Faith and Truth: Chapter Three
"Faith and Truth"
~Chapter Three~
By Nar (2006)
~ ~
James sat quietly at his computer, his paws resting on the edge of his desk. It had been two weeks since he had taken his son's challenge, and, try as he might, he couldn't disprove more than a handful of facts from his son's thousands of documents on homosexuality. And, conversely, he couldn't prove more than a handful of claims on his own side of pro-religion. The ones he considered most important were complete fabrications (that homosexuality was a disorder of the brain, that it destroyed the very moral fabric of society, that it contributed to crime and violence rates, etc). He compared his newfound facts back and forth with the claims of his religious heroes and, in the end, couldn't find anything severely harmful about homosexuality other than the threat of disease to the practitioners and the stigma of being gay in the first place.
James groaned and rubbed his eyes as his web browser loaded the final handful of sites that would conclude his study of homosexuality. Suddenly, his screen was flashing and he looked down to find a banner declaring that he had just happened across "New Life Fellowship Church" and their website. He leaned in close and waited for the page to load. Suddenly a button appeared on the side navigation bar entitled "The Facts about Gays". He grinned and clicked the button, expecting to find evidence to support his beliefs. His smile faded quickly as the new page loaded and began to read...
"The Facts about Gays: A Study of Popular Christian Beliefs
By Dr. Gregory N. Milford
Greetings be with you in Christ our Lord. I would like to welcome you to the New Life Fellowship Church website and invite you to explore our church. We have sermons posted weekly, video clips and upcoming church events available. I hope to see you at our next service!!
I have studied the facts on both sides for over thirty years. Ever since the sexual revolution of the sixties and the ensuing chaos that sexual immorality has wrecked on our country. I have kept a careful record of every major story of the differing movements in the following fifty years and have especially tracked the development of homosexuality in America.
I have come to the simple conclusion that homosexuals are not sinners if they truly love the Lord and give their lives to Him. This is one of the pillars of NLF; the welcoming of our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters in Christ.
For those of you who will point out the verses of the Old and New Testament to me as proof that God hates gays (1), I have this to ask you: Who wrote those passages? Men. There is not a single instance in the Bible where Jesus condemns homosexuals to hell. God Himself does not condemn them (but does say that the sexually immoral do not inherit His Kingdom).
One of the verses that some in the anti-homosexual movement point out to me is 1st Corinthians 6:9-10:
'9 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,
10 nor thieves nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.' (English Standard Version)
However, this was written as a simple letter from the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth to reprimand them for their worldly acts. Back then, the church was infested with idolaters, drunkards and immoral leaders; Paul was simply conveying his disgust with their actions. Now, Paul was just a man. Even though his letter was canonized into our Holy Bible, that does not mean that he has the same "say" as Jesus Christ. Paul, even though he was a disciple of Jesus, was not perfect. Remember that Peter denied Christ, even after he had declared Jesus to be the Son of God remember? These are fallible men. A letter of a fallible man cannot be taken as gospel. It is simply a guiding light, showing us new facets of Jesus' teachings.
For more, my expanded book "Homosexuality and the Bible" can be purchased in our church bookstore or online for only $1.99, or a free (but abbreviated) pamphlet is available at request.
To purchase an online version of "Homosexuality and the Bible", click HERE.
To view the online version of "Homosexuality and the Bible Pamphlet", click HERE.
About the Author:
Dr. Milford is an active missionary, pastor and father of six children. He has earned three PhDs from top-rate colleges like Harvard and Brenton University. He has four religious PhDs from world renowned religious universities and spearheads the "Hope in the Streets" inner-city outreach program for New York and other major cities. He has been the senior pastor at "New Life Fellowship" for over forty years and has written almost fifty books on everything from advanced Christian doctrine to youth sermons. He has written several studies of doctrine that are currently being used by religious universities across the world. To contact Dr. Milford, click HERE."
