Clenard Childress, Jr., Senior Pastor at New Calvary Baptist Church originally wrote “Homosexuality, Abortion and Martin Luther King” in June of 2011.
One of the most fascinating exchanges in Scripture which depicts the contemporary decorum of debate in our present-day culture is clearly seen when Jesus confronted and debated the Pharisaical religious order of His day. John, Chapter 8, illuminates the problem when there is debate with those who are in denial of their condition. The religious elite had no intention of trying to find the truth. These bigots often masqueraded in deception and majored in misinformation deceiving the uninitiated. Jesus began a discussion about being enslaved to sin and it caused the depth of the problem to surface. Their reply to our Lord’s lesson is recorded in Jon 8:33 when they said, “We have never been in bondage to any man!” Yes, they had become so consumed in their own maliciousness and chicanery, the lost sight of reality, and were living in denial believing their own press releases.
The Roman Empire had been occupying and subjugating Israel for multiple years along with the religious elite. They were enslaved to man outwardly and sin inwardly and blind to both. Certainly at that point, Jesus saw the futility of trying to reach that audience with truth, yet out of compassion he persisted. The elites were determined to twist and malign the facts to accommodate their lifestyle, though in error. They lived in a vacuum of denial refusing to see the obvious. When truth is ignored or denied, the course often taken by those in denial is to first obfuscate, then defame, diminish, and finally denounce the messenger. The crowd resorted to using the “N-word” of that day: “Samaritan,” and even went so far as declaring that Jesus was the devil. Sound familiar?
It is similar today, for instead of examining the data, this generation’s elites combat truth with ideology, character assassination, deception, and of course, denial. The two defining issues of the day which will determine the course of our culture, and the destiny of our nation, are abortion and homosexuality. Pro-choice and homosexual activists, all claim their cause is a Civil Rights issue. Yet the “Civil Rights” of the unborn children are being denied and it is intellectually dishonest to claim a “right” for yourself while denying the rights of someone else, especially when that someone is an unborn infant. How can it be right to give “Civil Rights” to a sexual issue when homosexuality is an acquired behavior, not something like the color of your skin, something you are born with. Homosexuality is not a Civil Right – it is a preference.
What grieves me the most is that both groups claim Dr. Martin Luther King as an icon for their cause when nothing could be further from the truth. Dr. King was a chief facilitator of the Civil Rights Movement, and by his death at the hand of an assassin, paid the ultimate price for his cause. Freeing African-Americans from centuries of slavery, bigotry and racism, does not equate with sexual preference. [And I might add, or the right to murder an unborn baby.]
The pimping of Dr King by the racist abortion industry and by homosexual activists needs to cease. To the seekers of truth in this ongoing debate, I pray you can perceive through his words and feel the spirit of Dr. King. The icon use of Dr. King as an advocate for true social justice is as appropriate as the Son speaking on behalf of his Father. But, to attempt to do the same for abortion and homosexual rights is as using Mahalia Jackson as the voice hip hop; the fire-breathing Abolitionist, John Brown, as the face of the pacifist anti-war movement; or portraying Barack Obama as a Constitutional Conservative.
It’s pure deception!
You can read Dr. Childress’s article in full at this link. You can also read Dr. Childress’s article “Why Homosexuality is Wrong” at this link.
