It's an unfortunate fact that while logic and reason should prevail, given that our world was founded on wisdom (Proverbs 8:22-36), things like emotion are far more likely to stir us to action. Evil reigns with things like fear, anger, and hate. Things which make men do, say, and even think some very stupid things. "That guy insulted you? Punch him in the face. Oops, you're in jail now. Sorry dude."
Liberalism is one of the most obvious examples of the heart prevailing over the head. By attaching various "isms" or "phobias" to any issue they support, the Left make themselves appear compassionate, and anyone who dissents from their view is a bigot who doesn't even deserve a voice at the table (because Democracy only works when you're the only one who can vote, right?)
To illustrate this, look no further than the LGBT debate. It really isn't much of a debate. From an objective standpoint, homosexuality and its variants are wrong. It violates the natural order God created, and even if you aren't wise enough to follow the Lord's way, there are plenty of secular arguments against it, none of which require the use of emotional buzzwords like "bigot" or "hate". We can show, historically, that homosexuality typically topples whole cultures. We can show, psychologically, that a strong family unit involving one's own mother and father increases a child's wellbeing. We can show, biologically, that no amount of surgery will cause male or female bodies to actually resemble each other. Objective arguments like this, which are basically absent from the LGBT side, show even from a secular perspective that unless you want society to crumble, and many people to suffer until it does, homosexuality is not a good thing. And it is absolutely not "homophobic" to say so.
To be clear, homophobia does exist, and frankly, it is as much a sin as homosexuality itself. The same Jesus who died for the thief, the liar, the murderer, the porn addict, the fornicator etc., died for the LGBT community. Homosexuality is not a special sin, neither in the sense that God doesn't care about it as much and so Christians can ignore what Jesus says about it, nor in the sense that, somehow, it is unforgivable. A huge problem in this debate is that most people seem to treat it as if it is a special sin. No one bats an eye when Christians oppose things like porn or fornication, and promote abstinence until marriage. They don't like it, but they won't accuse you of being a Nazi if you say it. And genuine homophobes, while they exist, don't seem as passionate in their rebuke of other sins, if indeed they dare to rebuke them. You want to execute gay people, but won't say a word about thieves, or sluggards, or even taking the Lord's name in vain? (Which I would argue they do, as the Lord's word tells us in 1 John 4:8 that if you do not know love, you do not know God, for God is love).
Illustrating this sorry state of affairs is an admittedly flawed Twitter poll published by Dr. Michael L. Brown on June 3rd, 2023. The poll, answered by 1,101 people, asked "A question for you who identify as LGBTQ or are an ally: Is there any way I can lovingly say "I believe homosexual practice is sinful" or "I don't affirm transgender identity"? Or do those very statements constitute hate in your eyes? (Note your voting choices carefully)."
The four options are:
- It's hate (I'm pro-LGBTQ
- Not hate (I'm pro-LGBTQ)
- It's hate (I'm not LGBTQ)
- It's not hate (I'm not LGBTQ)
Now, the poll itself is quite flawed (no offense intended to Brother Michael Brown). To begin with, the question begins as "is there any way...", which doesn't lend itself well to poll-form questions. It should be more along the lines of a simple "are the following statements hateful or not?"
Even then, the options are somewhat confusing. The question is initially directed to those who are LGBTQ or an ally, yet the options are "I'm pro-LGBTQ" or "I'm not LGBTQ". So who is the poll for? Just gays and allies (ally is a non-LGBT supporter of LGBT issues), or anyone? If only for LGBT and allies, the poll should give the options "I am LGBT" and "I'm an ally". But if it's supposed to be more open ended, allowing both those who support and oppose the LGBT agenda, the poll should be more like this:
Do statements such as "I believe homosexual practice is sinful" or "I don't affirm transgender identity" constitute hate?
It's hate (I'm pro-LGBT and identify as LGBT)
It's not hate (I'm pro-LGBT and identify as LGBT)
It's hate (I'm a pro-LGBT ally)
It's not hate (I'm a pro-LGBT ally)
Of course, as I have not yet published this poll, I do not know the answers it will receive. Nor do I currently have the following to receive 1,100 answers to it. Thus, I only really have the data from Michael Brown's poll to go on in order to write the rest of this article.
Going by Michael Brown's poll, to begin with, it seems how you identify within the LGBT community will immediately determine how likely you are to perceive dissenting statements as hate (which you don't really need a poll to show). Now, because of the flaws in the poll, we cannot assume that everyone who answered "I'm pro-LGBTQ" does, in fact, identify with the LGBT community, as an ally will identify as pro-LGBTQ. Nevertheless, the fact that so many pro-LGBTQ people answered "it's hate" shows that pro-LGBT people very often perceive opposition as hate.
