Sodomy: Is It Loving to Refer to Sodomites as Sodomites?

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Welcome to Bible bashed where we aim to equip the Saints for the works of ministry by answering the questions. You're not allowed to ask. Listen and enjoy this installment of iron sharpening iron as pastor Tim answers your sincere questions.

Here's pastor Tim on this episode of iron sharpening iron. We're going to be answering the question Is it loving to refer to sodomites as sodomites? And I suppose the follow-up question that is what should we actually call them or what's the most loving Helpful thing to call them and I would say that this is a pretty difficult question for a lot of reasons.

It seems like the main terms that we frequently use terms like homosexual sexual minority even you know gay or Terms like that it seems like these terms that they carry with them Significant connotations that are often unintended by the people you use them.

Part of the strategy of the left has always been to redefine everything and then to claim authority or control over the dictionary so the left one of the things the left does is that The left determines what's acceptable usage the acceptable usage of words.

And in some ways these words are constantly changing. It's it's interesting to think about how that relates with The idea of what white people should call black people there's a game that's often played in discussions like that to where the appropriate or acceptable term is off always changing and that Changing has a way of destabilizing an individual and keeping them constantly at the mercy of a party that's going to be a perpetually offended.

So when you think about terms like that most white people when they think about what to call black people they there's this Instant kind of insecurity that comes up and in their own hearts and their own minds they don't want to say the wrong term and Inevitably any terms that they actually say say is going to be offensive to one degree or the other and the same sort of game Is being played as it relates to the issue of sodomites?

Whatever term you say is going to be offensive and this is just evidenced by the fact that you know in the LGBTQ Acronym the Q stands for queer, but then if I were to describe What individuals maybe want me to describe as a homosexual as a queer if I were to call them a queer.

Then that's instantaneously going to be you viewed as a pejorative and I'm doing something scandalous or wrong. While at the same time they're allowed to refer to himself in that sort of way. The rules are somewhat complicated as it relates to all of these terms.

And so part of what we want to do with this episode is to answer the question Well, what should we call them? Is it loving to call them a sodomite that seems to be kind of mean that seems to be kind of rude it seems to be kind of offensive and Part of the strategy as it relates to this discussion is to take hold of language as I've said.

But these the the language that we use as it relates to this point is is language that is fraught with a certain interpretation of the world so the idea of homosexual if we start there Should we call sodomites homosexuals?

Well part of the problem with calling a sodomite a homosexual is that in that very language that seems to? Indicate that there is some alternative Orientation sexual orientation that's fixed and unmovable as we've discussed at various times so if I refer to myself as a heterosexual and I refer to a sodomite as a Homosexual if someone asked me, you know, what are you and I were to say I'm a heterosexual male, you know.

What how do I identify myself? Well, the problem with that is that I have reinforced this kind of narrative that there is such a thing as a as a homosexual orientation that somehow Fixed or immutable or impossible to change.

I'm I'm basically Giving up the game so to speak. I'm basically giving evidence to the other side so through that through the use of that sort of language, one of the things that I'm doing is I'm Basically reinforcing a certain view of sexuality that the other side is using to great effect.

So I think that Christians should try to avoid using terms like homosexual for that very reason now. When it comes to a term like gay, you know gay used to mean happy and if you if you you know You're if you try if you're a Christian you try to use the term gay to describe someone you you really are playing a certain Game of Russian roulette as far as that's concerned if you think well, maybe that's a nice term to use maybe that's one of the permissible terms you use if you use that and if you criticize a Homosexual or a sodomite in any way one of the things that happen is that that's instantaneously Going to be viewed as as a pejorative in the sense of what you're saying then is like you're so gay or something like that gay can be a pejorative and In what the only really? part of the problem is with related to this discussion is the only way to really interact with this sort of discussion is that You have to use the approved words.

But not only do you have to use whatever the approved words are and they change all the time. But the only way that it will be decided whether or not those approved words are appropriate It's going to be you know, what follows those words.

And so if you if you if you do not like in use So, let me give me example. So if I were to say hey my gay friend over here whom I love and accept and You know except for who he is and and who is triumphant and brave and everything else then I can use the term gay but if I say, you know gay people need to Learn to straighten up or something like that as I have done in podcast then Instantaneously that same word then becomes some sort of you know should gaze straighten up and you know marry a member of the opposite sex then all of a sudden that becomes offensive or Unloving or unhelpful or whatever else and and that's part of the the issue with these kind of Discussions now now why would why would we in our podcast use a term like sodomite?

