Bias

Text: 1 Timothy 5:21

Focus: Post-modernity 3

Function: To help people separate homophobia from their theology of homosexuality.

Form: Lecture

Intro: For a few years, I volunteered to edit a rag called “The Concerns of the Grass Roots.”

I did it mainly to help overcome the negative bias they were generating because of poor English and Computer graphic publishing skills.

For the most part, I agreed with their arguments, but I was embarrassed by the way those who choose to argue their points went about it.

I thought that we should have an intelligent conversation about issues, especially around Homosexuality instead of mere sound bites.

I sought an honest examination of my and other's views.

So, for me, armed with the truth, I simply expected everyone to agree with me when I met a few people whom I have mentioned before, but will refer to as Sincere Liberals.

By Sincere, I mean, they were deeply spiritual, deeply in love with Jesus Christ and the Church, full of the power of the Holy Spirit which was proven at times by the gifts of the Spirit that the Charismatics claim proves anointing as well as the better witness of the Holy Spirit, the ones that aren't missing from every believer, the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Fruit, singular, expressed in say it with me: ²²love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, ²³gentleness, and self-control.

This is the proof, the seal, of God's approval, according to Acts 10 and reason for us to give anyone exhibiting that fruit full and complete fellowship, affirmation of gifts, calling and identity, in the church.

And, as I have preached over the last 3 weeks, I was just as shocked that God widened that circle of inclusion to include our Gay, Lesbian, Trans-gendered, Bisexual and either Queer or Questioning brothers and sisters.

The Circle keeps getting bigger as God moves God's people to more and more of God's love.

During those days, it seemed to me that more and more, when I read the scriptures, especially the NT, the idea Jesus died on the cross to save me from my sins was about the most obvious thing there was and is.

I admit, I have confirmation bias to see what I am looking for.

I love cars. And now, even though I have had problems with my latest car, I love it. And since I am aware of its benefits, I see that care in more and more places. When I see a gray one, se, tdi, just like mine, I get excited.

We tend to notice what we want.

And as God has been moving me.

More and more, when I read the Scriptures, especially the NT, but also the OT prophets, -those mystics who possessed the Spirit of Christ, I see God's call to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with him.

I read verses like: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied” as the promise that should not tire in doing justice for we will see results of our labors. Find the ones to do, for that day and time, and do it with all our might in faith that God the Holy Spirit will always be leading us according to promise. Amen?

As I began to notice those more, then I began to notice others more.

I began to study them more. That beatitude especially, I realized that righteousness was mistranslated for 500+ years in English translations because of Imperialism.

Confirmation bias is a good or bad thing. We should be aware of it.

Sometimes the coincidence of confirmation bias is also correctly identified as the witness, or leading of the Holy Spirit.

But, as the old story of the preacher taking care of an elderly gent in the apartment building next to the building of the recent divorcée, and someone only knows only of the divorcée living in that area and sees the pastor smile at her drew the wrong conclusion and the gossip started to fly.

Confirmation bias can be good or bad based on how it is perceived and used.

And, it also informs the way we look at scripture.

We look at Scripture with our own biased set of expected justifications.

In healthy, growing Christians, they continue to evolve.

Hopefully it is improving our biblical knowledge and faith. We remember, the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart.

That is what we are working on.

So, let me same some things very clear here before anyone takes me wrong as I explain a biblical passage.

I believe that Jesus was divine, existed beyond human sexuality as God, but was a sexual being as a man. However, in that there in clearly no evidence that Jesus had any kind of sexual relations. There is nothing in the Bible that indicates that Jesus was a homosexual. I do not believe that King David homosexual either.

What I believe is that the bible is much, much less homophobic than our culture is today.

Homosexuality is nothing new at all.

Homosexual love, orientation, and attraction have been around for as long as humanity. We know that it was rampant and fairly excepted in Ancient Rome, Egypt, Corinth, Greece and throughout every culture with recorded history.

So, although there are 7 passages that refer to homosexuality, compared to the myriad of passages about caring for the poor, doing justice, loving mercy and etc, 7 is very few.

And, of those 7, Jesus never mentions the issue at all.

Bible Study is coming during study hours over the next several weeks.

I find it significant that it is of such little scriptural importance that Jesus never mentions the issue.

Today, what I want to help us see from scripture that our culture is more homophobic than most Biblical cultures.

Yesterday, Rev. Jim Lucas, an openly gay man serving as a Chaplain, told us of how years after he was comfortable with being gay, he saw two gay men kissing on tv and had an “ich” factor.

This surprised him since he, a celibate gay man, finds men attractive. It surprised him!

I asked a gay friend of mine, a son of a Brethren minister who lives in PA what it meant about homophobia when I have that “ich” factor.

He directed me to a book, “Loving Someone Gay,” with the picture of two gay men and a dog on the front cover.

The author explains that homophobia is a learned cultural response.

The author exposes how that “ich” factor was programmed into my by culture and this is the funny part:

After I realized that the “ich” factor was not my heterosexual orientation, but cultural conditioning, I realized just how beautiful and natural those two men and that dog looked.

I knew that the “ich” factor had lost its power and was indeed, cultural.

Now, what does that have to do with the Bible being less homophobic than our culture, my assertion that homophobia is cultural, and my apology about Jesus and King David?

Consider these two verses of scripture, one from the OT, one from the NT: 2 Samuel 1:
²⁶I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan;
greatly beloved were you to me;
your love to me was wonderful,
passing the love of women.

Or, from the NT John 13: ²³Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

These are harmless passages. They are small details in the part of a much larger narratives and these particular details are almost always glossed over.

But image what would happen today if those two verses were said about two young men in a Junior High Locker Room?

Those boys would be labeled and terribly teased if they said that about themselves.

I know. I never said that.

But growing up Christian, I was always taught that my Christian witness was most important.

Kids figured out that I was not going to fight back and so, I became a target.

I learned creative ways to turn the other cheek and prevent violence. It felt good to do that Christian witness.

But I was told that I had to be vocal about my faith.

I think the thing back then, and now, that I could defend about Christianity was the command to love one another.

So, I was asked if I loved my twin brother to which I said yes. The word Love was common in my Christian home. And all of a sudden the homophobia of our culture came down on top of me and my childhood in full force.

Societal pressure to reject, to hate, to fear, to ostracize the different is powerful. We can't let it inform the Christian speech we have about our LGBT Brothers and Sisters.

We can save lives.

At the time, I was dealing with my own trauma.

As we heard yesterday, of the 7 passages about homosexuality in the Bible, most of them refer to pederasty, or the abuse of young boys.

That is not same sex attraction. That is pedophilia.

Now, we want to welcome all.

But we are not now, nor do we ever intend to affirm pedophilia.

However, when that trauma was happening to me in Junior High, I was trying to cope single handedly with being the victim of pederasty.

Imagine the pain I felt, when because of the homophobia about homosexuality, I was confused and somehow I was at fault?

But it got worse. When I was 12, I decided to take responsibility for my spirituality and attend the revival at the local church.

Friday night was going to be youth emphasis and we were going to save America.

He literally said, “I have a message to save America.”

And Friday night came, I was excited as the kid in The Christmas Story with his new BB gun and all of a sudden I heard how I was evil, how I was going to ruin America, how I was going to bring about the Anti-Christ, how I was going to hell and all of a sudden I was raped again.....

It is time for the Church to start saying and doing the right and loving thing.