Jen Hatmaker

Sorry, Jen Hatmaker: Christians Aren’t Complicit in Orlando

on June 16, 2016

Since ISIS-sympathizer Omar Mateen murdered 49 people and injured 50 more at an Orlando, Florida nightclub, many Christians have been offering their sympathy and prayers for the families who lost their loved ones during the shooting rampage early Sunday morning. Despite their good intentions, and doing the right thing – offering prayer, emotional support and comfort for those in need while mourning the dead – Christians have been forced into turning the other cheek while defending themselves as being the reason Omar Mateen targeted the LGBTQ community.

In the midst of grieving – and attempting to make sense of the stark reality of real evil, Christianity has been scapegoated and criticized for this ISIS-inspired mass murder. The argument is that since Christians, specifically evangelicals, have refused to redefine marriage to mean something it’s not, and steadfastly refuse to be coerced into participating in or providing services for ceremonies and activities that contradict their religious principles and beliefs, Christians are guilty of creating and nurturing a “climate of hate.” It’s claimed by an increasing cacophony of voices that Christian-based hatred motivated a Muslim to murder 49 people while claiming allegiance to ISIS, in the name of Allah, absolving his culpability in a gross demonstration of what evil looks like.

So not only is transgender real, so is transtheology.

Rather than directly confronting this religious bigotry and moral absurdity by defending their religious reputation – the foundation of which is the Gospel of Jesus Christ, some Christians have joined the “blame Christians” chorus.

One of those Christians is popular author and blogger Jen Hatmaker. In a post on her Facebook page that went viral, she said,

I’ve been listening to my gay friends and leaders the last two days… and this is what I am hearing: It is very difficult to accept the Christian lament for LGBTQ folks in their deaths when we’ve done such a brutal job of honoring them in their lives. Anti-LGBTQ sentiment has paved a long runway to hate crimes…. We are complicit.

“We?” A “brutal job honoring them in their lives.” “Anti-LBGTQ sentiment.”

Christians who stand against redefining marriage and the homosexualization of our culture are deliberately and dishonestly conflated with “hate,” “dishonor” and being “anti-LGBTQ,” none of which is accurate.

Everywhere one turns, one is inevitably confronted with LGBTQ propaganda, forced upon society by those who’re antagonistic toward traditional sexual and gender norms and ethics which came from the Judeo-Christian value system. These propagandists of the post-modern sexual revolution demand Captain America have a boyfriend; they send social media petitions to Disney suggesting that Elsa – a princess in the popular movie Frozen – be a lesbian; they celebrate the possibility of a transgender stingray in the upcoming movie, Finding Dora, the sequel to the hit movie, Finding Nemo; they celebrate Bruce Jenner’s “transition” and they cheer J.J. Abrams as he boasts about a gay character in the upcoming movies in the Star Wars franchise. This cultural gender-bending and homosexualization is in addition to the destruction of the institution of marriage, and absurdity that one can appropriate whatever gender one “identifies” with rather than one’s birth gender, crystallized in the disturbing bathroom edicts of the Obama administration. Not wanting to be force-fed secularized and culturally damaging sexual experimentation doesn’t qualify as a ‘brutal job’ of honoring the lives of LGBTQ. And it doesn’t implicate Christian responsibility for a murderous, radical Islamic madman either.

Further, as many examples demonstrate, most Christians aren’t anti-gay or “homophobic.” They simply don’t want to be legally mandated into participating in actions that violate their religious sensibilities – sensibilities which are protected by the Constitution. Many people despise teachers’ unions, myself included, but that doesn’t mean all teachers are despised (only the incompetent ones). The same analogy applies here. Christians aren’t afraid of gays, nor do they hate gays. They simply disagree with the overly aggressive agenda to normalize homosexuality through compulsion combined with the cultural deconstruction of social institutions.

Hatmaker continues,

It seems like the only harm toward the LGBTQ community that will overcome Christian disapproval is a mass murder.

That’s reprehensible. Mass murder is only a step worse than Christian fidelity to its central teachings and tradition? What moral compass is Hatmaker consulting?

The rest of Hatmaker’s post is list of straw man arguments against Christians. Hatmaker knows it and should be ashamed of not defending her fellow brothers and sisters in the faith. Yes, Christians disagree with the homosexual lifestyle. Christians also believe in praying for one’s neighbor, loving their enemies while praying for the people who curse them – many of whom are members of the LGBTQ community that Hatmaker defends at the expense of her fellow Christians. The idea that Christians can’t walk and chew gum or haven’t done so, is ridiculous.

Christians can accept, love and pray for the LGBTQ community (Orlando and elsewhere) and should do so. But Christians are under no cultural, moral, religious or theological obligation to approve of a lifestyle that contradicts a life lived in communion with Christian teachings. They also shouldn’t be compelled to accept the inversion of human sexuality. And they shouldn’t be liable for what another person from another religion did of his own volition.

The result of making the Christian boogeyman the representation of evil is that the LGBTQ community has no idea how to confront the kind of real evil that disrupted their false sense of security and punctured their ideologically pretentious bubble.

Standing on religious and historical precedent – and common sense – doesn’t violate the sympathy and prayers of Christians for the victims and residents of Orlando.

Christians aren’t to blame for what happened at that nightclub.

Omar Mateen is to blame for what happened, as is the radical theology and savagery advocated by ISIS.

  1. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 16, 2016 at 5:27 pm

    Hatmaker is a disgusting “Christian” Leftist. Their nonstop virtue signaling is pathetic. If they really cared about LGBTQX people they’d tell them the truth. 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

  2. Comment by Anne Gull on June 19, 2016 at 2:05 pm

    She’s dangerous because she has a huge following, just like Rachel Held Evans. They have a large and growing unthinking “tribe.” Jesus commanded us to follow Him.

  3. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 19, 2016 at 2:15 pm

    Yes, Evans is even worse. Those fake “evangelicals” are even worse than the self-identified “Christian” Leftists. Evans and Hatmaker are double-liars, as they pretend to be evangelicals.

  4. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 16, 2016 at 5:47 pm

    The “Christian” Left and the rest of the Left have been offering one ridiculous non sequitur after another as they exploit the victims of the Muslim murderer in Orlando.

    Of course we can preach that LGBTQX people will go to Hell if they don’t repent and trust in Jesus AND still say that murdering them is wrong.
    I can’t believe I have to type this, but here goes: Using their logic, we couldn’t preach against coveting, adultery, drunkenness, theft, etc. and then say it was wrong to murder anyone who committed those sins.

    In other words, just because we agree with Jesus on what is sinful (e.g., homosexual behavior, coveting, theft, adultery, etc.) doesn’t mean we think it should be legal to kill those who do such things.

    It is sad that our gov’t schools have so ruined the critical thinking skills of the populace that they don’t catch the fallacy themselves.

  5. Comment by Pastor Barbara on June 17, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Where is that verse when Jesus condemns homosexuality.?

  6. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 17, 2016 at 11:05 am

    You are a pastor and you’re asking me that?! Jesus is divine!

    The argument that Jesus never said anything about homosexual behavior (or abortion, etc.) fails on many levels. If a church leader uses it you can be confident that he or she is ignorant and/or malicious.

    Short version: Yes, He did say something about it, but the theological Left ignores or distorts it as they do with many things about Jesus and his teachings. Note how Jesus defeats oxymoronic “same-sex marriage,” same-sex parenting, transgenderism and even Darwinian evolution in one simple passage. No true follower of him should disagree on any of those topics.

    Matthew 19:4–5 He 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’?”

    Medium version
    —————————
    Arguing from silence is a logical fallacy.

    Jesus is God and part of the Trinity that inspired all scripture.

