Oprah, Osteen, Jakes and Homosexuality!

I discovered a surprising silver lining to the recent controversy over Bishop T.D. Jakes "evolved and evolving" comments about homosexuality, beginning with his unequivocal reiteration of his view "that marriage is ordained by God as a union between a man and a woman" and "that all sex outside of that sacred union is sin and that would include but is not limited to, homosexuality."

As one who had asked him publicly and privately for clarification, I want to thank him publicly, just as I thanked his representative who texted me his statement privately.

But that's not the surprising part of the story.

Instead, what's of real interest to me is that Oprah Winfrey has actually been criticized by gay activists for having Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes on her network, since both of them affirmed on her airwaves that homosexual practice is sinful in God's sight. Yet she continues to welcome them to speak for her and does not consider them homophobic bigots.

Some would say, "But the reasons for that are obvious. They're both Word of Faith prosperity teachers, they don't preach repentance when appearing before secular media, and Bishop Jakes enthusiastically supported pro-abortion, pro-homosexuality candidate Barack Obama for president. These men are of the same spirit as the world, therefore the world loves them (John 15:18-23)."

I certainly understand those criticisms, but that is not the focus of this article.

What I want to emphasize is that today, there is no subject more volatile than the subject of same-sex "marriage" and the normalizing of homosexual practice, and the moment you say something as benign as, "I believe God designed a man to be with a woman" or "I believe it's best for kids to have a mom and a dad" you are labeled a homophobic bigot.

And if you say those things because you are committed to the Word of God, you are reviled in even uglier terms. You are just not a hater, but you are a hypocritical, fundamentalist, extremely dangerous hater, part of the "Christian Taliban." (This is just a small sampling of what you will be called.)

So I find it fascinating that, with all the criticisms that have come their way, both Pastor Osteen and Bishop Jakes held their ground when asked about homosexuality. Respectively, they told Oprah on her Next Chapter show, "I believe that homosexuality is shown as a sin in the Scripture" and "I think that sex between two people of the same sex is condemned in the Scriptures, and as long as it is condemned in the Scriptures, I don't get to say what I think. I get to say what the Bible says."

In spite of this, Oprah continues to welcome them.

Now, to be perfectly clear, I believe my appeal to the Osteens is as relevant today as it was when I wrote it last year, and I do hope that Bishop Jakes will be more careful when speaking to the secular media about these issues.

But I also find it significant that, on this significant moral and cultural issue, neither of these men have changed their viewpoints in order to appease the spirit of the age and neither of them have been rejected by Oprah (and, it appears, most of her audience).

Of course, you could make the case that if they rebuked sin and called for repentance the next time they were on Oprah (just as John the Baptizer, Jesus, Peter and Paul did; see Luke 3:1-14; Luke 13:1-9; Acts 2:36-40; 17:30; 20:21; 24:24-25; 26:20) that would be their last appearance on her network, and that could well be the case.

But for the moment, I'm going to use this all redemptively and, with a wink, tell a non-believing critic, "Hey, if Joel Osteen and T.D. Jakes believe that God loves all people but that homosexual practice is sinful and Oprah doesn't call them homophobes, then you've got no right to call other Christians homophobes because they believe the same things."

So, the next time someone tells you that you're homophobic for speaking the truth in love, tell them to take it up with Oprah :-). 

And in all seriousness, regardless of what you think of Oprah, Bishop Jakes and Pastor Osteen, the lesson here is that if you are a genuinely caring Christian, the better someone knows you, the harder it will be for them to reject you as a homophobe.

Messages From Heaven: A Sincere Question For Those Who Identify as Trans...

Messages From Heaven: A Sincere Question For Those Who Identify as Trans...: If you identify as transgender and have read my previous articles or book chapters dealing with transgender issues, you almost certainly ...

A Sincere Question For Those Who Identify as Transgender!

If you identify as transgender and have read my previous articles or book chapters dealing with transgender issues, you almost certainly count me as an enemy, not a friend, a transphobic bigot lacking empathy—or even worse.

And I understand why you feel like that.

After all, I still refer to Bruce Jenner as Bruce and use male pronouns when speaking about him.

That alone would brand me as a transphobe in your eyes.

But what if there is something wrong with today's understanding of transgender identity? What if our current approach is not the best approach? What if God has a better way?

Over the last 10 years, as I've interacted online or face to face with transgender men and women, some have been gentle, fragile souls, having suffered much over the years and are obviously very sensitive about such deep-seated, painful, and personal issues.

