Religious Community Blamed for LGBT Suicides

By David Ettinger

Don’t Be Shocked
If you are at all shocked by what recently happened in California, my question to you is: Where have you been the past five years or so?

The California assembly has passed a resolution which places upon that state’s religious community the primary blame “for many of the issues faced by those in the LGBT community today – including suicide.”[1]

In essence, “The document unapologetically pins blame on people of faith for being contributors to the sky-rocketing suicide rates among the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community.”[2] Furthermore, “ ‘the Legislature calls upon all Californians to embrace the individual and social benefits of family and community acceptance” of LGBT people.’ ”[3]

What this means is that all people of faith – and yes, evangelical Christians are at the top of the list – must conform their thinking to embrace and accept all lifestyles which are contrary to biblical mandate.

Where This is Going
Though this is not a law which can be punishable by jail time or fines, that it is a state-endorsed resolution ­– a tenet, if you will – holds weight. Christians holding to the Bible-inspired teaching of marriage being solely between one man and one woman, and that sex is exclusively God-ordained within the confines of marriage, can much more easily become targets of retribution.

Such retribution would most likely come in the realm of business and employment where Christian businesses would be widely boycotted and Christian employees in secular jobs would be fired on the spot simply for admitting to being a believer.

What this resolution does is take the U.S. one step closer to outlawing evangelical Christianity and proclaiming evangelicals as criminals. Part of this criminalization will include blaming much of our nation’s problems on evangelicals – and, as an offshoot, the Jewish community – the thinking being that if wasn’t for these “God fanatics,” the world would be so much of a better place.

Paul’s Warning
The apostle Paul warned that as we draw nearer to the end of the age, such movements will arise. He wrote to his beloved disciple Timothy: “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Timothy 4:3).

Paul’s primary focus of this admonition is the Church, specifically, the apostate church, his point being that so-called Christians will reject the Bible and, in essence, form a church of their own philosophical making. But this also expands to a society which is in ever-increasing God-rejection mode. It is not enough for society to just spurn God and the Bible, but to create and embrace new societal norms as diametrically opposed to Scripture as possible.

We are far along this well-trodden road, and we are not turning back, despite the hopes of a segment of the evangelical community that somehow a new era of righteousness is coming BEFORE Christ’s return. To me, this is sheer madness and self-deceit.

What to Do
So, how do believers conduct themselves in this ever-growing hostile climate? The answer is, “The same as always.” We are not to join in the ranting and raving over politics and changing society mores. Yes, we can certainly use such subjects as launching pads, but politics and societal behavior should never be our end-game.

Rather, we are to be preaching a righteous Savior who came to the Earth to save sinners from the consequences of sin, because this is the only matter of eternal worth. Every person will leave this life and be ushered into the next, and neither this world’s politics nor societal viewpoints will make an iota of difference.

All that will matter will be what that individual has done with Jesus Christ. As believers, this must be our focus as we rise above the distractions and focus on the souls of men and women who are perishing by the millions.     

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[1] https://www.christianheadlines.com/contributors/will-maule/california-lawmakers-pass-resolution-blaming-religious-people-for-high-suicide-rates-in-the-lgbt-community.html

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Tagged: Moral Decay of the U.S., Moral Depravity, Society, The Bible, The God of the Bible, War on Christianity, War on Evangelicals

Posted in: Application, Bible study, Bible teaching, Christ's Deity, Christian Behavior, Christian Ethics, Christianity, Commentary, Culture, Current Events, Dedication to Christ, Deterioration of the U.S., Devotional, Editorial/Blog, Glorifying God, Jesus the King, Jewish Persecution, Moral Corruption, New Testament, Obeying God, The End of the Age, theology