A Letter To Fundamentalist (Literal Bible) Christians

Today I woke up to tragedy. Sometimes the only thing that sickens me more than tragedy, is people's response to it. After seeing a few 'I don't mind, they were gay,' tweets, I wrote this letter. It is addressed to people who believe the Bible to be literal and innerant (that's what a Fundamentalist is). It is specifically written to those who think this might be 'less tragic' because of sexual orientation.

Dear Fundamentalist Christian,

You believe the Bible to be true. Literal. Relevant. I respect that. In a postmodern world, those devoted to their core beliefs are often few and far between. In the past year, you have become the center of much attention. Maybe not you personally, but people who think like you. America's worst shooting ever was recorded today (June 12, 2016), and now eyes will swing to you again. This shooting appears to have been the result of an anti-gay agenda.

(If you aren't familiar with what happened, catch up on CNN)

Perhaps you are not convinced this is a bad thing. Since you believe the Bible to be literal, you believe homosexuality is wrong. You know that 'the wages of sin is death.' Perhaps you've compared America to Sodom and Gomorrah. After all, they were struck down.

I want to explain to you why this tragedy is heart-breaking. Why you, a Fundamentalist, should empathize and identify with the LGBT community. Why you should love them. And I want to do that while taking the Bible literally.

Homosexuality as Sin

Sometimes being gay is singled out as a great offense. Does the Bible call homosexuality sin? Yes. Twice by name (1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:10). But bear in mind that both those verses come in a broader context. In Corinthians, Paul is speaking about sexual immorality in general, regardless of gender. In Timothy he is speaking about being 'lawless' as a whole.

When the Bible speaks of sexual sin, it refers to something that defaces an image God gave us. Ephesians 5 describes sex, and marriage as a whole, as something that represents the relationship

between Christ and the church. This union is something so sacred it is not even to be joked about(Eph 5:4). He details that any sexual relationship that does not represent the Christ-church union is immoral. This includes homosexuality, but it puts it on a level playing field with all other sexual sin.

Some argue that homosexuality is unique because it is described as unnatural (Rom 1:26). But you'll be hard pressed to see it separated as 'different than other sexual sin' in Old Testament law. You'll see that homosexuality (Lev 20:13) is treated the same as all other sexual immorality (Lev 20:10-23).

The broader message of Scripture is 'all have sinned.' And this is far more essential to the gospel than teaching 'homosexuality is sin.'

God As Judge

God created humans and gave us dominion (Gen 1:26). This made us rulers of the world, but according to His conditions. When sin entered the world, we made our own rules. Mankind acted as though they were in charge. Essentially told God that the dominion He gave them was theirs and not His. This resulted in Cain killing Able. God, as giver of life, determines the length of the life of His creation. But Cain took this into his own hands.

When God chooses to judge humanity, whether by flood (Gen 6), by fire (Gen 19) or opening the Earth to swallow people (Num 26), He does so Himself. We don't get to be judges. We didn't give life. We aren't qualified to take it away.

Murder is always tragedy. It is an act of rebellion against God's dominion. It is always sin. It is never to be celebrated. Someone has named themself (like Cain) as a better judge than God.

In the case of the non-Christian it means the end of their opportunity to repent. As sign waving street-corner preachers keep reminding us, the Bible says sinners go to hell. In fact, the only death the Bible sees as worth celebrating is the death of the Christian (Phi 1:21).

Is Love the Answer?

The word love is being misused. And not just by the #Loveislove people (See my post on that here). So please understand me as I say this.

We are to love all people equally.

Consider Jesus and the adulterous woman (John 4). Or the other adulterous woman (John 8). Or the other one (Luke 7). Consider the accusation against Jesus, “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'” (Luk 7:34).

He's accused of this many times. Many, many times. He hung out with sinners. A sinless friend of sinners. If you were the same way, people wouldn't call you intolerant so quickly after this shooting.

Do you see Paul express disdain or hatred toward Corinth? They were sexually immoral in many ways (1 Cor 5-7). What we see is careful instruction. 'Be pure.' 'Glorify God in your body.' Never, 'don't worry so much if those temple prostitutes you stay away from get killed.' In fact, he never even goes so far as to say 'stay away from temple prostitutes.' And Paul says A LOT about sexual immorality.

In Closing

Ask yourself some questions about the Orlando shooting. Would you be more heart-broken if straight people had been targeted? Consider other great tragedies in the U.S. Could there have been anyone in the twin towers who had sex before marriage? Anyone in Columbine addicted to pornography?

Are you less saddened because the targets of today were at a gay bar? Are you qualified to judge the length of someone's life? Do you have as much love for these victims as Jesus did? Do you love their families?

If the Bible is right, people are in hell today. Mourn. Weep. From today onward make it a priority to love unconditionally. To teach about grace to all people. You are responsible to tell them the gospel, which includes telling them they have sinned. You are not responsible for their condemnation.

Sincerely,

A Fundamentalist Christian