Servelloism

Recently somebody called me to asked me if I heard the news. My response of course was, “What news?” They responded, “Jennifer Knapp – she’s sayin’ she’s gay.” My initial response, honestly, I thought to myself was, “Really? That’s ‘news’? That’s why you called me?” About 10 years ago, a few of my friends thought Jennifer was God’s gift to the Christian music scene. I just never got into her music. Then again, I never was a big contemporary Christian music guy. I have some people I like, but I have never been up to date on the whole CCM scene.

This past weekend I was in Rhode Island speaking at a youth conference there, and I got a text from my youth pastor asking me if I was watching Larry King Live. He told me i needed to watch it. I was in a meeting at the time, but when I got back to my hotel I stayed up to watch the midnight rerun of the show. I was flooded with emotions watching it, and I guess this note/blog is going to be my outlet for those emotions.

First off, is this story really that news worthy for Larry King? Is this the best he could come up with for his Friday night show. I mean really, Jennifer Knapp has been MIA for like 8 years. Is anybody REALLY interested in this story? Most people I mentioned the interview to the next day were like, “Who’s Jennifer Knapp?” There are so many more interesting things going on in the world at the moment. Of course, in my opinion, the reason why this is so news worthy is because it is an opportunity to poke fun, tear down, and criticize those with conservative Christian values.

Secondly, the choice of pastors that Larry picked to talk on this subject were ridiculous. Before I say what I say, I want people to understand that I extend a ton of grace toward Pastor Bob who was asked to come on the program. I have been in a few situations in my life (none, obviously as big as this) where I have been asked to do things that were intimidating to me. And at times because of my nervousness, I am not always at the top of my game. I don’t want to be a Monday morning quarterback here, but Pastor Bob’s responses to some of the questions were just incredibly frustrating and weak. The last time I felt this way was listening to George Bush debate John Kerry in the 2004 Presidential election. I was yelling at the screen saying, “YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME? ARE YOU FOR REAL?” I was doing the same late Friday evening. Why can’t Larry get somebody like Mark Driscoll to be on the show.

So, that being said, let me get some things off my chest… (To understand what i’m talking about, you may have to watch the interview. It’s on youtube.com.) Here’s the punchline: This note is not a note that is about Homosexuality. It’s about the authority of scripture and man’s propensity towards idolatry.

Translating the word Homosexual from the Greek
This is the point at which I am looking at the TV saying, “Answer the question Bob, Answer the question.” Jennifer throws this argument into the discussion. She says something to the effect that Greek scholars are unclear on the words that deal with homosexuality in the Greek New Testament. Therefore, she concludes that the translation is inadequate. Here’s the problem with that argument. Let me say first that I am no Greek scholar, but I did take some Greek in college. Admittedly, I got a D in the course. As bad as my Greek is, any scholar will tell you a Greek word must be taken in the context of a sentence, in the context of a verse, in the context of a chapter, in the context of a book, in the context of the Bible. All that says is that the text itself lends big clues to the translation of a word.

Here’s why that argument doesn’t make sense for Christians. Once I start arguing “translation,” it becomes a slippery slope. Meaning, what else might we conclude is wrong because of “translation.” I mean, is pre-marital sex okay if “scholars” suddenly become unclear what as to what porneia means? Inadvertently, we are basically stating that we can’t trust the Bible, which in turn leads us to make our own rules… which is Idolatry (more on this later). That’s where that road leads if you choose to travel it. I fully admit there are passages that scholars may disagree on how to translate something. However, hear me on this: NONE of them will make a difference when it comes to affecting the basic beliefs of our faith. That being said, specifically on the subject of homosexuality, I think the Bible is clear.

I especially think its hilarious when Christians with no Greek background whatsoever think they are educated enough to disagree with those scholars who have been asked to translate the Bible from it’s original text. Seriously,.. hilarious. Not just hilarious though; its pretty arrogant. One of my greatest pet-peeves is when preachers say in their messages, “They translated this word wrong here. What it really means is…” Really? You spent 3 days studying and you know more than a guy that has spent his life studying this ancient language? Hilarious and arrogant. For example, have you seen the NLT Bible. In some of their Bibles, they tell who the translators were for this “thought for thought” translation. The great thing about this is that the translators are not only Greek/Hebrew scholars, but most of them have spent their life studying & teaching the book they are asked to translate. So, let me be even clearer. Here you have somebody who has multiple degrees in ancient languages, has read hundreds if not thousands of books about the historical context (Christians and non-Christian) in which the people lived during the time, has looked at the original text, and has had numerous hours of dialogue with other experts. And then some person who is wanting to make a point comes along after reading a blog and feels they have the qualification to disagree with the translation? HILARIOUS!