As the question was framed as being aimed at LGBTQ people and allies, the second half of the poll is likely to include a fair few allies. Indeed, as 10% of people answered "It's hate (I'm not LGBTQ), this can be taken for granted. If you think the very opposition to homosexuality or transgenderism is hate, you are, by definition, an ally. But note also the very large portion of people who voted "It's not hate (I'm not LGBTQ)".
There are two possibilities here. It is possible that, as the question is aimed at LGBTQ and allies, the vast majority of those who answered are allies. If this is the case, it shows that at least many allies, not seeing the world through LGBT eyes, recognise that the mere statements are not hateful. This would reveal the bias that is present within the LGBT world. You can support LGBT issues without assuming those who don't are full of hate, but being LGBT skews your perception. Thus, the whole "you're either pro-gay or homophobic" thing is a biased statement, and objectively false.
But there is another possibility. Many who answered "It's not hate (I'm not LGBTQ)" may well be vocal opponents of the LGBT agenda. Now, I don't know where the screenshot came from (I got it from Mike Winger's Facebook page, but he may have got it from elsewhere and not voted himself), but this is irrelevant. If we assume the vast majority of those who answered "It's not hate (I'm not LGBTQ)" are vocal opponents of the LGBT community, that means we do not see our statements, beliefs, or practices as hate.
But the thing about hate is it is a statement of motivation, not perception. A child might perceive their parents as acting hatefully when, in reality, it is loving to withhold treats, provide "yucky" vegetables, punish bad behavior, enforce bedtimes, limit screen times etc. To a child, with no life experience, these things seem hateful, but a parent, knowing how life works, these things will have long-term effects on the child, either preparing them to have a good life, or preventing them from harming themselves.
Now, if you were to ask a genuine homophobe, they're going to admit hate. Of course they are. It's how they actually feel, and if they know they're going to be accused of hate regardless, they're going to wear their hate on their sleeves, so to speak. But if you ask Michael Brown, or Mike Winger, or, yes, myself, we're going to deny that we hate you, and we know, in our very hearts, that this is an honest statement.
This is where we get to my poll. Again, as I have not yet published the article, nor do I have a large enough following to get too many results, I can only speculate as to how it would go down. However, here are my speculations.
To begin with, I think the first two answers would reflect Dr. Brown's poll. Most LGBT respondents would associate an opposition to their beliefs with hatred, though a minority will recognise that it is not, in and of itself, hateful. I cannot speculate on allies, as these may have been confused by the original poll and answered as either pro-LGBTQ or not LGBTQ.
Genuine homophobes are an "interesting" case. Based on their own opinions, they may answer "it's hate", because when they oppose LGBT issues, they do so either out of hate, or at least with their hate following alongside. But at the same time, they know full well that not every opponent of LGBT issues shares their hate, and so may answer more rationally: "I hate LGBT people, but the mere opposition is not hate, and so I will choose it's not hate".
But most people will zoom in on the last few pairs of options. As the LGBT community are, themselves, a minority, the fourth group are also a minority. Thus, they do not often show up on people's radars. Indeed, the most vocal LGBT advocates do their best to suppress them, and even deny their existence. However, they do exist. There are many people within the LGBT community who do not want to be in the community (and, incidentally, their practicing counterparts don't often accept them either). Similarly, many people have left the LGBT community, usually of course transformed by the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. These people do exist.
Now, obviously, "It's hate (I'm anti-LGBT and identify as LGBT)" isn't going to get many votes. You might get the odd saboteur who votes that way, and maybe a very confused individual who needs as much prayer and support as they can get, but it's a completely illogical answer, and exists only because a good opinion poll accounts for the probable existence of illogical opinions. But the vast majority of LGBT opponents of the LGBT agenda will, of course, recognise their own opposition as non-hateful. Otherwise, they would have to hate themselves. Thus, any anti-LGBT LGBT people will likely vote "not hate".
Similarly, though with a small bit more logic, there is the possibility that an ex-LGBT might hate the community of which they were once a part. It is still strange, especially as it lacks empathy, but it is a lot less likely that an ex-LGBT person will harbor any hate towards those who are where they once were. Thus, I believe the vast majority of ex-LGBT people, regardless of their current views on the issue, will recognise the absence of hate, and vote accordingly.