    He supported the Old Testament law to the last letter.

    The “red letters” weren’t silent on these topics in the sense that they reiterated what marriage and murder were.

    He emphasized many other important issues that these Leftist theologians completely ignore (Hell, his divinity, his exclusivity, etc.).

    He was equally “silent” on issues that these folks treat as having the utmost importance (capital punishment, war, welfare, universal health care, taxpayer-funded abortions, etc.).

    He didn’t specifically mention rape, child abuse, pedophilia, bestiality and other obvious sins though that wouldn’t justify them.

    Abortion and homosexual behavior simply weren’t hot topics for 1st century Jews. They actually thought children were a blessing and they had laws against homosexual behavior.

    And the Gospels never claimed to include everything He said. John specifically notes that the whole world couldn’t hold it all! (John 21:25).

    And Jesus never said anything about the “sin” of criticizing homosexual behavior, so it must be OK!

    Long version: http://1eternitymatters.wordpress.com/2011/05/24/what-jesus-didnt-say-3/

  7. Comment by Todd McDaniel on June 17, 2016 at 1:49 pm

    Jesus said he came to fulfill the law which means the OT law is still valid. Including levticus 18:22 and 20:13

  8. Comment by Nutstuyu on June 17, 2016 at 6:11 pm

    The key is to understand that Jesus fulfilled the punishment aspect of the Law–especially those parts that required death. Therefore, it is no longer necessary to stone persons committing homosexual acts, but it being an abomination to God’s creation still stands.

  9. Comment by AJ Brady on June 19, 2016 at 3:38 am

    Then you better make sure you don’t eat pork or get a divorce. Because if you live by the law you will surely die by it. No one but Jesus Christ was perfect.

  10. Comment by apriluser on June 17, 2016 at 2:57 pm

    Jesus didn’t speak about pedapphelia

  11. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 17, 2016 at 3:33 pm

    Well said. The “Christian” Left and other Leftists have been spouting these sound bites in their echo chambers for so long that they have no idea how fallacious they are.

  12. Comment by Greg on June 29, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Basically, you are no different than an extremist Muslim. Strict adherence to the Quran is the backbone of terrorism. There are many things Jesus never said and I’m sure you’ve done/haven’t done many of them. As a human being, You are a piece of garbage and certainly don’t follow Jesus example of love (except when/where/how it suits you).

  13. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 29, 2016 at 5:02 pm

    Such silly hyperbole! Strict adherence to the Bible is not strict adherence to the Quran (did I just have to say that?!).

    But good for you for conceding that the Quran is the backbone terrorism.

    “You are a piece of garbage and certainly don’t follow Jesus example of love (except when/where/how it suits you).”

    LOL.

    You’re blocked. Hope you repent and believe someday! Seriously.

  14. Comment by Greg on June 29, 2016 at 5:45 pm

    OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! You blocked me. You’re too stupid to debate with.

  15. Comment by Mr. G. on June 30, 2016 at 4:50 pm

    Welcome to the “blocked by Eternity Matters” club. Sorry it’s not a very exclusive one. I think you’re number 83,926.

  16. Comment by Garry on May 12, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    Jesus also never mentioned Nazism, Fascism, communism, holocausts, WMDs, Islam, sex changes and bad breath, to name a few, so I guess that anything He left out is A-OK.

  17. Comment by localhistorywriter on June 17, 2016 at 12:24 pm

    Actually, since he was a devout Jew and upholder of the law,
    the burden is on you: Where is that verse when Jesus condones homosexuality?

    Take your time.

  18. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 17, 2016 at 3:20 pm

    Great response!

  19. Comment by Wil on June 17, 2016 at 10:18 pm

    Y’see I lean towards egalitarianism but when women pastors say crap like this because of their feelings, I am tempted to swing hard to the male pastors only position.

  20. Comment by FAHayek on June 20, 2016 at 10:31 pm

    Wherever female clergy are allowed to usurp the boundaries of God regarding male headship and eldership, the homosexual agenda follows…using the same arguments. Take a look at the remaining Christian churches/denominations that are still faithful….they almost all support male pastors.

  21. Comment by Kim on June 17, 2016 at 12:35 pm

    Seriously? If you say Jesus never once condemned homosexuality, then you are saying Jesus isn’t God and never was God. You do know that the God of the OT is Jesus, right? He Himself claimed to be God. In fact that’s why the Pharissees crucified Him. John 10:33 We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”

    Jude states that Jesus is the God of the OT in that he writes:
    Dearly loved friends, I had been planning to write you some thoughts about the salvation God has given us, but now I find I must write of something else instead, urging you to stoutly defend the truth that God gave once for all to his people to keep without change through the years. 4 I say this because some godless teachers have wormed their way in among you, saying that after we become Christians we can do just as we like without fear of God’s punishment. The fate of such people was written long ago, for they have turned against our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

    5 My answer to them is: Remember this fact—which you know already—that the Lord saved a whole nation of people out of the land of Egypt and then killed every one of them who did not trust and obey him. 6 And I remind you of those angels who were once pure and holy but turned to a life of sin.[a] Now God has them chained up in prisons of darkness, waiting for the judgment day. 7 And don’t forget the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, all full of lust of every kind, including lust of men for other men. Those cities were destroyed by fire and continue to be a warning to us that there is a hell in which sinners are punished.

    God Himself told the Israelists that they were never to engage in homosexuality. This verse is for God’s people. God’s people are to be Holy before Him. The sin of the world is not having Jesus as Savior. Based on your response, I have to ask, where is Jesus in your life? If you claim that Jesus didn’t care about Homosexuality, then I must ask, who is Jesus to you? Jesus isn’t a long haired hippie who went around throwing daisey and lollipops at people, He was AND is the Living God. The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He is the God who split the Red Sea for the Israelists. The Beginning and the End. The one who created the Universe. Don’t be decieved, God won’t be mocked, nor will He allow you to lead His sheep astray. Jude goes on to talk about folks like you.

    Yet these false teachers carelessly go right on living their evil, immoral lives, degrading their bodies and laughing at those in authority over them, even scoffing at the Glorious Ones. 9 Yet Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, when he was arguing with Satan about Moses’ body, did not dare to accuse even Satan, or jeer at him, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these men mock and curse at anything they do not understand, and like animals, they do whatever they feel like, thereby ruining their souls.

    11 Woe upon them! For they follow the example of Cain who killed his brother; and like Balaam, they will do anything for money; and like Korah, they have disobeyed God and will die under his curse.

    12 When these men join you at the love feasts of the church, they are evil smears among you, laughing and carrying on, gorging and stuffing themselves without a thought for others. They are like clouds blowing over dry land without giving rain, promising much, but producing nothing. They are like fruit trees without any fruit at picking time. They are not only dead, but doubly dead, for they have been pulled out, roots and all, to be burned.

    13 All they leave behind them is shame and disgrace like the dirty foam left along the beach by the wild waves. They wander around looking as bright as stars, but ahead of them is the everlasting gloom and darkness that God has prepared for them.

    14 Enoch, who lived seven generations after Adam, knew about these men and said this about them: “See, the Lord is coming with millions of his holy ones. 15 He will bring the people of the world before him in judgment, to receive just punishment and to prove the terrible things they have done in rebellion against God, revealing all they have said against him.” 16 These men are constant gripers, never satisfied, doing whatever evil they feel like; they are loudmouthed “show-offs,” and when they show respect for others, it is only to get something from them in return.

    17 Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ told you, 18 that in the last times there would come these scoffers whose whole purpose in life is to enjoy themselves in every evil way imaginable. 19 They stir up arguments; they love the evil things of the world; they do not have the Holy Spirit living in them.

