Should a Christian attend a gay wedding ?

[SavedByGrace3]

I heard a women arguing that pedophiles should not be condemned because they are born that way and God must approve of it because that is the way He made them. I am hearing the same logic here. When I was younger I recall a young man being "taken away" because he was attracted to and performed with his dog. Would it be right to apply that logic to him? How about dead bodies? How about any sin. Should a serial killer be awarded protection and affirmation because surely he was "born that way?" Being tempted by some wicked thing does not make you that thing nor does it somehow award you and that thing legitimacy. Our temptations do not define us and we should not declare our identity to sins of the mind and flesh.
I am amazed to hear Christian people put forward this argument, or should we call it reprobate thought?

 

[Strong in Him]

Do you believe the same thing about pedophilia?

No - it's not the same thing.

 

[Strong in Him]

I heard a women arguing that pedophiles should not be condemned because they are born that way and God must approve of it because that is the way He made them.

No, God made all people in his image.
The fall messed everything up, including sexuality. So people are born now with disabilities and congenital abnormalities. Some are born being attracted to people of the same sex. It doesn't mean God planned it that way. He didn't plan, either, for babies to be born with Down's syndrome or hydrocephalus - but some are.

 

[Benjamin Müller]

I am amazed to hear Christian people put forward this argument, or should we call it reprobate thought?

I'm amazed too. They need to reread Romans 1:26-32

Especially verse 32, "who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them."

 

[Carl Emerson]

Which ought to teach us to take care in what we declare to be sinful.

The Scripture declares what is sinful - we should not depart from it's message.

 

[Carl Emerson]

That's not at all the same as being gay.
Being gay is sexuality - homosexuality. We cannot choose our sexuality - no one asked me, as a foetus, whether I wished to have boy or girlfriends when I got older. I can guarantee that you were not given that choice either.
A gay male was born a male and lives as one - it just happens that he is attracted to other males, and will look for boyfriends just as his friends may look for girlfriends.

This is nonsense - you have created an identity to justify a sin.

 

[Strong in Him]

I am amazed to hear Christian people put forward this argument, or should we call it reprobate thought?

I'm amazed too. They need to reread Romans 1:26-32

Why would you be amazed? It's how it is.
I have heard, been in contact with and read about people who are gay and who are persecuted, discriminated against and sometimes - if they are in countries where it is illegal - are in fear of their lives. Others face being ostracised from the family. Several have met "Christians" who tell them they are going to burn in hell, and then claim they are loving as Jesus loves. I have read articles from people who knew they were gay when they were children, or from parents who knew their child was gay. I have read several from people who have tried hard not to be gay so as to be more acceptable - they get married, and their spouse later finds out it was all false.

What do you think we should say; "you didn't choose to be gay, but God is going to punish you for something you have no control over"?
"Your sexuality, and therefore you, are disgusting - and we have the right to speak for God and condemn you"?
"Stay away from our church; it's not for the likes of you"?
You choose that if you like - but Jesus told us to love.

 

[Carl Emerson]

But for someone who is homosexual, loving/being attracted to someone of the same sex is not a temptation; it's how it is.

Nonsence - How would a just God judge such sins so harshly if they were beyond the ability of man to resist?

 

[Strong in Him]

The Scripture declares what is sinful - we should not depart from it's message.

Oh, ok then, we'd better disassociate ourselves from proud, arrogant, judgemental, greedy people. From people who lie, steal anything, assassinate someone else's character or reputation which is as bad as murder - or anything else.

There will be a lot of very lonely people around.

 

[Strong in Him]

Nonsence - How would a just God judge such sins so harshly if they were beyond the ability of man to resist?

Ok then, go into a gay bar, speak to gay people and hear their stories and then come back and tell me that they could have chosen not to be gay if they'd wanted.
Someone who is gay might choose to stay celibate - THAT is their choice, just as it is for any heterosexual not to sleep with someone before marriage, or have an affair. But they can't get rid of, or deny, the attraction to people of the same gender.

Just as I can't choose to make myself fancy/love other women. I don't want to, but I couldn't even if I did.

