Rebuttal: Refinery29’s video “The Dark Reality Of Celebrity Endorsed Mega-Churches.”

As a Christian I find it of the utmost importance to say first, that I believe I am called to love others and treat every human being with the respect they deserve. Everyone was made by the loving hand of God and I am to treat them as such. Jesus himself said that the two greatest commandments were to love the Lord God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Those in the LGBT community fall under the umbrella of neighbors, and if that isn’t good enough for you, we are also called to love our enemies. So, if they didn’t fit under the first umbrella for you, I just made it bigger.

BUT, Big But. Refinery29 released a video with a narrative so terrible that it made my skin crawl.  It is titled “The Dark Reality Of Celebrity Endorsed Mega-Churches.” I encourage you to watch it for yourself to fully understand what I am talking about but for those of you who are too lazy or don’t have time here is my synopsis. Refinery29 “called out” California Mega Churches that, in their words, put out false narratives that LGBTQ+ people are welcome in their Churches. They stated that hopeful LGBTQ+ people come to these churches to only be disappointed that the church does not approve of their behavior. The entire video is designed to show that these churches are not inclusive despite their welcoming words, and that they should be held accountable. They even went so far as to show clips of RuPaul’s DragCon, as an example of how “spiritual” and godly LGBTQ+ people can be; because what could possibly be more godly than a man dressed as a woman with fake exposed breasts. I will answer that for you, almost anything.

I find it interesting that LGBTQ+ people feel as if churches are not being transparent. Churches preach the Bible, and the Bible makes its exceptionally clear that same sex actions are sinful in the eyes of God. I am not sure how much clearer it can get. If for some reason you don’t believe me I have taken the liberty to list a few examples.

Romans 1:26-28 “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.  In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.”

 

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”

And if those are not clear enough, this is what the Book of Leviticus has to say

Leviticus 18:22 “ ‘Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.

 

Leviticus 20:13 “ ‘If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.

In conclusion, it could not possibly be any clearer! I’m sorry but that is the truth of the matter. If you believe the Bible as truth, homosexuality is a sin. If you don’t believe the Bible as truth, then it is hard to hold you to the same standard. However, it is undoubtably a sin. God describes it as detestable and depending on which English translation you are reading, other words used to describe homosexuality include: depravity (ESV), abomination (KJV), abhorrent (MSG); if you are waiting for a good word I have some bad news for you.

CHURCHES PREACH THE BIBLE, and they preach it as truth, so no church that you walk into is going to say that that part of the Bible is false just because you want to feel included. If a church did not preach the truth of the Bible simply to spare feelings they would not be doing their job. Preachers do not ignore the other sins in the Bible. They are not going to ignore that lying, lust, or selfishness are sins just to spare the feelings of those who struggle with lying, lust, or selfishness. Therefore, a preacher is not going to ignore that homosexuality is a sin simply to spare your feelings. A Church is not putting out a false narrative. LGBTQ+ people are welcome there, and you will be shown God’s love, but we are not going to ignore the statements of the Bible to spare your feelings.

All people should be welcome in church. No matter your background, race, class, and yes, even sexual orientation. God’s word is for everybody. Every single person on this earth needs the love of God, and as a Christian it is my job to show it to you. I will love you as the beautiful created masterpiece that you are. The gospel is based around one truth, and John 3:16 says it best. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Even Corinthians 6:9-11 (the verse I listed above) tells us that we can be sanctified from our sin, including homosexuality. “And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” I do not believe that LGBTQ+ people should be treated any worse than any other human being living in sin. However, you will not be treated special, if you come to church you are going to hear the Bible’s truths, even the ones you don’t like or find offensive. Church is not supposed to make you feel good. When I go to church I often feel convicted of my shorcomings, but where I feel convicted I also feel inspired to go with the strength of God and be better. No church that truly follows the heart of God is going to sacrifice what they believe as truth just because it is “woke” or “with the times”. A Church that does that, is the one truly with a false narrative.

So Refinery29 before you go ahead and start casting shame on the churches of America, why don’t you start by reading the book that they are all based upon. When you do you will receive the transparency that you so desperately crave. Churches preach love because that is what God is. If you don’t want the love than go elsewhere, but do not condemn a church for lack of transparency on it’s beliefs, especially when those beliefs can be easily accessed from a free app on your smartphone.