    20 But you, dear friends, must build up your lives ever more strongly upon the foundation of our holy faith, learning to pray in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit.

    21 Stay always within the boundaries where God’s love can reach and bless you. Wait patiently for the eternal life that our Lord Jesus Christ in his mercy is going to give you. 22 Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. 23 Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.

    24-25 And now—all glory to him who alone is God, who saves us through Jesus Christ our Lord; yes, splendor and majesty, all power and authority are his from the beginning; his they are and his they evermore shall be. And he is able to keep you from slipping and falling away, and to bring you, sinless and perfect, into his glorious presence with mighty shouts of everlasting joy. Amen.

    Christianity is NOT a game you play each Sunday morning. Nor is Jesus the God who looks the other way when someone entices His little ones to stray away. Jesus Himself said in Matthew 18
    Jesus called a small child over to him and set the little fellow down among them, 3 and said, “Unless you turn to God from your sins and become as little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 Therefore anyone who humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 And any of you who welcomes a little child like this because you are mine is welcoming me and caring for me. 6 But if any of you causes one of these little ones who trusts in me to lose his faith,[a] it would be better for you to have a rock tied to your neck and be thrown into the sea.

    You can’t define Jesus to make Him convenient to your ways and your rules. He’s God, you’re not. God won’t be put into a little box with a bow on top so that you can be liked by others. Jesus is real and He IS coming back. You need to know where you’ll go when you die. Many will say to Jesus, Lord, Lord, look at what I did!!! And Jesus will say, I don’t know you. You better make sure Jesus knows you b/c if He doesn’t, then you will end up in the Lake of Fire. God is Holy and He expects His people to be Holy as well.

  22. Comment by bamared2222 on June 17, 2016 at 1:23 pm

    Whenever the word fornication is used, whether by Jesus, Paul or any other writer, it refers to sexual immorality outside of marriage, which can include a host of sins and perversions which include heterosexual intercourse, homosexual intercourse, bestiality, etc., etc. Your argument is only an excuse to condone these perversions. You are a deceived individual with a propensity toward a reprobate mind.

  23. Comment by Todd McDaniel on June 17, 2016 at 1:50 pm

    Read levticus again spec. 18:22 and 20:13 it’s very clear

  24. Comment by bamared2222 on June 17, 2016 at 4:05 pm

    Exactly, but reprobates can’t deal with that passage. Also mentioned in Romans 1 and the book of Jude. But if a person wants to justify their sin, they can ignore or reinterpret anything. Trouble is, your references are crystal clear and no other interpretation is possible!
    Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

    ——– Original message ——–From: Disqus Date: 6/17/2016 12:50 PM (GMT-06:00) To: bamared2222@hotmail.com Subject: Re: Comment on Sorry, Jen Hatmaker: Christians Aren’t Complicit in Orlando

    Todd McDaniel wrote, in response to bamared2222:

    Read levticus again spec. 18:22 and 20:13 it’s very clear

    Link to comment: https://disq.us/url?impression=fa9cfa70-34b3-11e6-8ed7-00259085287c&experiment=digests&behavior=click&url=https%3A%2F%2Fjuicyecumenism.com%2F2016%2F06%2F16%2Fsorry-jen-hatmaker-christians-arent-complicit-happened-orlando%2F%23comment-2736363031%3AimBzD-wmTWd4o5RHw9SvBOW2zc8&type=notification.post.registered&variant=active&event=email

  25. Comment by ChloéLane on June 17, 2016 at 1:40 pm

    Pastor??? Really? Let’s even take this back to the Old Testament…

    Leviticus 18:22
    Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

    Leviticus 20:13
    If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

  26. Comment by Chad on June 22, 2016 at 11:23 am

    I’m curious why all the picking and choosing in Leviticus? You highlight these things in Leviticus but you aren’t highlighting the animal sacrifice aspects of Leviticus, the frequent death penalties dealt out, the declaration that women are not as important as men in the grand scheme of life – There are soooo many Old Testament aspects that you are conveniently leaving out to highlight the aspect of the Bible you want to count. If you are going by scripture, then its all or nothing.

  27. Comment by ChloéLane on June 22, 2016 at 11:39 am

    Because those items don’t apply to this article. If they did I would have mentioned it. Yes, she said to show where Jesus condemned homosexuality, I chose to use the Old Testament to show that it has been addressed before Jesus

  28. Comment by Chad on June 22, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    Why don’t they apply?

  29. Comment by ChloéLane on June 22, 2016 at 9:54 pm

    I would think it would be obvious but ok. The article is about the Orlando massacre which targeted the LGBT community. My response was targeted at a comment that asked where Jesus condemned homosexuality. Now it is not my place to judge anyone’s lifestyle but when someone asks a question that I can answer, then I do. Yes I quoted the old testament but I can also quote the new testament…

    Romans 1:26-27
    For this reason [idolatry] God gave them up to passions of dishonor; for even their females exchanged the natural use for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise also the males, having left the natural use of the female, were inflamed by their lust for one another, males with males, committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the recompense which was fitting for their error

    1 Corinthians 6:9-10
    1 Timothy 1:9-10

  30. Comment by Todd McDaniel on June 17, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    When Jesus says that the old testament law is still valid on repeated occasions when he quotes from it when tested by the religious leaders of his time. OT law calls it an abomination to God. Specifically levticus 18:22 and 20:13

  31. Comment by Nutstuyu on June 17, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    Where’s the verse in which Jesus condemned:
    – fossil fuels
    – gluten
    – having multiple wives
    – pedosexuals, pansexuals, omnisexuals, zoosexuals
    – securities fraud
    – rape
    – owning *gasp* firearms
    – doing drugs

  32. Comment by Marisa on June 17, 2016 at 9:57 pm

    Romans 1

  33. Comment by HoldFast on June 18, 2016 at 1:45 pm

    This is why Paul said he doesn’t allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:12), because women are more gullible and therefore more easily deceived than men. (2 Tim. 2:14) Jesus is God, Barb. He is the Father incarnated. (Is. 9:6) It is clear that homosexuality is condemned in the Word, both OT and NT, just like all other immorality (1 Cor. 6:9) and it is specifically enjoined here. Are you among those who discount Paul’s contribution to the NT, as if he has no authority, because of his stance on women teachers? Paul was personally chosen by Jesus to define the administration of the “mystery,” the Jewish/Gentile Church. Have you not read Acts 9:3-4 or Eph. 3:9 or 1 Cor. 9:17? I know lots of “liberated” women who reject Paul. But they are misled.

  34. Comment by AJ Brady on June 19, 2016 at 3:31 am

    The word homosexual was added to the Bible in 1946

  35. Comment by Jack Gilbert on June 21, 2016 at 7:42 am

    Barbara,

    Christianity hold that all of the bible is true, not simply the words of Jesus in the Gospels. The letters of Paul and the other writings of the New (and Old) Testament are equally God’s word, along side the four gospels.

    Jesus himself said that God intended marriage to be a life long commitment between man an woman:

    “He 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)

    Jesus could have said, “two committed people” but he specifically cites “male and female” from the creation account as marriage.

    Paul says in 1 Corinthians:

    “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10 ESV)

    The point here is that any sin, homosexuality included (see also Rom 1:24–27), that is un-repented will eternally separate us from God. The good news is that God loved the world so much that he sent his son to reconcile us with God. He calls us to “repent and believe in the gospel.” (Mark 1:15 ESV)

    Paul goes on after that verse in which he condemn sin, including homosexuality, to say:

    “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV)

    Paul clearly means that people who are of the kind in 1 Cor. 6:9-10 are separated from God (as is the case with all who are not followers of Christ by faith), but when they come to faith in Christ, they are to put these things away, or rather, God works in us to put them away as part of our being made like Jesus (sanctification), 1 Cor. 6:11.

