This post relates to a letter to the editor that I submitted for June 2024 to the local newspaper.
Following is an expanded version of my response.
Newspaper letters to the editor are understandably limited to 600 words. I am often left unsatisfied with my letters to the editor, as I would like to add more information to support my position. Posting a lengthier response on my blog allows for this additional information.
The previous letters to the editor are provided below in the Related Content section.
I have made some comments regarding Walt’s claims about Sodom and Gomorrah.
A friend of mine, Pastor Tim Bushong of Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana, has made some additional comments in a document in the Related Content section.
Tim is a pastor and a musician. I recommend checking out his Youtube Channel. I particularly like his renditions of “A Mighty Fortress” and “Why Do the Heathen Nations Vainly Rage?”.
This letter is in response to Walt Sorg’s May 14 criticism of my May 9 letter outlining the desensitization, jamming and conversion agenda used by activists to further acceptance of homosexuality in America.
Walt Sorg is a Democrat candidate for Indiana House of Representatives District 52.
In his criticism, Walt Sorg claimed that I hate the LGBTQ+ community. He claimed that the destruction of Sodom was unrelated to the sin of homosexuality. He used Ezekiel 16:49-50 to support his claim. Finally, he said he would support the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals if he is elected to office.
Love is evidenced in seeking the well-being of others.
I seek the well-being of the LGBTQ+ community by warning them of the temporal and eternal consequences of violating God’s laws.
I do not hate the LGBTQ+ community. I love them enough to call them to repentance and faith in Christ.
Union with Christ will bring ultimate fulfillment, not sexual union with another person of the same sex. Neither will surgical alteration of genitalia to appear as someone of the opposite sex.
Mr. Sorg claims I condemn the entire LGBTQ+ community.
My focus is the activist community, particularly those attempting to influence children on sexual matters.
It is the Word of God that condemns the unrepentant, not me. I cannot condemn anyone. Christ can. All humanity will stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
However, I can judge behavior and ideologies as ungodly based upon their denial of biblical truths.
Mr. Sorg claimed the destruction of Sodom was not related to homosexuality.
He referred to Ezekiel 16:49-50.
Ezekiel says the Sodomites were prideful, had an excess of food, lived in prosperous ease, did not care for the poor and needy, and did an abomination before the Lord.
I am convinced the abomination refers to the homosexual activity of the Sodomites. Additionally, I think it is significant that Ezekiel associated pride with the Sodomites.
Mr. Sorg fails to employ the hermeneutic principle of analogy of faith.
Analogy of faith requires that the reader consider all that the Bible has to say about a matter. Scripture must be read in context with itself.
There are other Scriptures that discuss the destruction of Sodom and homosexuality in general. We cannot honestly arrive at a conclusion about something without examining all that Scripture has to say about it.
Analogy of faith is based upon the confidence of the full inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture, which is denied by many so-called progressive Christians. Any apparent contradictions must be resolved without denying any portion of Scripture. Additionally, less clear passages need to be resolved in light of other clearer passages.
The destruction of Sodom is described in Genesis 19:1-29.
Two holy angels in the form of men visit Sodom to investigate claims of wickedness. Lot, Abraham’s nephew, met them at the city gate and invited them into his home.
All the men of Sodom surrounded Lot’s home and demanded that Lot surrender the strangers for their sexual pleasure. Lot called this wickedness (abomination). He offered his daughters instead. The men of the city continued to demand the two visitors instead.
The angels drew Lot back into the home and struck the men of the town with blindness, so that they were unable to find their way to the door of the home.
The angels told Lot to gather his family and leave the city, as destruction was imminent. Sodom was destroyed the next morning with sulphur and fire.
Jude adds more detail. Jude says the Sodomites were destroyed by fire for pursuing unnatural desires. This punishment prefigures the fiery, eternal judgment to come (Jude 7).
Scripture provides other clear teachings spanning both testaments against homosexuality and sexual confusion (Leviticus 18:22, 20:13, Deuteronomy 22:5, Romans 1:26-27, I Corinthians 6:9-11, I Timothy 1:10).
The historical church has never affirmed these behaviors until the recent corruption of mainline Protestant denominations. While Christian leaders throughout church history have not been without error or differences of convictions on some other doctrines, unanimity of thought on the topic of homosexual behavior is worthy of notice.
