Good philosophy must exist, if for no other reason, because bad philosophy needs to be answered.
— C.S. Lewis
I want to preface this with a summary of what I’m about to say, so that I am not misunderstood:
- I am ONLY concerned with the Bible and Christian theology in regards to homosexuality and transgenderism.
- I AM NOT CONCERNED with the secular legal status of homosexuality and transgenderism.
- NEITHER IS IT MY INTENTION to come across as loathsome or hateful of homosexuals or individuals who feel like they are transgender. That will inevitably happen (this post will be called bigoted and I myself will be called a hateful bigot) but only because we have as a Christian society lost the notion that we can love a person’s soul while still hating a person’s sin. What I actually loathe and hate is the twisting of Scripture.
- MY ONLY AIM is to show that you CANNOT use the Bible to defend what the writers of the Denver Statement believe about homosexuality and transgenderism.
Sources: The Denver Statement — a response to the Nashville Statement.
The Denver Statement Preamble (with rebuttals and revisions):
Preamble
Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in an exciting, beautiful, liberating, and holy period of historic transition.
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness…. (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight! — (Isaiah 5:20-21)
Western culture has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being by expanding the limits and definitions previously imposed by
fundamentalist Christians[the Bible]. By and large, the spirit of our age discerns and delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life that is so much richer and more diverse than we have previously understood it to be.
See Isaiah 5:20-21.
Many deny[Bible-educated Christians believe] that God created all human beings for God’s glory, and believe that God’s good purposes for usare limited to those whose personal and physical design is cis-gendered, heterosexual, and socially acceptable expressions of male and female[include His design for human sexuality, but not to the exclusion of all other aspects of being human].
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on earth. — (Genesis 1:27-28)
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? — (Micah 6:8)
The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. — (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)
However, many Christians now understand that binary and backwards thinking excludes a large and important part of God’s beautiful plan for God’s people. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for God’s creatures is clearly inclusive of a variety of identities of gender and expressions of sexuality that have previously been denied by shortsighted and limited thinking, teaching and preaching that has ruined lives and dishonored God.
An example of such “binary and backwards thinking,” “shortsighted and limited thinking, teaching and preaching”:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. … Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error…. — (Romans 1:18-21, 24-27)
Article I
WE AFFIRM that God has created humanity out of love and for the purpose of love.
WE DENY that God intends marriage as a gift only to be enjoyed by those who happen to be heterosexual, cis-gendered and fertile.
I AFFIRM that God was concerned with more than just sexual love when He created the universe. I also AFFIRM that this is kind of a contradiction of the Denver Preamble, which states accurately that “God created all human beings for his glory.”
I DENY that God intends marriage to be anything other than between a man and a woman (whether or not they are fertile is irrelevant), for “[Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” — (Matthew 19:4-5).
Article 2
WE AFFIRM that God created us as sexual beings in endless variety.
WE DENY that the only type of sexual expression that can be considered holy is between a cis-gendered, heterosexual, married couple who waited to have sex until they were married. But if you fit in that group, good for you, we have no problem with your lifestyle choices.
I AFFIRM that you need to reread Genesis 1, which only says “male” and “female” as far as the “sexual beings” designation is concerned.
I DENY that you are very widely read in the Bible. If you were, you would at some point have come across Paul’s words to the Ephesians: But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints (Eph. 5:3); and also his words to the Corinthians: Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:18-20), and furthermore because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband (1. Cor. 7:2).
Article 3
WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in God’s male & female image, and that all human beings share this image of God in common but express it differently in body and spirit.
WE DENY that we as human beings can fully conceive of the glory of God’s image or rightfully believe our language can define its limits. Therefore, we deny those who do not conform to society’s gender norms are outside of some kind of “divine plan.”
I AFFIRM that this is confusing: Did you not previously say that such “binary” thinking was “backwards”?
I DENY that you have any understanding of Romans 1, which as quoted above states that, regarding God’s design for sexuality in addition to the rest of the purpose of creation, what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made [like binary male and female humans]. So they are without excuse (Rom. 1:19-20), And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not be done (Rom 1:28).
Article 4
WE AFFIRM that the glorious variety of gender and sexual expression is a reflection of God’s original creation design and are aspects of human flourishing.
WE DENY that such variations are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.
I AFFIRM that the affirmations of Articles 3 and 4 contradict each other: Did God originally create Adam and Eve male and female, or not?
I DENY that it is possible for any rational Christian to think that the Fall could not have affected human sexuality. Every other aspect of our lives and world has been tainted by sin. Why is sexuality off limits? (Also, again, see Romans 1.)
Article 5
WE AFFIRM that the biological capacity for human beings to reproduce is a glorious wonder and that humanity continues to discover the gender and sexual diversity with which God has created humans.
WE DENY that gender is always linked with biological sex characteristics, and we deny that those whose bodies contain physical or psychological realities outside of the “norm” need curing or reparation.
