Why is there Homosexuality in America?

The church has bought into the modern idea that men and women are equal and interchangeable. Homosexuality follows logically from this: if men and women can do the work of a man or woman, a man can do the work of a wife and marry a man! There is a strange blind spot here and we need to address it.

My Statement on Charlottesville

My statement regarding the recent political violence in Charlottesville. Just in case I end up in yet another pointless conversation on the topic, so that I can direct people to my statement. Part I: Finnish Perspectives I come from outside the American political discourse, from Finland - one of the most racially homogeneous countries in the world, where we take pride in judging people ONLY by their merits, not their skin color or bloodline. We are a nation of peasants with almost no trace of class society. However, I do realize that racism of a sorts is a part of my life as well. Let me explain. When I meet a Russian, I really have to apply Luke 6:28 and pray for the person I meet so as to be in the love of God towards a person that to me represents centuries of unprovoked attacks, enslavement and a superior attitude towards my people. In the 18th century, Russians took tens of thousands of Finns slave (from a nation of 400,000), and this was just one of the woes our people endured from them. War followed war, followed by sporadic raids in between. For centuries. Later there were more positive developments, which ended in our nation's independence, only to be followed by an unprovoked attack by Soviet Russia on our independent nation in 1939, for which the USSR was thrown out of the League of Nations. It is only 75 years since that war, and the scars are still there. On the other hand, our people never had slaves. Certainly no black slaves. As a child, I never saw a black person until when our family traveled abroad. And mostly these people were part of the same church and very pleasant to be with. fear of strangers is a natural response (and we all have it), but that always gave way to friendship and appreciation when you find how nice the other person is. It is nowadays easy to forget there was racism and classes among white people, even to pretend there was no such thing. The middle ages are over, along with the feudal system, slavery (of white people) and class society. In Finland, all men and women have had voting rights since 1906 but not before that! Similar stories can be told of many European countries: white men have not had voting right for all eternity and class has defined destinies of white people for a long time. I can say I understand racism on the side of the victim: the combination of fear and resentment towards people that represent the abuse of my people. And I've also found a solution to it: the love of God that covers many sins, and the realization that I will be judged one day for ONLY my own actions, not those of others. No amount of empty words in media will help. And ultimately my and my nation's destiny is in our own hands. A narrative and mentality of victimhood and bitterness will only rob us of the better future that is ahead of us. Part II: America Much of the racial and other political issues in America are incredibly divided. When talking about political issues, I often get (and have learned to dread) the question "where do you get your news from?" This is a question I've never heard outside the USA and to me it epitomizes what is wrong about the highly divided political discussion here: very few care about the facts, but decide their (highly emotional) response based on who is reporting. In other words,its a question of taking sides. I've made a point of cross-referencing the news sources of the two bickering sides. A piece of news that is harmful to the right, I take from Fox. A piece of news that is damning to the left, I take from the NY times. Confused faces and hilarity ensues :-) But the point is, facts don't have a political affiliation. Facts don't take sides. They are the same no matter where you read them from. And 99% of the time, that is how I find them to be represented in media, although I probably read news differently from the typical American. We are all responsible for making a real effort to understand the absolute facts outside of partisan considerations. Part III: Charlottesville Charlottesville represents to me a seed of discord sown into the nation, around which thousands upon thousands of harmful and divisive conversations build up like a giant snowball that didn't have to happen, is made up of harmless water, but which has built up momentum and crushes all in its path. Once that snowball melts, we can find a tiny tiny spec of dust inside that will make us all ashamed of how big we made this to be. I wish! I can almost hear the next snowball rumbling towards us as we speak. Another round of finger-pointing, renouncing, taking sides and unfriending on Facebook is just around the corner. Part IV: The Church So is there any shelter from this bombardment? Is there any solid ground we can stand on and still remain standing after the (yet another) storm has passed? Yes: the Word of God. "You shall not -- curse a ruler of your people." (Exodus 22:28) "-- Fear God. Honor the emperor." (1 Peter 2: 17) The point: there are some boundaries to how you should talk about the leader of your nation. Leave the president out if unsure, and do not judge him. And it doesn't matter if its a D or a R sitting in the White House. In particular, there is no need to accuse the president of racism, especially when he hasn't said anything racist. And he hasn't. Another principle enforces this: "He who diligently seeks good seeks favor, but evil comes to him who searches for it." (Prov 11:27). In other words: try to find the good in every person and situation, instead of all the evil (and suspected evil). If we keep blowing every evil thing out of proportion, that is what we'll end up with. "If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all." (Romans 12:18) "-- You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Romans 13:9) "Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get." (Matthew 7:1-2) Meaning: do not judge people. Perhaps judge actions, words and policies if needed, but not people! If someone asks you to judge another person, remind them of this verse. A good perspective on this comes from seniour IHOPKC leader Stuart Greaves, who reminded us of a certain young nationalist, who made murderous threats in his religiosity and zeal, but later became known as Paul the apostle.We shouldn't condemn a person to forever be in a certain mold, but free them from such curses. In the bible, Joshua asked the angel whether he was on the enemy's side or his side. The answer was: "No; but I am the commander of the army of the Lord." (Joshua 5:14). Perhaps this is a clue how God feels about our political bickering. Part V: In Conclusion My feeling is that everyone is left hurt and worse off after this whole ordeal. Old fears, resentment and bitterness has erupted among the black population. A sense of shame and (mostly wrongful) sense of guilt has washed over the white population. Everyone is eyeing everyone else with suspicion. Many whites have risen up to state various versions of "thank God I'm not like those sinners", which only reminds me of the pharisee's prayer in Luke 18:11. People crying, fearful, divided and angry left and right. So when someone asks you whose side of THIS you are... your answer should be the same as that angel's: no.