Category: Sexuality & Gender

OT & Jesus’ Teaching on Homosexual Practice. HPLSR Part 2/5

A. Can Homosexuals be changed? Difficult to change, but possible. Therapy gives relative success: 30 percent experience freedom from symptoms and 30 percent experience significant improvement.

B. OT teaching– Homosexuality viewed as a grievous sin. All forms of homosexual practice were rejected. 1) Gen. 19 Sodom and Gomorrah. Exegetical refutation of revisionists who alleged that the sin in Sodom and Gomorrah was inhospitality, violent gang rape vs consensual sex. 2) Lev. 18:22, 20:13; Deut. 23: 17-18. Homosexual practice is the only specific sin singled out as an abomination and given death penalty. 3) Lev. 18:24-30. Prohibition against homosexuality is universal & not just restricted to Israel.

C. NT teaching Jesus was silent on the issue, but silent does not mean approval.

Continue reading “OT & Jesus’ Teaching on Homosexual Practice. HPLSR Part 2/5”

LGBT Ideology & Activism in Social Context. Homosexual Practice & LGBT Sexual Revolution. Part 1/5

LGBT Ideology & Activism in Social Context. HPLSR Part 1/5

A. Two Opposing Reactions to Homosexual Practice
1) Inclusivist Liberals: Emphasis on LOVE with a loose attachment to biblical law.
2) Historical church 2000 yr Tradition.

B. Application – Welcoming, but not affirming
Speak God’s truth in love BUT no place for self-righteousness.
Differentiate between people struggling with same-sex attraction from militant homosexual activists.
Main focus on homosexual practices tho’ may make reference to the sexual dysphoria and transgender debate.

C. Basic Facts
Relevant statistics about homosexual practices today
Multiple causes of homosexuality.

D. Biblical Focus on Acts, Not ‘Orientation’
The Bible knows nothing of “homosexual orientation.” The church’s moral focus is not fundamentally with homosexual orientation, no matter how it is supposed to develop.The church’s moral concern is with what an individual does with his or her experiences of same-sex attraction.z

You can watch the video at
LGBT Ideology & Activism in Social Context: HPLSR Part 1/5

Related Posts:
Collated posts on Bible and Homosexuality

The Triumph of the Therapeutic and the LGBTQ Sexual Revolution

Philosophical and Social Origins of Identity Politics and the LGBTQ Sexual Revolution. Part 3.

A. The Autonomous Self and Expressive Individualism
Recent Gallup surveys show that the number of people in the West who identify as LGBTQ and reject the heterosexual family in preference for “non-binary” sexual relationships is increasing. This extraordinary development is the culmination of a sequence of historical developments in the West beginning from the 17th century. This includes the decline of Judeo-Christian religion, the influence of the Enlightenment-Romantic philosophy of the autonomous self, the erosion of community relationships in secular society, and “expressive individualism”, the modern notion that one must be true to oneself to be authentic.1“Expressive individualism holds that each person has a unique core of feeling and intuition that should unfold or be expressed if individuality is to be realized…In the twentieth century, it shows affinities with the culture of psychotherapy.”Robert Bellah, Richard Madsen et. al, Habits of the Heart (Uni. California, 1985, 1996), pp. 333-334.

Historically, the individual in the West based his identity on his relationship with God and the community he belonged to. The role of religion and pastoral care was to help individuals to be integrated with their community. The good life required the individual to order his life in conformity to God’s created order, in accordance the mimetic view of life. But skeptical Enlightenment philosophy dispensed with the idea of God. Consequently, nature and social order became desacralized and may be manipulated and exploited to serve the welfare of individuals and society, in accordance with the poietic view of life. If there is no created order, then society and culture are merely social constructs, and if nature possesses no intrinsic meaning or purpose, then human beings must create meaning and moral values for themselves. This led in the emergence of the autonomous individual who defines for himself his moral values, and sets the goal of self-fulfillment on his own terms. Continue reading “The Triumph of the Therapeutic and the LGBTQ Sexual Revolution”

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    “Expressive individualism holds that each person has a unique core of feeling and intuition that should unfold or be expressed if individuality is to be realized…In the twentieth century, it shows affinities with the culture of psychotherapy.”Robert Bellah, Richard Madsen et. al, Habits of the Heart (Uni. California, 1985, 1996), pp. 333-334.

The Vanished Soul and Quest for the Authentic Self in Modern Western Thought

Philosophical and Social Origins of Identity Politics and the LGBTQ Sexual Revolution. Part 1.

Due to the influence of the Bible, the majority of thinkers in Western society for centuries have acknowledged the reality of the soul which is distinct and yet intimately linked to the body. According to the Christian tradition, what we refer to as body and soul are aspects of one unitary reality and process, that is, the body and soul are viewed as a psychophysical unit, the human person. The physical body changes through time but the soul persists as the person interacts continuously with the world. It is the continuity of the soul, with its faculties of intellect and will, which ensures coherence and defines the personal identity of the person.1Due to constrains of a short article, the words “soul”, “self” and “mind” are used in this post interchangeably in the light of overlaps in their semantic domain. For example, the immortality of the soul is linked to the immateriality of the mind and the mind is a power of the soul. However, we should be sensitive to the nuances of each thinker in how he uses these words.

Knowledge of the soul is inseparable from knowledge of God.2John Calvin notes, “true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But, while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves”… Again, it is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Westminster, 1960), Book 1.1.1, 2. However, from the 17th century, many Western scholars and scientists began to reject both the idea of God and the soul. Indeed, the soul has become absent or irrelevant in contemporary intellectual discourse. How did this happen?

