The Point of Friction

I have read OneGeorgeFox's letter in it's entirety (and I think you should too), and frankly I'm not surprised that something like this came out of George Fox. There are a few key things in this letter, some alarming, some legitimate. I'll go in order.

"And God loves every part of you, including your sexual orientation and gender identity."

False. If it's sin, God hates it. It is true that God is love. That is undeniably true and important. But one part of God that many Christians choose to ignore is His wrath. I don't entirely understand God's wrath and I don't entirely understand sin, but I do understand that God hates sin and will not tolerate it. It is such a sticking point for Him that He sacrificed Himself in order for us, who are sinful, to spend eternity with Him if we are repentant. He can't give us forgiveness if we don't ask for it.

"Treat us with respect. Treat us as fully human. Don’t make fun of us."

Sounds good.

"Like heterosexual people, most of us have a very basic human need for the emotional intimacy and physical affection that comes from a committed relationship."

True.

"Consequently, making acceptance of LGBTQ people within the George Fox community contingent on celibacy is not loving or responsible. "

False. It's not us making acceptance of LGBTQ people contingent on celibacy, it's God. The scriptures are very explicit about homosexuality being a sin. If you don't believe me and care for the truth, read the Bible, specifically the New Testament. Try Paul's letters to the Corinthians. I'm not going to do it for you and it wouldn't do you any good if I did. Just because you want something because it's a natural desire doesn't mean you should just go ahead and fulfill it, especially if that desire is counter-scriptural (see this post for a more complete treatment on this specific issue).

"Moreover, a place like George Fox should be open to reexamining long-held beliefs, particularly when there are significant numbers within that community who are harmed by existing policies and who hold different beliefs."

This is not okay, especially if those long-held beliefs are scriptural. If you are part of a Christian community, there are certain guidelines that need to be followed, especially if they are taken directly from scripture. Christians won't be harmed or treated unjustly by scripture if they adhere to it's principles.


Finally, I don't think the church has been fair to the homosexual community. My reason for this thinking is that it has been very condemning and exclusive towards homosexual sin while being incredibly lenient towards heterosexual within its walls.  Sexual sin is sexual sin, heterosexual or homosexual. It's all the same. If the church is serious about sexual sin, it needs to be consistent with its treatment of both types, and I don't think that treatment can be lenient. We're in a war against sin, folks. It's an enemy trying to kill us. Sin is not a jellyfish we can swim around and poke a stick at. It's a shark. And you're bleeding.

Let's be serious about sin. And let's not let OneGeorgeFox change the lifestyle agreement to allow and encourage sin on this campus.