The Darkened Heart

Dr. John Mark Reynolds scores in his analysis of the "Rev." Mel White's protest of Dr. James Dobson and Focus on the Family. See his post, "Salazar has a chance to repudiate extremism". Be sure to read his comments to the Rocky Mountain News article.

My absolute favorite part of the Rocky Mountain article was this quote:

"Focus on the Family does not focus on families. They teach from a theology that is morally bankrupt," said Jacob Reitan, Soulforce's youth director, who stood between his mother and father. "It teaches mothers and fathers to reject their gay sons and their lesbian daughters, and it has to end. We cannot go on any longer dividing our families."

Dr. Reynolds shines the light on the darkness of Reitan's view to which I add the following thought.

St. Paul makes the observation in Romans 1 (note: the progression) that the "wrath of God is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth ... For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God ... but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened." Paul says these men's hearts were darkened first then (and only then) did God give "them over in the lusts of their hearts ... they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator."

"For this reason (that is, because of the darkened hearts) God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another.

First, the unrighteous suppress the truth, they become futile in their speculations, and their heart becomes darkened. God gives them over to the passions of their darkened hearts. And they engage in creature worship of which one is "exchanging the natural sexual function (between opposite sexes) for the unnatural (between same sexes).

Homosexual behavior isn't the sin anymore than adultery is the sin. Turning from God is the sin. Homosexuality, adultery, gossiping, slander, etc. are merely the symptoms identifying the disease that each of us have.

Reitan, White, Soulforce and others have turned their faces from God and want the truth, which exposes their tru condition, suppressed.