Comparing
Homosexuality With Racism
Here
we go again comparing homosexuality with racism. In recent times, this has been done
repeatedly, and many Bible believers are sick of it. In a recent issue of Sports Illustrated
(March 3, 2014), on its editorial page, high praise is given for those who have
come out of the closet and have openly declared their homosexuality. These are called men of great courage. This is being compared to Jackie Robinson
breaking the racial barrier in baseball!
This is another “42” moment for
sports! But such a comparison should be
an insult to every black person in America.
I do not think that Jackie Robinson had to openly declare that he was
black. That was rather obvious. Being black is not a choice, but “sexual orientation”
, a favorite term used by those who promote homosexuality, can include many things involving choice. It is
not like the question, “What is your sex?” where you could write either male or
female. The concept of “Sexual
Orientation” has to do with a process of indoctrination that has been occurring over a
long period of time. This term is found
on forms one is asked to answer, including questions like, “What is your
nationality?”, “What is your race?” and
“What is your sexual orientation?”--- as if all of these questions are
of equal weight and constitute born or natural characteristics. As to “sexual
orientation” it is legitimate to write, “transgender, homosexual, bi-sexual,
and by logical extension, it is certainly broad enough to include polygamist,
rapist, pedophile or any other preference or sexual addition. This brain-washing technique has been used to
penetrate the government, public schools, the military, and now sports. After all, who are we to question anyone’s
“sexual orientation?” I predict that in
time such terms will include a lot more than transgender, homosexual and by-sexual
activities. But, as our secular and humanist friends tell us, “We
ought to accommodate all human beliefs and activities no matter how weird and
bazaar they might seem to us”. And what if we do not choose to recognize
those values? Well, too bad, they tell
us. That makes you not only weird and
bazaar but unfit to enter into the conversation!
Jackie
Robinson
The
story of Jackie Robinson breaking the racial barrier in baseball was a great
thing and should have happened many years earlier. Part of the problem was a plain lack of Bible
knowledge on the part of some religious people.
Much of what I do is deal with so called Bible believers who believe
many wrong and outlandish things simply because they do not know their
Bibles. But the Jackie Robinson story
is very interesting to me. One of the
main forces behind the push for desegregation in baseball was a man named
Branch Rickey, who was general manager and part owner of the Brooklyn
Dodgers. He was a very religious man, a teetotaler
when it came to drinking, never used curse words, and, a fact little known, he
never worked on Sunday as a matter of religious conviction. This was also true of Billy Sunday, who
finally quit baseball and spent the rest of his life in evangelism. The belief that Sunday was the “Christian
Sabbath” was common among many evangelicals at that time. The Sunday blue laws were pushed both by
Catholics and Evangelicals. It was a bit
inconsistent of Branch Rickey, since he operated baseball clubs which forced
the players to play on Sunday. It is
not clear whether or not he would have allowed players, for reasons of
conscience, to renege on that part of the contract. To be consistent, Mr. Rickey would be
obligated to grant that exemption. While
I am writing about forced compliance when it comes to matters of conscience,
let me interject this side note. The
government has no right to interfere with honestly held religious convictions,
unless there is a very compelling reason to do so. Thus, the burden is placed on the government
to prove that there is compelling reason.
Also, on the part of the individual, he has the burden to prove it to be
a sincerely held religious conviction and not just a matter of preference or convenience. If it is actually based upon a true
religious conviction, the Christian would choose jail over violating his or her
conscience.
Convictions
of Conscience
Some
may say, “O.K. Lindy, you claim to be
religious. So why were you willing to
play baseball on Sunday?” I have explained this many times. It was because playing on Sunday did not violate
my religious convictions. I only asked
to be allowed to worship on Sunday, not take the whole day off. I do not believe that Sunday is a “Christian
Sabbath.” The early Christians
assembled on Sunday, because that is the day Jesus was raised from the
dead. Otherwise, Sunday was a regular
working day, which is why they usually met in the evening. This became a regular pattern of New
Testament churches. Had playing on
Sunday violated my conscience, I would not have considered playing professional
baseball. I have wondered about Jewish
players, who do follow some tenants of Judaism, but were willing to play
baseball on the “Jewish Sabbath”. But, as I have discovered, evidently only the
orthodox Jews practice “sabbath keeping”.
But I am getting a bit off the main subject.
