The Culture Shift – A Survey of Changing Attitudes

By Ken Endean | April 18, 2016

A Christian Response to “Same-Sex Marriage” and Same-Sex Attraction:
Part 1 of 5.

by Ken Endean

Introduction:

On Thursday, March 3, 2016, the governor of Georgia, Nathan Deal, issued what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called “a powerful Biblical appeal against ‘religious liberty’ legislation,” claiming he would reject any bill that legalizes discrimination.

“The governor said he is not interested in any bill that ‘allows discrimination in our state in order to protect people of faith.’” In doing so he has “given gay rights supporters confidence that they may soon be able to move from defense to offense in pursuit of expanded legal protections for gays and lesbians in Georgia.” Businesses such as Delta Air Lines, Home Depot, and Twitter have called on Georgia’s leaders to “embrace diversity.” The governor pointed to Scripture where Jesus reached out to the outcasts and called on fellow Republicans to “recognize that the world is changing around us.”1

While these reports are fairly common, this story stood out to me for a few reasons — it is a Republican governor in the Bible belt, not the liberal Northeast or “left coast”; he appeals to Scripture; and the homosexual activists see this as an opportunity to go on the offensive, although I would contend they have been doing this for a while.

How did we get here?

Christians neimage ed to recognize the spiritual battle and cultural shift taking place.

“The term ‘homosexual marriage’ is a tragic oxymoron.” Albert Mohler

Rarely do you realize when you are “living” history.

The significance of loosening of traditional values within society goes back to the 1960s. The challenge to “question authority” promoted moral relativism. The insistence on individual “rights” and self-expression led to a pleasure seeking attitude, the Sexual Revolution, and the Playboy mentality. The Sexual Revolution led to a homosexual revolution. Part of this involved a change of terminology. In the 1970s “gay” was used as a political term to change focus away from deviant behavior.

In 1973 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the “bible” for the American Psychiatric Association (APA), delisted homosexuality as a mental disorder. This change was the response to intimidation by radical homosexuals’ plan to disrupt the annual meetings of the APA. In 1970 activists grabbed the microphone at an APA meeting and said, “Psychiatry is the enemy incarnate. Psychiatry has waged a relentless war of extermination against us. You may take this as a declaration of war against you…”2.

Activists declared, “Almost all behavior begins to look normal if you are exposed to enough of it at close quarters and among your acquaintances.” And, “We intend to make the antigay look so nasty that average Americans will want to dissociate themselves from such types.”3

2003 was a pivotal year. That was the year that the Massachusetts Supreme Court in a 4-3 decision declared it was unconstitutional to prohibit homosexuals from marrying. It was the first time a state’s highest court had overturned a state law prohibiting same sex marriages. Canada took steps to legalize homosexual marriage.

In June, the United States Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas threw out a Texas anti-sodomy law, “ruling that gays have the constitutional right to make fundamental choices about ‘intimate conduct.’” (This landmark decision occurred after the Massachusetts court had heard their case, but before they issued a ruling.) In his dissenting opinion, Justice Antonin Scalia prophetically “argued that the majority decision would likely pave the way for gay marriage.”4

The following year, in June 2004, an article in a homosexual publication quoted Walter L. Williams, University of Southern California Anthropology and Gender Studies professor. “I think we’ll see more progress in the gay movement in the next 10 years than we saw in the past 50.”5 He was sadly prophetic, if off by a year, for on June 26, 2015, the five unelected judges on the U.S. Supreme Court declared same-sex marriages legal in all fifty states.

The majority statement said, “The history of marriage is one of both continuity and change.” Also, “[T]he petitioners, far from seeking to devalue marriage, seek it for themselves because of their respect — and need — for its privileges and responsibilities, as illustrated by the petitioners’ own experiences.” Justice Kennedy cited the 2003 case as part of the justification for this change.6

All of this was the result of a concerted effort to change the culture. In 1987 an article in Guide magazine entitled, “Overhauling of Straight America,” set forth the strategy:

  1. Talk about gays and gayness as loudly and as often as possible.
  2. Portray gays as victims, not aggressive challengers.
  3. Give homosexual protectors a “just” cause.
  4. Make gays look good.
  5. Make the victimizers look bad.
  6. Solicit funds (get corporations and foundations to support the cause).7

They knew the media would be an ally in their propaganda [their term] agenda. With programs like Will & Grace, Ellen, and Modern Family — along with numerous characters and episodes on other programs, the media has portrayed homosexuals as the most normal and likeable individuals while vilifying those who would object to their lifestyle. The onslaught also portrayed homosexuals as much more common than making up 1-2% of the population. (A higher number of 10%, often cited in the media, comes from a study found to be defective in the methodology.)

The result was that sin was normalized and those who stood against it vilified.

In the face of this onslaught, we cannot be naïve about the struggle people face, nor that we are viewed with “two-strikes” against us by those we seek to help. We must be clear, compassionate and courageous.

Today’s Article ♦ Part 2 ♦ Part 3 ♦ Part 4 ♦ Part 5

Pastor Ken Endean is President of International Baptist College and Seminary.

This material was presented at a workshop during The Gospel Proclaimed Conference, March 8, 2016 at Tri-City Baptist Church, Chandler, AZ.

  1. www.ajc.com – http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2016/03/03/nathan-deals-remarkably-forceful-opposition-to-georgia-religious-liberty-legislation [↩]
  2. Erwin W. Lutzer, The Truth about Same-Sex Marriage: 6 Things You Must Know About What’s Really at Stake. Chicago: Moody Publishers. 2004, p. 20 [↩]
  3. Marshall Kirk and Erastes Pill, “Overhauling of Straight America,” Guide, in Lutzer, pp. 21, 23. [↩]
  4. http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/11/18/sjc_gay_marriage_legal_in_mass/ accessed 02/29/2016 [↩]
  5. Alan Sears & Craig Osten, The Homosexual Agenda: Exposing the Principal Threat to Religious Freedom Today. Nashville: B&H Publishing Group. 2003, p. 16. [↩]
  6. OBERGEFELL ET AL. v. HODGES, DIRECTOR, OHIO DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL. pp. 1-2. [↩]
  7. Sears & Osten, pp. 17-18. [↩]
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