Why is it ok for Christians or any other faith-followers to openly condemn homosexuality?

Question

If we are not to judge others, then why is it so commonplace and so widely accepted (although there are many faithful followers that do not agree that it is accepted) for people to tell someone how horrible they are for being gay?

Are we not to live our own lives and try to uphold a standard moral code along the way?

I'm just curious for anyone who might have a counterargument to explain to me why this practice is acceptable in some faith-based organizations or individuals.

Answer 1

You are absolutely right. Those who proclaim to be Christian and yet still judge others are hypocrites.

MATTHEW 7:1-5:
"Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast the mote out of thy brother's eye."

JOHN 7:14: "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment."

LUKE 12:57: "Yea, and why not even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?"

PSALM 37:30: "The mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom, and his tongue talketh of judgment."

PROVERBS 31:9: "Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy."

LUKE 17:3: "Take heed... If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."

LEVITICUS 19:15-17: "Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am the Lord. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not suffer sin upon him."

EZEKIEL 22:2 & 23:36: "Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? Yea, thou shalt show her all her abominations... The Lord said moreover unto me, Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? Yea, declare unto them their abominations."

ISAIAH 58:1: "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins."

MATTHEW 3:2,7: John the Baptist preaching, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?"

MATTHEW 23: Jesus publicly rebuked the hypocrites, "Woe unto you... hypocrites!...ye blind guides...fools...full of extortion and excess...whited sepulchres...full of hypocrisy and iniquity...Woe unto you...Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?"

ACTS 7:51: Deacon Stephen said to the mob that ended up stoning him, "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye."

ACTS 13:10: The Apostle Paul says to a man who hindered the Gospel, "O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?"

ACTS 8:20-23: Here the Apostle Peter severely rebukes a baby Christian who commits one sin: "Thy money perish with thee... Thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitter-ness, and in the bond of iniquity."

I CORINTHIANS 2:15; 6:2-3: "He that is spiritual judgeth all things... Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life?"

JOHN 3:18-19: "He that believeth on Him (JESUS) is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already,because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

JOHN 12:48: JESUS CHRIST said, "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

***It is God that sets the standard and passes the judgment. We simply pass on the information. No man has any right to define what is right and wrong - ONLY God! Those who reject God's laws and judgments and trust in their own judgments are the ones guilty of judging in the worst sense of the word. For example, the person that says premarital sex is okay is judging just as much as the person who says it is sin. What right do you have to judge another human being? (It works both ways.) God is the ultimate Judge, and it is up to us to submit unto His judgments.

The Psalmist said,
"With my lips have I declared all the judgments of THY mouth." (Psalm 119:13) Whose judgments do you declare?

Answer 2

First of all to claim that there are many faithful followers who do not agree is a totally untenable statement.

Christianity is a religion that arises from a specific set of teachings about the world and the interconnectedness of individuals in that world.

There is a root philosophy at work in those teachings, and homosexuality involves a dynamic of human interaction that runs directly contrary to that root philosophy. I won't go into the particulars of that here because it is complex.

So just because you call yourself a Christian and go to church and pray, doesn't mean that you have any clue of the foundational ideas behind that set of teachings.

The Hebrews thought they were the people of God, but throughout their history they espoused numerous different beliefs and practiced countless religious habits. Yet each of them would have doubtless considered himself one of the faithful.

By the same token, just because someone calls him or herself a Christian and then goes out into the world raising a big stink about some one behavior or subculture, when Christ and the apostles specifically taught that one should focus on one's own race, that is one's own strivings, without concern for other men's lives, they also have departed from the foundational teachings of the gospel and only use the name "Christianity" as a label for their own private doctrines.

You are misinformed on all counts, and it would take more pages than I would fill up here to show you so.

If you are really interested in a true and compelling demonstration of the reality of moral teachings defined in the pages of Scripture, then you can certainly email me and I would gladly answer your question in full.

Of course, as is often the case, you may only be posting this question to gratify your own sense that you are better than these "judgmental" people and not in the least interested in anything pertaining to the true gospel.

You actually are committing the same fallacy that you have observed in these "judgmental" people. You are focusing on their error and not on the log in your own eye.

Christ said "have salt in yourselves, and have peace with one another."

I answer your question in case there may be some serious interest in truth at the root of the question.

If not then . . .

Whatever. The world is very old and men have not found peace the whole way through, so I don't see how this one little question supposes to have any practical impact for good.

Answer 3

Some religions are accepting homosexuality because they are caving into worldly pressures. God destroyed an entire city in the Old Testament because it was plagued by homosexuality. It is a sin like adultery, murder, etc. I thank God i am not called on to make judgement, but I choose not to accept it as being ok when God tells it's wrong. Just because we make TV shows about it, doesn't make it ok. And I say all that having spent many years being close friends with gay men and women before I read the Bible. I am torn because I love those people, but I feel sorry for them.