Why are we attempting to use the sodomite as a word? Well sodomite is a word that has a meaning and it's a word that's a moral term. It's a word that carries with it moral condemnation and so the the offensive part of using a word like sodomite is that that word itself has Moral condemnation that's built into its very fabric.

And so it's a moral word. It's not a word It's indicating some sort of neutral orientation that's fixed and unmovable and unable to change a sodomite in the American Heritage Dictionary is a person who engages in sodomy and then what is sodomy?

Well, it's sodomy is any of various forms of sexual acts regarded as perverted. Especially anal intercourse oral anal contact or sexual intercourse with an animal so sodomy is is is a word that comes from the biblical city of Sodom who was Who was destroyed by the Lord in part?

Due to their lack of hospitality wink-wink liberals. But then in in other part they were that lack of hospitality was made manifest in their attempt to engage in sodomy with the angelic visitors that Were there so they were a town that was characterized by vile affections.

They were characterized by sodomy. They were a town that incurred the wrath of the Lord and the Lord utterly destroyed them for their act. So this term sodomy is a term that is used to describe the kind of sexual Contact or intercourse that they were behaving in now, that's a term.

That's a moral term. So instantaneously when you use that word instantaneous that you're gonna be called a bigot. You're gonna be called a hater. You're gonna be called any number of things but then it is an accurate term that is describing a certain phenomenon Instead of conceding the point as it relates to you know Acknowledging that there's some sort of alternative Orientation that the that individuals are born with it can't help and it's going to be a fixed feature of their identity permanently forever when you call an individual a sodomite it really is a loving thing to call them because it called it because One of the things that it does is it doesn't Continue to endorse this delusion that there's this somehow Separate kind of orientation that they can't help it.

It just defines them by a particular type of action that they are committing an act which they can put off and mortify and learn to quit desiring. So so when you use a term like that, you're not the point of a term like that is to not be the sort of individual who is Reinforcing or supporting a lie for the other side and that's the kind of thing that you're doing when you say homosexual and that's the kind of thing that you're doing when you Try to describe Individuals as sexual minorities.

One of the things you're doing is you're supporting them in this delusion. You're giving granting them this victim status you're Basically enabling them along the way now the problem though is that and you'll see it's a problem as you listen to some of our Podcasts on this topic if you try to avoid using these Standard terms like sodomite or homosexual are you trying to avoid using these standard terms like homosexual or sexual minority?

Many of the ways that you might describe these individuals end up becoming clunky and unwieldable and somewhat You know, it seems like it's at times it's Unnecessarily long and so the the value of the the Terms that were commanded to use as far as that goes is that they're typically shorter and more You know easier to say and they flow off the tongue easier than some of the colorful descriptions that you might find being given by the kind of individual who is trying to avoid giving license to Individuals who are engaging in a particular form of sin.

So so that's part of the problem with Part of what we're doing now. There's any number of pejoratives Pejoratives that are going to be used also for individuals who are committing the sin of sodomy or the Reverse sin of lesbianism now.

I don't know that there's an easy Single word for something like lesbianism and so you're basically doing the same thing you're doing with homosexual homosexual, but you know Like I would say that it's very difficult to figure out how to even communicate this is sometimes it's clunky.

But there's pejoratives that that are used along these lines. And so some of those Pejoratives are homo. So homo is a shortening of homosexual and you know individuals like Steven Anderson or Westboro Baptist are known to use as many pejoratives as they can possibly use just for the sake I think of being offensive.

So you have a pejorative like homo you have pejorative like pervert. It used to be that we lived in the society that considered sodomy to be fundamentally perverted and then that became shorted Shortened to be described as pervert and then you know Sometimes gay can function as a pejorative or fag so the Westboro Baptist or slogans are often God hates fags.

Now a fag fag is short for a faggot, which is a bundle of sticks and you know, maybe there's some Utility to that sort of thing and that you know in the last day like a bundle of sticks sodomites will if they're unrepentant and Do not turn to Christ for grace.

Yes, they will be cast into the lake of fire forever and ever. But I don't know that there's much value in Using pejoratives for the sake of pejoratives. So if you say something like homo I don't know that you're you're doing anything other than being insulting if you say something like Being insulting to people that you know in some sense.

You know, yes, obviously they're trying to destroy you. They're trying to corrupt your children. They're trying to destroy society and everything else. But they are you know, a Christian should consider them a mission field and Christians should be attempting to love them and somehow win them over to Christ so I don't know that just you know engaging in you know on as your standard mode of affairs with just You know pejoratives is really going to be entirely helpful.

