New Year Resolution Challenge:
By Sam Gill
Stand up for truth; It is not too late: (New Year’s Resolution)
“When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself” (Eze. 3:18-19).
So, according to this passage, being shepherds and Christians, we are obligated to help humans to be aware of the seriousness of immoral behavior and sin. I do know that it is hard with someone living in a society, which is saturated with all kinds of social syndromes: relativism, political correctness, abortion, drugs, divorces, premarital sex, homosexuality, Civil unions, etc., to tell the truth. But, we do not have a choice the other way around. We have to declare the truth for our deliverance and for the victims of sin to save their lives. In order to do that, I know that we just need to be a little bit gutsy. No doubt, there will be a tumult or riot, which is natural, because “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).
Phil Robertson, a main Character of Duck Dynasty, passed a statement in his interview to GQ that homosexuality is a sin and in the same category as bestiality and promiscuity: He said, “Start with homosexual behavior and just morph out from there. Bestiality, sleeping around with this woman and that woman and that woman and those men.” “But homosexuals aren’t alone,” Robertson said. “Neither the adulterers, the idolaters, the male prostitutes, the homosexual offenders, the greedy, the drunkards, the slanderers, the swindlers — they won’t inherit the kingdom of God. Don’t deceive yourself. It’s not right.” I admired Phil’s boldness for truth and compassion for the sinners. However, the LGBT made a big deal of it. They forced the A&E TV Channel to ban him.
If Robertson’s statements, based on Scriptures, is offensive to the LGBT, then, how much more would this comment, mentioned below, made by the NAACP and Human Rights Campaign, be offensive to Christians? (See below article, for website). “And his [Robertson] offensive claims about gay people fly in the face of science [not in the face of the Bible]. In fact, it’s important to note that every single leading medical organization in the country has said that [not the Bible] there is absolutely nothing wrong with being LGBT — it’s not a choice [it is a choice], and to suggest otherwise is dangerous.” So by this statement, they are endorsing the LGBT behavior and proving that Science is more credible the Bible. So in a nutshell, anything the LGBT says is “acceptable” and “admirable,” while what the Bible says is offensive and insulting?! What a double standard! If the LGBT considered that Robertson has offended a few LGBT people, by telling the truth, then they need to know that, by their statements, they are offending billions of Christians and non-Christians all over the world by their perverted behavior. Therefore, instead of asking Robertson to apologize to the LGBT, it should be the other way around. It is interesting that billions of people agreed with Robertson, more than with the LGBT. As a matter of fact, the LGBT not only have discriminated Robertson, but they have also offended the True and Most High God, by living their immoral lifestyles. The LGBT’s political correctness and homosexual agenda is trying to triumph science, which is always changing. They like to follow man-made rules over the Creator’s.
It is interesting that homosexuals acknowledge the Moral Law when it comes to the immorality of bigotry, but they readily overlook it, when comes to their own homosexual behavior. Since they do not have any reason or logic to justify their double-standard, they divert attention through name-calling. Therefore, they are trying to say that if Christians want to avoid name-calling, then they should not only tolerate them, but endorse their perverted behavior. Dr. Frank Turek said (in his article “Protecting America’s Immune System: A Reasonable Argument Against Homosexual Marriage,” (Website: www.frankturek.com)), “If we adopt their narcissistic demands—as J.D. Unwin documented by his study of 86 civilizations — it will be just a few generations before our nation is destroyed from within. It’s been documented to cause disease and to shorten life spans dramatically (one study showed the median age of death in the early 40’s for gay men and women without AIDS 26).”
In addition to that, according to Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons, in an interview with Zenit (source listed below article), there is a “strong link between homosexual sex and suicide, as well as a relationship between homosexuality and emotional and mental problems.” He also discloses very fatal consequences of homosexuality in his interview to Zenit. He said that youth which are involved in homosexual practice, suffer from major depression four times to more than their peers, are almost three times likely to have generalized anxiety disorder, are nearly four times more likely to experience conduct disorder, five times more likely to have nicotine dependence, six times more likely to have multiple disorders, and over six times more likely to have attempted suicide.