To answer this question, we begin with the French philosopher, Rene Descartes. Continue reading “The Vanished Soul and Quest for the Authentic Self in Modern Western Thought”

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    Due to constrains of a short article, the words “soul”, “self” and “mind” are used in this post interchangeably in the light of overlaps in their semantic domain. For example, the immortality of the soul is linked to the immateriality of the mind and the mind is a power of the soul. However, we should be sensitive to the nuances of each thinker in how he uses these words.
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    John Calvin notes, “true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves. But, while joined by many bonds, which one precedes and brings forth the other is not easy to discern. In the first place, no one can look upon himself without immediately turning his thoughts to the contemplation of God, in whom he “lives and moves”… Again, it is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself.” John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (Westminster, 1960), Book 1.1.1, 2.

Video Recording of Talk on Bible and Homosexuality by Ng Kam Weng

You can view the one hour video at:
The Bible and Homosexuality

Outline of Talk

A. Getting the Facts Right
– possible causes of homosexuality and homosexual life-style.
– Can homosexual change?
– What the bible says about homosexual practice.

B. Relevant Biblical Texts
– Matt. 19:1-6 – God’s creation order of heterosexual marriage.
– Gen. 19:4-8; Jude 7 – Judgment on Sodom.
– Lev. 18:22; Lev. 20:13 – Homosexual practice as an abomination to the Lord.
– 1 Sam. 18 – Were David and Jonathan in a homosexual relationship?
– Rom. 1 – Homosexual practice is “contrary to nature” or disordered desire.
– 1 Cor. 6:9-10. Homosexual practice, along with other sexual sins condemned..

C. Affirmation
1. Sexual complementarity is good.
2. Marriage is good.
3. Sex is good – Sacramental reminder of the joys of first love.
4. Family Reproduction is good. Learning to love and give.

D. Final Challenge
– Fulfilment in Christ beyond sex.
– We seek humbly to share the wholeness found in God’s grace that brings liberation and substantial healing to our brokenness.

Related Posts
Nashville Statement (2017): A Coalition For Biblical Sexuality

 

 

Biden’s LGBT Inspired “Equality Act” Will Drive the Church From the Public Arena

 

Many Malaysian Christians who rely on CNN (aka the Democrats’ Ministry of Truth) for ‘news’ on the recent USA elections were gleeful when Biden won. I wonder how they would react to the so-called “Equality Act” which Biden has pledged to push through Congress in his first 100 days of power. Of course these Christians did not see the writing on the wall, given their great faith in CNN. This is only the beginning of Biden and the Democrats’ campaign to drive the church away from the public arena. Continue reading “Biden’s LGBT Inspired “Equality Act” Will Drive the Church From the Public Arena”

Amazon Bans Authors Who are Critical of LGBT

The LGBT movement in the USA pretended to be fighting for equality and coexistence with traditional Christianity and conservative religious values. Now that it controls the economic, educational, entertainment and political institutions in the USA, it proceeds to snuff out any opposing views, especially the view of traditional biblical Christianity.
Example: Amazon bans books written by authors who are critical of the homosexual and transsexual movement:
Robert Gagnon, Anne Paulk, Ryan Anderson, Joseph Nicolosi, Joe Dallas, Alan Mendiger etc.
One observes related restrictions and bans by Google, Facebook & Pay Pal.

Continue reading “Amazon Bans Authors Who are Critical of LGBT”

Saints and Social Justice Warriors

One of the reasons many Christians become defensive in the debate with the LGBT movement is because for too long churches have failed to acknowledge, much less teach and prepare their congregations on how to analyze, understand and challenge the anti-biblical foundations of the movement. When was the last time you heard a preacher addressing LGBT issues over the pulpit? Likewise, many Christians find themselves ill-prepared in confronting the current ideology of social justice that focuses narrowly on an intersectionality of sexual identity(ies) and Critical Race Theory (CRT). /1/ The ideology has become so influential in the USA that it threatens to split apart the Southern Baptist Convention with its 14.5 million members.

The vigorous promotion of this ideology by the Western academia, media and entertainment industry has managed to persuade the younger generation (including younger Christians) to become “Woke,” that is, becoming aware of alleged social discrimination and aligning oneself to social justice warriors. Continue reading “Saints and Social Justice Warriors”

The Most Authoritative NT Greek Lexicon (BDAG) Tones Down its Gender References

Setting the Context: Compare the following translations of 1 Cor. 16:13
a) Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. (ESV)

b) Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. (KJV)
To contemporary readers, “quit” means “to stop” or “to give up,” but in King James English, it can also mean “to conduct oneself in a specified way.” Hence, “quit you like men” means “to play the man”, or “act manly”.

c) Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. (NIV)

———–
The ESV has “Act like men” (andrizesthe). Some readers in their conformity to political correctness may take offence and consider the ESV translation to be guilty of sexism.

It should be instructive to look into the Greek words. Continue reading “The Most Authoritative NT Greek Lexicon (BDAG) Tones Down its Gender References”

How I Left the Social Justice Cult

Virtue signaling in solidarity with “social justice warriors” is becoming popular among Christian social activists. “Wokeness” is sweeping across mainline denominations and some conservative seminaries. Even the Southern Baptist Convention (historically the bulwark of theological conservatism) is experiencing division as some of its influential leaders eagerly join the bandwagon.

We are puzzled when highly intelligent and idealistic people are caught up in the ideological madness of crowds currently sweeping across the USA. We are troubled by incidents when some social activists who started their mission with righteous ideals end up becoming self-righteous and judgmental towards people who don’t share their avant-garde views. Continue reading “How I Left the Social Justice Cult”