It is arguable that homosexuals face social and legal discrimination in Muslim-majority countries. As an example, one could point to the Penal Code of Malaysia which prohibits homosexual acts or “carnal intercourse against the order of nature.” In contrast, the public institutions in Western countries not only affirm the rights of homosexuals, but increasingly legislate public policies that promote homosexual practices. The recent court cases brought by homosexual activists against Christians in Western countries suggest the likely possibility that eventually Christians will be compelled to comply with public policies that promote homosexual practices. The conflicting views on homosexual practices between Western and Muslim-majority societies may well be irreconcilable.
Advocates of the homosexual movement justify their cause in terms of human rights. But this justification is rejected by Muslim authorities. One may interpret the conflict between homosexual activists and Muslim (or traditional religious) authorities in terms of “conflicting value systems,” or “culture war.” But, perhaps the conflict reflects something more fundamental as the rhetoric from the LGBT movement increasingly acquires religious overtones.
Joe Carter’ article on the fashionable celebration of LGBT Pride Month, in the West “How LGBT Pride Month Became a Religious Holiday” offers startling insights on the religious nature of the homosexual movement. Given below are some notable insights:
GBT Pride Month is not a just a secular commemoration of a people but a religious celebration of a belief—the belief that “Gay Is Good” and that moral opposition to homosexual behavior or transgender ideology is inherently bigoted.
But for most LGBT “nones” it has meant imbuing a faith they already held with religious symbolism. That is why LGBT Pride Month has become the secular equivalent to Advent…
Because the LGBT agenda of normalizing homosexuality and transgenderism conflicts with Christianity (at least in its non-apostate forms), to “eliminate prejudice” requires anathematizing the beliefs of Bible-believing Christians. In the future the celebration of LGBT views will likely be compelled. But for now, every American is simply required to choose a side.
This is why LGBT Pride Month is also, as my colleague Betsy Howard says, a form of Passover. In the original Passover, the Israelites put the blood of a lamb on the doorposts so that God would “pass over” their house and not bring judgment upon the people within (Ex. 12:7-13). Today, the American people fly a rainbow flag, wear an “ally” pin, or change their social media avatars to show they observe LGBT Pride Month. In doing so, they show they’ve bent the knee to the LGBT cause and will not incur their wrath that will be poured out those who are not “affirming.”
We should expect such submissive behavior from corporations, who have uncritically adopted “woke capitalism.” We can also expect it from government agencies, such as U.S. embassies, since they are often overseen by LGBT-affirming presidents, like Clinton, Obama, and Trump. Corporations and governments can be absolved for showing their support for anti-Christian causes. But what excuse do Christians have?
What is worrying for Church leaders is not that the LGBT movement is adopting religious symbols and activities, but that many younger Christians are sympathetic towards the LGBT movement even though its practices are in conflict with the teaching of the Bible. Perhaps, these younger Christians fail to understand the nature of the conflict. For these sympathizers of the homosexual movement, the final observation and challenge by Carter is pertinent and sobering.
Why do so many professed believers adopt a symbol that shows the world they are opposed to God’s Word? And why do we overlook such displays of idolatry by those who claim to be both LGBT “allies” and our brothers and sisters in Christ?… We fear that if we point out too clearly or forcefully that you can’t both serve God and endorse sin, people may leave our congregations. We seem more concerned with losing the volunteer for the Sunday-morning nursery or the regular tithe in the offering plate than we do with the souls of those in open and unrepentant rebellion against God.
We also seem more worried about the judgment of the kids in the youth ministry than we do with the judgment of a wrathful and holy God. We are so troubled by the thought that LGBT-friendly advocates will fall away from the faith that we fail to see that they’ve already rejected the faith of historic, orthodox Christianity and replaced it with an idolatrous heresy—one that is as destructive and hateful as any that has come before.
We do not love our neighbor when we tell them they can continue to engage in unrepentant rebellion against God. We cannot continue with the “go along to get along” mentality that is leading those we claim to love to destruction. If we truly love our LGBT neighbors, we must speak the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:31). We may have to accept the fact that those who have fallen away may not ever return, but we shouldn’t lead them to hell because we are too craven to tell them the gospel requires repentance.
We must choose whom we will serve. Will we love our neighbors and stand with the only wise God, or will we hate our LGBT friends by allying with the foolish idol-makers of LGBT Pride Month?