Others have been angry and hostile, to the point of posting violent threats and ugly wishes, reminiscent of the male-to-female transgender who threatened Ben Shapiro on national TV a few weeks back. (I had a similar, but less extreme, experience a few years back when a transgender "woman" challenged me in very male, macho terms. Somehow, "she" had not lost "her" masculine side.)

But even in the case of those who are angry and hostile, I recognize that there is often pain behind the anger, and in their eyes, people like me have played a big role in their suffering.

Someone very close to my family whom I have known all my life came out as transgender a few years back, and I reached out to him, telling him I wanted to hear his story in detail, without responding or arguing.

But after sharing a little with me via email, explaining decades of secret fears and shame and tears, he cut me off, wanting nothing to do with me anymore.

Others have reached out to me as followers of Jesus, asking about God's will for their lives after having sex-change surgery, while still others have spoken to me about their fulfillment as transgender Christians. And yet the longer we interact, the more pain and uncertainty I hear, almost as if they must continue to prove to themselves (and others) that they did the right thing. (Again, you can chalk this up to systemic "transphobia" or you can ask yourself if there are other factors at work.)

My question, though, is very simple, and I ask it not to be antagonistic but rather to foster discussion: What is the definitive test that demonstrates you are transgender?

I'm not talking about being intersexed or having an identifiable chromosomal abnormality.

I'm talking about someone who is a genetic male but believes he is a female (or the reverse).

What is the definitive test that confirms this identity?

It is true, of course, that I am not a medical or psychological professional, but I have consulted specialists in the field who have worked with transgender-identified individuals for decades, and I have read studies confirming what I believe as well as challenging what I believe.

I have seen the academic studies saying that there are brain differences between transgender individuals and straight individuals. I have read other studies that they say there are no such differences. And then I have read still other studies that claim that any differences in brain structure are due to the plasticity of the brain (in other words, they are the result of a transgender focus rather than the cause of it).

I'm quite aware of the pitched debate that took place within the American Psychiatric Association over the classification of gender dysphoria (formally gender identity disorder), and it's clear that politics were involved as much as science.

And I've talked with transgender individuals who are sure that, if tested, they would have a chromosomal abnormality or a clear difference in their brain, yet those I interacted with have transitioned without undergoing any such test.

I'm also aware that there have been no comprehensive brain studies of children who identify as transgender, charting their development over a period of years. (And let's not forget that studies indicate that many, if not most, children who identify as transgender, no longer do so after puberty and many of them subsequently identify themselves as gay.)

Recently, a transgender individual referred me to a trans-friendly website, Trans 101 for Trans People, thinking it would present me with useful information. (Actually, what I read there confirmed what I already understood.)

The very first question was: "Help! I think I'm trans. How do I know for certain?"

The answer said, in part, "You very well might be trans. At this time there is no test that will give you a definite 'Yes' or 'No.'"

And that is exactly the point I am making.

For the vast majority of trans-identified people, they are sure they are transgender not because of a verifiable, external test, but, ultimately, because their perception is their reality.

Where this can lead (and has led) is obvious, with people switching back and forth between genders by the day or hour, with others living as "gender outlaws," with others claiming multiple genders, with others choosing not to identify as any gender, and still others not identifying as fully human—all because of deep-seated perceptions.

Is it really so hateful, then, to suggest that we invest more time and energy and prayer to understand why some people, even beginning as little children, believe they are trapped in the wrong bodies?

Is it really transphobic to say that the very best solution is to help people find wholeness from the inside out?

Whenever I address these subjects in a church setting, I urge those attending to welcome everyone who visits their congregation with warmth and love, be it two gay men holding hands as they worship or, to all outward appearances, a man wearing a dress.

And I call them to pray for God's wisdom, power, and grace to have answers for those who struggle, being sure that there is a better way than celebrating transgender identity, putting children on hormone blockers, then subjecting them to the radical act of sex-change surgery, only to live on hormones the rest of their lives.

There must be a better way than this, and true love does not celebrate Caitlyn Jenner. Instead, true love prays for Bruce to find wholeness and peace.

You can call me hateful and transphobic if you like, and you can ridicule me as uneducated and bigoted, but if we all agree that growing up and living with the perception that you're trapped in the wrong body is painful and difficult, then let's join together and find God's best way to make you whole.