James blinked hard and folded his hands in front of his muzzle, truly shocked at what he had just read. To top it off, someone who had impeccable credentials, some of which rivaled his most respected theologians, was saying exactly what Alex had learned. The wolf closed his eyes and shut off his monitor, clasping his hands in front of his muzzle as he began to fervently pray.
"God, please help me. I don't know what to believe anymore." He whispered quietly to himself, his study completely pitch black as he almost whimpered to himself in fear. "I don't know what to do. Alex says he's gay and has showed me too many things that seem to prove that sodomy is not a sin nor is it harmful to society. Have I failed as a father? Please just send someone my way to tell me the truth. I don't know who to trust anymore. Dr. Dobson has fabricated lies to support the beliefs that homosexuality is wrong, but I know that it is. I just can't find anything to say why. Please help me Lord..."
James suddenly saw a light glaring at him beyond his closed eyelids and opened his eyes. His computer monitor had turned itself back on. He looked around to see if anyone was in the room or if he might have accidentally bumped the power cable, but came up empty. The power cable to his monitor was hidden behind his desk and the power button was still pushed out, meaning that somehow it had come back on without actually having the circuit open. James wiped his eyes as tears began to filter in and moved his mouse, finding it already centered on the tiny hyperlink to contact Dr Milford. He clicked the link and a contact page opened up. He quickly clicked on the email button and sent off a desperate email to Dr Milford asking for help on the matter, telling him everything. He put in the body of the mail that his son had declared himself gay and that despite the effort he had put into research, he couldn't find anything to support his belief that homosexuality was not only immoral and a sin, but also harmful to society.
The wolf sighed and leaned back as he reached over to turn off his monitor. His claw hovered above the power button before he saw a popup in his Windows system tray.
"1 New Email from [email protected]"
He paused then quickly clicked on the email button. A few seconds of loading later, he found the message body. It wasn't just an automatic reply. It was a personal response from Dr Milford himself:
"Brother James, I understand your situation better than you imagine. Alex is right. But it seems you have been misled in this subject, so if it's not too much of an inconvenience, could you call me at my home office so I can explain this in better detail? I hate using this confounded machine to talk. Or, if it's more convenient, I can set up an appointment so we can talk face to face.
My home office number: 314-555-2989
NLF office: 314-555-1811
-God Bless
Greg"
James looked at the clock. It was past ten in the evening. He knew he should just go to bed and set up that appointment, but the burning desire to have his curiosity settled got the better of him. He picked up his phone and dialed the number, his paw shaking in fear.
A few rings later, a man picked up the phone, his voice rich with emotion, but obviously aged with a hint of edgy gruffness.
"Hello?" The man asked.
"Hello? Dr. Milford?" James asked tentatively.
"Oh yes, is this James?" Milford replied cheerily.
James relaxed somewhat. "That's me. I just read your email and I have quite a few questions. Are you sure this isn't a bad time being so late?"
"No, not at all. As far as I know Jesus never said 'thou shalt not help thine neighbor after dinnertime.'" Milford laughed, trying to lighten up the mood.
James chuckled halfheartedly. "All right. Well, Dr. Milford...
"Let me interrupt you real quick James. Call me Greg. The only people who call me that are people who don't like me." Greg laughed. James could almost imagine the smile that must be across the man's face. He obviously very cheerful and open.
"All right Greg. So, tell me more. I read your article on your website about gays and I have to know, what do you think God thinks of homosexuals? Are you saying He would approve of their lifestyle?"
Greg took a breath, his voice ragged in the receiver. "James, first of all, I have to say that I don't believe that homosexuality is what God intended when he made man and woman...But, I also believe that God didn't mean for Adam and Eve to take the first bite of that fruit, not do I believe that God wanted us to invent guns and tanks and atom bombs. But we did. And when we invented the gun, it was used to kill. But in the Revolutionary War it was used to liberate our country from the British. In World War Two it was used to stop the genocide of the Jews and so on. And while I adamantly don't believe that homosexuality is a sin, I do believe that it is a form of love. Gays fall into romantic love just like we do, and love is one of the purest things that we have left on this planet. God loves us and we love each other. The gender of a person's body doesn't negate the fact that love is genuinely felt between two people."