Answer 4

What do you mean, is it OK? I have an opinion, I will use it. If you ask a Biblical question, I'll give you a Biblical answer. I could care less what some so called Christian "thinks" about it.
Thank God, some of these Christians will NOT judge me.

You don't have a clue what "Judge others" even refers to.

Now. Try this. The Bible tells me to judge others. hello??????

1 Cor. 5:9
2 Cor. 2:14
1 John 4:1
1 Thess 5:21

Now. Yes, I can and will judge others. Read and learn what "judge" means.

Have a great weekend.

Answer 5

IT is ok because it is written in our Bible. To not approve of someones behavior but still LOVE that person is not JUDGEMENT.

I'm not sure of what kind of BEHAVIOR you are talking about from Christians. I know of NO denominations that support PERSECUTING gay people other than that one CRAZY guy from the South. He has been condemned by most Christians as well.

I think you believe in the PC culture of the 90's that meant you couldn't HAVE an opinion on anyones behavior. Sorry, humans just aren't wired that way and you accept that.

Why is it so CRITICAL that Christians give their "APPROVAL" to a gay lifestyle anyways. Why not just find something else to try and change, like promiscuous unprotected sex that leads to AIDS?

Do what you want-it's between you and GOD/

Answer 6

I am not a Christian. I don't believe homosexuals are going to hell or should go to jail. I have friends that are gay, but just because I don't think something should be illegal doesn't mean that I have to agree with it. I think it is gross, but I also think that it is each person's decision, and by making that decision, they must live with the concequences.

As, far as why "faithful" people condem it. Two reasons. First, the Bible doesn't say don't ever judge. You wouldn't want to live in a world where murderers weren't judged and people just said, "Don't worry. God will give him his punishment in 80 years when he dies. Second, they are all pissed because God doesn't exist, so they complain about things.

Answer 7

First of all to detest openly homosexuality is not judgmental. To see some one traveling 80 MPH in a 55 MPH zone is not judgmental in calling them a speeder. It is in fact a conclusion reached by virtue of a know law.

The Bible states in several places that homosexuality is a sin based on this we as Christians are to detest and stand by our Morales in stopping this sin from spreading.

1Co 6:9
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,

1Timothy 1:10
the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

Leviticus 18:22
"Do not practice homosexuality; it is a detestable sin.

The problem with most Christians is that we are called to hate the sin and love the sinner. Sometimes it is hard to not detest the sinner for their acts and those we cross the line into being judgmental.

Answer 8

You are on the target and you have hit the spot. Remember that we are still humans and we still make mistakes. There will be consequences for those who point their fingers and the judgment will be done at the end. We are not to tell these people what to do or what not to do, each individual is responsible for their own sins, what faith followers are to do is teach the word of God and teach the path to salvation, Not even the one who preach is save because he preaches, he will be saved because he asked for forgiveness.
So what ever sin we do we are responsible for them, but who are we to know, we are humans, and homosexuality was not an issue back in those days if not there will be something on it in the bible, and there is not.
Some of these Homosexuals are the most noble and caring human beings that I known, they believe and pray to God, The have adopted children that heterosexual woman have abandon, so if they have saved some one else life and given those children what their mother did not. are they bad people because they are homosexual?.
God Bless....

Answer 9

It's not okay...Close-minded people are using Christian doctrine to condemn what they abhor (out of fear?), even to the point of contradicting other Christian doctrine (judge not...). Christian belief is used to codemn homosexuality just as it was used to justify slavery and segregation in the past, and let's not forget the "witch" burnings, the Inquisition that led to the death of millions of Jews, Muslims, and free-thinkers...I could go on, but that's a lot to type. It's amazing to me how a faith based on the principles of love, acceptance and peace can be twisted and used for such hateful and evil purposes.

Answer 10

We are not to judge our brothers... fellow Christians... however we will judge the world with Christ some day.

One only has to look at what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah to understand how God feels about homosexuality. And ahh.. we have found those cities... and the pillars of salt. There are archaeological records and photos now. I saw them in a major magazine on the topic... so what happened really did happen.

Fire and brimstone fell on those cities due to a major volcanic eruption. And they were consumed along with three other cities.

Answer 11

Many Christians do not believe it is OK to hate gays or other groups.

I would make two points. First, I think judge not gets misinterpreted and overextended a lot. Christians are not commanded to never judge anyone else's actions. They are commanded not to judge other people as people. There's a subtle difference.

My second point would be that I think a lot of Christians lose sight of Jesus' commandment to love above all other things. We've come to believe largely that Jesus commanded us to be righteous. Much more important than righteousness is grace.