    I hope you will take an honest look at these things, which are a small part of the Bible that condemns this lifestyle. But it is not just homosexuality, it is anything that God says is sin, and his word is truth.

    As for those who forget where they come from and attempt to spread the message of the gospel via hate, they should also take a look at the word and see that this is also incompatible with God’s word and with eternal life. The truth of the gospel must be told: Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. He was buried and raised according to the scriptures. Anyone who calls on him will be saved, and they become children of God. His children purify themselves as he is pure.
    1 Cor. 15:1-3; Romans 10:13; 1 John 3:3

  36. Comment by James Richard Holt on June 21, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    Maybe you are a good example why in my diocese we do not permit the ordination of females. Don’t get me wrong I am one of the few members of my parish who has no problem with non-political ordinations of anyone so long as the ordination of whoever is to Glorify God the Father. (Matthew 19:4, 5). At creation, Jesus claimed that God made “male and female,” and because of this creation of human kind, “a man will leave his father and mother and cling to his wife.” By limiting the marriage relationship to men and women, Jesus is speaking against homosexual practice (and much of our common divorce and remarriage practices as well).

    Second, the Greek word Jesus uses in Matthew 19:9 condemns homosexual practice. The word is porneia. The word refers to any “unlawful sexual intercourse.” This would include homosexuality. Thus, Jesus does deal with the issue of homosexuality by his usage of this word. He also condemns incest and bestiality. (By the way, if we use the logic found in our introductory question we would have to say these two are okay as well).

    Third, it really doesn’t matter if the condemnation of homosexuality is in the red letter part of your Bible (red letters normally show quotations from Jesus). There are many things Jesus does not condemn directly. This does not mean they are acceptable. Instead, it simply means Jesus did not have the opportunity or the reason to speak on those subjects, or the writers of the Gospels, under the inspiration of the Spirit, determined to not include them in their gospels (see John 21:25).

    Finally, those who claim only Paul condemned the practice, not Jesus, fail to see the work of the Spirit in the writings of Paul. Paul wrote by inspiration of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit was sent to the apostles by Jesus to “remind them of what they had heard” and to “lead them into all truth.” The Spirit continued the revelation of Jesus. Thus, what the apostles wrote are the words of Jesus. Therefore if any New Testament writing condemns homosexuality, then it is safe to say that Jesus condemned the practice.

    If we believe that the Scriptures are all the words of God, then we will not continue the practice of pitting Jesus against later New Testament writers. All of the New Testament, not just the red parts, reveals to us the teachings of Jesus. Those who want to live under His Lordship will submit to all of it. Therefore, Jesus deals with the homosexuality issue, and states it is sin.

  37. Comment by pixelpainter1122 on June 23, 2016 at 11:44 am

    The rest of the New Testament condemns it, and if you are a “Pastor”, consider the bible God’s word and KNOW the SIN of homsexuality is condemned.

    Romans 1:26-28New International Version (NIV)

    26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

    28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.

    1 Corinthians 6:9-14New International Version (NIV)

    9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
    Sexual Immorality

    12 “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. 13 You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also.

  38. Comment by Kent Dougall ﻦ on June 17, 2016 at 2:47 pm

    Agree with most of what you’re saying, but be careful about condemning people to hell. That’s God’s job.

    Romans 2New International Version (NIV)

    God’s Righteous Judgment
    2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?

    5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will repay each person according to what they have done.”[a]

  39. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 17, 2016 at 3:19 pm

    Hi Kent,

    Thanks for the clarification. I think we’re saying the saying the same thing. God is of course the one who condemns. I was just quoting him on his terms and conditions — e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9–11 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

    We ALL need Jesus.

  40. Comment by Kent Dougall ﻦ on June 17, 2016 at 5:42 pm

    Just please be gentle. Tone is important. As the verse you cite points out, such were some of us.

    Galatians 6:1-2
    6 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. 2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

  41. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 18, 2016 at 10:05 am

    Fair enough, but for the record I distinguish between believers in sin (the passage you cited), unbelievers in sin (see http://1eternitymatters.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/evangelism-experiences-1/ for how I interact with LGBTQX folks) and false teachers, such as Hatmaker and the “pastor” above. I think it is entirely biblical to be firm and bold with the latter.

  42. Comment by Matt on June 18, 2016 at 11:25 am

    Yes, thank you. Since is sin, and homosexuality is just one in a long line of sins that Bible- believing Christians should not support. That is not to say that I do not engage with LGBT people. I work with several and have no issues. I don’t harass them or speak against them, and certainly do not support violence against them. That’s preposterous and I won’t even address it. But if they ask me I will tell them what the Bible says and not how I feel, because I believe what the Bible says. Because 2 Timothy 3:16.

    For the sake of argument, let’s replace the “homosexuality” with “adultery” for discussion, since sin is sin:

    Do you support adultery? Do you feel that since men are wired to desire as meant sexual partners as possible in order to produce many children that it is okay? It’s only natural, right? Why should I commit myself to one woman for my entire life? That’s hard, adultery is easier, and based on most of the animal kingdom is nature’s way of ensuring that life continues.

    After all, both terms are listed as sin in 1 Corinthians.

    Another question: Does God change? Has he changed his mind about any of the above listed sins? Then why has Christianity changed? Is God a bigot? Or is that just a label that we have created and maybe God doesn’t care about labels? Maybe the Bible really is right and we’re all wrong?

    Isaiah 5:20-24.

  43. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 18, 2016 at 4:50 pm

    Great points! I’ve had similar experiences. I interact with many gays and have no issues with them. Our ballroom dance instructor who we danced with for 5 years was gay and knew we were committed Christians. I didn’t get in his face about it any more than I did the manager of the studio who was living out of wedlock with his girlfriend. The Leftists just stereotype us as haters, when we are the ones who truly love all the sinners. We’ll share the Gospel with anyone!

  44. Comment by AJ Brady on June 19, 2016 at 3:30 am

    I’m sick and tired people lumping Christians into one group. NOT all Christians believe its wrong to be LGBT. The word homosexual was ADDED to the Bible in 1946!
    If Christians would actually read their Bible, they would know Christ taught love.
    Judge NOT and though shall NOT be judged,
    LOVE your neighbor as YOURSELF
    God so LOVED the WORLD that he gave his only begotten Son that WHOEVER believes in Him WILL have eternal life.
    There is no except that says ONLY straight people are saved!!!!!

  45. Comment by Guzzman on June 19, 2016 at 8:12 am

    The New Testament says very plainly that unrepentant homosexuals will not enter heaven.

    You have no power to invalidate the New Testament. No such thing as a Christianity without the NT.

  46. Comment by Chad on June 22, 2016 at 11:26 am

    This is why the LGBTQ community fears Christians – and this is why Christian’s fear Muslims – people taking what is written and saying, “well it’s right here so I am allowed to think and do these things.” – Christians can proverbially condemn gays to Hell and extreme Muslims feel they can kill the infidels. Both are written and by this logic, both then must be just.

  47. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 19, 2016 at 9:03 am

    So many lies and distortions! Homosexual BEHAVIOR was clearly described. Example: Romans 1:26–27 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.

    Yes, Christ taught love but real love teaches the truth of Christ’s commands: No sex outside of a one man / one woman marriage.

    The Bible couldn’t be more clear. Bible-believing Christians and even two out of the three types of pro-gay people* (religious or not) can see these truths:

    – 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior describe it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms.
    – 100% of the verses referring to God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
    – 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
    – 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions of any kind. There are no exceptions for “committed” relationships.
    – 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to LGBT couples parenting children.

