Homosexuality Queens Community College Lecture

It is an honor for me to speak to you on this issue of homosexuality to you. I will share three points:
Why is this an important issue? What have Christians been doing over this issue? How successful have we been?

1. Why is this an Important Issue?
This issue carries great religious, political, social, medical, and legal ramifications.
The first reason this is an important issue is the AUTHORITY of the BIBLE. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God. It is God-breathed and that every word of the original manuscripts was without error. These words have been preserved down to the present day so that we may have reliable translations of the very words of God. Quite frankly, the Bible condemns sodomy in both the Old and New Testaments as an abomination. In Romans 1:24-27, Paul writes about a pagan society that has turned the truth of God into a lie. Listen to the judgment God brings upon a culture that makes this mistake:
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.
Notice God calls homosexuality uncleanness, heart lusts, dishonoring of their bodies, change the truth into a lie, false worship, vile affections, against nature, burning and unseemly lusts, and they will face an eventual judgment. Homosexuality is a religion to many today. There are many other verses that I could site, but because of time, I will simply list some others: Leviticus 18:22-30; 1 Kings 14:24; 15:12; 22:46; 2 Kings 23:7; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.
Another reason is the FAMILY. Homosexuality is a direct attack upon God’s oldest and most important institution. God has ordained the family unit as the basic building block of society. When this basic unit disintegrates, that culture will not be able to survive for long. The Bible teaches the importance of the family. Of the three major institutions, the family, the church, and government, the family is the first and the oldest. It is also the most important. Homosexual activists seek to argue that the nuclear family no longer exists, so there is nothing to preserve. They want us to think that there is nothing left to fight for. Again, I point you back to my first argument. The Bible is our authority and God is the author of Scripture and He has ordained the family. What God has ordained is worth fighting for and defending. Even if the family did not exist at all, it would be worth fighting for its restoration. Nevertheless, the family does exist. I know many people who are committed parents, who have remained loyal and faithful to the marriage covenant, and who seek to teach their children the importance of the family institution.
A third reason is our FREEDOM. The homosexual community has waged a war where our very freedoms are at stake. Our freedom of SPEECH is being threatened. Reggie White, a well-known football player now retired, made a speech before the Wisconsin Legislature and made statements that demonstrated he believes homosexuality is a chosen sinful behavior. He was rapidly removed from job consideration as a football analyst. Just as “Big Brother” in George Orwell’s 1984 watched people’s movements and used language to stifle thought, so the active homosexual community is our modern day “Thought Police.” Speaking out against homosexuality in their mind is a hate crime. If my stand against homosexuality is a “hate crime,” that makes me an ignorant, prejudiced bigot, and this sort of “hate crime” legislation comes to pass, then my freedom to speak out as a Christian and as an American is greatly endangered. I believe the ultimate aim is to strangle the freedom of RELIGION in America. The Gays and Lesbians seek to portray those who disagree with this lifestyle as “homophobic” and that my speaking the truth of the Bible on this issue leads to violence against gays. They link their opponents to the KKK or to Nazi facism. How many of you have heard of Matthew Shepherd? How many of you have heard of Jesse Dierkhising? Matthew Shepherd was killed in a gruesome murder and so was Jesse Dierkhising. Shepherd’s murder was splashed across the newspaper headlines for weeks because he was a homosexual and he was evidently killed by some who hated this lifestyle. Yet, this same propaganda machine has minimized and discounted the brutal torture murder of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising who was killed by two homosexual men in Arkansas. Jesse Dirkhising was the victim of a sadomasochistic torture that went bad. Dirkhising was repeatedly sodomized by Josh Brown, while Brown's lover looked on. Dirkhising's mouth was taped shut and he suffocated to death. Again, hardly any heard of this while the death of Matthew Shepherd was splashed across the papers for weeks. Notice this small article in the NY Post editorial page, March 16, 2001. “A Sensational Trial-But Where is the Press Corps?”
