A friend recently sent me a link to the Jonathan Cahn presentation on The Pope Francis End-Time Apostasy. For those of you who may not be familiar with Jonathan Cahn, he is a Messianic Jewish pastor and author who focuses on eschatology. The website for his ministry, Hope of the World, professes to be "An End-Time Ministry for An End-Time World." In the presentation referenced above, Cahn makes very clear that he believes that the Pope's decree on the blessing of same-sex couples represents a gross apostasy from the teachings of Scripture.
The pastor opens his message by pointing out that the Pope's decree reverses two thousand years of Christian tradition and contradicts Catholic doctrine regarding homosexuality. He went on to point out that Catholics describe same-sex behavior as "intrinsically disordered" and "gross depravity." For Cahn, these statements are consistent with Scripture, and the Pope's recent decree represents a radical departure from that biblical teaching and constitutes the blessing of sin. To be fair, he does go on to say that we should love all people in all situations, but he is also quick to point out that this is NOT what the Pope's decree is doing.
Cahn then pivoted into the sentimental favorite argument of all biblical fundamentalists - the slippery slope. Using the same logic, Cahn believes that the Catholic Church should also be blessing unmarried heterosexual couples. Indeed, he went on to question what would prevent them from blessing adulterous heterosexual unions. For Cahn, this all represents a direct assault on Torah, the Law (more particularly, the Ten Commandments). He reasons that if we are going to abandon the commandment against adultery, what is to stop us from abandoning the commandments against stealing or murder? Indeed, the pastor believes that this is all part of a well-orchestrated campaign by the Pope to characterize those who hold to (and defend) biblical teachings as being too rigid and judgmental. In other words, the clear suggestion is: "where will this all stop?" Later, he even suggested that this might lead to blessing incest, polygamy, and abortion!
The pastor went on to compare homosexuality to someone who is suffering from a fatal disease. Indeed, he equated blessing them in their diseased state with failing to truly help them by sharing with them the cure for their disease. In other words, we should be telling these homosexual folks to repent so that they won't be eternally damned! He reasoned that if we aren't giving them their medicine, we aren't showing them love and compassion - that we are effectively doing the exact opposite (hating them)! He says that the Pope is effectively blessing them into hell! In other words, the Pope has failed in his self-proclaimed capacity as the "vicar of Christ on earth."
Well, what about all of these claims that Pastor Cahn has made about the Pope and his decree about the blessing of same-sex couples? Let's begin where he begins - with the Pope reversing two thousand years of tradition and his own church's teaching on the subject. First, we should note that there are a number of traditions peculiar to Christianity which have NOTHING to do with Scripture!
With this current topic in mind, the marriage ceremony itself comes immediately to mind. The fact is that there isn't any Divinely prescribed marriage ceremony ANYWHERE in Scripture! Oh sure, down through the centuries, pastors have formulated vows based on passages of Scripture and/or concepts found therein, but the fact remains that we CANNOT find a particular ceremony in Scripture for binding a man and a woman together in marriage! Indeed, if we are truly using the Bible as our guide, then we must admit that the act of leaving one's parent's household, cohabitating with someone, and having sex with them constitutes a valid marriage in God's sight (see Genesis 2:24).
Moreover, the traditional shame-based attitudes of Christianity toward the human body and its functions CANNOT be said to be in harmony with Scripture (see Genesis 1:26-31 and 2:25). Indeed, according to Scripture, those attitudes about our bodies and their functions were derived from the fall of humankind in the Garden of Eden (see Genesis 3:1-11)! Also, Christian attitudes toward divorce are often at odds with both Christ's and Paul's teachings on the subject. Hence, according to the biblical standard, many heterosexual Christian couples are currently living in adulterous/sinful relationships! Indeed, some of the men who currently stand before Christian congregations have been married multiple times (see I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9)
Now, regarding Catholic doctrine on homosexuality, is their characterization of it as being "intrinsically disordered" and "gross depravity" consistent with what is revealed in Scripture? In answering that question, it is incumbent upon us to take a deep dive into everything that the Bible has to say about human sexuality and to interpret those passages within the context of the original language, the times and culture existing when they were written, and how they relate to each other. We should also approach the entire subject with humility and a willingness to acknowledge that understandings/interpretation which differ from our own may have some validity. Finally, we must be willing to follow the guidance of God's Holy Spirit and be motivated by a desire to be within the will of God. After all, the Apostle Paul underscored the importance of individual conscience in maintaining a right relationship with God.
