soul cries out for Truth while my country bows the knee to one who can apparently only speak in lies. My righteous indignation makes me want to pray Psalm 109:8 - "May his days be few, and let another take his office."

But what if the Obamanation is really an instrument in the hand of God? Often our leaders are nothing more than a reflection of the state of the people's hearts, and while, in the case of Obama, I pray that is not the case, my eyes would lead me to believe otherwise.

There can be no doubt that America is ripe for judgement, and historically it is often the leaders themselves who lead an apostate people to their fate. As hard as it may be for me to accept, it is possible that Obama is, in some fashion, accomplishing the will of YHWH, just as Pharaoh did in the days of Moses.

So, how then should I pray? Nothing would give me greater joy than to wake up one day and read that Barack Obama made a public announcement that he was wrong, that he was renouncing Islam and embracing the one true God, Creator of heaven and earth, Nothing would excite me more than to see a national figure repent and come to a saving knowledge and understanding of YHWH through the grace imparted by Yeshua.  Nothing would thrill me more than to have national leadership committed to Truth and righteousness. And so my spirit cries for mercy, for America but also for Barack Obama.

And yet, it is my duty as a watchman to continue to speak the Truth, regardless of whether any political or spiritual leader joins me. Our founding fathers recognized the universality of "natural law" - the law written in Creation for us to behold and submit to. It is this law, and not the laws of man or of a particular nation or religion, that I will appeal to. This law, independent of the interpretation of man, and written into the minds and souls of all men, is the absolute arbiter of right and wrong. While natural law exists above and independent of any law of man, this law was captured beautifully in the Torah, where YHWH put into words what His creation already demonstrated physically.

We as a society have pushed away the Truth and beauty of natural law, however, and we have knowingly and willingly embraced a false law, a dark law of perversion and corruption. This law is the law of sin and death. When we reject YHWH, when we reject natural law, Paul tells us that we become altogether deceived. When we exchange the Truth of YHWH for a lie, our hearts and minds are darkened so that we can no longer discern the difference between truth and lie; and so it is with Obama. I think he lies because, in part at least, he actually believes the lies he speaks bear a resemblance to the truth; or perhaps he believes the lies will become truth simply because he speaks them.

Regardless of the original motivation of his heart, it is obvious he is altogether deceived, and the American people are being deceived along with him.

Those of us who still recognize Truth must speak it all the more urgently, all the more forcefully, all the more frequently - because if the voice of Truth and Reason is lost, then many will be condemned who could have been saved, and their blood will be on our hands.

Umhangträger rates the Airlines - update on UNITED Airlines.

My line of work requires me to travel, and I have had a chance to experience most of the major airlines. Here, then, is my ranking of the airlines based on personal experience:

#1 - Southwest - mainly for the fact that they have no first class, so everyone gets a bit more leg room. I like that. Also, the stewardesses are entertaining, and every time I have flown on Southwest so far they have been on time, or nearly on time.
#2-Delta. I say this grudgingly. Delta is the most expensive airline to fly on, but I have to admit they have not lost a bag, cancelled a flight, or messed up my travel anytime that I have used them. They are #2 because of expense, and also because the staff are not as friendly as Southwest.
#3 - US Air - US Air is #3 on this list only because I've had a long positive history with them in the past. Performance has, in my opinion, been weakening ever since they pulled their hub out of Pittsburgh. I feel pretty sure they will drop down (or off) the list based on the merger with American.
#4 - American Airlines [and American Eagle Express] - I have yet to have a quality experience with American Airlines. They delay flights, cancel flights, and lose luggage with an almost professional consistency. I avoid this airline as much as possible, but when it necessary to use them, I do so with great trepidation.

So there you have it - just a bit of a rant/personal observation/whatever. Take it for what it's worth.

2014_10_04: UPDATE.

I recently took yet another business trip, and I used United Airlines on this trip. I did not even include United in my original evaluation, because I have not flown United for quite some time.

What a pleasant surprise!

I flew United from Pittsburgh to Houston, and then flew their regional carrier from Houston to Shreveport, Louisiana.

On both the departing and returning flights, the planes were clean, I had adequate leg room in economy class, and every United employee I encountered was friendly, gracious, and helpful.

I had an accidental chance to test their customer service when I inadvertently left my Samsung tablet on the regional carrier flight in Houston. I realized, as I boarded the flight for my Pittsburgh leg, what I had done and notified the stewardess. She came back a few minutes later and told me that they found my tablet, but because our flight was nearly ready to leave they would probably have to ship it to me.

Just a short time after that, the stewardess reappeared with my tablet. Apparently United employees had traversed almost the entire length of Houston airport (or maybe sent the tablet across the tarmac somehow) in any case, United employees got the tablet to me, and even though the airplane door was already closed they were able to pass the tablet to the pilot via a window in the cockpit.

All of which to say, I had perhaps the first truly pleasant flight experience in a long time with United, and I look forward to trying them again; I'll be curious to see if this experience is consistent.