Today, we look back at old surgical and medical practices with shock, amazed at what was considered "scientific" and "cutting edge" back then.

Perhaps in the not too distant future, we will look back at today's "solution" to gender dysphoria—sending a girl to school dressed like a boy, putting her on hormone blockers, then prescribing sex-change surgery and more hormones for life—as utterly primitive and outmoded.

Perhaps we will find a better way.

Is it really "transphobic" to hope and pray and work towards this goal?

Messages From Heaven: How to Respond to the Rising Tide of Anti-Christia...

Messages From Heaven: How to Respond to the Rising Tide of Anti-Christia...: In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage, which effectively codifies Bible believers as bigots, the attack on conser...

How to Respond to the Rising Tide of Anti-Christian Hatred!

In the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision on marriage, which effectively codifies Bible believers as bigots, the attack on conservative Christian values has reached fever pitch.

This is not the slightest surprise, as I and many others have been warning for some time now, but the ferocity and ugliness of it is still shocking, and it is something we must be prepared for.

The other day I posted on Twitter, “Much has changed since the SCOTUS decision, but more has not changed. Jesus is still Lord, the world is still fallen, Satan is still raging.”

An “equality” advocate responded by challenging me to name one thing in my life that had changed since the decision.

I responded, “The absolutely horrific, ugly, non-stop, nasty, vile attack on me (& colleagues) from LGBT advocates. That's just one. :)”

Bear in mind that I constantly address LGBT issues with sensitivity and compassion (for two recent examples, see here and here), but because I strongly oppose gay activism, that makes me a “hater” of the worst kind.

Here’s just the tiniest sample of posts on my Facebook page in the days following the Supreme Court decision, almost all of them coming from those who identify as LGBT (or their advocates), and almost all of them being totally unsolicited – in other words, open attacks rather than responses to my own posts or comments.

Of course, I’m not complaining about this – far from it – nor is this worth comparing with the real suffering endured by Christians around the world. It is simply a representative sampling to remind us of what we’re up against.

• Here is a man who preaches hate and ignorance.
• What a pathetic example of humanity your opinion and those who follow you portray. Small mindedness is unacceptable this day and age. You should all be ashamed of yourselves!!!
• You are not a Christian, you probably are a devil worshiper passing for a Christian.
• People would get a better look at the Gospel from Satan himself...and I'm not even a Satanist. If you take the bible literally, do not bother responding to me. Thanks!
• This guy is just another cultist who worships the evil, mass-murdering, incest-obsessed, rape-encouraging and hate-mongering god of Abraham as a good thing. Anyone who worships evil as good and claims that basic human rights is something to be fought against is a threat to civilization and a terrorist.
• Just another cult leader, disgusting!
• A very hateful stupid person. The worst kind.
• Completely ignorant. Shut your mouth and mind your business. Just another brainwashed uneducated Christian. Doctor of what, exactly? Bigotry? Intolerance? Ignorance? Do they give out PHD's just for being a complete [expletive] these days? Just another ignorant, hate-filled Christian bigot. Who wants to ask a bigot doctor anything! [Note: These last five, among others not cited here, were received within a 45-minute period.] BRAVO to the Supreme Court! You LOST, Christian bigot! Get over it! Ignorant bigot. Icky bigot. Another ridiculous ignorant bigot. Get the [expletive] out.
• Close-minded bigot who thinks he's better than others because of his close-minded beliefs.
• Bigots like this wrapping themselves in religion while viciously attacking LGBTQ folks is DISGUSTING. The Supreme Court has ruled. Gays exist and are just as valid and have all the same rights you do. SHUT YOUR BIGOT FACE. NOW!
• You're a [expletive] gross pimple nosed [expletive] [expletive]. Dr. Brown I hope you catch [a specific deadly disease] and die.

Again, this is only a tiny sampling of what I’ve actually seen, which represents a tiny sampling of hateful comments that I haven’t seen, but the overall theme is undeniably clear: If you do not affirm homosexual “marriage,” homosexual relationships, and even homosexuality itself, you are a hate-filled, despicable, uneducated bigot, with the emphasis on that last word, bigot.

How then do we respond?

First, the uglier and more vile the attacks, the more we know we’re doing the right thing. The opposition is a sign of encouragement to us, and the more people try to silence us, the louder we shout.

Second, we must remember that this is a spiritual battle and that Satan hates homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. Fervent prayer is one of our greatest resources.

