Offense or Defense?

Christians are sometimes depicted as picking out the sin of homosexuality for inordinate attention in recent years.  I've heard many people ask why Christians obsess on this group.  It's portrayed as Christians on the offensive.  Some other Christians have uncharitably accused Christian concern on this issue as mean-spirited attcks.  No doubt there are some mean-spirited Christians that offend me, but the vast majority of what I see and hear is an sincere effort to respond to a growing social movement.  I see Christians on the defense to major cultural trends and movements in our society trying to change public opinion and public policy about homosexuals and homosexuality.

Think back 10, 15, 20 years ago.  Was homosexuality a major issue for Christians?  While an important one, I don't recall the topic coming up much.  Homosexuality was one among a myriad of sins the Bible addresses.  What's changed?  The public climate that has raised the profile of this issue and Christians have responded.

It's not about tolerance because the public discussion is not about private behavior but public accommodation and approval.  Public policy is being made and changed and it seems to me that citizens of all convictions have a right to speak up because public policy is about the public's accommodation.  Whatever view one holds about what public policy should be, it is about our corporate acceptance and accommodation.

It's also not simply about tolerance because activism and public policy end up invading our lives.  Cities reconsider the male/female divide in public bathrooms.   Activists protest private Christian school policies.  States pass laws that dictate to churches they can't make moral distinctions in adoption.  Again, whatever your views on these issues, the issue of public accommodation for alternate sexual identifies is not a private matter.  It's a public one. 

So let's be honest.  Christians are responding to a movement that has put a moral issue on the front burner of the public agenda.  And why should Christians care and engage the changing mores of our culture?  Because Christians don't live in a religious bubble and living in this culture will necessarily and inevitably affect our lives and our children.  Culture has a very subtle and powerful way of influencing what we think and believe.  It's not tolerance that is being asked for, it's public approval and Christians are part of the public. 

To ask us to stand by or to remain neutral is essentially asking us to act as though the movement to approve of homosexuality is right because that's where the cultural trend is heading.  Let's face it, there's no neutral ground here.

It's possible to be on the defense but to be offensive, and we should always be cautious of that.  And there's an important difference between debating public policy and ministering to individuals.  I think it's possible and necessary to do both.

Comments

[alan aronson]

There has been some discussion of this on the left side of the blogisphere. One could start here and follow the links.
http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2006_03_01_digbysblog_archive.html#114255124743264314

[alan aronson]

IGNORE THAT MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN

"The public climate that has raised the profile of this issue and Christians have responded."

Actually this is not true. This is new on the Weekly Standard (by way of the Washington Monthly.

http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/archives/individual/2006_03/008453.php

"CHANGING THE SUBJECT....Fred Barnes says that since there are no actual substantive issues that are going well for Republicans, they plan to change the subject:

House Republicans, for their part, intend to seek votes on measures such as the Bush-backed constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, a bill allowing more public expression of religion, another requiring parental consent for women under 18 to get an abortion, legislation to bar all federal courts except the Supreme Court from ruling on the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, a bill to outlaw human cloning, and another that would require doctors to consider fetal pain before performing an abortion.

Well, those are certainly the big issues facing America today, aren't they? And anyway, what happened to the legislation to bar atheist lesbian physicians from adopting cloned children? Are Republicans going soft or what?"

Christian conservatives are being played by leaders like Dobson and Falwell and their cronies in the Republican machine.

[Mike L.]

re "Changing the subject...."

This is nothing new, and both parties do this kind of stuff when an upcoming election could turn into a referendum and threaten the majority of whichever side happens to be in power at that particular point. Do you think Democrats don't do the same? This is standard politics as usual--which is why I'm not a registered voter with either party. Your constant scenarios portraying "Democrats-good, Republicans-bad" get a bit tedious sometimes, Alan. These days the parties are more alike than different, once you get past the rhetoric, unfortunately.

[alan aronson]

Mike this is going to fall off soon so I won't reply at length, however i waill point out that at this stage in our history holding to the "both parties are the same" theory is simply delusional. Excluding policy differences (which are huge), the Dems are too often clueless and timid while the Reps are corrupt and mendacious. There is hope for the Dems in finding a solid footing while the present Republican party is hopeless and a threat to individual freedom.