Branch
Rickey, out of religious conviction and some early experience with raw racism,
which was rather widespread at the time, determined that he would break the
racial barrier in baseball. Most
baseball historians credit him with bringing that about. And for this reason alone, his example should
be praised for bravery and courage. You can read more about him by searching
the internet. Fighting racism was a
legitimate battle and has been hard fought.
But now I get to the subject of homosexuality. My point here is that true religious
conviction lies at the heart of every great reform. That is why all societies that rule out God
are doomed to fail.
The
Homosexual Movement
The
homosexual lobby is very strong and the science behind this movement (that is,
that one is born homosexual) is extremely flawed. The Biblical defense of it by certain
liberal members of clergy is most disgusting and degrading for anyone who claims
to be a student of the word of God. Such
people would not last 5 minutes in a real debate using the Bible as the
standard. They regard the Bible as a
“living document” which means that it can be twisted and changed anyway they
wish to fit their own agenda. But the
actual words and text of the Bible will not support this. But they just quote the statement that “all
men are created in God’s image” (see Gen. 1:26) or “in Christ there is neither
male or female” (see Gal. 3:28) and that seems to be all they need to establish
their views with their parishioners. They
can just ignore scriptures which directly deal with the subject such as Romans
1:24-27 and a host of others. They do
not realize that “the sum of God’s word is truth” (see Psa. 119:160) which some
are willing to twist and turn to their own destruction (see 2 Pet. 3:16). Some I have heard also promote the idea that
the constitution of the United States endorses homosexuality under the clause “all
men are created equal” (evidently they
can jam into that clause about anything they want), since they view the constitution
as a “living document” which can be made to conform to our changing times and
their own agendas, regardless of the original intent of the framers. Whether or not these arguments are effective depends
upon the ignorance of the people regarding both the constitution and the
Bible.
The
Failure Of Governmental Anti-God Policies
Here
I could mention many things including legalized abortion, attacks on private
ownership, and other rights guaranteed by the constitution; but here I am
dealing with just this one topic. It is
true that there have been homosexuals from ancient times. But in all of my research, I have not
discovered at anytime in history where the government used the term “marriage”
to describe this abomination, as the Bible calls it. Not even ancient Rome, with all of its
degrading activities, including that of homosexuality and abandonment of
children, ever defined marriage as being between two women or two men. And yet in a period of just 20 years this has
become an accepted practice in our society, and anyone who is opposed to this
is openly called a “homophobe” and is unfit for public office. My,
my how times have changed! I suppose the
next step is to ban all references to homosexuals from pulpits and all public
places of discourse. However, the word
of God does not change. Thus, the Bible itself
is under serious attack. I am told that
to believe in creation is idiotic, to believe in God is archaic, and that such
people should not have any voice in the public realm.
Meanwhile,
our country is falling apart due to the destruction of the home, which is the
bedrock of all social living and action.
These are the real scientific facts and studies that are being
ignored. We are fast becoming a society
where many will never know the joys of true companionship between husband and
wife, the joys of experiencing children or grandchildren, the joys of sharing
life together in a home as God would have it to be. It is so sad that we are now witnessing so
many broken homes, broken hearts and broken lives when it does not have to be
that way. These involve true choices
that we can make. Well, I guess I will
just continue to be homophobic and unapologetic. I would prefer to line up with Moses, Jesus
Christ, the apostles, and, dare I say it, God.
I
have read four recent editorial articles in Sports Illustrated promoting
homosexuality (see SI, April 15, 2013, p. 68; SI, November 18, 2013, p. 102;
SI, January 13, 2014, p. 64; SI, March 3, 2014, p. 68). Isn’t it about time that some one stands up
and defends the Bible? Why don’t we
hear from the “Fellowship Of Christian
Athletes” or from various athletes who claim to be Christian? Are we afraid to speak out against such
things for fear of being ridiculed? Evil
triumphs when good men say nothing.
My
prayer is that there will be a strong backlash in America against these strong
“in your face” liberal agendas and people of faith and conscience will rise up
and change the tide of moral corruption.
I am also sure that God is watching and will have the last word.
Lindy
McDaniel, April 30, 2014
* * *
Note: Since I am working on materials for a three year Bible Reading Program,
I have gotten behind in writing articles for Pitching For The Master. I am glad to hear from my readers any
time. If you believe that I have
misstated either the Bible or any other fact you would be my friend to point
this out. If you know of others who
would like to receive advanced copies of this paper attached to e-mail, please
list the names and e-mail addresses and
send to me at lindymcdaniel77@reagan.com.