I AFFIRM that no matter what you say to the contrary, you cannot seem to escape the binary nature of human biology. There are only two systems of sex organs in human beings: male, consisting of penis, testicles, and prostate; and female, consisting of ovaries, uterus, and vagina. Biologically there are no other systems in homo sapiens. At times there are errata in these systems, or the presence of both systems might in some form exist in a single body, but exceptions to the rule do not eliminate the rule. I also wonder, if God wanted to give blessing on sexual relations outside of marriage between a man and a woman at all, why not do so from the very start of human history? Why make us discover it on our own?
I DENY that humanity can have any concept of gender apart from biological sex characteristics. If not, then where did the concept come from in the first place?
Article 6
WE AFFIRM that the bearing of God’s image occurs in every glorious genital and chromosomal variation found in the human race.
WE DENY that any variation in the human body exempts one from living a joyful and full life.
I AFFIRM again that if you think sin cannot corrupt human sexuality, or that it is impossible for sexuality to be sinfully defective, then you are deceived (see Romans 1). I also AFFIRM that those born with genital and chromosomal variations are indeed created in the image of God and are not thereby excluded from salvation.
I DENY that you grasped the point of this Article 6 of the Nashville Statement, which states: “WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.” Instead, it seems you are more concerned with “living a joyful and full life” regardless of whether or not that life is in obedience to God.
Article 7
WE AFFIRM that there is no longer male or female but all are one in Christ Jesus our Lord.
WE DENY any self-conception that presumes one is capable of knowing God’s holy purposes for other people, and that such self-conceptions can be consistent with the Gospel of grace, love, and mercy as demonstrated in holy scripture.
I AFFIRM that you misunderstand the context of Galatians 3:28, which is not speaking to sexual differences being abolished, but rather states that being male or being female has no bearing on whether or not one can be saved in Christ, in the same way that it no longer matters if you are a Jew or a Gentile: for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offpring, heirs according to promise (Gal. 3:26-29).
I DENY that “[presuming] one is capable of knowing God’s holy purposes for other people” can be called a “self-conception.” I also DENY that we cannot know God’s holy purposes for other people. God has given us the Bible for the very purpose of knowing Him and His will, which includes His will for all of humanity in regards to sexuality. (See Genesis 1, Matthew 19:4-5). I DENY that affirming a sinner in his or her sin, which places him or her under God’s wrath (see Romans 1), is consistent with the Gospel of grace, love, and mercy as demonstrated in holy scripture.
Article 8
WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ.
WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is outside the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that anything puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.
I AFFIRM that without faith it is impossible to please [God], (Hebrews 11:6), and furthermore that by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him (1 John 2:3-4). And what is His commandment concerning, for example, premarital or extra-marital sex (as you have it in your Article 2)? You shall not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14) and “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Jesus, Matthew 5:27-28). And His condemnation of homosexuality is clearly delineated, again, in Romans 1.
I DENY that you can know Article 8’s denial based on any understanding of scripture other than a misunderstanding (Romans 1). Furthermore, I DENY that there is nothing that “puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.” Unforgiven sin puts a person outside the hope of the gospel. God does not, as is popularly supposed, “accept us just the way we are.” No. He accepts us in spite of the way we are, which is sinful and worthy of condemnation apart from the grace given us through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And He does not want us to simply stay the way we are, either. There is a process called sanctification.
Article 9
WE AFFIRM that sin distorts all aspects of human life.
WE DENY that human beings can escape sin by simply upholding a particular doctrine or lifestyle.
I AFFIRM that you’ve shot your own foot. If “sin distorts all aspects of human life,” then that includes sexuality. How do you know what is and is not distorted by sin in human sexuality, apart from the Bible’s teachings on it?
I DENY, again, that you’ve understood the Nashville Statement’s denial in its Article 9, which states “WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.” It means that just because you have developed a habit of sinning, that does not mean you are therefore let off the hook for that sin, even if that sin involves sex. Nashville’s Article 9 was not commending “upholding a particular doctrine or lifestyle” at all as a way of escaping sin.
Article 10
WE AFFIRM that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, and while we believe in the full inclusion of all people into the body of Christ (here we stand we can do no other), we cannot bind the conscience of other Christians.
WE DENY that it is sinful to approve of queer identities and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.
I AFFIRM that for freedom Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1) but that we should not therefore use [our] freedom as an opportunity for the flesh (Gal. 5:13); we should Live as people who are free, not using [our] freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God (1 Peter 2:16). We are freed from sin, not so that we may sin.
I DENY, yet again, that you have any understanding of Romans 1.
Article 11
WE AFFIRM our duty to love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another.
WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s image-bearers.
I AFFIRM that it is telling that you would leave out the word “truth” from the Nashville Statement’s affirmation in Article 11, which states: “WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times…”
I DENY that you are at all concerned about God’s design for His image-bearers, and are instead more concerned about the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25).
Article 12
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ is sufficient for this day.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is something that must be supplemented by works, piety or doctrine.
