{"id":3168,"date":"2005-09-01T16:11:46","date_gmt":"2005-09-01T16:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=3168"},"modified":"2019-07-21T14:04:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-21T19:04:06","slug":"how-do-i-get-someone-to-believe-the-truth-about-homosexuality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-do-i-get-someone-to-believe-the-truth-about-homosexuality\/","title":{"rendered":"How do I get someone to believe the truth about homosexuality?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

I know a guy who says he’s bi-sexual but is faithful to his wife. He agrees that the Bible is the word of God, but where the Bible condemns homosexuality, he insists that it is mistranslated. What do I say to that? How do I get him to believe the truth?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

Your complaint is not unusual. The fact is that your friend does know that the Bible condemns homosexuality. But this leaves him in a quandary. He wants to believe that homosexuality is righteous, but the Bible plainly condemns it. Different people will settle on different methods to resolve the conflict in their minds. One method is to redefine terms so that what is being condemned appears to no longer the subject of the verse.<\/p>\n

“Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law,\u00a0understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm<\/strong>. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully<\/em>” (I Timothy 1:5-8).<\/p>\n

“If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud, knowing nothing, but is\u00a0obsessed with disputes and arguments over words<\/strong>, from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. From such withdraw yourself<\/em>” (I Timothy 6:3-5).<\/p>\n

“Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord\u00a0not to strive about words to no profit<\/strong>, to the ruin of the hearers. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But\u00a0shun profane and idle babblings<\/strong>, for they will increase to more ungodliness. And their message will spread like cancer<\/em>” (II Timothy 2:14-17).<\/p>\n

“But\u00a0avoid foolish and ignorant disputes<\/strong>, knowing that they generate strife<\/em>” (II Timothy 2:23).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The old cliche remains: “None is so blind as the one who will not see.” You cannot make such a person see the truth, but you can challenge him to prove his position. Ask him for the sources for his conclusion. Ask him to explain why he comes to a different conclusion than what is generally accepted. Did he arrive at the conclusion because of overwhelming proof or an is he grasping at anything that remotely supports his preconceived notions. You see if someone wants to believe an error, there are always people willing to tell a person exactly what they want to hear. “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables<\/em>” (II Timothy 4:3-4).<\/p>\n

The falsehoods crumble when they are compared to what the Scriptures teach. A few will realize this and leave their false position. Most, unfortunately, will stubbornly hang on to an unjustifiable position until their dying breath. In such a case, the best thing is to move on and pray that someone else will figure out a way to open their eyes.<\/p>\n

Additional Resources:<\/h3>\n

The study\u00a0Keys to Understanding<\/a><\/em>\u00a0discusses the various means in which people warp the truth, how to detect this in discussions, and how to point out the flaws in reasoning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: I know a guy who says he’s bi-sexual but is faithful to his wife. He agrees that the Bible is the word of God, but where the Bible condemns homosexuality, he insists that it is mistranslated. What do I say to that? How do I get him to believe the truth? Answer: Your complaint…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[35,451],"class_list":["post-3168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-homosexuality","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2478,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-kinds-of-homosexuality-does-the-bible-mention\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":0},"title":"What kinds of homosexuality does the Bible mention?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 7, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What kinds of homosexuality does the Bible mention? Answer: \"Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor\u00a0homosexuals, nor\u00a0sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":29674,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-would-a-person-choose-to-suffer-as-a-homosexual-it-cant-be-a-choice\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":1},"title":"Why would a person choose to suffer as a homosexual? It can’t be a choice","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 22, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I must respectfully take issue with the manner in which you answer various questions on your web site in an attempt to refute the assertion that homosexuals do not choose to be homosexuals.\u00a0 You repeatedly cite the lack of any evidence of a\u00a0genetic\u00a0predisposition to homosexuality as proof that homosexuals\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":42821,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-stoning-adulterers-and-not-eating-shellfish\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":2},"title":"On Stoning Adulterers and Not Eating Shellfish","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 3, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh Fulford via\u00a0The Fellowship Room Periodically - at least three or four times a year - someone feels compelled to demonstrate his or her lack of knowledge of the Bible by writing a letter to the editor of the local newspaper railing against Bible-believers who oppose homosexuality. (Capital punishment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Oysters.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18160,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-roman-catholic-priest-attempts-to-defend-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":3},"title":"A Roman Catholic priest attempts to defend homosexuality","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 18, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I found your article concerning homosexuality and the Bible, under the title \"Is homosexuality condemned in the Scriptures?\" I would like to clarify something, and perhaps provide a new perspective. You stated that \"the reason that the Bible doesn't mention \"gay love\" is that such a thing does not\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":57578,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-condemnation-of-homosexuality-universally-immoral\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":4},"title":"Is the Condemnation of Homosexuality Universally Immoral?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer I know. Sounds like an odd question, but it's one posed to an atheist recently based on all the condemnation of those who believe homosexual practice is sinful. He was objecting to the idea of universal, objective morality. In the process of this, he asked what kind\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15198,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-do-you-do-when-people-say-it-is-wrong-to-speak-out-against-homosexuality\/","url_meta":{"origin":3168,"position":5},"title":"What do you do when people say it is wrong to speak out against homosexuality?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 2, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Here lately the whole country seems to be quite preoccupied with the lifestyle of being a homosexual. It is all over the Internet, TV, everywhere it seems. And amazingly churches everywhere are 'jumping on the bandwagon,' so to say. So-called priests and other 'leaders' are actually embracing this lifestyle\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}