    Having said that, I believe that Christians should support and encourage those who are fighting same-sex attraction. And no one needs to grandstand on the issue before getting to the Good News of the cross: http://1eternitymatters.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/evangelism-experiences-1/ .

    * The three general types of pro-gay theology people:

    1. “The Bible says homosexuality is wrong but it isn’t the word of God.” (Obviously non-Christians)
    2. “The Bible says it is wrong but God changed his mind and is only telling the theological Left.” (Only about 10 things wrong with that.)
    3. “The Bible is the word of God but you are just misunderstanding it” (Uh, no, not really.)

  48. Comment by Anne Gull on June 19, 2016 at 1:54 pm

    Only those who do the will of the Father shall be saved.

  49. Comment by Jen on June 19, 2016 at 7:16 am

    Amen!

  50. Comment by James Richard Holt on June 21, 2016 at 1:48 pm

    If I could up vote this reply I would. I don’t know that the LGBT people are condemned to Hell that’s God’s problem but these murders were not committed by a Christian they were in fact committed apparently by a ISIS sympathizer if not an out right member. This was radical Islam at its very best er make that its very worst. Historically a very large portion of the Islamic world a large minority I pray but I sometimes wonder has been at war with the rest of the world including members of their own religion who were not in their eyes Islamic enough for nearly 1400 years. When are we going to face up to facts? As for refusing to redefine Marriage we don’t have the authority to do that. God said a man will leave his mother and a woman her family and they shall become as one. In Leviticus we are told that a man shall not lie with another man as he would a woman such behavior is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. There’s not much wiggle room in that declaration folks. We Christians are told to not hate the sinner as we are all sinners but we are expected to hate the sin. There’s a world of difference there.

  51. Comment by Tony Joyner on June 16, 2016 at 6:18 pm

    I don’t think that Jen Hatmaker is a leftist. I think she’s shallow and prone to emotional outbursts that she winds up walking back as soon as someone speaks up about her childish rants.

  52. Comment by Nat Alee on June 18, 2016 at 6:46 am

    I haven’t seen her walk back or apologize for this one.

  53. Comment by fedup928 on June 18, 2016 at 6:10 pm

    I agree, Tony. I’ve been irritated with her posts on several occasions because she’s obviously caught up in the moment – and usually before all the facts have come out – and makes some pretty outrageous statements. She’s very much a people pleaser and wants everyone to be happy. I think she is acutely sensitive to hurting people and wants to be the peacemaker. But as a Christian she needs to be reminded that Christ himself said we would always be at odds with this world.

  54. Comment by Anne Gull on June 19, 2016 at 1:51 pm

    Jen cares more about pleasing people than she does about pleasing Jesus. She strives to be chums with one and all. According to the Bible, that is impossible! For her to seek popularity is a red flag waving wildly!

  55. Comment by Darlene Shortridge on June 16, 2016 at 8:42 pm

    Excellent post! Thank you!

  56. Comment by derbradster on June 16, 2016 at 11:26 pm

    The Quran is quite explicit. It is a hunting permit that never expires. License to kill gays.

  57. Comment by Dawn Heath Whitcomb on June 17, 2016 at 12:09 am

    She’s wrong on soooooo many levels…Christians morally disagree with homosexuality, because it is sin…that said, we’re all sinners…”For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans) The cure for sin is Jesus Christ, Who willingly gave up His life on the cross for us, that we could receive Him and be cleansed from our sins…sometimes that cleansing is immediate, other times (and probably most times) it is a process…TRUE BELIEVERS UNDERSTAND THIS….we don’t condone the killing of gays or abortion Drs. nut-jobs do.

  58. Comment by Jeremy Grimes on June 17, 2016 at 10:14 am

    The cleansing of sin, freedom from the wages of sin, is immediate. The process of changing your lifestyle or way of thinking and lining it up with Christ takes a lifetime. But what a beautiful journey it can be.

  59. Comment by Dawn Heath Whitcomb on June 17, 2016 at 11:54 am

    yes, forgiveness/cleansing of sin is immediate…sanctification is a process…

  60. Comment by Wil on June 17, 2016 at 2:23 am

    THIS. A THOUSAND TIMES. THIS.

  61. Comment by Wil on June 17, 2016 at 2:25 am

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wZWqcpvlUU

    Billy Graham volunteers pray with gay leader. Did this Jen Hatmaker see this before she wrote her nonsense?

  62. Comment by Pastor Barbara on June 17, 2016 at 10:09 am

    After reading Derry Green’s blog, I will simply say that I stand with my LGBTQ+ friends, many of them Christians, serving in congregations. To deny their testimony of who they are and have been for as long as they remember, to deny their experiences of rejection and condemnation by some Christians would be a tragic mistake on my part. Because their lives reflect the love of God, because their lips confess their faith in Christ, I (and many other Christians as well), affirm them as who they are–lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer, plus, because science presents us a spectrum of sexuality.
    <3 I believe it is time for us to reinterpret our reading of those few verses that speak about homosexuality. I compare this to the stand the Catholic Church took against Galileo's discovery that the earth rotated around the sun. They rejected it and rejected him because Psalm 96:10 says "…the earth is established, it shall never be moved…"
    <3 Science has long since proven that we don't take this verse literally and the Catholic eventually, centuries later, came to embrace his discovery as truth. Now you and I read this verse without thinking about it. The day will come when the same will true about same-sex relationships. We just happen to live in that time of transition… and there are Christian leaders who stand in the pulpit or on TV and celebrate the deaths in Orlando because death is what Scripture declares for homosexuality. :'( The recent comment by Pat Robertson comes quickly to mind as an example of this response to the tragedy in Orlando.
    <3 I would suggest you research some of the theological scholarship coming out of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies. It is encouraging, edifying, and eye opening.

  63. Comment by localhistorywriter on June 17, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    Tell us about the phenomenal growth in the pro-gay churches.
    Cite some numbers.

  64. Comment by Eternity Matters on June 17, 2016 at 12:41 pm

    “I believe it is time for us to reinterpret our reading of those few verses that speak about homosexuality. ”

    Proverbs 30:5–6 Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

    The Bible couldn’t be more clear. Bible-believing Christians and even two out of the three types of pro-gay people* (religious or not) can see these truths:

    – 100% of the verses addressing homosexual behavior describe it as sin in the clearest and strongest possible terms.
    – 100% of the verses referring to God’s ideal for marriage involve one man and one woman.
    – 100% of the verses referencing parenting involve moms and dads with unique roles (or at least a set of male and female parents guiding the children).
    – 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to homosexual behavior in a positive or even benign way or even hint at the acceptability of homosexual unions of any kind. There are no exceptions for “committed” relationships.
    – 0% of 31,173 Bible verses refer to LGBT couples parenting children.

    Having said that, I believe that Christians should support and encourage those who are fighting same-sex attraction. And no one needs to grandstand on the issue before getting to the Good News of the cross: http://1eternitymatters.wordpress.com/2008/05/27/evangelism-experiences-1/ .

    * The three general types of pro-gay theology people:

    1. “The Bible says homosexuality is wrong but it isn’t the word of God.” (Obviously non-Christians)
    2. “The Bible says it is wrong but God changed his mind and is only telling the theological Left.” (Only about 10 things wrong with that.)
    3. “The Bible is the word of God but you are just misunderstanding it” (Uh, no, not really.)

