Homosexual head honcho in the country music industry, Jason Owen, threw a tantrum over the appointment of Mike Huckabee to serve on the board of the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association (CMA). Owen was furious that Huckabee holds the theologically orthodox belief that homosexuality is a sin and that Huckabee supports the NRA.

Owen and his equally intolerant allies were successful in forcing Huckabee to step down less than 24 hours after his appointment, with Owen threatening to take his money and his musicians and go home if Huckabee stayed:

“It is with a heavy heart that I must let you know moving forward, Sandbox and Monument will no longer support the CMA Foundation in any way (this includes everyone we represent collectively) considering the heartbreaking news shared today regarding Mike Huckabee appointee/elected to the CMA Foundation. Further, we find it hard to support the organization as a whole as a result. As you may know I have a child and two on the way. This man has made it clear that my family is not welcome in his America. And the CMA has opened their arms to him, making him feel welcome and relevant. Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country. Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice. I will not participate in any organization that elevates people like this to positions that amplify their sick voices. This was a detrimentally poor choice by the CMA and it’s [sic] leaders.

I only wish the best for you and I know how hard you work for the foundation but a grossly offensive decision like this only makes your job harder and diminishes the foundation’s purpose.

In Owen’s perverse world, homosexuality and intentionally motherless and fatherless children are in. The Bible, the Constitution, and diversity are out.

Let’s not forget that it was Jesus who established marriage as a man-woman union—not Mike Huckabee. While Owen and his allies may not be theologically orthodox Christians, many Americans—including many country music fans—are. And let’s not forget that for theologically orthodox Christians, their faith is as central to their identities as homoeroticism is to the identities of “gays” and “lesbians.”

Owen believes that those who express the theologically orthodox Christian view that marriage is a male-female union are also saying that homosexual couples are “not welcome in America.” So, does Owen apply that principle consistently?

When Owen says it’s “grossly offensive” and “shameful” for an organization to hire someone who holds theologically orthodox biblical views on marriage, does he make theologically orthodox Christians feel “not welcome in America”? Are his words, therefore, “grossly offensive,” “shameful,” and “sick”?

What about all the homosexuals who, before Obergefelle, said that marriage is the union of two people who love each other? Are they guilty of making polyamorists who would like to marry feel their families are “not welcome in America”? Are their voices “sick”?

What about men and women who experience “Genetic Sexual Attraction” and are in love with close blood relatives (remember, love is love)? Is it “grossly offensive” and “shameful” to express opposition to adult consensual incest?

More broadly, is helping people feel good about all their life choices some sort of moral principle that subsumes all other moral claims? Does everyone have an obligation to refrain from expressing moral propositions with which others may disagree? If so, does that apply to Owen and his ideological co-conspirators?

Like all homosexual tacticians, Owen appeals to emotions by referring to his children, saying that Huckabee’s beliefs suggest Owen’s “family is morally beneath” Huckabee’s.” Huckabee’s beliefs concern types of family structures, and yes, theologically orthodox Christians believe that a family headed by two men or two women in a homoerotic relationship is morally inferior to a family headed by a man and woman. That idea too comes from Scripture, which speaks in unequivocal and plain language about homoerotic activity, marriage, the roles of mothers and fathers, and the needs of children. If Owen has a beef with those beliefs, he should take it up with the Almighty.

Singer and lesbian Chely Wright self-righteously chastises Huckabee: “[Y]oung people will be shattered, yet again, to hear someone with so much power saying the things you’re saying about who God made them to be.” It’s preposterous to claim that God “made” anyone to desire that which He condemns. I don’t know where Wright gets her theology, but it’s not from Scripture.

So, what’s the end game for those disciples of diversity and teachers of tolerance like Owen, Wright, and their allies? Do they want to rob theologically orthodox Christians of their ability to make a living? Do they want to impose a religious test for holding office? Do they want the state to take children away from theologically orthodox Christians? Do they want the state to prohibit theologically orthodox Christians from adopting? Do they want to nullify the speech rights of theologically orthodox Christians?

Word to Owen et al.: Love is inseparable from truth. If it’s true that homosexual activity is immoral, if it’s true that marriage has a nature central to which is sexual complementarity, if it’s true that children have a right to be raised by a mother and a father whenever possible, then expressing those views is not only permissible but also good. If the Bible is true, the ideology of Owen and Wright will have a “profoundly negative impact upon young people”—eternally.

P.S. Our get-out-the-vote campaign is up and running. We are distributing the IFI Primary Voter Guide to hundreds of churches, civic groups and tea party organizations. Will you financially support our endeavor to educate Illinois voters and promote family values?

To make a credit card donation over the phone, call the IFI office at (708) 781-9328.

Homosexual head honcho in the country music industry, Jason Owen, threw a tantrum over the appointment of Mike Huckabee to serve on the board of the philanthropic arm of the Country Music Association (CMA). Owen was furious that Huckabee holds the theologically orthodox belief that homosexuality is a sin and that Huckabee supports the NRA.

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Andrew Marin, the controversial founder and president of the Marin Foundation, is speaking next week at Park Community Church in Chicago. This is surprising in that from its website Park Community appears to be a theologically orthodox church.

Marin promotes himself as a bridge-builder between the Christian community and the homosexual community and has written a book on the subject titled Love is an Orientation. It is not Marin’s desire to reach the unsaved that is troubling. We should all seek to bring the good news of Christ’s redemptive work to those who identify as homosexual. Rather, it is his approach and his theology that generate controversy and trouble many Christians.

