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Last week we noted that the greatest challenges to face the Church are yet to come as we experience a progressive pulling away from the Word and the things of God, and that the greatest shock may be the revelation that one of the major sources of this distancing from the truth will come from the Church itself by way of false teaching and conclusions.

As Pastor Hayward-Harris endeavours to found Bermuda's first gay-friendly church, linking it with the Vision Church of Atlanta - a church which has interpreted God's Word to say that it is fine to be gay if it is natural to you.

I feel that it is imperative to deal with the controversial subject of homosexuality and the Church. As we look at God's Word, I will not seek to promote a view that is based on culture or what is popular or socially 'comfortable'; as a pastor I will simply help you understand what is written in God's Word.

Before we can explore God's Word, we need to lay a foundation regarding some core issues that frequently lead to a misunderstanding of the relationship of Church and the

gay community. Sadly, Christians often approach the topic of homosexuality and the Church with an angry sense of paranoia; the gay community expresses the same type of angry 'edge' toward evangelical Christians who do not embrace their view.

But there is a foundational truth greater than the homosexuality issue that we first need to realize, which is the origin of mankind. Hence, the core issue we must first discuss is creation.

The book of Genesis is the most foundational book in the Bible - and it may be the most controversial thanks for the most part to Charles Darwin.

With the introduction of his book, The Origin of the Species, he hypothesized how the world evolved. His theory, supported by speculations and presumptions, was revealed not only in the book, but in private letters to his friend Mr. Asa Gray, Professor of Botany at Harvard.

Charles Darwin states in his letters of June 18 and July 20, 1857, "...for I am quite conscious that my speculations run quite beyond the bounds of true science."

He also stated: "Either species have been independently created, or they have descended from other species, like varieties from one species. I think it can be shown to be probable that man gets his most distinct varieties by preserving such as arise best worth keeping & destroying the others.... And it seems to me, that supposing that such hypothesis were to explain general propositions, we ought, in accordance with common way of following all sciences, to admit it, till some better hypothesis be found out.... But as an honest man I must tell you that I have come to the heterodox conclusion that there are no such things as independently created species - that species are only strongly defined varieties. I know that this will make you despise me - I do not much underrate the many huge difficulties on this view".

Why is this view so difficult for Darwin? Because it was not and has not been scientifically proven?

Yes, there are varieties of the same species such as a fish or dog, but there is no evolution of one kind to another because God created everything after its kind (Genesis 1). Unfortunately, 'modern' universities, including those in the category of Ivy League, which were foundationally Christian, gradually welcomed Darwin's presentation of how the world began, and today it is strongly taught not only at the university level, but in our high schools and elementary schools as well.

Why does it make a difference if we accept evolution or creation as a starting point? The foundation of creation verses evolution is so important because if there is no God - the creator - then there are no absolutes, meaning we cannot be confidently right or wrong about anything.

The end result is that everyone has a right to their own opinion - and this, incidentally, summarises the society we live in today. Conversely, if there is a creator (God), then there are absolutes, and He determines what is clearly right or wrong. The end result here is that we are accountable to Him: we must answer to Him one day.

Clearly the book of Genesis is the most pivotal book of the Bible. The word 'Genesis' actually means 'origins' or 'beginnings'. It is the origin of the powerful creation of the world, the creation of man and woman, procreation and the sanctity of life, the start of marriage, the start of the family, languages and God's hand to win the world back to Himself.

It is also the beginning of other negative things brought on by man's stubbornness and rebellion: the birth of sin, the first murder, chaos and rebellion, self-invented worship of false gods, and all types of sexual sin which is defined as any form of sex outside of the marriage relationship. It includes adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, incest, etc. Take a read through Genesis, it's all there.

When we discuss the topic of creation, we are in a sense, being deceived to think that there is no God. However, Romans 1:20 tells us:

"For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God."

This means we are without excuse because the manifold creation of the world in which we live is screaming to us every day that God really does exists!

Time is a dimension; it creates nothing. There is a power greater than us that 'had' to create what we see and experience today.

Ponder the greatness: The Universe is so vast that we travel around our axis at 1,000 mph; we move around the sun at 67,000 mph, we move in orbit around our galaxy at 481,000 mph. But, we are in the perfect position not to burn up or to freeze to death. Reflect on the complexity: the total length of a DNA strand in one cell out of the trillion of cells in the human body is six feet and if all the DNA strands in your body were packed together they would fit into a box the size of an ice cube. If unwound and joined together, the string of DNA from your body alone could stretch from the earth to the sun and back more than 400 times.

However, you can't see it without a microscope! Psalm 147:5 states, "How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension."

Time could not create our world in perfect balance and with perfect gravity. We need only to study the complexity of human life, the brain, how a great red wood tree comes from a tiny seed, to conclude there is most definitely a God because detailed systematic order just does not happen!

According to the law of probability, there would be a greater chance to get a perfect 747 Jet to form from a mass explosion of metal, electrical wires and bolts, than it would for miscellaneous evolution (the survival of the fittest) to produce the Universe that we observe and enjoy on a daily basis! How great is God!

God's existence

Now if God exists, which He does, and He created us, male and female, which he did, then He should know how this whole sexuality thing ought to work.

God created families for people to follow Him and love Him. Instead, because of man's stubbornness and rebellion, the family structure has become so broken today. It has caused massive damage among societies and youth not only in Bermuda but all around the world.

I have travelled to the Caribbean, Africa, Europe, and Asia and youth are crying out for role models, for family, a place of belonging, and structure beyond what they presently know.

God as Creator says He created us either male or female and it was His original design for a man and a woman to become one flesh in marriage and the sex that completed that marriage.

There is no room in God's Word for a union of the same sex to be acceptable in His eyes; similarly, there is no room in His creation for two of the same sex to procreate, which is one of the two purposes for marriage: one of union with will include love and companionship and the other to produce offspring.

Yet we can be so quick to think that God creates people to be homosexual, however, after considerable research over many years, there is no definite scientific proof that explains that this is not a choice, however, studies show that it is life incidents, parenting patterns, or psychological attributes that contribute to one's conclusion to be homosexual.

Detestable

However, God says that when a man lies with a man as he lies with a woman it is 'detestable' to Him, a word defined as 'an abhorrent deed' (Leviticus 18:22). Why is the God of the Bible so opposed to this lifestyle?

Is it because he hates homosexuals? No! He is a God of love, but love does not mean that you accept everything someone does. Parents are supposed to love their children in spite of what they do - they love them, but may not agree with every action they perform.

Likewise, God loves us. In fact Romans 5:8 the Bible says, "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." He did not wait for us to turn to Him; He gave His life when our backs were totally against Him. He turned to us so that we could have the power in Christ to leave whatever our sins were and live for Him.

So while we are busy fighting issues, the greater question, is do we accept that the God of the Bible truly is Creator? If so, then we are accountable to Him. On this foundation of creation we will discover next week what exactly does the Bible says on the subject at hand in the Old and the New Testament. Join us as we learn the difference between tolerance and acceptance and how any desire or preference does not equal what is just or right.

Pastor Gary C. Simons serves as the Senior Pastor of Cornerstone Bible Fellowship.

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