People being born homosexual

First, the way Larry phrased his question to Bob. “God is ‘omnipotent,’ right? So he created homosexuality right? So he created everything but that?” Again, the answer is very easy. God didn’t create sin. So God is omnipotent right? So did He create Racism? I mean he created different colors and cultures? God is omnipotent right? He created sex drives right? So, He created man to NOT be faithful to his one wife, right? Do you see where I am going with this? I fully admit, Christians can be stupid when it comes to the homosexuality issue. We tend to make it the worst of all the sins. We can be harsh and condemning and down right nasty. That being said, do I believe homosexuality is a choice? Before i give my answer, it is important that you understand where I am coming from.

Sin is not just simply a choice. We are sinful, and sin comes from our sin nature. As the old theological statement goes: we are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. You can blame your grandad Adam for it. It’s ingrained inside of us. I always think the whole argument “I was born this way” is so weak. I mean, let me pick on myself here so everyone knows I’m not just simply pointing the judgmental finger. I was born a self-absorbed, narcissist. Left to my own devices and the way I was born, I could do some serious damage. Let me pick on my own sexuality. Here’s how I was born. I am married. I love my wife. She is the best wife anyone could ask for. Honestly, I feel blessed to be able to spend my life with her and her alone. However, when some scantly clad woman pops up on the internet, I want to look. (I really noticed this part of me when i was teenager). Not only do I want to look, but I want to fantasize about that woman. A woman I don’t know! A woman in whom my whole interest is her looks. A woman that I just want to use for my own pleasure. A woman that, quite frankly, may not care that that’s all I want from her. She obviously took the pictures for a reason. So, because I was born that way, does that make it right? If I am married or not? We all are born with the effects of sin.

With homosexuality, it is important to define the difference between orientation and practice. The orientation may not be a choice, but the practice is! The answer to the orientation part has no easy answers. I do believe in a living relationship with Jesus who has the power to help us with these things. That is the only real answer. Not religion, not rules, not moralism, but a living relationship with Jesus.

Secondly, I have had numerous conversations with people who don’t go to church. One question that comes up frequently is, “Are you one of those conservative churches?” My response is always, “You mean a church which believes the Bible to be completely true, and we can base our whole life on it.” Often they will say, “Yeah. Yeah. But what about homosexuality? You’re not so primitive in your beliefs to believe that is a sin do you? After all, we are more educated now than they were when they wrote the Bible. Science and information has revealed the truth to us.” Really? Again, this is another subtle way of eroding away the authority of Scripture.

Let me get off subject for a minute, since I’m in my rant. A couple of years ago I saw Carlton Pearson on MSNBC doing a special about how he changed his views on hell. He said he doesn’t believe in hell anymore. What was so ironic about this program was how Carlton told everyone he came to this “revelation” while studying Scripture (assuming the authority of Scripture), but later in the interview he downplayed the authority of the Bible. So what is it going to be? You are telling everyone that you got this revelation while studying the Bible, but how can we trust this revelation from the Bible if there are parts of it we can’t trust. Again, Hilarious.

Okay, let me get back to those people who ask these questions. What I say is this, “My belief is that I submit myself to Jesus as my GOD and SAVIOR. I submit my life to Him and choose to live my life according to His Word as best i can out of a love relationship with Him because of what He has done for me.” Once we put ourselves into a position where we consider ourselves knowing more than God, it becomes very dangerous. You know what’s funny? People are pretty comfortable living by their own rules and not God’s until someone else’s rules intrude on theirs. In other words, once we walk away from God’s Word, there is no authority left in our lives other than simply what “WE” believe to be what’s right.

So, let me make this practical. Hypothetical, You are an educated suburban mom. Nice husband, two beautiful kids, two cars, one dog. House with a picket fence. You portray yourself as so much more educated than those of us who believe the Bible to be the ultimate authority. Okay, so you’re life is great and everything is going according to plan. One day one of your friends says he saw your husband out to lunch with some pretty young girl. She said she didn’t think anything of it, but she was concerned. She saw them get into the elevator after lunch headed upstairs. Your friend says she knows there is probably a reasonable explanation but thought you should know. You’re concerned but not too much. You and your husband have a great marriage, but when he gets home you still ask him about it. He looks at you and says, “Honey, I didn’t mean for you to find out this way, but I have been meaning to talk to you. I met this girl through a friend at work, and we have this connection. I mean I don’t love her the same way I love you. It’s different. I love you both for different reasons. I don’t want to lose you, but I think we can work something out.” What’s your reaction? “NO WAY! THAT’S WRONG!” Well, who says? You. That’s a laugh- be consistent in your beliefs. You have lived your life by what you have “felt” was ok. So, you knew better than God until somebody else’s rules conflicted with yours.