One of the serious problems with Marin is that when asked directly about his biblical beliefs regarding homosexuality, he is troublingly evasive. In addition, his book has received a devastating critique from Dr. Robert A. Gagnon, Associate Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and author of The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics. 

If Park Community Church is a theologically orthodox church rather than a church that embraces “emergent” theology, they will likely be troubled by both Marin’s theology and obfuscation. Many Christians, including orthodox theologians, have serious concerns about Marin’s theology on a number of issues, most particularly homosexuality. Dr. Gagnon, arguably the preeminent biblical scholar on this topic, has written a two-part critique of Marin’s poor exegesis and his heretical theological positions, which every church that is considering working with Marin should read thoroughly:

http://robgagnon.net/articles/homosexmarinloveisorientation.pdf

http://robgagnon.net/articles/homosexmarinsreaction.pdf

Several years ago, it appeared that Marin was either trying to conceal his orthodox positions from his friends who identify as homosexual or that he was trying to conceal his unorthodox theological views from those who hold orthodox biblical views. Increasingly it appears that he is moving toward open heresy in line with “emergent” thinkers like Brian McClaren. 

My intent is not to indict Marin personally but rather to warn theologically orthodox church leaders about his deceitful, dangerous, and heretical beliefs. Marin’s purported desire to build bridges relies on rejecting inconvenient Scripture and obfuscating such rejection when talking to orthodox Christians. 

There is only one true theology regarding homosexuality. Orthodox theologians throughout the history of the church and today hold one singular view on what Scripture teaches on homosexuality. It wasn’t until the late 20th Century that any theologians could be found who reject the historical interpretation of Scripture on this issue. 

Many Christians share a concern that false prophets are coming into our churches in sheep’s clothing. Christian leaders should substitute any other serious sexual sin for homosexuality and consider whether Mr. Marin’s theology and approach are biblically justified. We all come to Christ as sinners in need of God’s grace and mercy, but the church has no business affirming or even appearing to affirm believers in their embrace of sin as central to their identies. And no Christian has the right when directly asked what the Bible teaches about homosexuality to answer ambiguously or equivocally. 

Some chastise critics of Marin’s work, like Dr. Gagnon, spuriously claiming that criticizing Marin’s work is tantamount to unbiblical judging. They and Marin himself claim that such criticism hurts Marin’s feelings. In so claiming, they seem to be doing what the secular culture does, which is conflate two distinct meanings of judgment. Dr. Gagnon has critiqued Marin’s exegesis, which is not only legitimate but essential. Mr. Marin has written a book and promotes his ideas all over the country on radio programs and in churches. The church must judge, that is to say, evaluate, the soundness and truth of his propositions. Marin’s feelings are far less important than biblical truth. 

No one likes to be confronted with his or her error, but imagine if this strange definition of judgment were to be applied consistently. How would Christians be alerted to the false prophets or heresies in the church? Should Christian scholars be prohibited from critiquing the work of, for example, John Shelby Spong because doing so would constitute unbiblical judgment and hurt his feelings? Although Marin may find criticism of the ideas he publicly promotes to be unpleasant, such criticism cannot reasonably be called unloving. Determining what constitutes a loving act depends on first knowing what is true.

Marin should publicly answer these questions:

• Is homosexual practice a sin?
• Can followers of Christ embrace and affirm a homosexual identity and be involved in homosexual relationships?
• At what point after a self-identifying homosexual becomes a Christian should his or her church practice biblical church discipline regarding his or her homosexual practice?

A writer for the Moody Church Venue blog wrote this following Marin’s 2010 visit: “[Andy] said, ‘We have to earn the right to communicate the truth first.’” 

What other sins do Christians have to “earn the right” to identify as sins? Do we have to “earn the right” to identify porn use, adultery, fornication, incest, drunkenness, or gossip as sins?  And how do we earn the right to communicate biblical truth? 

Marin is fond of citing this quote from Billy Graham: “It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, God’s job to judge, and it’s my job to love.” It is, indeed, the Holy Spirit’s job to convict, but it is the job of Christians, particularly Christian leaders, to teach what God’s Word says in its entirety, which includes teaching about what constitutes sinful behavior. Articulating what the Bible teaches about homosexuality no more constitutes unscriptural judging than does articulating what the Bible teaches about idolatry, blasphemy, or adultery. And sharing what God’s Word says about morality is a loving act. 

When Marin spoke at the Venue, he referred to the fight for civil rights for blacks. I wonder, did Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. believe that Christians have to “earn the right” to communicate the truth about the sinfulness of racism? Did he ever say that before Christians condemn racism, racists must be converted? Why should the serious sin of homosexuality be treated so differently than other sins? 

Everyone should be welcome in our churches, but welcoming sinners—which all of us are—must never involve affirming sin. God loves us despite our sins, and through the work of the Holy Spirit, God mercifully grants believers freedom from bondage to sin. It is the task of the church to teach the entirety of Scripture, and it is the privilege and duty of Christians to come alongside one another as we daily strive to deny ourselves as we live for Christ.

“And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it’” (Mark 8: 34-35).

“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.  For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace” (Rom. 6:12-14).

“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Gal. 5:24).

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (II Cor. 5:17).

For more on Marin, watch these two short videos: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOQQPC_SsEs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2L-B1mHIeI