A fourth reason is HEALTH. There is no doubt that illicit sex spreads many sexually transmitted diseases. The Bible warns us of this fact, saying that through fornication a person would “mourn at the last, when thy flesh and thy body are consumed” (Prov.5:11). The average homosexual man has had an average of 500 sex partners. Homosexual sex is unhealthy. We now know that anal sodomy is one of the most dangerous behaviors in America. It is associated with dozens of serious public health problems. When AIDS burst on the scene in 1981, it was initially called GRID, for “Gay Related Immune Deficiency Disease.” Homosexuals have continued to be the principal recipients and transmitters of this disease. Recent studies have shown a large and growing percentage of homosexuals withhold truth about their health condition. Out of 113 HIV-positive bisexual men in Los Angeles, 54.5% of them failed to disclose their infection status. In another study of 53 men, 41% said they had unprotected sex in a public place. (Traditional Values Coalition News, Vol. 4, Issue 8, February 23, 2001) As medicines improve that can prolong the lives of those who have AIDS, so will their willingness to have anonymous sex, group sex, or public sex with strangers. Homosexuality encourages promiscuity that is socially irresponsible for it exacts a huge cost upon the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of society.
A fifth reason is our CHILDREN. Should children be taught the values of homosexuality in the public education system? Should an educational system that has rejected any MORAL ABSOLUTES be teaching values that many view as immoral? Should children be taught there is no difference between male and female? Do parents have the freedom to have a person of high morality teach their children? Elementary school children are not naturally interested in homosexuality and should not be indoctrinated and manipulated by the homosexual agenda, but that has not stopped them from seeking to spread their message into the public arena. (“It’s Elementary” is a video shown in public schools) Michael Swift, in the Boston Gay Community News (Feb. 15-21, 1987), wrote this, “We shall sodomize your sons, emblems of your feeble masculinity, of your shallow dreams and vulgar lies. We shall seduce them in your schools, in your dormitories, in your gymnasiums, in your locker rooms, in your sports arenas, in your seminaries, in your youth groups…wherever men are with men together. Your sons shall become our minions and do our bidding. They will be recast in our image. They will come to crave and adore us. All churches who condemn us will be closed. Our holy gods are handsome young men…we shall be victorious because we are fueled with the ferocious bitterness of the oppressed…” This militant statement shows the seriousness of the battle from their perspective. The fact is that Sado-Masochism (S&M) and Bondage and Discipline (B&D) torture activities are popular practices among many homosexuals. The Internet is filled with homosexual sites dedicated to the art of combining sex acts with torture. The media has also shown little interest in covering the torture and murder of Jeffrey Curley, a boy who was suffocated by two pedophiles and sodomized after his death. The boy's body was stuffed in a plastic container and thrown into a river (TVC Report, Vol.4, Issue 16, March 16, 2001). Gerald Hannon is a homosexual who openly lobbies for the abolition of “age of consent” laws. As part of his campaign to legalize sex with children, Hannon and homosexual militants are pushing for aggressive recruitment programs in public schools. His attitude is, “If you want children, what better place to find them than in the public schools?” After all, since homosexual couples can’t reproduce, they will simply go after your children for seduction and conversion to homosexuality.
Hannon, writing in the New York University Press book, Lavender Culture, laments the fact that the “gay rights movement” has not had large numbers of children involved. This must change, says Hannon. “At present, we do not have organizations that are chock-a-block full of young people…To attract young people to the gay movement in large numbers should be the challenge to the next phase of the movement. It is a challenge we have set ourselves” (TVC Web site, Report, Vol. 18, No. 11).
A sixth reason is LAWS. So called “Gay Rights” legislation or ordinances may collide with the moral and religious convictions of Americans. When this collision takes place, the Gay Rights have the upper hand because our government is to keep separate church and state. (Illus the Boy Scouts conviction to not have homosexual men as scout leaders). The Gay Rights Movement seeks to change a multitude of laws in our nation that would continue to deteriorate the moral conduct of America. Not only do they seek to overturn the criminal act of sodomy, but they seek to enact hate speech laws, they seek to legalize homosexual marriages, change age of consent laws (North American Man/Boy Love Association, NAMBLA, [if sex is good, why withhold it from children?]), but also change the rules on public sex, child pornography, and health care expectations. Yes, in San Francisco, the Board of Supervisors has approved a plan that will provide sex change operations for its city employees as part of their health care package (TVC News, Vol. 4, Issue 8, Feb. 23, 2001).
