Postmodernism and Homosexuality
Reprinted from The Carolina Messenger, July 2003
David R. Pharr

An openly homosexual man has been nominated to be the bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese of the Episcopal Church.  News reports are that he left his wife to establish a liaison with another man.  Episcopal policy requires that his election be confirmed by other bishops.  An article in The Charlotte Observer (6/11/03) says that Episcopal bishops in the Carolinas are divided as to how they will vote.  We mean no disrespect to decent people in that denomination, who, we trust, are as offended by sexual perversion as we are.  But the whole mess arises from disregard for the authority of the word of God.  It is an unscriptural institution debating election to an unscriptural office by a man living an unscriptural lifestyle.

A friend, not a member of the church of Christ, was lamenting the lack of moral convictions in his church when he asked, “How can churches accept such things when the Bible is so plain?”  My answer: “When churches left the authority of Scripture on doctrinal issues, it was only one more step to leave it on issues of morality.”

One quotation in the Observer article is especially indicative of how postmodernism is influencing religion.  One Carolina bishop said, “If we were to vote today, I would vote to withhold consent.”  Then he added this caveat: “But I am determined to be prayerful and open to all voices, including those who believe that God is leading us into a new understanding of God’s truth.”  It would be good if “new understanding of God’s truth” means acceptance of the plain teaching of the holy Book.  However, “new understanding” for many means being “open” to the “voices” of political correctness, of human philosophy, of societal trends, of postmodern interpretations, and of denominational directions.  In the context of the homosexual issue, it means considering the “voices” of those who have decided that God really does not intend that what he said should apply to our present age.

An old joke illustrates the postmodern approach.  Three men applied for an accounting position.  The owner of the company asked each the same question: “How much is two plus two?”  The first applicant answered, “That’s easy.  The answer is four.”  The next man quickly said, “Four.”  The third man came into the office and was asked the same question.  He looked about the room, closed the office door, and leaned across the desk to whisper, “What do you want it to be?”

In simplified terms, the postmodern approach as to how the Bible is to be interpreted comes down to “What do you want it to be?”  The question ceases to be what was meant by the Spirit-guided writers and becomes “what it means to me.”  This is not about mere differences over word definitions, or grammar, or historical context. The new hermeneutic makes such matters irrelevant.  It is not concerned with what the Bible actually says is the truth.  Truth becomes whatever one wants it to be; it is never absolute.  Conveniently, this means that if one wants homosexuality (or adultery, or infant baptism, or  women elders) to be acceptable, what God’s word says can be so interpreted.  The politics of such theology puts its own “spin” on everything.

H. A. (Buster) Dobbs showed the folly of such in a Firm Foundation editorial (May ‘98).

It’s really nothing new.  It’s error as old as Isaiah (and older).  Consider the warning of the prophet:

A few years ago we might not have imagined that any denomination might accept homosexuality.  Now all of the mainline denominations are showing signs of moral compromise.  And our own brotherhood is not immune.
 

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