Which denominations have been corrupted? United Church of Christ (UCC), United Methodist Church (UMC), Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Presbyterian Church USA (PCUSA), the Episcopal Church (TEC), and Mennonite Church – USA (MCUSA) would certainly be at the top of this list in our geographic area. Metropolitan Church of Christ (MCC) is another well-known LGBTQ+ affirming church which operates mainly in the West Coast.
These denominations affirm LGBTQ+ principles. Affirming these principles means that these churches claim that God’s word is in error regarding the commandments related to human sexuality or the understanding of the historical Christian church is wrong on their understanding of Scripture related to human sexuality.
These denominations reflect the world ‘s standards and not biblical Christianity. Many of them are sold out to Cultural Marxism, too.
A few pastors, congregations, and members within some of these denominations are faithful, though, and seek to return back to the orthodox teachings of their founders. Operation Reconquista is a movement to restore these churches to biblical Christianity.
It is true that each person is created in the image of God, however, this image has been horribly marred at the Fall. It has been shattered, like a mirror which has been severely broken and no longer reflects the accurate image of God.
Adam and Eve, our natural parents, were created in the image of God and placed in the Garden of Eden.
There was perfect peace and harmony in the Garden of Eden. They walked in harmony with God. They experienced peace in their personal relationship with each other. They enjoyed a right relationship between themselves and the creation, tending the garden which provided their food. Their bodies were healthy and fit and they enjoyed a harmony between their body and spirit.
God gave them a single, simple commandment to observe. Don’t eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Satan tempted Eve to eat the fruit from this tree. She disobeyed God. She offered the fruit to Adam, who ate it as well.
Their rebellion shattered the perfect harmony that they experienced with God, one another, the creation and their own bodies. It led to their exile from the Garden of Eden as a punishment.
Adam represented all mankind in his rebellion against God. We are all born “in Adam” due to his sin. As such, we are alienated from God and condemned. Our sins reflect our alienation from God.
The moral law of God acts like a mirror. It displays our sin to us, and reveals our unholy nature. This revelation, coupled with the revelatory power of the Holy Spirit, helps us to see our need for forgiveness and God’s grace.
Upon faith and repentance, the new believer moves from the category of “in Adam” to the category of “in Christ”. He is spiritually united with Christ and becomes one with Him. He receives eternal life as a result of this union.
The man in Adam is spiritually dead, characterized by sin, and condemned. The man in Christ is spiritually alive, characterized by righteousness, and justified.
In essence, LGBTQ+ affirming churches obscure the revelation of the law of God as it exposes the sinfulness of the LGBTQ+ worldview. Satan wants to imprison image-bearers of God in sexual sin, and the LGBTQ+ affirming churches are his willing servants.
Mr. Sorg, a Democrat candidate for state representative, says he will work for legal protection for all regardless of age, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation.
Significantly, he omits the category of religion.
Since he is a Democrat, I don’t think he will protect the exclusive parental right to instruct their children on sexual matters and the right to identify LGBTQ+ behaviors and gender ideology as ungodly.
Why? The left seeks to silence critics of its ideology through shaming and intimidating them by calling any criticism “hate speech”.
Some individuals like me will not be shamed or intimidated. We will not bow the knee to Caesar.
Legislation imposing significant societal penalties for criticizing the Cultural Marxist worldview will ultimately be imposed once the leftist government is able to accomplish this.
The Democrats will attempt to silence biblical Christians on these matters. They have already attempted to do this through disinformation boards and legislation. The Equality Act was one such attempt.
The Biden administration and Democrat leadership have allied themselves with Cultural Marxists.
This administration has persecuted Christians, particularly those who oppose abortion.
Christian parents in so-called progressive states have experienced the removal of their children from their homes due to gender ideology-related issues.
Christian foster parents have been dismissed from foster programs due to failure to affirm gender ideology.
Christian teachers have been fired or coerced into resignation for pronoun policies related to gender ideology.
Biden’s administration has redefined Title IX using administrative means. Effective August 1, this allows males identifying as females to participate in women’s sports and to use the restrooms and locker rooms of the opposite sex. Schools that refuse to comply will suffer consequences.
There are federal court challenges against the Biden administration redefinition of Title IX which appear to be successful. Perhaps this redefinition will be avoided for now, but it displays the intentions of the Biden administration and the Democrat party leadership.
Biblical Christians should not vote for Democrats due to these issues, as well as their vile party platform which includes the murder of the preborn.
Robert Sparkman
This post is a more detailed version of a letter to the editor that I submitted to the local newspaper. The letter to the editor is referenced in the Related Content section.