In Massachusetts, the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) sued the Massachusetts state police on behalf of a gay man who was banned from highway rest stops on Cape Cod. They won the lawsuit.
A seventh reason is our FUTURE. In an evolutionary and humanistic culture that is without moral absolutes, there is no end to the degeneracy and immorality. Today the battleground is homosexual rights. Coming next is the Transgender Revolution to normalize cross-dressing, transvestitism, and transsexualism as the next protected minority group. After that there will be a push to normalize bestiality. You say, you are a little paranoid, aren’t you, Matthew? No! Listen to this:
In a bizarre case out of Maine, a father is being charged with attempted murder for trying to kill his son. The father was disturbed by the son's sexual attraction to a dog. Phillip Buble, a Zoophile (a person who engages in bestiality), is vocal about his sexual orientation. In fact, when he was to be present at the sentencing of his father, he asked the court to allow his "significant other" to be allowed to stand by his side. His significant other is Lady, a short-legged, mixed-breed dog. (His request was rejected.) Buble told reporters he believes his father "needs serious therapy."
Since this case was publicized, the Maine Animal Control Association has filed a legislative act to amend the animal welfare laws to make bestiality a crime. There are currently no laws against bestiality in Maine. Legislators in Maine say there is an organized campaign by Zoophiles to fight criminalizing sex with animals.
Review: The Authority of the Bible, the importance of the family, the freedoms we possess as Americans, the health of people, our children, the changing of laws, the future of our nation as we know it are all at stake.
2. What have Christians been Doing?
First of all, Christians have sought to preach the Good News of Jesus Christ and win those struggling with this lifestyle to salvation in Jesus Christ. We seek to witness to them of God’s eternal love. The most important help we can give to any person lost in sin is to speak the truth in love and give them the Gospel that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins and rose again. We also seek to provide a safe harbor for them to grow in the grace of Christ. This is the purpose of the local church. We provide counsel, encouragement, classes, and messages from the Word of God. Our church has had a number of people who have struggled with this lifestyle. I have counseled an individual who was physically abused by his father in his youth. Without the love and nurture of his father growing up, he would prowl the streets at night looking for older men to beat him and urinate on him. He was able to break free from this pattern of sexual sin. We have welcomed all people into our church and some of these have struggled with homosexuality. We have a number of women in our church who are now married who at one time were lesbians. There is power in the blood of Christ to change a person’s behavior.
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind…shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.
The word “effeminate” is a technical term that relates to a man who is guilty of addiction to the sins of the flesh and is the more passive partner, taking the roll of the female. The phrase abusers of themselves with mankind, relates most probably to the more aggressive member of the homosexual relationship. 1 Timothy 1:10 also says that the law was made for the lawless and disobedient and one of these is the one who “defile(s) himself with mankind.” However, God is able to deliver a person from this lifestyle and we must proclaim the salvation deliverance that is in Jesus Christ. This is the most important thing that we can do as Christians. We are not called to parades, protests, or photo-ops, but to preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is our conviction that no one is born a homosexual. We are all born sinners and some struggle with this sin more than others. Our easily deceived hearts can lie to us and tell us that people are born that way. There is no scientific or medical proof for this.
Let me admit that Christians have often come across angry and unloving, and this is to our shame. At other times we are falsely portrayed as angry and unloving. I believe we need to be compassionate and sensitive to the fact that many do struggle with this sin. We must not use names to humiliate and attack someone who struggles with this behavior. I believe the best thing Christians can do is to have local churches that will love and accept all who come through their doors. Local churches like ours also teach, disciple, and encourage people to live lives of holiness that please God.
A third thing we have been doing is seeking to teach fathers to love their children. The breakdown of the American family and especially the absent, abusive father is the number one cause of homosexuality today. Boys who are not loved by their fathers have a tendency to seek male love as adults; girls who are not loved by their dads have a tendency to be very bitter against men and seek love from a woman. Either way, the father is the head of the home. (Other reasons include, rejection of the mother, sexual abuse, and peer rejection.)
Christians have established action committees to stand up for our rights as Americans. American Family Association, Family Research Counsel, Traditional Values Coalition, Christian Coalition, and Kerusso Ministries, are some of the groups that are seeking to preserve the family and encourage the Biblical concept of the nuclear family.