Now, the poll has not been run, and these are all speculations. However, the very existence of so many viable options shows, indisputably, that only the "it's not hate" options can be valid. If anyone can oppose a view without hate, then opposition to that view cannot be hate.
Of course, I know which answer I would give to my poll. As I myself have a history of homosexuality, I can look into any pair of eyes, with one hand on my heart, and another hand on my Bible, and say that I do not hate the LGBT community. My natural inclination was to both support, and even participate in it. I have no natural motives to oppose it. Thus, accusing me of hatred because I hold these views makes no sense. My opposition to homosexuality is an entirely intellectual one. As I said to one bisexual woman who accused me of homophobia, I changed my views because I stepped back to think about them; you will not change your views because you cannot.
Now of course, I'm not going to say that everyone who thinks about their views will automatically come to the conclusion that homosexuality is wrong, nor that no pro-LGBT person has ever thought about their views. But I can say, with full conviction and no shadow of doubt, that no one who believes the mere opposition to LGBT issues is hateful has thought about their views.
Having thought about my views, I have ultimately come to the conclusion that human sexuality is a product of the Lord God of Israel. This God created men and women, and designed a system by which they work together, both as spiritual companions, and as vessels for bringing new human life into the world. Marriage is designed to be a one man, one woman union, and sex is designed to be enjoyed only within that system.
Furthermore, not only has the system been designed to work that way, but we will be judged according to how we work within that system. God has given us a list of valid options (abstinence and marriage), and a list of invalid options (bestiality, adultery, homosexuality, rape, pedophilia, necrophilia, group sex, fornication, prostitution, pornography etc.). And He has said He will judge these things.
God's judgments are a combination of temporal and eternal. Sometimes, He punishes us within this life, according to both His wisdom, and the systems which He has set up within this world. But ultimately, we all die, and this is when He will ensure we get exactly what we deserve. Or not.
See, there are two possibilities. The first is that He will reward us according to everything we have ever done, said, or thought. This option is bad for everyone who receives it. An eternity in Hellfire, also known as "the second death", awaits the impenitent. And, as homosexuality is a sin, anyone in the LGBT community who will not repent will be included among those who go down to the fiery pit. In fact, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 gives a list of those who will not inherit the Kingdom of God, on which homosexuals are explicitly found.
There is, however, an alternative. Because God loves us, He tells us He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:32; 33:11). Therefore, He provides an alternative. In due time, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be born as a man, live a perfect life, and die a sinner's death. As it says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."
This basically means although we are all deserving of a punishment none of us can bear, we can actually be treated as if we've never done anything wrong. The sexually immoral can be treated as if they were always pure.
Of course, there is a small "catch". That catch, ironically, is pride. Specifically, God resists those who are full of pride, only giving His grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). This means those who confess their sins will be forgiven (1 John 1:9), but those who deny their sins are self deceived (1 John 1:8-10). More specifically, we have to confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in our hearts God raised Him from the dead. Then we will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Thus, you see not only the contrast between "PRIDE", a word so audacious that LGBT activists have even hijacked the symbol of God's promise not to judge the Earth again by water, and faith, the one and only thing that will save us when He judges it again by fire. The difference is in their end. The end of pride, ultimately, is death. By contrast, faith brings us to eternal life. Now you tell me, what fate should I prefer my LGBT neighbors to receive? Should I wish for them to share Satan's burning bed, or to sit at the Lord's table?
Now of course, I do not believe LGBT activists hate LGBT people. If you don't believe in Heaven or Hell, you don't believe LGBT activism bars you from the former, or leads to the latter. But if I believe in Heaven and Hell, which is more hateful? For me to ignore it and just let you go to Hell, or to do everything in my power, even if you think I hate you, even if you end up hating me, to convince you to come to Heaven?
The hateful option is the quiet one! It is the one that says ok, be gay, it doesn't bother me. Sure, I'll use your preferred pronouns, as long as you stay out of my way. Sooner or later, there will be such a chasm between us that I won't have to deal with you anymore, even after a bazillion years go by. That is the hateful option. But if Jesus loves you enough to go to the cross and suffer for you to have eternal life, I must love you enough to at least tell you about it.
Now, if after all this, you still want to choose an "it's hate" option, there is nothing anyone can do for you. You're not just wrong, you're stubbornly insane: nothing will get through to you. But if you are reasonable enough to understand that the mere opposition is not hatred, then why not have a seat at the table and we'll discuss why it is also correct. I don't expect you to just take "Jesus says..." as a reason to repent of homosexuality. But once you realise we don't hate you, you might be capable of hearing our reasons for what we believe, and then eventually, hopefully, you will believe it too.