  65. Comment by Kim on June 17, 2016 at 12:46 pm

    So let me ask you. How do you respond to Paul saying in 1 cor 6:

    Don’t you know that those doing such things have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who live immoral lives, who are idol worshipers, adulterers or homosexuals—will have no share in his Kingdom. Neither will thieves or greedy people, drunkards, slanderers, or robbers. 11 There was a time when some of you were just like that but now your sins are washed away, and you are set apart for God; and he has accepted you because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.

    To say it’s ok to be gay and be saved is like saying to a single person it’s ok to sleep around, live with your boyfriend/girlfriend. it’s ok to get drunk, gossip about others, steal from others. As a shepherd of God’s flock, it looks like you’re not doing a very good job. You’re allowing the flock to engage in something that God has said NO to. God will judge you for this. James 1 says Dear brothers, don’t be too eager to tell others their faults,[a] for we all make many mistakes; and when we teachers of religion, who should know better, do wrong, our punishment will be greater than it would be for others.You are making your little ones stumble. You claim to know Jesus, yet I have to ask, is He your Lord? Your King? Your shepherd? Or is Jesus just a religous icon for you that you pull out every Sunday morning? Don’t you realize you’ve been bought with a price? Jesus’ price? YOu belong to Him if Jesus is your Lord and Savior.

    I do care for homosexuals, I think more than you ever could. I minister to them as I would any Christian who is sleeping around, abusing their family, drinking ect. Why? B/c God told me to. YOu’re not God, you can’t just make Jesus convenient for you and others and then call me a hater b/c I follow the bible. If you call me a hater, then you call God a hater b/c I belong to Him and it’s His word I am following. You need to think, do you really want to do this? Do you want to tell God’s flock it’s ok to engage in something that He has said no to? God sent Jesus to us to make us Holy before Him and to act like His children, not people of the world. I have a feeling God has been trying to tell you this stuff, but you haven’t listen to Him. One day, He will stop telling you this stuff and allow you to go your own way. But know that if you’re not doing as God has called you to do, He will say to you, I don’t know you. Trust me, that’s not what you want to hear from Him.

  66. Comment by bamared2222 on June 17, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    We need to reinterpret the scripture in regard to homosexuality? Science presents us with a spectrum of sexuality? That is ludicrous. It does not matter what “science” says; science is not the end factor. Haven’t you noticed how many “theories of science” have gone by the wayside?? God’s word states in very explicit terms what he means. To change that is to do it to suit your own purposes and justify your own agenda. You may change God’s word, but unfortunately for you, God has not changed.

  67. Comment by james81 on June 18, 2016 at 3:03 am

    Science should be considered in any debate. The problem here is not science. It’s that Pastor Barbara is simply ignorant of it.

    The pastor makes this comment: “To deny their testimony of who they are and have been for as long as they remember…”

    That various individuals identify on a spectrum of sexuality isn’t science, it’s simply an observation. That many believe God makes people this way (that’s how they were born) is also not science. It’s stating an opinion.

    Numerous identical twin studies have been conducted where at least one twin identifies as homosexual. The concordance rate for the other twin identifying as the same is about 20%, on average. That’s a figure provided by Francis Collins, the current director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

    That is science. It’s not swayed by emotion and it indicates, at best, the involvement of genetic factors, no more so than genetic factors that are involved in metabolism of alcohol, obesity, heterosexual promiscuity, etc.

    Diseases like Huntington’s, sickle cell anemia, etc. are genetic fatalism. No scientist will ever say that about 20% concordance in identical twin studies.

    It’s common for the left to use science as a battering ram in its war against Judeo-Christian mores. Most of them time it is done so in an ignorant, if not also very dishonest, manner.

  68. Comment by Nutstuyu on June 17, 2016 at 7:22 pm

    Can we also “reinterpret” this verse while we’re at it? You seem kind of lonely and maybe need some new companions?

    Lev 18:23
    Do not have sexual relations with an animal and defile yourself with it. A woman must not present herself to an animal to have sexual relations with it; that is a perversion.

  69. Comment by Adrian Croft on June 17, 2016 at 10:49 pm

    “I would suggest you research some of the theological scholarship coming out of the LGBTQ+ community and their allies.”
    I hate to sound cynical, but you don’t suppose that maybe – just maybe – the “scholarship coming out of the LGBTQ+ community” might be just a teensy weensy tiny bit BIASED toward celebrating homosexuality?

  70. Comment by Anne Gull on June 19, 2016 at 2:09 pm

    Sadly, it’s not hard to become or remain a pastor even when Jesus is NOT followed. Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton are prime examples.

  71. Comment by Don Bryant on June 17, 2016 at 10:12 am

    Thanks for the clarity and directness of your post. It is painful to have to debate the GLBT community at this time, but they and their supporters force the church into the political/cultural arena even in the midst of this sorrow. Your summation gets it right. This is back to basics. Mateen was a jihadist murderer and no one but him is in the dock on this one.

  72. Comment by Amy Snider on June 17, 2016 at 11:22 am

    We Chelristians have had to give in a lot. Who would have thought we d be spending so much time and energy and money on transgender bathrooms? We have been the object of hate for standing firm on God s Word. Orlando is complex. Was it the shooter s sexuality or his anger at society or ISIS or mental illness or pride or hate? It s clearly not one thing. The devil creates confusion. The Lord gives clarity.

  73. Comment by Kim on June 17, 2016 at 12:17 pm

    I agree!!! I guess if the left is going to blame christians for the shooting, then I guess the left also blames Christians for gay people having to be smuggled out of Muslim held land in Africa b/c the Islamic gov wants them dead. I guess it’s our fault too when homosexuals in Islamic held lands like Saudi Arabia and thrown off of buildings, whipped, executed and imprisoned for their lifestyle. I guess Christians are to be blamed when ISIS cuts off the head of the homosexual. All christians’ faults. Yet it was the church that shows up at almost every disaster, Christians who chasing away the homosexual haters from the boards. Anyone who believes Christians are to blame are only being like the shooter. They are no different. They are the ones who spread hate. Look in the mirror before you start accusing someone else of being hateful. I’m not the one who is bashing the gays, I don’t agree, but I will fight for their right to live their lives their way, not mine. So I guess we’ll just ignore ISIS as they slowly take over.

  74. Comment by Ray on June 17, 2016 at 3:23 pm

    While I understand the frustration behind this article, I also feel that the author neglected a very important issue facing the Church today – its long history of saying and doing incredibly hateful, unloving, and intolerant things against the LGBTQ community. Sure, we can say that there are a bunch of “real” Christians out there who would never adopt that attitude as compared with the “other” Christians, but the truth is that we collectively represent the Church in America as a whole. So I think a better approach than defending our privilege in undergoing difficulty and “persecution” only at the hands of legislation is to instead think about the ways in which members of the LGBTQ community have literally died because of people who were claiming to act in the name of Christianity. And there are examples out there prior to Orlando, we don’t have to look very far. Jesus spoke several times about our responsibility in holding our brothers and sisters accountable precisely because of the Church’s collective witness to the world. When one part of the body fails, we all fail. I may not be responsible for what Christians before me have said…but I sure am responsible if I don’t call the Church to do better. And part of that is owning up to what the Church has done and apologizing to the LGBTQ community on behalf of them. And that’s exactly what Jen Hatmaker was calling us to do.

  75. Comment by Nutstuyu on June 17, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    Like what? Telling someone they’re living in sin is “hateful, unloving, and intolerant”? If someone was walking straight towards a cliff, would you refrain from warning them because you’re afraid of being “hateful, unloving and intolerant”?

  76. Comment by JeffreyRo55 on June 17, 2016 at 8:14 pm

    Who is less likely to be hired for a university teaching job?

    A gay, or an evangelical Christian?

    Your reference to our “privilege” is absolutely comical.

