A 15 Minute Break is not Enough Time to Write a Diatribe....

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A 15 Minute Break is not Enough Time to Write a Diatribe....

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August 14, 2007 at 11:46am

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So today I listened to my favorite conservative Christian radio program.

And I actually agreed with the host.

He talked about a news story (http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/10/national/main3158140.shtml?source=mostpop_story) in which a Texas church cancelled a funeral 24 hours before it was scheduled - because allegedly they did not know that the man who passed away was gay until they were preparing a tribute video and saw pictures of him with other men. The church's argument: "We did decline to host the service — not based on hatred, not based on discrimination, but based on principle." Apparently the principle that homosexuality is far worse than any other sin.

Some questions that came to mind:
1. If the church was so against homosexuality, why didn't they talk to this guy while he was alive about it?
2. Does it seem heartless to anyone else that they cancelled this funeral 24 hours before?
3. This one is from my favorite radio host: If churches refuse to hold funerals for homosexuals, don't they then have to refuse to hold funerals for any sinner? And if so, who's going to do everyone on earth's funerals?

My thoughts on homosexuality in general tend to be more liberal than many evangelical Christians' opinions. However, I think this should be considered a moral atrocity even by the most conservative Christians (ie, my beloved brother in Christ, the talk show host).

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1 Star to "A 15 Minute Break is not Enough Time to Write a Diatribe...."

3 Comments to "A 15 Minute Break is not Enough Time to Write a Diatribe...."

Sheepgirl

August 14, 2007 at 12:11pm

What comes to mind for me--is yeah I am thinking you would still hold the funeral---but what does a church allow in terms of "tributes?" Should a church allow any blatent sin to be flaunted in tributes?--e.g. porn stars, marital infidelity, drunkards, pedophiles, etc. Do we know if the family of the gay individual purposely hid this sin to squeak it in the church. Just as it would be wrong (in my opinion) to not do a funeral for a person who was homosexual, I think it is equally wrong to put a church in the position of in anyway--subtly or overtly condoning sin or treating it as though it is acceptable. Jesus Himself does not condone sin. The word says that the wages of sin is death--it separates us from Christ, etc. Allowing tributes that flaunt sin could actually lead people astray, etc.

I don't know if the talk show host shared more info about the situation than what is in your blog here, but I would want to know more about the whole thing before casting judgment upon the church.

Dan Piippo

August 15, 2007 at 4:07am

I agree with Lisa and Allie. I think that the church should have gone ahead with the funeral. The news article that Allie points to states that the deceased's brother was a janitor at the church and that the person in question was not a member of the church. I think that (especially) since the church was producing the video tribute, that they have the right to design it how they would like. There is a little issue in the article that makes the motivation of the church unclear. The church says that there were "pictures of men "engaging in clear affection, kissing and embracing."" The sister of the deceased said that she gave the church no such pictures. So, someone is either unclear of the facts or lying. I think it is interesting that the obituary implied that the deceased was homosexual and that the service was called off soon after, whether in regards to the obit or the supposed pictures, we don't know. However, I think that the church could still perform the funeral without suggesting that it was supporting homosexuality.

Another thing, we don't know much about this person's homosexual background. We know that he was close with another man. We don't know his spiritual background, if he struggled with being homosexual, or if he freely engaged in it. Regardless, it is the role of believers to not judge and to love others, especially if they are different from us.

Allie

August 17, 2007 at 11:15pm

Yes, but WHOM are we supposed to judge?

5:12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? 5:13 God judges those outside. "Drive out the wicked person from among you."

1 Corinthians 5:12-13 RSV

This whole story is incredibly confusing; from the few news articles out there, it's difficult to discern what exactly happened, who knew what was going on and who didn't, how the church came to know about the man's actions, what involvement exactly the church was to have had in the service, etc.

That's a whole new blog subject in itself....

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