You know if that's all you're doing so like the idea of homo that seems to be a pure pejorative Gay, you know, sometimes it can be neutral particularly when individuals who It when sodomites are using it to refer to himself.

It's one of those n-words that No pun intended that they're allowed to use and no one else is allowed to use but Yeah gay, I think you know, I Don't know. I don't know that there's anything necessarily wrong with that.

If you say hey gays, I mean they Other than the fact that you know the primary thing that might be wrong with that is that you're with with using that kind of word what you're doing is you're. You know if you appeal to the archaic form of the word which is happy you're giving a Lie about the actual state of the emotional affairs of these sorts of individuals.

But pervert is one of those ones that is a little bit more complicated because pervert As we said in different episodes Sodomy used to be considered a perverted act or an act of perversion and you know When you look at the different definition I gave in the American Heritage Dictionary, there's still That notion of perversion related to that.

So a person who gauge engages in sodomy is called a sodomite and a sodomite is any of various forms of sexual acts Regarded as perverted meaning crooked meaning not straight. So Like the idea of referring to it an individual who is you know?

Naturally and normally attracted to members of the opposite sex a normal person a normal human being as we've said in a certain language as a straight person. That is a moral term, you know say hey, what are you straight?

Are you crooked? Yeah, I'm straight, right? So the straight Straight is in that sense being used in a moral way and perverted is being used in in a deviant sense like meaning. Those engaged in sodomy are engaging in a deviant sexual practice a crooked sexual practice.

And so I think there is some utility or value in using the term pervert or perverted. Because it is a moral term it is it is a term that's seeking to. Well, it's also a pejorative at times. It can be used in a sense of a pejorative.

It is a term that is trying to speak clearly about the nature of the problem. No, why even had this discussion? Well, I would say that I don't think that we should try to soften their descent into hell or try to Help them along the way or give them a nice friendly push.

I think that we should do our best to stand in opposition to The language and I would say that any attempt we have to do that is Going to be viewed as morally offensive because part of the problem that's happening in our society right now.

Is that there is this demand that we universally? Praise this deviant form of sexual immorality. That's the problem. At every single level there is a demand that we praise it and that demand that we praise it.

I mean, that's why you know Satomites are suing Christian bakers and everything else. That's why they're going after those sorts of professions is. Because there's this demand that you must praise what I'm doing and that demands coming for a reason it's coming from a guilty conscience.

So whenever an individual is engaged in something that they know to be destructive and know to be unhelpful. Inevitably what they want and what they're going to demand is that everyone praise them because if they can get other people to praise them.

It's an act that's going to help them silence their conscience. And so I think one of the things that we should do is I don't think we should be unnecessarily offensive or just Be attempting to use as many pejoratives as we possibly can just to you know stir people up or get them angry at us.

But I do think one of the things that we should do is to try to speak accurately about the behavior that we're talking about. And and in doing so it's I would say it's a difficult thing to do because there's so much pressure and we're trained To speak the language that we're told to speak and and and and but the more you do that the more that you're not really Loving anyone and and if you try to push back against that at all inevitably people are going to think wow that's outrageously offensive.

But the problem is it's just it's just being accurate, and it's just describing what we're talking about in a way that is Dealing with moral categories, and so I don't know that there's some there's any perfect description to use here.

But you know part of part of what we should be doing is we should be thinking about What the Bible says and in 1st Corinthians 6 9 it says do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?

The text says do not be deceived. It says neither the sexually immoral or idolaters nor adulterers nor arsenic or toss. Here's the thing there's this. There's the Greek word there is a word that when you look that word up one of the things that you're going to realize is that that word means the active partner and in in a same-sex kind of relationship.

And so you have two terms terms there you have the term malachoi, and you have the term or arsenic or tie and that term arsenic or tie refers to a man who engages in sexual activity with a person of his own sex and then the Malachoi is a word which is basically the passive partner in a same-sex relationship or a feminine person.

These are these are terms that you might describe as In the language of being a sodomite or being effeminate these are terms that are there some of the modern translations have described them described the term arsenic or tie as Homosexual and I would say that that's entirely unhelpful as a translation because it has a lot of baggage.

As far as that goes with it, but I do think that anytime you can put the emphasis on the behavior.

That's more helpful than otherwise this has been another installment of iron sharpening iron as Always. If you would like to have your question included in one of these midweek episodes email us at Bible bash podcast at gmail .com.

Don't forget to subscribe and follow us on Facebook Twitter and gab. Now go boldly and obey the truth in the midst of a biblically illiterate world who will be perpetually offended by your every move.