Gay Is Okay

This topic, especially in our current culture, is extremely important. And in the Christian church we need to come to a conclusion regarding what has come to be known as "Gay Christianity. " I don't think I will be providing a case that will solve this issue for everyone, not even my opponent. But I do intend to provide a biblical warrant for why homosexuality is wrong, as well as why sexual immorality in general is wrong. I do not think homosexuality is a worse sin than adultery, for example. Both forsake God's plan for marriage and both are condemned by God. Second, I do not just plan on arguing that homosexuality is wrong. I also plan on contending that Jesus is right, in all that he does. Jesus proclaimed one-man and one-woman marriage, and Jesus proclaimed forgiveness and fulfillment in him. So this debate is much broader than "is gay okay? " It necessarily forces us to ask questions about the Christian God and about Jesus. Third, my case is not against the homosexual person. It is against homosexuality as a morally permissible act. By extension it will seem to be attacking people who identify as LGBTQ, but that is not my intention. Contention 1: Defining Normative Standards The topic of this debate is "Gay is Okay. " As con, I ask have two questions for my opponent. A) "who says? " and b) "by what standard? " By "okay" I assume you mean good, morally permissible, even morally commendable. But, who told you that homosexuality was okay? How do you know homosexuality is okay? Or, to take it a step further, how do you know that homophobia is bad? I agree that homophobia is sinful, but I know it is sinful because of a standard I appeal to; God's Word. But the question remains, how does my opponent know these things are either good or bad? The standard I appeal to is God's revelation. In fact, this is the only acceptable standard. If God exists (which is not the topic being debated) then it follows that he has the authority to command his creatures. As his creatures we are morally obligated to obey his commands, and we must be willing to receive the consequences for obedience or disobedience. God, in his Word, has made it clear that homosexuality is sinful. It is on that basis that homosexuality is not "okay. " In short, if my opponent were to ask, "why is gay not okay? " I would reply, "because God said so. " It really is as simple as that. If God said it, that settles it. "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"(Rom. 1:24-27). "You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination"(Lev. 18:22). "and (Jesus) 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 19:5). "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"(1 Cor. 6:9-10) Both the Old and New Testaments agree that homosexuality is a sin. It is defined as an "abomination. " Those who practice it will not inherit the kingdom of God. It is considered "contrary to nature. " Jesus quoted Genesis 2:24 in full agreement that marriage was between a man and his wife, and "the two shall become one flesh. " God, who does exist, has made it known that homosexuality is not okay. He has a purpose and design for marriage and homosexuality is not a part of that design. He has forbidden it, and that is the basis for why it is wrong. If we allow our feelings about the issue to dictate if homosexuality is okay, then we must extend that principle to other people as well. If a group of people have a feeling that stealing is okay, does that make it so? We also cannot allow what we see in the animal world the dictate this issue. Homosexual advocates often say, "Homosexuality is present in other species of animals, so it is only natural for us to accept it. " The problem with the reasoning is that murder, rape, incest, inter-generational sex, are all also present in the animal world. Should we therefore allow these acts to be committed by humans? Certainly not. But why not? If we impose our moral categories onto the animal world when it comes to homosexuality, why can't we impose our moral categories on them when it comes to other things? If we are to be consistent, we must abandon the "animal principle" as an argument for homosexuality or embrace all of its implications. I assert that there has not been a consistent normative standard offered by the homosexual advocates. And any attempt to provide one leads to harming their case more than helping it. Rebuttal: My opponent offers a very moving and emotional case for homosexuality. Essentially, it is summed up in the "how would you feel if the situation were flipped around? " kind of argumentation. The only problem is, the situation isn't flipped around. We live in the world we live in (I will address the validity of my opponents statement later, though). First off, Pro says "there is no harm in loving someone. " However, this can be refuted quite quickly. If I were to fall in love with someone who was manipulative, deceitful, and hurtful, it can easily be seen how this would harm me, even those around me. I am not equating homosexuals to manipulative, deceitful, and hurtful people. But, I am showing that there can be harm in loving someone. It should be duly noted that according to the standard of God's Word, there definitely can be harm in loving someone of the same sex. Romans 1:27 says, "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. " There is a penalty for the error of homosexuality. And as in the passage from 1 Corinthians quoted above, those who practice homosexuality do not inherit the kingdom of God. Surely, not inheriting the kingdom of God means you do not receive the blessings that come with it, including life with God forever. So yes, romantically/sexually loving someone of the same sex and acting on those feelings is harmful. Secondly, my opponent quotes a YouTuber, Twaimz as saying, "why hate someone because they love someone? Like, they're not hating you. " I agree with this statement prima facie. Indeed, as a Christian, I am called to love my neighbor as myself and even to love my enemies. Christians are not called to a life of hate but to a life of love. But that love is defined by God, not man. And hate is defined by God, not man. Telling someone that they are sinning and they should turn to Christ is not hate. It is quite loving, actually. We do not want the homosexual to have a more boring life, we want them to have a greater and more fulfilled life in Christ. The Christian attitude however, should not be like the Westboro Baptist Church, a group of people that shouldn't be called "baptist" or "church. " The only thing Westboro loves is hating people, which show that they are not a part of Christ's church. They are more sinful and abominable than someone who blatantly denies Christ. For they say they believe but lead people away from the good news of salvation and grace in Jesus Christ. Moreover, the church as a whole has not done a good job in this area and has marginalized and mistreated the gay community. Both truth and love need to be shown. The church has called sin what it is, but has pushed the sinner away. We need call sin sin, but with open arms embrace the sinner, pointing them to a new life in Christ. Conclusion: I believe I have adequately showed how we need a normative, consistent standard for the issue at hand, and so far the LGBT activists have not provided one. I have also shown that there can be harm in loving someone, especially in the eternal perspective. Finally, even though the church has failed to show both truth AND love, the goal is to help homosexuals find fulfillment. Thank you.