Third, we must bless those who curse us and overcome evil with good, to use the words of Jesus and Paul. Responding to hatred with hatred will hurt everyone, ourselves included.

Fourth, we must continue to propagate the truth until the lies are dispelled, cutting through the emotional arguments and rhetorical attacks and doing our best to get people to think, sometimes by asking questions.

Fifth, we must remember that Jesus already warned us that the world would hate us for doing what is right, and so we must renew our resolve to stand firm with backbones of steel and hearts of compassion.

Sixth, we must determine afresh to bring the good news of the gospel to everyone, knowing that our ultimate counterculture weapon is the message of the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Seventh, we must pray for revival and visitation, knowing that only a massive move of God can turn the tide.

Ultimately, whether America goes up or down, we will continue to live for the Lord, continue to do what is right, continue to reach out, and continue to stand strong.

Messages From Heaven: Trustworthy Answers in Untrusting Times!

Messages From Heaven: Trustworthy Answers in Untrusting Times!: From the human perspective, life doesn't always make sense. It is a difficult journey with obstacles to face and pitfalls to avoid. ...

Trustworthy Answers in Untrusting Times!

From the human perspective, life doesn't always make sense. It is a difficult journey with obstacles to face and pitfalls to avoid. All of us have asked the same hard questions: "Is there a God?"; "Does He really love me?"; "Why am I here?"; "Why did this have to happen?"; "What is life really about?"
Life is a process of seeking answers for the road ahead. But the real question is: "Where do I go to get the answers to those questions?" Philosophers can only speculate about the meaning of life. At best, they can suggest theories for the reasons of suffering, the existence of God, and other basic spiritual questions. In the end, philosophy's answers are totally unsatisfying. Even Bertrand Russell, perhaps the premier philosopher of the twentieth century and a man totally opposed to Christianity, admitted before he died that philosophy had availed him nothing.
I'll never forget a man I once met while hiking through the mountains of northern California. He was a graduate of Boston University who lived in an overturned Frigidaire box by a stream.
I saw him there and introduced myself. After describing his frustrating search for the meaning of life, he told me, "I've escaped."
"Well, have you found the answers?" I asked.
"No," he replied, "but I've put myself into a situation where I don't have to ask the questions!" Unfortunately, that is the best human wisdom can do.

Information, But No Answers
The last fifty years have produced an information explosion unparalleled in human history. Yet with all we have learned and with all the volumes that have been written, modern knowledge has been unable to shed any new light on the most basic spiritual questions facing the human race. That's exactly the situation the Bible ascribes to mankind in the end times: "always learning, but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7).
Man has solved incredibly difficult problems in the fields of mathematics, astronomy, microbiology, and even space travel. But the true meaning of life stubbornly eludes those whose methods of pursuit are merely rational. They end up totally puzzled about life, death, God, man, sin, heaven, hell, love, joy, and peace.
The problem is that spiritual answers cannot be deduced by human reason alone (1 Corinthians 2:14). It's not that spiritual truth is irrational or illogical, but human wisdom is defective because it is tainted by man's sinfulness and unable to perceive the things of God.

Trustworthy Answers from the Unchanging God
That is why the Bible is so important. It gives us the answers we can't find on our own. It is God's Word to mankind. Scripture is divinely revealed truth that fills the vacuum of spiritual ignorance in all of us. Psalm 19 contains a hymn of praise to God for the wonders of His Word. It is also a marvelous lesson about the authority and sufficiency of Scripture to answer all the questions of life.

Perfect Answers
Verse 7 says, "The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul." "Perfect" comes from a Hebrew word that means comprehensive, or complete. In other words, the Bible contains all the truth that is necessary to transform and restore the human soul.
Thus the Bible offers hope for those weighted down by a sense of their own failure. Because it is perfect truth, it can revive man's broken soul and offer new life to those defeated by sin and failure. If you are apathetic, Scripture will convict you of sin and show you your real needs. If on the other hand you are crushed with emptiness, guilt, and anxiety, God's Word contains truth that can transform your soul with new life in Christ.

Certain Answers
The psalmist goes on: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (v. 7). Natural intelligence is at best a leap in the dark. Even the most perceptive philosopher will tell you that there is no certainty in human wisdom. At his best, man is totally inadequate in the pursuit of truth.
Not so with Scripture. God's Word is sure, certain, infallible, inerrant, and totally reliable in every sense. In contrast to human wisdom, which is based on academic pursuit, the Bible can make a simple person wise. What a fantastic promise! Whatever you need to know in life is covered in the Word of God. Study it for yourself. It will tell you how to build lasting friendships, how to develop communication skills, and how to build a solid marriage. All you need is an open mind, a receptive spirit, and an obedient heart.