  77. Comment by Adrian Croft on June 17, 2016 at 10:51 pm

    What are we supposed to apologize for?
    Basing our ethics on the Bible?
    That’s one of the characteristics of Christians.
    People who don’t like those ethics can choose another religion – or no religion at all.

  78. Comment by Kathy Schwanke on June 18, 2016 at 1:27 pm

    A FB friend linked to a post about Christians being blamed. [http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/jun/13/activists-blame-christians-orlando-attack/] it engaged that place where I get a knot . . . like a fist, in my heart and lungs and head. Because often during crisis, I’ve seen posts by Christians against Christians, and as I have ruminated on the outcome of the “Open Letters To The Church” and other such addresses, I’ve come to see the potential harm. The result being, lending more fuel to the fire displayed in the article.

    It grieves me, and I believe it’s a grief that is more sacred than sinful.

    If we openly rebuke, even bully one another in public. If we paint Jesus’ Bride in broad, condemning strokes; holding our own ideals as the standard. [For example: “This is what I do, Church, you should do it too!”] we fuel angst. Not to mention that it sounds a lot like legalism.

    Our divisiveness serves the enemy. Angst begets angst.

    We think we see the way that all should follow.

    It seems logical.

    I’ve thought this way myself. Thankfully, long before internet was a thing – so my thoughts had less opportunity to become words. And I have learned through the “School of God” [“Hello Honey, I call my people to follow Me, not everyone has the same course. My Spirit will do My business through My established way.”]

    Time + Experience = Wisdom

    The problem with open, public shaming or rebuke is that those who do so fail to discern that the weeds and wheat grow together. We might want to uproot the weeds, but fail to see we are wounding the wheat. We fail to acknowledge that to publicly berate the Bride of Christ, we are feeding Cain and Ishmael and Esau’s arsenal (the angry heart that would not submit, but instead crucified our Savior) the one who persecutes the children of God.

    God will not hold guiltless the unrepentant, who accuse and wound His blood-bought Bride. And we should pray for those who act in ignorance. Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do.

    The fact that we are washed by the blood and free from condemnation is the glorious truth of our standing before God. Praise Jesus! That is why we should never accuse one another in the spirit of the accuser.

    God has established an orderly way for us to grow in Christlikeness.

    It is in the context of “home” amid relationships, in family and in local gatherings, in friendships and around tables. Submitted to one another, committed to one another, honoring those He puts in leadership in our lives. Those who have the right and the responsibility to oversee and care for our souls. Pastors and leaders and teachers and fathers and mothers, and sisters and brothers.

    I suspect the bull-horns of social media – which, at times might be likened to our “modern Tower of Babel” have increased the chaos and division we have experienced of late, exponentially.

    Love certainly doesn’t come through in a public rebuke. Even if love is there, it’s likely indiscernible.

    God’s desire is that we edify one another, that we are “for” each other. That we do good to all people and especially those who belong to the family of God.

    Galatians 6:10

  79. Comment by Ray on June 20, 2016 at 4:03 pm

    You’re going to base entire societal privilege on university hiring? What about companies that fire members of the LGBTQ community? Or examples of hate crimes against gays that were fueled by religious sentiment? If you really think the Church operates from a place of persecution and not privilege in America, that concerns me greatly. Please refer to the countries in the world where Christians are actually getting killed for their faith. Compare that with the number of LGBTQ being killed in America at the hands of people acting under the guise of a Christian. That’s not “speaking the truth” or “telling someone they’re living in sin.” It’s a hate crime, committed by Christians. I’d be happy to link you to several examples.

  80. Comment by Diaris on June 20, 2016 at 7:28 pm

    Lots of accusations (typical of homosexual propaganda),
    but no FACTS.

    If you’re going to accuse Christians in America of killing gays,
    give us some FACTS. The Orlando shooter wasn’t a Christian.

    Go tell the gays not to kill each other, our hands are clean.

  81. Comment by Ray on June 21, 2016 at 11:02 am

    Sigh. A simple search will bring you the FACTS you so desire.

    http://www.outtraveler.com/destination-guide/florida-keys/2015/05/20/key-west-1979-tennessee-williams-was-gay-grandfather-flori

    https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1298&dat=20010304&id=hzEzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zggGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1648,866057&hl=en

    http://www.gaypeopleschronicle.com/stories/99nov12.htm

    https://www.truthwinsout.org/pressrelease/2011/10/19130/

    And these are only some of the incidents where the crimes were reportedly driven by religious sentiment. And it doesn’t include all the messages, Facebook posts, and signs that are in no way spoken in love – however truthful we may think them to be.

    I’m saddened that the general sentiment here seems to be one of defense. Jesus didn’t defend himself when people shouted all kinds of false accusations against him, he instead prayed for them. I don’t believe that it in any way advances our message of the gospel to put so much effort in trying to vindicate ourselves. I think we would be much more effective in building bridges if we would humbly own up to the ways that we or our brothers and sisters in the past have failed. It opens the door for conversation with the LGBTQ community.

  82. Comment by jjgrndisland on June 21, 2016 at 2:40 pm

    Wow, links to gay websites.

    Don’t you just know how much credibility those have on a Christian blog? You might as well link to Mein Kampf on a Jewish blog.

  83. Comment by Ray on June 21, 2016 at 2:49 pm

    Did you even read the articles that are based on verifiable news reports?

    The reason why these are found mostly on gay interest websites are because those are the people who CARE about it – not, of course, Christians who are continuing to show that they have no concern for religiously incited mistreatment of the LGBTQ community in the past.

    If you refuse to read into and consider a website because of its interest group, it doesn’t make it not credible. It just makes you ignorant.

  84. Comment by jjgrndisland on June 21, 2016 at 9:56 pm

    Real crimes make the mainstream news, not tabloid niche markets. The Orlando shooting was obviously a real crime that merited national attention. The mainstream media are lousy and liberal and biased, BUT their pro-gay bias ensures that they would not hesitate to cover any real crimes against gays – and other than the Orlando episode – zip.

    Your little gay propaganda sites are junk reporting, about as serious as the National Enquirer. You do know that there’s an entire site devoted to hoaxes, it’s fakehatecrimes.org, and they document cases where some gay or lesbian faked an assault or vandalism. The list of hoax hate crimes is considerably longer than the actual hate crimes. It’s very sad that you people tie up police time faking crimes in order to push your agenda.

    You assume Christians are too stupid to find out the real news. We’re
    smarter than you think, and when some propaganda-spewer says “Oh, gays are assaulted and murdered by Christians ALL the time,” we’ll call you out on it, because, after all, you’re lying about US, and that’s wrong.

  85. Comment by Ray on June 21, 2016 at 10:10 pm

    Wow, I’m so glad that you decided to use phrases like “you people” and “we”. I’ve made it clear that I am a Christian, whereas you wrongly assumed me to be a part of the LGBTQ community in question. You assume you speak for an entire population of Christians, whereas it’s clear that you are ignoring the documented cases of hate crimes committed by Christians.

    And just to humor you, here are more “mainstream” news reports for some of the cases I listed:
    http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20073565,00.html

    http://www.slate.com/blogs/outward/2016/06/12/pulse_nightclub_shooting_and_tragic_history_of_violence_at_lgbtq_clubs_in.html

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/hatecrimes/stories/brothers072199.htm

    http://www.christianpost.com/news/pastor-accused-of-ordering-attacks-on-gay-son-outside-of-tenn-church-57836/
    (I love that this last one comes from Christian Post, by the way)

    And yes, I ran all these cases through your website as well. You clearly have not done your research.

