Forcing Us to Support and Accept Their Sin By Marvin Sanders  <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
 
 
I was recently approached by a friend who is trying to get a handle on our understanding of the "Culture War."   He said, "What I would like to ask you is this. There is a focus on gay marriage and the "homosexual agenda". I understand that this is totally against any belief you have, but isn't the undermining of marriage and family values through people like Britney Spears, who got married drunk in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Las Vegas much worse? Presenting a picture of marriage to so many young people that is simply put wrong."(sic)
 
It is a wonderful question, and one that we as Christians need to take seriously and be able to effectively answer.  Here is my feeble attempt to answer it.
 
You are right in that the undermining of family values by the young cultural icons like Britney Spears is a serious problem.  It is a problem that we do address.  What makes the homosexual agenda different is that there is an orchestrated effort to promote, legitimize, and elevate homosexual orientation.  Britney is a lost little girl trying to find her way.  We look piteously on Britney and try to teach our children not to live like that.  There are two ways to undermine the culture.  One is gradual erosion of values.  The other is an aggressive, organized assault.  Many homosexual organizations are pursuing the latter, and we think there is an urgent need to stand against it.  If there were an organization seeking societal approval for adultery, we would be taking a similar stand against that. 
 
You see, it is not about individual homosexuals and their choices.  It is about an organized effort to force me to accept their choice as legitimate and morally equal to traditional view of sexual relationships. It is about such things as telling our children that their parents are wrong about this issue. We see it as direct assault on the family structure.  It is a short step from "gay marriage" to the abolition of marriage altogether, which we believe would be to culture what a nuclear attack would be to our country.
 
We are also waging culture war against general degradation of culture in all its forms (coarse language, violence, sexual promiscuity, abortion, etc.) in the hope of providing a more wholesome world for our children and grandchildren.   
 
He also asked about the seeming hypocrisy of people like Rush Limbaugh defending traditional values and morality, given his own background. That too is a question worth answering.
 
The Rush Limbaugh point is an interesting one.  I would say that truth is truth regardless of who is speaking it.  We do not believe that truth is relative.  I also believe, in agreement with scripture, that "all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God." If we disqualify people from speaking on the basis of failures in their own life, I am afraid that none would be qualified to speak.  Rush would be the first to tell you that he has failed in his own life to live up to the standard.  But the standard is still the standard, whether I live up to it or not. 
 
I would love to hear the thoughts of others on how to respond to these and similar questions.