Presbyterian Pastor Discusses Homosexuality and Biblical Contradictions
In a society that needs to reconnect to our spiritual roots, Christian and otherwise, people find it hard to trust the leaders they look up to, and the government they believe in only further alienates them.
Local Pastor Russell McKee of the Bethany Presbyterian Church shares his views on religious corruption, homosexuality, separation of church and state, and Biblical hypocrisies. As well as explaining exactly how so many different sects of Christianity arose from one book.
“It reminds me of the six blind men and the elephant.” He said about so many different denominations, “They lead six blind men into see an elephant and told them ‘this is an elephant’, so one went up to grab the trunk and said, ‘an elephants a lot like a snake’. And one grabbed the tusk and said, ‘no, it’s a lot like a spear’, and another one grabbed it’s side and said, ‘no I think it’s more like a wall.’ Another grabbed it’s leg and said, ‘no it’s more like the trunk of a tree’. Another grabbed it’s tail and said ‘no it’s more like a rope’. And the last grabbed it’s ear and said, ‘no actually it’s like a fan’. All six of them were right, but they all had a limited perspective, and so all these different denominations, all these different groups, bring a completely different perspective about God, and help us understand the bible in many different ways. Every denomination sheds new light on a book written in metaphors, to help people understand it in a wide variety of ways”
On the subject of Biblical contradictions he was first asked about the following passages: “âÂ?¦.the earth shall abideth forever.” – Ecclesiastes 1:4; and “âÂ?¦the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” – Peter 3:10
He replied, “Well, in Revelation 2 the things of this earth are going to go away, that the earth abideth forever, the context, see part of the problem with a lot of times when we look to the scripture, is what is the context, what is ultimately being said. When Solomon wrote Ecclesiastes, so much of what he had to say was about the temporal nature of our lives, and how ultimately we are here for a very short time, and we think it’s all about us, it’s not. What he was saying is that the earth will be here when you get here and remain after your gone.”
He was also asked about the following: “âÂ?¦with God all things are possible.” – Matthew 19:26; and “âÂ?¦The Lord was with Judah; and he drave out the inhabitants of the mountain; but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron.” – Judges 1:19.
He answered, “The fact that he does allow for certain things to happen, is his way of bringing us closer to him. But this is another contextual issue that I will have to look up later.”
When asked why he thought there are so many hypocrisies in modern American Christianity he replied, “In a sense, and I have heard it put this way, If I took you to the hospital and took you on a tour through the hospital you would say there is nothing but sick people her, and that’s what is supposed to be there. And in a church that’s what’s supposed to be here, sinful people who say one thing but do another who want to live a life of faith on some deep level. Part of the problem today is, the church is not a central part of our lives anymore, and I think church should absolutely be the central part of our lives, especially now, because we need each other to help one another to live the life that God wants, the body of Christ it is sometimes called. And eventually it is going to catch up to us.”
“I think the fact that church is no longer apart of our lives, has indeed hurt or nation.”
Homosexuality is the most widely debated aspect of Christian organizations these days, and Pastor McKee was keen to talk about the Presbyterian struggle on the subject, “Part of what is being challenged is the ordination of homosexual pastors, that because these people have certain gifts they should be ordained, That is ultimately where the problem lies. It’s not that they don’t have gifts; it’s not that they are not children of god; it’s not that they are not part of the church, because they are. It all comes down to whether or not you believe it is a sin, and for them they don’t see it as a sin; they view it as a lifestyle.
Part of the problem is: they don’t want it to be a black and white issue, but the bottom line is: is it a sin? And that is where the division in the church lies. For many in the church the biblical answer is cut and dry, homosexuality is a sin. Others believe that our view of homosexuality is not the biblical view of homosexuality, they believe it means pedophilia, or something else.”
“The issue is, for them, that this is not a choice, this is who I am and you should accept me and ordain me for who I am. While on the other side, it’s not a matter of whether you have gifts, it’s a matter of whether we should accept your sin.”
Ultimately Pastor McKee believes that regardless of the corruption in modern Christianity, and regardless of the hypocrisies, he and other Pastor’s like him are needed, especially now.
“When I think about what Jesus has done for me, is giving my life in service to his people too much to ask, I don’t think so.”