 

[Lost Witness]

We're called to deny ourselves...
Lust of the flesh are of self and war against the Spirit...
This is something I'm learning more and more daily.

 

[crixus]

No.

It's an abomination. To attend is to condone; to condone evil is to be against good. To be against good is to be against God.

Be not deceived; evil company corrupts good habits. 1 Corinthians 15:33

The Bible is always correct.

 

[Strong in Him]

The Bible is always correct.

Yes - but the Bible doesn't say that to attend is to condone.
Otherwise Jesus would have condoned the actions of tax collectors and sinners when he ate with them. He would not have allowed a woman with a colourful past to anoint him with oil.
And as he often opposed the Pharisees, calling them blind guides, etc, he would not then have gone for a meal with one of them.

 

[ralliann]

If the person was a relative, good friend or someone I cared about, I'd go for them. Sitting at home saying "I don't approve" would damage the relationship and make it harder to have any conversations about the Christian faith.
Jesus accepted and loved people. He ate with tax collectors and sinners, healed an unclean woman, revealed himself as the Messiah to a foreign woman with a dubious lifestyle and would not condemn a woman who had clearly broken the law. He also gave his life for godless sinners.
Did he approve of these people's morals? Almost certainly not. Did he let that stop him from caring for them? No.

Having said that, if I was ordained, I wouldn't want to conduct such a wedding.

Eating with, and healing the unclean, etc, is different than attending a religious ceremony. Did Jesus go to the temple of zeus, and sit in attendance in their rites, no matter what that entailed?

 

[Strong in Him]

Eating with, and healing the unclean, etc, is different than attending a religious ceremony. Did Jesus go to the temple of zeus, and sit in attendance in their rites, no matter what that entailed?

Not if you're taking the view that to attend is to condone.

 

[ralliann]

Not if you're taking the view that to attend is to condone.

To attend a religious event is to condone. Eating with someone who is Gay etc. is not a religious celebration.
1 cor 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
7 Howbeit there is not in every man that knowledge: for some with conscience of the idol unto this hour eat it as a thing offered unto an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled.

I am not saying it would be an easy thing to deal with, but very painful.

 

[prodromos]

Jesus did.
Not only did he associate, and eat with, sinners; he gave his life for them.

Christ did not involve Himself with their sinful activities though. He didn't participate with Tax collectors ripping off people, He didn't act as pimp to the prostitutes. He didn't in any way condone their sin but rather led them to repentance, so I do not believe Christ would attend a ceremony which basically gave an official stamp of approval on a sinful lifestyle.

 

[Aldebaran]

Yes - but the Bible doesn't say that to attend is to condone.
Otherwise Jesus would have condoned the actions of tax collectors and sinners when he ate with them. He would not have allowed a woman with a colourful past to anoint him with oil.
And as he often opposed the Pharisees, calling them blind guides, etc, he would not then have gone for a meal with one of them.

How did Jesus answer when confronted about that? He told them that it was the sick, not the healthy, that need a doctor.
So was Jesus saying, "Well, that's just how they are!"? Or was He saying that they are sick, and need His healing?
Contrast that with you saying, "It's how it is."

 

[Strong in Him]

To attend a religious event is to condone.

A wedding doesn't have to be a religious event or in a church.
I went to my cousin's humanist wedding in a stately home - I have never embraced humanism. My cousin was my bridesmaid at my Christian wedding - she has never embraced Christianity.

There are many people who attend religious events who do not accept or agree with what is going on.
Some don't care about the vows made at a christening - they just want the event, with the family christening gown and a party afterwards.

 

[ralliann]

A wedding doesn't have to be a religious event or in a church.
I went to my cousin's humanist wedding in a stately home - I have never embraced humanism. My cousin was my bridesmaid at my Christian wedding - she has never embraced Christianity.

There are many people who attend religious events who do not accept or agree with what is going on.
Some don't care about the vows made at a christening - they just want the event, with the family christening gown and a party afterwards.

Then it is not really a wedding, and calling it such is speaking as though God is involved in joining two as one flesh.