Here are four examples of how these action committees are seeking to stand against the very powerful and organized homosexual rights agenda:
(1) In San Francisco a conflict occurred between the City of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors and an advertising campaign called "Truth in Love." This TV ad campaign was sponsored by Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, and Kerruso Ministries (an ex-gay ministry). When the "Truth in Love" campaign started to purchase TV spots, the Board of Supervisors contacted media outlets to discourage them from running the ads. One of the ads featured an ex-homosexual who said, "The dream that I thought could never happen--having a wife and kids--has finally come true. If you're hurting, lonely or confused, Jesus can set you free." The Board of Supervisors claimed that these ads contributed to "horrible crimes committed against gays and lesbians." In short, this was considered "hate speech," that would lead to "hate crimes" including the murder of homosexuals. The Christian groups sponsoring this ad campaign filed a lawsuit in October 1999 to stop San Francisco from attempting to censor this message of love. A federal judge, however, ruled in June, 2000 that the Board was justified in censoring this message because of its concern over "public safety." Brian Fahling, with the American Family Association's Center for Law and Policy properly sees this as a serious threat to freedom of speech. "Nothing like this has ever happened in this country," said Fahling. "This, really, is extraordinary and should give everybody great pause, because now we have a court decision--a federal court decision--that says governments can take official action condemning religious beliefs." This is not only an attack on freedom of speech, but it is a direct attack on Christians and the Bible's condemnation of homosexual behavior. Yet, that is precisely what gay propagandists want: Silence the opposition by either criminalizing their speech or censoring it.
(2) In Vermont, a personal friend of mine, Pastor David Stertzbach (Trinity Baptist Church in Williston, Vermont) formed the Vermont Defense of Marriage Political Action Committee. This was to protect the institution of marriage in the state of Vermont which came under intense attack by the homosexual community. The homosexuals chose this liberal state to overturn the laws of traditional marriage. It is now legal for sodomites to legally form a “civil union.”
Parents Rights Coaliton, based in Newton, Mass. stands up for the rights of parents against the homosexual community that seeks to recruit children into its ranks.
(3) In May, 2000, the Parents Rights Coalition became embroiled in a major legal and moral battle against gay militants operating within the Massachusetts Departments of Education and Health as well as the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN)-a network of homosexual educators who are attempting to normalize homosexuality in the schools.
Scott Whiteman, a PRC employee, attended a GLSEN “Teach Out,” for teachers and teens at Tufts University on March 25, 2000. At this conference, Whiteman secretly tape recorded several of the various workshops. One of the workshops was titled, “What They Didn’t Tell You About Queer Sex & Sexuality in Health Class: A Workshop for Youth Only, Ages 14-21.” In this workshop, Whiteman listened to two lesbians and one homosexual (all HIV instructors with the state), teach children how to engage in “fisting.” Fisting is a homosexual sex practice that involves shoving one’s fist and arm up the anus of one’s sex partner. These instructors discussed the pros and cons of swallowing seminal fluid after oral sex. Tables were set up by various pro-homosexual groups in the hallways outside of the workshops. One sex clinic was offering “pocket sex” kits to teens. Each kit contained two condoms, two antiseptic moist towelettes, and six bandages. According to the teen handing out these sex kits, the bandages were for “when the sex got really rough.”
Since then, the head of the Mass. Department of Education has fired one lesbian HIV instructor, accepted another lesbian’s resignation and abolished the position held by the homosexual HIV instructor.
(4) Professor David Saxe, a Pennsylvania State University educator sued a school district’s anti-harassment policy that violated free speech. This policy made criminal any speech that was deemed offensive or which belittled an individual. Under this policy, Christian students were forbidden to make any negative comments about a person’s sexual orientation, or they risked expulsion from school. The Federal Third Circuit Court of Appeals in a 3-0 vote ruled that the school’s policy violated the free speech of the Christian students. The judges noted that, “By prohibiting disparaging speech directed at a person;s values, the policy strikes at the heart of moral and political discourse-the lifeblood of constitutional self-government (and democratic education) and the core concern of the First Amendment. That speech about values may offend is not cause for its prohibition.”