I AFFIRM again that it is telling that you would change and leave out half of the Nashville Statement’s Article 12 affirmation: “WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” Do sinners not need to change at all? You don’t seem to think so.
I DENY also that “the grace of God in Christ is something that must be supplemented by works, piety or doctrine.” But I also DENY that anyone who does not show signs of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) has had that grace given to him or her. If you do not behave any differently after becoming a Christian, I think it is safe to say that you did not really give your life to Christ.
Article 13
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake prejudice and see such prejudice as our own and not as God’s.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-righteous assertions of absolute knowledge of God’s will.
I AFFIRM that God is “prejudiced” against sinners of all kinds unless they repent of their wicked ways and turn back to Him, for Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him (Jesus) in whatever he tells you. And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet shall be destroyed from the people” (Acts 3:22-23). I also AFFIRM that sexual sin certainly does not get a free pass just because it feels good.
I DENY that you can have knowledge of God’s will apart from the Bible, which is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16), from which you seem unable to quote, correctly or at all, in defense of your affirmations or denials.
I FIND IT AMUSING AND HYPOCRITICAL that you don’t, apparently, realize that pretty much all of your Denver Statement constitutes “self-righteous assertions of absolute knowledge of God’s will.” (See “The Denver Statement.”)
Article 14
WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person; this is a supreme treasure.
WE DENY that God is a boy and has actual arms.
I AFFIRM once again that it is telling that you would quote word for word from the Nashville Statement until it gets to the part about repentance: (Nashville Statement) “WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.”
I DENY that snarkiness is a point of argument. I also DENY again that you have much knowledge of scripture, in which “the arm of the Lord,” as written in the Nashville Statement’s Article 14, is a powerful metaphor: Behold, the arm of the LORD is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear (Isaiah 59:1); You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm (Psalm 89:10); Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things! His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him (Psalm 98:1).
Article 15 (this one is just [Denver’s])
WE AFFIRM that the church has often been indistinguishable from the dominant culture in the ways in which it has sanctified oppression and bigotry towards historically marginalized and demonized people groups, of which the LGBTQ+ community is one.
WE DENY any ideology, theological or otherwise, that results in further marginalization, rejection, dehumanization, and overall suffering of LGBTQ+ individuals.
I AFFIRM that you, the “progressive” Christian writers of the Denver Statement, are becoming increasingly indistinguishable from the dominant culture in the media and Hollywood. You have forsaken the Bible in favor of social media hashtags and feelgood, self-help pop-culture.
I also AFFIRM that individuals within the church throughout history have made mistakes and behaved and spoken in manners which the Bible does not commend, but I also DENY that the mistakes of individuals claiming to be Christian, in the past or present, has any bearing on whether or not the Bible is true and should still be followed today. I DENY that the misapplication of truth disqualifies the truth. We look not to Christians, but to Christ for our example of how to love others and obey God — and Christ loved others in part by warning them about their sins and pleading with them to repent and follow Him: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
I’ve written on this topic elsewhere, in a blog post titled “Bigot,” more extensively. My conclusion there is the same that I want end with here:
If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peacably with all men.
– Romans 12:18…
What I hope I have done here is show that the argument cannot be made that the Bible, anywhere or in any sense, condones homosexuality, whether it be prostitution or rape or a committed relationship or anything. I am arguing against my fellow Christians who think otherwise. What I am not doing is making the argument that all homosexuals in the United States or anywhere should be forced to live by biblical, Christian principles. God is not interested in forced converts. I think the best way to sum up my thoughts would be like this:
Homosexual [and I now must add transsexual] men and women who are not Christians: Do what you want. You have not placed yourself under the teachings of the church or of the Bible, and it is not my place nor the place of any Christian (or any member of any other religion) to force you to do otherwise.
Homosexual [and transsexual] men and women who call themselves Christians: If you can honestly, truthfully, have a real relationship with God while living as unrepentant homosexuals, then who am I to say you need to change? But to do so you will have to ignore a lot of the Bible, and I don’t know of any Christian who ignores the Bible and yet has a meaningful, saving knowledge of and relationship with God.
One might object that “God loves us just the way we are,” accepts us as we are, and while that is true, God also expects us to repent from sinning, and if we have made sinning part of who we are (and we all have), then we must change. It is more correct to say “God accepts us in spite of the way we are.” We are all sinners in need of grace. We will not be allowed to stay that way. It may not seem fair to ask that you give up a lifetime of sexual pleasure and/or companionship, but if it is done in an honest attempt to repent from sin and follow Jesus, look at what you get in return:
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, yet shall he live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.
– John 11:25-26
But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those
who love Him.”– 1 Corinthians 2:9
Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
– 1 John 3:2
And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.”
– Revelation 21: 3-7
All those verses apply to both sexes, men and women: Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel (physically weaker, not lesser of value), since they are heirs with you of the grace of life… (1 Peter 3:7). They apply to all who repent and trust God and His Word more than they trust to feelgood social trends and cultural approval. I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:1-2).
edge of legible 