Concerning the Related Content section, I encourage evaluating the content with discernment. Some sources of information may reflect a libertarian or non-Christian perspective and I would not agree with all of their values, but in general I think they offer some worthwhile comments and criticisms. I do not necessarily agree with every comment by every person, but in general, I find them to be valuable or I would not include them.
Unlike most mainstream media outlets, I am interested in truth rather than mere partisan propaganda. This blog post reflects my well-considered convictions on the related issues, and provides support for my assertions. I acknowledge the possibility that my understanding of events and information may need refinement and welcome legitimate criticism. Respectful comments and questions without expletives and personal attacks will be posted and I will respond to them.
Comments? Email me at [email protected] or leave a reply below.
RELATED CONTENT
Ross Johnston is the child of a lesbian who was artificially inseminated with sperm from a donor. He was raised by his mother and her lesbian partner. He was converted to Christianity as a teenager. He is a 24 year old street evangelist now.
In this video, he provides his testimony and perspective of the unfulfilling nature of the lesbian lifestyle from a Christian worldview.
Dr. Voddie Baucham is a black Reformed Baptist pastor and Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. He has spoken and written upon topics related to Cultural Marxism. He is an excellent communicator. His books are generally down-to-earth and geared towards the layman. His newest book, It’s Not Like Being Black: How Sexual Activists Hijacked the Civil Rights Movement, was released today (June 4, 2024). I have not completed it yet, but what I’ve read so far is fantastic. He possesses an undergraduate degree in sociology and graduate degrees in Theology. I highly recommend him as a solid source of information on Cultural Marxism and Christianity.
Albert Mohler is the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He hosts a daily podcast called The Briefing. It is a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian perspective.
Today’s episode covers some of the types of arguments Mr. Sorg made in his letter to the editor. They are typical “progressive Christian” arguments.
I recommend listening to Albert Mohler’s explanations and subscribing to his Youtube channel.
Joel Berry of Babylon Bee and Pastor Steven Whitlowe discuss the fallacies involved in similar claims reflected in Walt Sorg’s letter to the editor.
Moms for Liberty discusses the Biden Administration Title IX changes that will come into effect August 1, 2024. These changes face significant legal challenges.
It is possible that these changes by the bureaucratic state will be deemed illegal.
Christian foster parents who do not affirm gender ideology in Vermont are dismissed from the program due to their refusal to affirm potential foster children that is experiencing gender dysphoria. They are precluded from fostering any children regardless of whether they are experiencing dysphoria or not. Vermont is not the only state that has adopted these standards.
A friend of mine, Tim Bushong, is a pastor at Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana. He prepared an exposition of the Scriptures that Mr. Sorg mentioned. I am providing his explanations below. My explanations above are supplemented with his information, as well as the works of other respected individuals and my own thoughts.
This is my original letter to the editor relating to the propaganda effort of the left to further the acceptance of homosexuality in America. It outlines the desensitization, jamming and conversion process proposed by Madsen and Kirk in their book called “After the Ball”.
This letter to the editor by Walt Sorg is a response to my After the Ball letter.
RELATED MEMES
The Related Content section contains resources I think are valuable for the readers’ consideration. I may not agree with everything a given content creator believes, though. For example, some resources may reflect a secularist worldview that I don’t agree with. I highly respect Thomas Sowell on a number of subjects, but he is an atheist. I may not agree with fellow Christians on every minor point, either. Inclusion of these materials should not be construed as unqualified approval and agreement on every single point.
Thank you Robert for your thoughtful and biblical response. When liberals talk about love in the Christian context their focus is never on love of God. It was Jesus’ main focus in his life and teaching when he came to do his Father’s will and taught “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.” (Matthew 22:37-38) Liberals talk about loving this person or loving that person but the primary focus is not loving God. Why is this? The reason is they do not love God. They may make a verbal statement that they do but as Jesus said of the Pharisees “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” (Matthew 15:8-9) Those who love God obey his commandments. This is what Jesus taught when he said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (John 14:15) And again “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me.” (John 14:21) In his first epistle John wrote “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3) It is hard to see how loving God and disregarding what God has said concerning sexuality, the family, abortion, and a whole range of issues are harmonious with one another. We hear loudly from liberals that we are to love the homosexual, love the transgender person, and love the LGBTQ+ community. They are eerily mute when it comes to the greatest commandment which as Jesus taught is to love God.
Than you, Robert, for putting all this together. All well said, very well said.
Thanks for your comment.