Ex 23:7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an
innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.
In a world where corruption reigns and inequality
between the poor and the rich, the weak and the powerful remains, there
is little integrity even in the church who has come to reflect the world
culture of power, wealth and materialism.
In one of the largest Christian bookstore in
Singapore near Bugis, I could find only two books against homosexuality
in the midst of many thousands of other books on evangelical and
charismatic christianity. The anti-gay movement is losing interest.
In a desperate response, an article by Christian post entitled "Research
Group claims that gays have mental problems" quoted widely from a Dr
Paul Cameron who is infamous for false scientific and misleading
research, and distorting the research of others.
The churches integrity is questionable as it quotes
from a very disputed and dubious scientific source ignoring the
increasing weight of scientific evidence over the last 50 years that
shows that gays are normal people without mental problems just because
they were gays.
It is common practise for online magazines such as
Christian Post to quote their own dogmatic position as said by someone
else as not to be implicated when the articles are scrutinised as false.
In the article, the Hookers research in the 50s which had led
to the de-listing of homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in
the 70s was
challenged by Paul Cameron who criticised the research for not allowing
the test subjects to talk about homosexuality.
This ingenious attack betrays the fact that the
purpose of the tests was to show that based on well established mental
tests they were unable to distinguish between who was gay or straight
merely from the mental test results. Obviously, mentioning that one is gay will
distrort the results and bias. The intention was to have have no bias
for the results to be valid.
The Hookers research shows that gays were as
mentally sound as their straight conterparts when matched equally.
Many Christians have no
intention for a fair scientific and unbiased test because in their minds
the decision was made that homosexuality results in mental illness. They
are not concerned with the proper scientific tests rather to prove that
their biblical interpretation.
Such incredulous claims in the name of science was
what got the quoted researcher to be booted from the Nebraska
Psychological Association and the American Psychological Association.
There was no intention to know the truth, the real
truth, but the real intention is to hide and manipulate the truth. This is against
the basic Christian principles against false witness causing harm to the
aggrieved party. It denies the church of integrity.
The Hookers reseach of 1957 set the stage for
conversations and peer reviews to de-list homosexuality from the
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental (aka DSM) disorders in 1973
by the American Psychiatric Association.
In essence, the scientific reseach shows that same
orientation is normal and part of the human sexual experiences. It is
not a disease or a disorder, that warrants criminalization.
Therefore, since 1973, there was no rational
scientific or legal basis for persecuting gays. The religious
interpretation of the bible by a few is not a valid judgement to impose
on the basic freedom of others. The animosity against gays by the church
is no valid reason for criminalization.
The work around by the Christian Groups was to
directly discredit the research using phony science, or to use
transsexuals as a false representative of gays as in the case of Sy
Rogers to distort the issue.
Furthermore, transsexuality until today is still
considered a mental disease not removed from DSM. It is amusing that
some transexuals claim that they are naturally born with it with
reference to the Harry Benjamin Syndrome or Gender Identity Disorder.
However, this is a self condemnation because GID is
considered a disorder and a mental disease under DSM and unnatural
hence needing treatment. We should instead push strongly for
transsexuality to be de-listed from DSM.
Transsexuality confounds the church so much that
they quickly grouped it under homosexuality when they are totally
different so that they do not need to deal with it.
It is also difficult to establish a frame work of reconciliation between the Christian Faith and
being a transsexual beyond a general inclusive and accepting Gospel of
love and kinship.
With the meddling and distorting of scientific
research, the integrity of the church is at stake.
The integrity and credibility of the church is
further in doubt when seen in their very narrow interpretation of
religious OT laws to apply only to gays, for which they could be accused
of hypocrisy.
Futhermore, when interpreted in the religious
context of the church 4,000 years ago, the condemnation against
homosexual acts can only be seen in the context of abomination in
worshiping other gods. Sex was the conduit to join the the demonic
force.
Why doesn't the church insist on banning all
non-Christian faith including mormons! Gays are too weak and too small a
minority to challenge the integrity of the church.
The independent and peer reviewed scientific
research only proves what was already established anecdotally that
homosexuality is an innate trait.
The church has been living in denial, in the lack
of integrity for the last 40 years continuing on their false witness
against gays not realising that there is no redemption for those who
spread false witness which has literally caused the deaths of thousands
of gays.
The warning in Ex 23:7 is that God will not acquit
the guilty because the person for whom the sin of false witness was
committed against is already dead due to our condemnation.
Ex 23:7 reminds us that we will own the harm
caused when a false witness is committed. It cannot be negated by
repentance. It will stay with the Christian Faith until such time as we
are forgiven by those we have harmed.
Yet we continue in our Christian religious
indignation to churn out false witness condenming gays in our sermons
and magazines not realising that there is no grace for
those guilty of false witness.
The church should have nothing to do with the false
charges against gays after the iron clad scientific evidences were published by
1973. Instead, the church became the banner rising up against the gay
tribe.
We have reached a phase in Christendom where there
is little grace left. There has been far too many innocent victims
when we distort the truth.
When the lack of integrity comes into the church,
it is like yeast that can grow and spread to all areas and life of the
church including its financials. At the end, it is a dogmatic
declaration that the end always justifies the means whatever the methods
used whether lies, deception, or plain dishonesty.
Is this what Christianity is about?
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