There are other examples I could use. Here’s another one, and don’t think I’m exaggerating. What happens when some 45 year old guy starts approaching your junior higher? What if he says, “You know, I just like 12 year olds. I don’t know why?” You say, “THAT’S GROSS AND WRONG!!!” Really? Again, who says…You? So what makes anybody the ultimate authority on morality? Without God, we head to a place where everyone does what is right in their own eyes. Think about it.

See, every time I talk about any sexuality issues my tendency is to get practical. To talk about STD’s, unwanted pregnancy, emotional pain, broken hearts, etc, etc., but while these are true, the bottom line is the thing that makes it wrong is God says no. If that’s all we had to go by than we should obey it. God is God and he doesn’t need an explanation.

The Gospel Response

To some people who read this I am preaching to the proverbial choir. Others will want to debate the whole homosexuality issue further, my faith points deeper than minor issues than this. My faith is does not start in a debate between creation and evolution, homosexuality and heterosexuality, or any other. My faith starts at my belief in the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus was a real man who really walked the earth. He was really crucified. He really died, and are you ready, He really rose from the dead! See people who argue the credibility of scripture and get caught in minor debates over this word and that need to come back to the death and resurrection of Christ. If he rose from the dead doesn’t that say something? Doesn’t that change everything? Doesn’t that add credibility to everything else.

Without writing a book here, let me expound a little bit. Do a little research for yourself. It always amazes me that people have such strong opinions of the Bible without doing any research of their own. The romans who crucified Jesus were meticulous at what they did. That being said, going through what Jesus went through I can assure you its pretty safe to assume Jesus really did die on the cross that day. But What about the resurrection? There is a lot of evidence for the resurrection. One of the ones that always gets me is this: Jesus appeared to eyewitnesses after he rose. Those witness went out and preached the resurrection at the cost of their lives! Think about it. If a couple of guys got together and devised a plan to propagate a lie for power, money, or whatever, and then were killed because of the lie, what good would the lie be? It doesn’t matter how much money they made, when someone held a gun to their head and said they were going to be killed for that lie they would most definitely scream out, “WAIT! It’s a lie! Me and my friends made it up. Don’t kill me.” One person may be insane and die believing the lie were true, but how about 11? There were 11 disciples who saw Jesus after he rose. Ten of the eleven died brutal deaths for the resurrection. No person in their right mind would give their life for a lie. It all comes down to a statement I read from Josh McDowell. Jesus is either a liar, lunatic, or lord. There is no in between.

I say all that to say, as Christians we submit ourselves to Jesus as God, Savior, and Lord. I believe the rest because I believe Jesus to be GOD! From that starting point I realize that mans greatest problem is his propensity towards idolatry. From the very beginning of creation, man has wanted to be independent of God. The serpent tempted Eve with the forbidden fruit saying if she ate it she would be like God. That bite of that apple. that act of Man saying he felt the need to act independent of God has brought all of what is wrong into the world. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, at this point is where wars, poverty, classism, murder, prostitution, racism and other terrible things came into our world. It’s mans attempt at being God. Yet we never learn our lesson. When will ever learn that our desire to be our own god will never work. It can never work because we were made for God and for his pleasure.

So what does this mean for our discussion. Everybody has to decide what god they are going to serve. I love people who say they are not religious. Again, soo funny. Everybody is religious. I may worship at church, you may worship at the alter of money, success, power, or sex. We were made to worship. Everybody worships something. the question is not am I religious or not, the question is do i have the right religion. the situation with Jennifer Knapp just says she has chosen to serve a god that is more functional for her. A god that allows her to do what she wants. No, it isn’t some wood carving with oversized extremities and a funny face, but it is a god made to her liking. Larry King, by the questions he asks, assumes a god he has created in his own mind. A god who obviously behaves and believes just like him. You gotta admit it is kind of convenient to pick and choose what kind of god you want. Heres what the Bible says:
Is. 53:6 All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. When Pastor Bob says he is not perfect and nobody is I agree. I am not perfect, but deeper than that what is fundamentally wrong with me is I am constantly leaning toward going my own way and not God’s. I regularly submit myself to the lordship of Christ by remembering how much Jesus loved me by paying the price for my sin on the cross. Love that did that for me demands only one response, my whole life.

I hope those who read this would have the honesty to admit the truth. The Bible says that you will no the truth and that truth will set you free. I am the first to admit that I have to live my life reminding myself of the gospel daily. I have to forgive those who I am offended with. Not because it is convenient, not because it is good for me, but because it is what Jesus requires of me. Thank God we serve a good God who doesn’t just require us to do things a such but he also has modeled it to us.

I wrote this blog to kind of clear the smoke i have been hearing from many Christians throwing out crazy statements. I pray we will not be deceived but hold to the truth in these confusing times. Its not meant to be argumentative, just an explanation of why Im so crazy to believe in conservative christian doctrine.