James nodded and stayed silent as he listened. Greg paused to let the information soak in before continuing.
"And your question 'would God approve of their lifestyle?'. I first have to point out, would God approve of you or me if he looked into our bedrooms while we had sex with our wives? Is God such a prude that he would be reviled by how we manifest love to our wives in the form of sex?"
James thought about that for a second. In a way, Greg was right. Heck, he was right. Sex was the physical manifestation of love. It is a carnal act just meant to bring pleasure to the other person.
"But what about the whole biological idea that straight sex is designed by God to produce children?" James asked. Greg went silent for a bit on the other side.
"Sorry about that James, had to take my cholesterol meds. Anyways, to answer your point, I present you a question: what about couples with reproduction problems? Should they stop having sex simply because they cannot create children? And what about couples who cannot economically afford to raise children. Like me, I could afford six kids, but if me and my wife made babies for every time we had sex throughout out lifetime, she'd kill me after the hundredth baby." Greg laughed softly. James nodded and chuckled. "Sex is the most sacred act that two people in love can manifest. That's all it is. A manifestation of love. If two gay people love each other and have sex, that's their ultimate manifestation of love."
James stretched his back out. "But what about those gay clubs and the rampant spread of AIDS? Isn't that reason enough to not be gay?"
"James, people can't choose their sexuality. It's like when you knew you wanted to marry your wife. Did you look at her beside all the other girls in the world and say to yourself: 'I don't know what I want, so I think I'll choose Brenda today. Tomorrow if I don't like her, I can choose someone else.'?"
James sat bolt upright in his chair at the mere suggestion. "No! Of course not!"
Greg's voice suddenly became filled with pride. "Exactly! You're right James. When you looked at her, you knew at that moment that she was the woman for you. Let's take your son for instance. You say he has a boyfriend named...ohhh...Tom was it? Well, anyways, when Alex looked at Tom for the first time, he didn't say 'I dunno. If I don't like being Tom's boyfriend, I think I'll just suddenly switch partners and get a girlfriend.'. He knew what he wanted out of life." Greg paused. James could hear him drinking something. "Sorry again, throat gets dry so I'm sipping on some tea. And the spread of AIDS and those gay clubs you alluded to are a major problem. But also think about it. Alex didn't look at the gay lifestyle and think 'wow, it must be cool to be at risk for a life-threatening illness and be apart of one of the most stigmatized cultures in history'. He was born that way. God made him that way. And while the gay clubs are filled with rampant sexual activity, so are straight clubs. AIDS isn't as rampant, but Hepatitis is, clemidia, gonorrhea, etc. So, is that reason to not be straight? Of course not."
James lowered his ears. He was running out of things to ask, and therefore was running out of reasons to believe what he believed two weeks ago.
"Greg, what about Dobson and Focus on the Family and everything they've put out about this subject?" James asked hesitantly. Greg scoffed on the other end of the phone.
"I hate to say it about someone as senior in Christ as Dr Dobson, but he has been misled by the devil himself."
"What do you mean misled?"
"Dobson is a brilliant man, yes. He's one of the smartest men in the church today, however, he's still a man. I believe that by telling everyone that homosexuality is a sin and by instilling outright hatred in believer's hearts, I think that he's fulfilling one of the greatest deceptions of Satan: the division of the church. Jesus never sent anyone out of his sight if you remember. He didn't even tell Mary Magdalene to leave him, a darned prostitute James! She washed his feet with her tears James. She loved Jesus and wanted to serve God, so Jesus didn't throw her out of his sight, even though everyone around him wanted him to. When Dobson starts portraying gays as this evil force in America, he separates them from the church and then gays begin to outright hate the word of God because they think it will just bring more condemnation. But I pray for Dobson every night, along with everyone else who is misled."
James sighed deeply and opened his mouth, trying to bring up another point, but couldn't. Suddenly Greg spoke again.
