Moral Tectonics

For thousands of years, humanity has suffered the deadly effects of earthquakes and volcanic activity. Famously, the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. obliterated the Roman town of Pompeii. This event terrified the people of the ancient world, who often ascribed such calamities to the wrath of the gods.

The theory of plate tectonics and continental drift was first proposed by German geologist Alfred Wegener in 1912. However, his theory was dismissed, and Wegener was heavily ridiculed by his fellow scientists. One especially harsh critic deemed Wegener’s ideas “utter damned rot!”

Wegener’s theory sprung back to life in the 1960’s when supportive evidence began to accrue. We now know that the earth is composed of a relatively thin outer crust which is broken up into massive tectonic plates. These plates rest upon a deeper layer of molten rock called the mantle. The extreme heat of the earth’s interior causes the mantle to circulate in convection currents. These currents are the primary force driving continental drift. Tectonic plates move very slowly – only about 2 to 15 cm per year.

Plate tectonics beautifully explains the phenomenon of earthquakes, volcanic activity and the formation of mountain ranges. The vast majority of earthquakes occur at boundaries where two plates collide. By far the most well-known area of seismic activity in the United States is the San Andreas Fault in California. The San Andreas fault is responsible for disasters such as the earthquake of 1906 which devastated the city of San Francisco. According to the National Archives, the quake and subsequent fires “killed an estimated 3,000 people and left half the city’s 400,000 residents homeless.”

The study of plate tectonics is fascinating. But today in America there is a different kind of tectonic collision transpiring. Rather than tectonic plates, two views of human sexuality are smashing into one another. Like a physical earthquake, this confrontation has resulted in a great deal of damage.

Most Christians understand that there will always be a fundamental rift between the church and the world. The world rejects the wisdom of God and pursues a radically different vision of human flourishing. The story of Genesis 3 is played out again and again. There in the garden, the man and the woman violated God’s command by taking fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Rather than accepting God’s wisdom, they sought to exercise their own notion of right and wrong. Severe consequences followed swiftly; rather than blessing, humans brought curses down upon themselves.

Humanity’s rejection of God comes in many guises. However, in the Western world today there is one subject which towers above the rest: homosexuality. On this issue there is a total disconnect between church and culture. Our society widely believes that same sex attraction ought to be accepted and celebrated. Yet for two thousand years, orthodox Christianity has consistently warned that same sex intercourse is contrary to God’s design and harmful to those who engage in it. Moreover, Christians assert that at the last judgment, God’s wrath will be unveiled against those who embrace homosexuality. This perspective is regarded by the world, not just as mildly mistaken, but as totally false, reprehensible, hateful, and deeply offensive.

This tectonic collision has caused substantial damage to the church in the West. Churches which have not devoted significant energy to addressing this issue are failing their congregations. Of this we can be certain, if churches are not training Christians to think wisely about this matter, then their minds will be molded instead by the culture around them. Indeed, far too many churches have been shamefully silent. As the result, the issue of homosexuality has been allowed to corrode the faith of many in the church and become a severe stumbling block for those outside the church.

Christian singer Amy Grant has been in the news recently. Grant has been a superstar in the contemporary Christian musical universe for decades. On December 6th, Grant received the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors. These honors are bestowed upon those artists who have made greatest impact on culture. Along with Grant, recognition was extended to actor George Clooney, singer Gladys Knight and rock band U2. Actress Chita Rivera introduced Amy Grant with the following words: “Tonight we…include for the first time ever a contemporary Christian music artist, Amy Grant. Amy has logged success after success without ever compromising her faith.”

I wish I could agree with this assessment. It pains me to say that Amy Grant has deeply compromised her loyalty to Jesus. Grant first spoke out on homosexuality in 2013. “I know the religious community has not been very welcoming, but I just want to stress that the journey of faith brings us into community, but it’s really about one relationship. The journey of faith is just being willing and open to have a relationship with God. And everybody is welcome. Everybody.”

Amy Grant was absolutely correct in stating that every human being is welcomed into the family of God. But sadly, she chose to smear the church as “unwelcoming.” Grant amplified the slanderous accusations of LGBT activists who would love nothing more than to destroy the body of Christ. In truth, the vast majority of Christians wholeheartedly welcome people of any sexual attraction into their community. What most churches have refused to do is compromise the truth of God’s word.

In a 2021 interview, Grant preposterously claimed that it “doesn’t matter how we behave. It doesn’t matter how we’re wired. We’re all our best selves when we believe to our core: ‘I’m loved.'” Grant and her husband Vince Gill recently announced that they will be hosting her niece’s same sex wedding. When she heard that her niece had come out, Grant stated “what a gift to our whole family to just widen [our] experience.”

“It doesn’t matter how we behave.” Quite honestly, it’s shocking that anyone with even the slightest acquaintance with Christianity would utter those words, let alone someone with the stature of Amy Grant.

The Apostle Paul would vehemently disagree. Listen to his words to the church in Corinth: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit God’s kingdom? Don’t be deceived! Neither immoral people, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor practicing homosexuals of whichever sort, nor thieves, nor greedy people, nor drunkards, nor abusive talkers, nor robbers will inherit God’s kingdom. That is what some of you were! But you were washed clean; you were made holy; you were put back to rights in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”

Paul is abundantly clear: our eternity depends upon our behavior. Those who persist in wickedness will have no part in God’s eternal kingdom. It’s crucial to recognize that God does not prohibit homosexual behavior because he’s a heavenly bureaucrat who loves to afflict us with arbitrary rules. Nor is he a cosmic spoil sport who doesn’t want us to enjoy our sexuality. Rather, God is the creator, the one who fashioned the world according to his boundless wisdom. He understands that homosexual conduct is inherently harmful; it’s destructive to individuals who embrace it and corrosive to societies who approve it.

This is why human beings who persist in affirming and celebrating homosexual practice will have no part in God’s glorious future. Instead, they will certainly suffer God’s eternal judgment.

How then should Christians engage those in the LGBT community? How should you respond when you see someone running towards a sheer cliff where they will doubtlessly plunge to their death? Would not love demand that you desperately warn them? For Amy Grant to act in love should involve just this: she ought to do everything in her power to turn her niece away from sin and back to the light of God’s truth.

Sadly, there are far too many Christians who, though not practicing homosexuals themselves, are all too willing to encourage others to persist in their mistaken ways. Amy Grant is but one high profile example. Just as in the Garden of Eden, the root problem is the rejection of God’s clear commands, for the Bible is full of warnings against sexual immorality in general and homosexuality specifically.

A small but significant portion of the church in the Western world proudly hangs rainbow banners outside, eagerly proclaiming their approval of homosexuality. Such organizations have ceased to be churches for they’ve rejected the God of the Bible. They wish to retain only those parts of scripture agreeable to their appetites. They speak passionately about Jesus’ love and acceptance. But it’s precisely because of God’s great love that he requires our repentance. We simply cannot become the people that God created us to be without putting to death of our sinful and selfish desires. Jesus indeed bids us come and die, because this is the only path to resurrection life, the life which will truly give us joy and satisfaction.

In the end the rainbow enterprise stands under God’s condemnation. Christianity comes as a package deal: either you accept Jesus along the with the scriptures which testify to Him, or you reject Him utterly and completely. There is no other option. Don’t be deceived.