Taken directly from the article itself, this is the excerpt which caused the suspension:
“Everything is blurred on what’s right and what’s wrong,” he says. “Sin becomes fine.”What, in your mind, is sinful?“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,” he says. Then he paraphrases Corinthians: “Don’t be deceived. 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.”
For those of you not familiar with the Bible enough to know which verse that Phil Robertson is paraphrasing, it's from Corinthians 6:9-10:
Corinthians 6:9-10
New International Version (NIV)
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Now, before we go any further, please do not make the mistake of immediately agreeing with this man simply because he proclaims to be Christian, or because he has publicly given genuine wisdom in the past. No one person, celebrity or not, is guiltless or flawless. The same should be said even for people who claim to be Christian. Just because some people accept the words of Jesus Christ into their lives, does not mean that they are a good person. You have to practice what you preach. You can read the Bible all day, and be a part of a church every week, but until you start showing a capacity for empathy and acting on it to help people, you've got a ways to go.
This is not to say that Phil Robertson isn't a good person. At the end of the interview, the correspondent wrote that Mr. Robertson would be engaging in a Bible study with a woman who'd recently been addicted to cocaine, and sought freedom from her past ways. An admirable use of his time, to solely help someone else without the promise of personal gain. All that I want is from you is to recognize that although Mr. Robertson may have a good heart, he is human, as we all are, and is liable to make misjudgments.
So, let's talk about this.
Corinthians. A letter written to the church of Corinth within Greece, by an apostle named Paul. Let's recognize, at first, that Paul was not one of the original Twelve Apostles, but someone who was converted later on. According to Acts 9:15-16, his conversion was authorized by Jesus so that he could spread Jesus' messages to the Christian nation. So, Paul was a bonafide apostle, which means that either he spoke directly from the voice of Jesus in his head, or Jesus trusted him enough to let him do his thing. Although there's some controversy over this account, we can safely assume that Paul was speaking on Jesus' behalf when he wrote the letter to Corinth.
According to Paul, who wrote the letter on Jesus Christ's behalf, homosexuals will not "inherit the earth", which is a fancy way of saying that they will not ascend to Heaven.
However, in Matthew 19:16-19, we can read Jesus's Sermon on the Mount (in person), where he specifically lists which of the original Ten Commandments that his followers should adhere to if they want to ascend to Heaven:
Matthew 19:16-19
New International Version (NIV)
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
18 “Which ones?” he inquired.Jesus replied, “‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, 19 honor your father and mother,’[a] and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Now, I don't know about you, but I don't see anything in there about not being homosexual. So, we have at least one inconsistency that has allowed Christians to build a fence and divide themselves on this issue. (And let's not forget that simply believing in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ assures that you will ascend to Heaven.)
One thing I would like to bring up, is that in Matthew 5:5, Jesus states that those that are meek will inherit the earth. Now, I know that Jesus' definition of "meek" isn't Merriam-Webster's, but some places define it as humility, submissiveness, patience, and peacefulness. It's more than fair to say that most people, homosexual or not, fit into at least one of these character traits. Or perhaps I missed the news update about a rampaging homosexual army that's going town to town and throwing babies out of windows.
Let's be real for a moment. How many homosexual people are you friends with? Are any of them "good" people? Do they show a capacity for empathy? Do they help out or care for anyone or anything?
Your sexual orientation does not dictate your personality. It may affect your hormones and testosterone/estrogen levels, but it does not make you a good or bad person. Your actions do.
So let's really talk about this. Why do some Christians keep this up? Why, when we recognize our God as a just, yet loving god, do we believe that he would turn away someone simply because the person that they love happens to be of the same gender? Everything in life is subjective, even love. That's why we're not all one collective thought. We're different thoughts, in different brains, controlling different bodies. (Though I suppose a philosophy major could come in here and spit up all over that).
The point that I'm trying to make is that as Christians, it is not our right to judge. Even the Robertsons on Duck Dynasty recognize that:
“We never, ever judge someone on who’s going to heaven, hell. That’s the Almighty’s job. We just love ’em, give ’em the good news about Jesus—whether they’re homosexuals, drunks, terrorists. We let God sort ’em out later, you see what I’m saying?”
So what gives? Why, in this one instance, do you judge? Why will homosexuality lead to everything bad that can happen ever? And why do you list homosexuality and promiscuity as sins, when they aren't? And just for good measure, sex is only adultery when it fits the definition. So if you're sleeping with "this girl" and "that girl", but you're not married, you're not the worst sinner in the world. You're sexually active.
I've gabbed on enough. Let's talk. What do you think about this?
