Community Voice. Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor

I won't try to speak for the Christian community or any other community for that matter, but I am a Christian, I have a voice and I need to say something.

There are so many times in life when as Christians we have to pray about something or we have to try to determine what Jesus would do. Then there are times when neither is necessary. Those times are when we simply need to ask what did Jesus say, and what did Jesus do and then to honor and obey him we repeat his words and model his behaviour. Our only prayer in these circumstances is that we would speak with love as he would.

When the adulterous woman was brought to Jesus, he modeled instantly what we should also do with regard to sin--any kind. First he took time; he didn't rush to speak, secondly he challenged those around him to examine themselves, thirdly he showed love and compassion, and as her accusers slinked away, he said, "Neither do I condemn you..." This is the heart of love that Jesus expects us to model for everyone if we are his followers.

But that was not all he said. He also said, "Go and sin no more.'' so while he was showing love to this immoral woman, and challenging her accusers, he was also identifying her lifestyle as sinful and he charged her in more gentle words to stop it.

Jesus upheld all of the moral laws of the Old Testament and in fact he raised them to a higher, more demanding level. That is why he says if a ''man lusts after a woman'' (and vice-versa) he has committed adultery although no act has been committed. He would not have condoned homosexuality because the Scripture said it was sin.

Right here we have a clear indication of what Jesus would do and what Jesus would say. We can say and do no less. Certainly the New Testament soundly condemns homosexuality while encouraging us as Christians to be loving, compassionate, and accepting of people even if we have to condemn their behaviour/lifestyle. There are people in my circle that are heterosexuals but have a life style that is clearly condemned by scripture. I love and respect them, but I can't accept their life-style.

If our Christian community did not respond to this unbiblical behaviour, we would be dishonoring our Lord. And how can we put man and his desires before God. It surprises me that any member of this community would think that we should accept this in the name of rights and not say anything, when we have a very clear example from Scripture. What kind of Jesus followers we would be if we remained silent? I cringe at the way some Christians have responded to this challenge--that attitude is not pleasing to the Lord, but I also know many Christians that feel exactly as I do that while we must condemn certain lifestyles, all people deserve our respect. That is Scriptural too!!

Furthermore, there are reasons other than religious ones why same sex marriage is not advisable. In every community, every country that has ever contemplated same sex marriage, there has been resistance from both Christians and non-Christians. It is no different here. Same sex marriage cannot found a family. To found something is to start it. A same sex couple MUST seek a member of the opposite sex to establish a family, but together they can't start it, can't ''found'' it. Even here the pure definition of ''family'' is being changed to exclude one parent, while nature, nurture, and experience show us that the strongest unit of a family is a father, a mother, and children. Many things may happen to change that dynamic, such as death or divorce, but it is still proven to be the best definition with the best results, particularly for the children. Just think of the "'father'' element that is missing when a child has two mothers and the ''mother" element that is missing when a child has two fathers. That child is cheated!!! It is unnatural, and unfortunate for the children in these relationships. Men and women were made to complement each other. We are different not just physically. We each bring a major gender difference to the home.

Homosexuals are human beings just like the rest of us. There is no reason why there should not be mutual respect. I interact with homosexuals (even in my personal circle) and I have never made them feel that they are less than I am. As a Christ follower I am to be a positive influence in the lives of everyone I meet. I see them as people who deserve my respect and love, but they also know that I cannot condone their lifestyle anymore than I can condone adultery or fornication, because all sexual sin is a violation of God's moral law.

If people want to choose these lifestyles, it is their choice. God made us free moral agents, but that does not mean that everything we choose is right. Sexual sin is always a wrong choice before God.

I would encourage both same sex marriage supporters and opponents to listen to Dr. Michael Brown's lecture on same-sex “marriage” delivered in the Faroe Islands, January 23, 2016. You'll find it at 

https://youtu.be/sw7WO131hcg Dr. Brown was scheduled to debate two parliamentary members who were in favor of redefining marriage but they dropped out a few days before his trip so he gave this lecture instead. He doesn't quote Scripture once, but he gives multiple reasons why same sex marriage is a serious societal problem.

Support for leaving marriage between a man and a woman is also given by the World Court of Human Rights of Strasbourg - France. Here is their recent judgment.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/european-human-rights-court-rejects-gay-marriage

The following is a commentary highlighting the facts of that judgment:

"Unanimously, the World Court of Human Rights has established, verbatim, that "there is no right to homosexual marriage." The 47 judges of the 47 countries of the Council of Europe, which are members of the full Court of Strasbourg (the world''s most important human rights court) issued a statement of great relevance that has been surprisingly silenced by information progressivism and its area of influence. In fact unanimously the 47 judges approved the ruling that "there is no right to homosexual marriage."Thesentence was based on a myriad of philosophical and anthropological considerations based on natural order, common sense, scientific reports and, of course, positive law. Within the latter in particular, the judgment was based on Article 12 of the European convention on Human Rights. This is equivalent to the articles of human rights treaties, as in the case of 17 of the Pact of San Jose and no 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. In this historic, but not disclosed resolution, the Court decided that the concept of family not only contemplates ""the traditional concept of marriage, that is, the union of a man and a woman", but also that they should not be imposed on governments to "öbligation to open marriage to persons of the same sex". As for the principle of non-discrimination, the Court also added that there is no discrimination, since, "States are free to reserve marriage only to heterosexual couples."

While we don't need courts and sociologists and anthropologists to tell us that same sex marriage is not a good idea, it is heartening to know that our position, based on God's word, is supported. I believe we can and must maintain love and respect for all people but we must also continue to hold fast to Christian values. Both of these are Biblical. Same sex marriage is definitely not a part of God's plan and I pray it is never legalized in the Cayman Islands.

Kind regards,

Marjorie Ebanks