In other words, when we evaluate the traditional "clobber" passages relative to homosexuality (Genesis 19:1-29, Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, I Corinthians 6:9-10, Romans 1:26-27), we must lay aside our biases and prejudices and be willing to take a fresh look. Unfortunately, this is simply too much to ask of many Christians (both clergy and lay members). However, for those who are interested there is a large and complex body of literature available which is focused on these passages and providing valid and helpful insights into these passages. For our purposes, I will briefly summarize the findings of many of these biblical scholars relative to the "clobber passages" cited above.
First, all of these scriptural references to same-sex behavior must be understood in the context of a complete ignorance of the concept of sexual orientation. In other words, the folks whom God used to author these passages had ZERO awareness of the concept that humans are predisposed to find one gender more attractive than another. Their experience of same-sex behavior was almost entirely based on power - the one doing the penetrating relative to intercourse, and/or temple prostitution as a means of worshipping pagan deities. The concept of someone being sexually attracted to a member of their own gender as an integral part of his/her nature would have been foreign to them.
Second, the story of Sodom and Gomorrah clearly fits into the genre of hospitality narratives found in Scripture. In other words, the focus of the story is on the way that the angelic guests were treated by the people of the city, NOT on homosexuality. Indeed, as we all know, there has never been a single city in the history of humankind on this planet which was entirely composed of homosexuals. In other words, there were many sinful behaviors going on in those cities that had absolutely NOTHING to do with homosexuality (Ezekiel 16:49). Moreover, I think that we can all acknowledge that the behavior of the citizens of Sodom and Gomorrah violated the Golden Rule and the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves. Indeed, one would hope that gang raping a couple of strangers would be universally regarded as immoral - irrespective of the sexual orientation of the folks perpetrating such a horror!
Finally, although Mr. Cahn sought to portray the Pope's decree as lawless and specifically pointed to the Ten Commandments, he failed to explain exactly how homosexuality violates the Ten Commandments or the principles which underpin them. Jesus Christ said that Torah (including those two passages from Leviticus) could be summarized/comprehended by two commandments drawn from Torah. Jesus referred to them as the greatest commandments - that we must love the Lord our God with our whole mind, body, and soul AND love each other as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). Paul went on to define love in the thirteenth chapter of his first epistle to the saints of Corinth, and he also wrote that love is the fulfillment of the Law - that it does no hurt or harm to another (Romans 13:10).
As with most homophobes, the pastor fails to identify the precise way(s) that homosexuality hurts/harms oneself, or how a consensual same-sex relationship does harm/hurt to the people engaging in that behavior. Likewise, he fails to account for his inherent disqualification of homosexual love - that it is somehow invalid or inferior to heterosexual love. As for the Ten Commandments, he also fails to explain why it is inappropriate to hold homosexual folks to the same standard which heterosexuals are held to - that of being faithful to your partner (or, in the language of Torah, not committing adultery against your spouse).
From my own perspective, Pope Francis has taken a first step in reaching out to the homosexual community, and he is being pilloried for doing so. Jesus Christ always reached out to those whom the self-righteous regarded as sinners. Jesus Christ is also reported to have said "Judge not, that you be not judged." He went on to say "Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1, 3-5) Also, I seem to recall an occasion when a woman who had been discovered in the act of adultery was about to be stoned by a crowd, and Christ bent down to the ground and wrote something in the dirt. We are informed that Christ then stood up and said, "Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her." If memory serves me, the woman's accusers all dropped their stones one by one and walked away (see John 8:1-11).
Finally, in this context, I am reminded of something that James wrote in his canonical epistle. He said: "the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by mankind, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring pour forth from the same opening both fresh and salt water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a grapevine produce figs? Neither can a salt pond yield fresh water." (James 3:6-12) My question for Pastor Cahn is: "As Christians, should we be blessing these folks or cursing them?" What do you think?
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