Satisfying Answers
Verse 8 continues: "The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." Everyone wants a happy and contented life. The problem is that people look for joy in all the wrong places. Real happiness cannot be found in pleasure and materialism. You can't find lasting joy in sinful self-gratification and the hedonistic pursuit of money, sex, alcohol, and drugs. All these things lead to a dead end.
God offers real satisfaction to people who obey His Word. He wants us to be happy. Too many people think of God as a joyless ogre who stamps out pleasure wherever He finds it. God does not look at mankind from heaven saying, "There's one having fun; get him!" He designed us so that the greatest possible joy comes as a fruit of our obedience to Him.
Best of all, the gladness He gives is not the kind that ends when the party is over. It is a rich, deep joy that operates even in the midst of life's most difficult trials. No matter what pressures you may face in life, He will strengthen and guide you through His Word.

Enlightening Answers
"The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes" (v. 8). Scripture makes sense out of life. It helps us understand the depth of man's depravity without God. It is no wonder our world is filled with lying, cheating, murder, war, and tragedy. It is easy to understand why someone without spiritual understanding would want to escape into a box and hide!
What comfort does philosophy offer to someone who loses a child? What can human wisdom say to a person whose spouse has cancer? Only God's Word can speak with authority to the deep needs of life as it enlightens the eyes of those who submit to its truth.
The Bible may not always give easy answers to the hard questions we ask, but the truth it reveals is far superior to the pat answers of human wisdom. The Scripture declares the character of God. It shows Him as a loving, caring, all-wise, and omnipotent Sovereign who remains in control — no matter how bleak this world may seem.

Enduring Answers
Verse 9 says, "The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever." "The fear of the Lord" is parallel to "the law," "the testimony," "the precepts," and "the commandment" (vv. 7-8). It is another of the psalmist's names for Scripture. More than that, "the fear of the Lord" signifies the sum of man's response to God's Word.
The Bible, unlike any other book, endures forever. It is relevant in every generation — never out of date or obsolete. Though it is an ancient document, it never needs another edition. It has been translated to update the language, but for two millennia it has remained the same in content. It speaks to us as pointedly and authoritatively as it ever did to any generation since it was written.
Human philosophies come in and out of style. Every field of science known to man is constantly in a state of flux: changing, growing, discarding one maxim and replacing it with another. But one thing that never changes is the eternal Word of God.

True Answers
Finally, the psalmist says, "The judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether" (v. 9). What a bold statement that is! God's Word is true. This is the unequivocal testimony of Scripture to itself. It is hard today to find anything we can count on for truth. The media, politicians, and even some preachers all have a reputation for lacking credibility. In fact, we take it for granted that they regularly distort the truth.
In a world of lies, people despair of trying to find the truth. That was even true in the time of Christ. Pilate, facing Jesus on one hand and an angry mob on the other, cynically asked, "What is truth?" (John 18:38), as if to say, "I give up" — just like the man in the refrigerator box!
Franz Kafka, the brilliant German novelist, used a parable to illustrate the futility of man's search for truth. He described a bombed-out city of rubble where death and ruin were everywhere. People had been crushed under debris, where they lay dying in agony. In the middle of this total holocaust, one solitary figure sits in a bathroom. Kafka calls him the defiant fisherman. He sits on a toilet seat with a fishing line dangling in the bathtub. There is no water in the tub, and obviously no fish, but the defiant fisherman keeps on fishing anyhow.
That, said Kafka, is what the search for truth is like. It is a futile quest for something that isn't really there. It is a worthless pursuit for meaning, while the whole world is dying all around.
It is a hopeless picture, but that is exactly what it's like to look for truth apart from the Bible. The natural man cannot find truth in the spiritual realm. He is spiritually dead and unresponsive to God (Ephesians 2:1-2). The only way he can find truth is if the spiritual realm invades his coffin of flesh.
That's exactly what the Bible does! It is a supernatural revelation from God that invades the human heart with the sum of spiritual truth we need to know. If you are looking for the transformation of your soul; if you are in need of true wisdom and real joy; if you long for eternal life, the only place you'll ever find it is in the pages of God's Word, the Bible.