"James, when I picked up the phone, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me. I know you're confused James and I know that you're scared for your son. I know that you prayed just before you emailed me, and I know you asked God to send someone your way to talk to you about this. That is why I asked you to call me, because God wanted me to be there for you. Tonight." Greg paused. James almost dropped the phone in amazement. Milford continued. "James, does your son believe in Jesus Christ and has he accepted him as his Lord and Savior?"
James began to cry softly. "I don't know Greg. I think so, but I don't know if I've alienated him."
Greg lowered his voice. "You need to find out right now James. Your son could be lost and you wouldn't know it. He needs to be reaccepted into the church and he especially needs to be accepted by you. If you don't set a good example for him and accept him first, how can he trust anyone in the church to accept him as a believer of God instead of being simply reviled by his sexuality?"
James nodded and smiled. His heart felt at peace and he knew his prayer was answered. "Thank you so much Greg! I'll go find out right now. Thank you!"
Greg laughed heartily. "Don't mention it James. If you're ever in the area of my home church, you should come. Bring your whole family! I want to meet everyone. Oh, and if you ever get the chance, see if you can get the pastor of your home church to contact me. I'm sure that there are alot more people who need to hear the real message."
James laughed through his tears and nodded. "I sure will Greg. Thanks again. I'm going to go to my son's work and ask him right now if he'll forgive me."
Greg chuckled warmly. "Ok James, take care and God bless you and your family. Email or call me with an update in a couple days ok?"
"Sure thing. God bless you too." James said as he turned off his cordless phone. The wolf smiled wide and shut off his computer and grabbed his keys.
~ ~
Alex set out a new bottle of ketchup on the last table in his section. It had been another hectic night at the restaurant and he was exhausted. He looked at his watch. 10:49pm. Another eleven minutes and they could finally lock the doors and another hour or so and he'd finally be on his way home. But the sound of the front door being opened and shut almost made him pound his fist in anger. Who the hell was that coming to eat ten minutes before they closed?! They'd better not order anything that took a long time to cook. He stomped his way to the door, ready to force a smile and greet whoever was there.
He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his father standing there. His heart almost stopped. After all that had happened that week, he was coming to tell him to not bother coming home! Oh shit! Oh shit! He was furious with him, he was going to throw him out! Alex's heart raced in fear as he almost turned to run away, but gained the courage to talk to his dad.
"Hi, dad." He managed to squeak out, his ears flat on his head and his tail drooping behind him. James smiled wide and stepped in front of his son, holding onto his shoulders.
"Relax Alex, I came down here to ask you a couple of things." The elder wolf looked to the nearest empty booth and motioned towards it. "Want to sit down?"
Alex shook his head. "Not really. What did you want to ask?" His heart still thumped in his chest like a bongo drum.
"Alex, first I want to ask you to forgive me and your mother. I talked to her before I left, telling her the things I had learned in the past two weeks. I talked to a prestigious theologian tonight and he told me what the Bible really says on homosexuality and I came to the conclusion that, if my own son, my own flesh and blood doesn't love me, what kind of father am I?" James said smiling and lifting his son's muzzle so they could look eye to eye. "So, I want to formally say: Alex, I accept you for who you are. I know you can't choose who you love, I know you're not going to destroy society or our family by being gay and I want you to feel free to date other males, with my blessing. Forgive me?"
Alex looked up in shock. His vocal cords suddenly felt like they were made of tire rubber and refused to cooperate. Tears of joy came to his eyes quickly. "Dad...I...I....thank you...I forgive you..."
James nodded and hugged his son tightly. "Thanks Alex. And second, I need to know...do you still believe in and love God?"
Alex whimpered softly and answered completely truthfully. "You know I do Dad. I still believe."
James sighed deeply in relief. "I know Alex, I know. I just needed to be sure that I didn't undermine your faith."
"Not at all dad. I love you." Alex whispered as he hugged his father, tighter than he had done in a long time.
"I love you too Alex."
~ ~