Viral Faith

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (Colossians 1:19-20) During this series, we have tried to take a sweeping look at sexuality, through the teachings of Jesus and his scriptures. While the topic is far to broad for a blog series, the goal was to critically examine what Jesus and the Bible said about sexuality and specifically, same-sex relationships in light of recent changes in the legality of same-sex marriage. In the end, we are reminded of the big picture. The big picture is that God created the world and all of its people.  Creation not only was "good", but continues to have immense value.  Humanity, created to reflect the image of God was to live in harmony with creation and be a caretaker (thus actually reflecting God in action as well).  Humanity was created with a sexual n...

Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. (Romans 1:24-25) We are winding down on this topic of Jesus and sexuality.  I have appreciated the feedback that this topic has received and hope that it has helped to clarify the Biblical approaches to this difficult topic.  We have discussed the general nature of scripture, its interpretation, overarching themes in scripture and specific scriptures in the Hebrew Scriptures (the Old Testament).  Now, we take time to look at sexuality, specifically same-sex attraction in the New Testament or Greek Scriptures.  Once again we need to reiterate a few concepts: 1.  Jesus is considered the pinnacle of revelation.  He does not only speak for God, but is the "exact representation of His being" (Hebrews 1:3).  Jesus' words and life are authoritative. 2.  Jesus had a Jewish understanding of sexuality, where sex was ...

The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled. And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you. (Leviticus 18:26-28) We began looking at some very general scriptures regarding sexuality as found in the Hebrew Scriptures (also called the Old Testament) in part VI of this blog series and now we turn to some very specific verses.  As you recall, the moral standards of the community of Israel was spelled out in "the law", given to Moses by God.  That law is spelled out in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy. The book of Leviticus spells out a variety of laws regarding worship and community living.  Within the community living section, it states the following: "'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable." Leviticus 18:2...

" There are two ways, one of life and one of death, but a great difference between the two ways." from one of the earliest Christian discipleship guides called the Didache . The Didache was a document that was developed for Christian communities in the late first century, probably between 70 and 90AD.  It is remarkable because it focuses on Christian practice (often called praxis) over doctrine.  Yet it gives us specific insight of the ethos of these early Christian communities.  The initial statement of the Didache (see above) identifies the ethics of followers of Jesus to be that of contrast.  The ethical standards and concerns were to be uniquely different than that of the culture in which they find themselves placed. This was not a uniquely Christian heritage, but these early Christians were extending the Judaic understanding that the people of God were to be a "Holy" people.  That is, that God is calling a people to be distinct and devoted to hi...

“Disapproval of homosexuality cannot justify invading the houses, hearts and minds of citizens who choose to live their lives differently.” Harry A. Blackmun (American Supreme Court justice, 1908-1999) We began this blog series on Jesus and Spirituality by stating that although the issues recently in the media regarding Gay marriage are are legal, the underlying discussion is a discussion of morality.  We have also set the foundation for Christian ethics by stating the role of scripture, tradition, reason, experience, and culture in the shaping of ethics.  We looked at some particular scriptures that viewed sexuality in general, but have not looked at some of the more pointed scriptures in the Bible regarding homosexuality. We begin with the premise that in the Bible, revelation is progressive.  That means that information or priniciples revealed in the earlier parts of the Bible are continually focused and clarified in latter parts.  Jesus, who is the ulti...

The Bible is a book that has been read more and examined less than any book that ever existed.  Thomas Paine As I have been writing several different blogs pertaining to different aspects of Christianity, I have had several wonderful conversations with people who have not much experience interacting with the Bible.  This blog is for people who have not had much experience with the Bible, but are interested in a understanding how the Bible is to be approached.  I will write this in a bullet format in order to be concise: 1. The Bible is not one single book, but 66 different books written over a long period of time .  It has been collected together as sacred writings for over 2500 years.  2. The Bible assumes the existence of God and never attempts to prove it.   It is a book of faith written to a people of faith.  Certain assumptions are present.  The Bible is not to used as a text book or a proof text because it was not written for...

This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.  Now the man and his wife were both naked, but they felt no shame. (Genesis 2:24-25, NLT) We have been discussing the issue of sexuality from a uniquely Christian perspective, attempting to weed out the authentic principles found in Hebrew and Greek scriptures (Old and New Testament) from the cultural views that often seek to masquerade as Christianity.  Typically, authority in Christianity  is first found in Scripture, then in tradition (what did Christian communities before us think and practice), reason (is this logical and consistent with other principles found in scriptures), and experience (does this line up with my experience).  I previously shared (see previous blog entries on Jesus and Sexuality) that culture also plays a huge part in how we interpret scripture, understand tradition, apply reason, and experience life.  For better or worse, ...