    Your assumptions about my identity is an ironic fulfillment of the point I was trying to make in the first place: that your interest is only in defending yourself against what you perceive as lies, rather than owning up to the truth even if it would put you in a negative light. That, to me, is not the mark of a Christian. I sincerely hope that you reconsider your “us” and “them” mentality, because you’re not winning anyone to Christ through it.

  86. Comment by vrf on June 17, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    Did she delete her comments on this? I can’t find them on Facebook anymore.

  87. Comment by jibbityjab on June 22, 2016 at 10:58 am

    It’s still on her facebook page. The link in the article has a typo. Here’s her page. Scroll to June 14: https://www.facebook.com/Jen-Hatmaker-203920953040241/?fref=nf

  88. Comment by Alyssa Faith on June 17, 2016 at 9:08 pm

    Fantastic article!!

  89. Comment by Nat Alee on June 18, 2016 at 6:44 am

    I’m very disappointed in Jen Hatmaker. We knew we could expect this nonsense from Rachel Held Evans and her ilk, but I never thought Jen would climb into the gutter like this.

    Very ugly.

  90. Comment by Anne Gull on June 19, 2016 at 12:26 pm

    Jen and Rachel are sisters in the same tribe.

  91. Comment by samismom22 on June 18, 2016 at 8:24 am

    Look while I totally agree 100% with your final two sentences and I am by no means a Jen Hatmaker groupie. Honestly I have never read any of her books and only after your article did I start to follow her on FB. I do think you should not have left out key points of her quote. When I actually went and read her entire quote it made much more sense in context.. I know you are trying to make a point and it’s a legitimate one, but I think by only taking parts of the quote to validate your point,it throws Jen Hatmaker under the bus. I know the mainstream media does it ALL the time, I just expected more from christian media.

  92. Comment by DJ916 on June 18, 2016 at 12:13 pm

    Hatmaker’s post said, in effect, “this is what I’m hearing from the LGBT community about us Christians.” Then proceeds to *agree* with what she’s hearing about “us” indicting Christians as complicit in “dishonoring” the lives of LGBT and taking the guilt from where it should stay- Omar Mateen- and faulting Christians for why a closeted gay, radical jihadist shot up a gay nightclub. And not once in the post did she take the time to clearly and directly disagree with the unfair consensus of Christian disparagement among the LGBT community.

    Nope, the author isn’t a bus driver and he responded to her comments, which she agreed with, in context.

  93. Comment by Joe Kupa on June 19, 2016 at 11:04 pm

    God never said to love sin. If the LGBTQ has a problem with Christians not accepting their lifestyle choice which God clearly calls a sin, then they should take up their anger directly with the Almighty! Being ignorant of the bible, comproming what it says, or being selective on what you choose to believe doesn’t matter to God whether you disagree with Him or not. Everyone will be judged by their conscience and how much they knew about Christ and
    why they rejected Him and His offer for salvation. Believe me you don’t want to find out what happens after that…

  94. Comment by WhatsTheTruth on June 20, 2016 at 11:04 am

    This article contains much BS in an attempt to extricate christians from any blame for that attack. Clearing away the dust, the FACT is the american christians who have come out publicly in recent years to NOT ACCEPT gays as being OK co-habitants in our country (and I dont mean gay marriage stance, mean all the rest of the language) has contributed to the climate that it is acceptable to do bad things to them/destroy them, that there is a worthiness to that. There is simply nothing you can say that changes that reality. It is truth.

  95. Comment by Diaris on June 20, 2016 at 7:26 pm

    The shooter was a GAY man. Go bash the gays.

  96. Comment by calebkolstad on June 22, 2016 at 10:23 am

    Who needs NERO to pin the Roman fire on Christians when we have Jen Hatmaker. These are sad days for the Church in America. Thanks for the article.

  97. Comment by Sunny Shell on June 22, 2016 at 11:54 am

    Wow…great article! Well said brother. Thank you for standing for God’s truth, the Bride of Christ, and exposing the foolishness of the “new Christianity” that’s full of syncretism and idolatry.

  98. Comment by Greg on June 29, 2016 at 4:37 pm

    Your Christian persecution complex is incredible. Christians haven’t been persecuted since the time of Christ. Christianity has been a perpetrator of persecution. It is not responsible for the Orlando massacre but to pretend evangelical Christianity does not contribute to the climate of intolerance is, as you like to say, absurd.

    You say “And they shouldn’t be liable for what another person from another religion did of his own volition.” I agree. Yet, somehow you’re liable when it suits you. You make yourself liable on the topics of gay marriage and other LGBTQ rights. You make yourself responsible for stopping this horror but not for the climate of intolerance that it creates. Then, you hide behind the foul cry of persecution.

    You cite the gospel but fail to follow Jesus example.

  99. Comment by Reformed Catholic on July 3, 2016 at 12:14 am

    I admit, there has been a long history of Christian denominations treating the LGBT community as lepers or worse. We have been wrong.

    We have also been remiss at pointing out that there is no hierarchy of sins. All sin is an offense in God’s eyes; my sins, your sins, the sins of omission, the sins of commission, the hetero’s sins, the LGBT’s sins.

    We have not always acted as neighbors and treated others as we would like to be treated.

    Yet, we are told in the Bible to speak the truth in love. To not point out that certain actions are sinful is not acting as a neighbor, nor treated as we would like to be.

    We Christians want to know if we’re in the wrong, so we can correct it, we hear it from the LGBT community loud an clear. Yet, when we speak the truth in love, we are called bigots, homophobe, intolerant, or worse.

    Why? Because we believe that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are one and the same. That when he inspired the writing of the Torah; when he taught for three years; when he inspired the writers of the New Testament, he was speaking from the realm of eternity. Scripture does not contradict Scripture.

    We believe these things with every part of our being, for this we are reviled. Oh we’re not persecuted as the Christians currently are in the middle east, but our first amendment rights are being effectively curtailed.

    Note, that the First Amendment does not actually say ‘freedom of religion’, but it says ‘the free exercise thereof’.

    This exercise allows the Muslim to freely pray five times a day, the observant Jew to wear phylacteries where he may, the Christian to follow the Great Commission, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”

    Yes, it even allows us to say in love that I cannot assist you in a ceremony that would violate the tenets of my faith..

    Again, for this we are ostracized, and cannot be allowed to say that sin as defined by God is still sin. This cannot be tolerated .. yet we are the ones called intolerant.

    Lest we forget the definition of toleration:
    “the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particular
    the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily
    agree with.”

    Again, I agree that many Christians need to treat our neighbors with tolerance, but that toleration by definition does not mean agreement.

  100. Comment by Andrew West on July 1, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    Religion killed 49 gay people in Orlando BECAUSE of religious beliefs, beliefs shared by most major religions. The big lie “homosexuality is wrong,” was invented by Religion. That’s what happened. Of course it’s terror and a hate crime, but why? Religion and religious beliefs.

    Christians have killed millions because of their beliefs, too. Religion is the problem. Religion is the home of ancient fairy-tales, including the idea that homosexuality is wrong and is the modern day home of ignorance. Religious people don’t pick their beliefs, they inherit them (94% of people are the same faith as their parents).

    It’s not guns. It’s not even “radical” beliefs – Muslims believe homosexuals should be killed, Christians believe they should be treated as “defective.” Religion made that lie up and Religion killed dozens of innocent people in Orlando, ironically, perhaps many of them religious.

    Grow up. It’s time to end religion. Religion = Ignorance.

  101. Comment by John Donovan on July 2, 2016 at 10:23 am

    The number of gay Americans who have died of AIDS so far is more than the whole population of Orlando and more than twice the number of people who died at Hiroshima and it wasn’t Muslims who did this to them.

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