After having read the above mentioned facts, there is only one choice for Christians: Tell the truth with sincere love. Be truthful with God, yourself and your loved ones. Please stand up for the truth. You might get some flack, because you are flying against the societal norms, subjectivism, relativism and political correctness, which all are trying to override the absolute truth, by perverting it. I have heard the sentiment: “Tell the truth in the way that nobody will be offended or convicted.” Does not it seem so unnatural? It’s like soaking something in the water, and expecting it to remain dry, throwing something in the fire and expecting it not to burn, or putting oil on the fire and expecting it not make a big flame. Therefore, be ready for a reaction of rejection or acceptance, because when you strike the Darkness of Deception with the Light of Truth, sparks will fly! Dr. Frank Turek stated in his article, “Protecting America’s Immune System: A Reasonable Argument against Homosexual Marriage:” “If we allow our emotional affection for our gay friends and relatives to interfere with sound reasoning, we risk making the same mistake that my friend’s parents made—endorsing behavior that will hurt our loved ones. But our mistake will not hurt one person just once—it will hurt future generations, repeatedly.”
Being an Asian-Christian, I used to believe that America and Europe were great promoters of Freedom of speech, as Noam Chomsky (Professor Emeritus of MIT, author, linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, logician, political commentator and activist) said, “In many respects, the United States is a great country. Freedom of speech is protected more than in any other country. It is also a very free society. In America, the professor talks to the mechanic. They are in the same category.” Now, I realized that it is not completely true. “It is a messed up situation when Miley Cyrus gets a laugh, and Phil Robertson gets suspended” Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Governor, said. Here in the USA, the subjectivists have more freedom over objectivists, the Homosexuals have more freedom over Heterosexuals, and liberals and seculars have more freedom over Christians. What a tragedy!
Challenge:
How long can we Christians stay numb and keep quiet, letting the evil prevail, in our churches and societies? Someone said very well, “Sometimes a people lose their right to remain silent when pressured to remain silent.” George Washington said, “If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.” Here is the challenge: If we really love our children and grandchildren, then we have to stand up for our rights and make this world better for our upcoming generation. Stand with those who stand for the truth without compromising. We still have time to reverse our society from evil to good. Just need to be gutsy. When we step forward for good, God will stand on our side. If God is with us, who can stand against us (Romans 8:31)? Josiah was a great King of Israel, but he came when the Israelites had already gone too far in their sins, and his leadership did not change destination.
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Website Sources:
Channel 8 News – (Las Vegas) about Phil Robertson’s Interview with GQ: http://www.8newsnow.com/story/24265499/remarks-about-gays-prompt-suspension-of-duck-dynasty-star-phil-robertson
2013 Worldnow and Midwest Television, Inc (www.cbs8.com) about Phil Robertson’s Interview with GQ: http://www.cbs8.com/story/24260668/duck-dynastys-phil-robertson-put-on-indefinite-hiatus-following-anti-gay-comments
CNN New about Phil Robertson (Includes comments from the NAACP and the Human Rights Campaign): http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/19/showbiz/duck-dynasty-suspension/
Opposingviews.com‘s Viewpoint about Phil Robertson’s Comments: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/debates/phil-robertson-should-be-taken-air-not-anything-hes-said#
The Atlantic Monthly Group Newspaper Article about Robertson: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/phil-robertsons-america/282555/
Gawker.com article about Phil Robertson: http://gawker.com/gay-sex-is-still-illegal-in-louisiana-by-the-way-1487144317
Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons interview with Zenit: http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=41158
LifeSiteNews.com Publishing another article about Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons’ interview with Zenit: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/archive/ldn/2003/sep/03092008
Noam Chomsky Website Interview: http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/20081010.htm
Weekly Standard Magazine and Blog Article about Bobby Jindal, Louisiana Governor Quote: http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/jindal-messed-situation-when-miley-cyrus-gets-laugh-and-phil-robertson-gets-suspended_771478.html |
