When leftists pushing the sexual revolution say this, it is a classic (and annoying) case of projection.
As a Christian who believes and promotes the superiority of the Biblical sexual ethic, I’ve become quite accustomed to this silly accusation from progressive political activists: “all you evangelicals care about is homosexuality…why single out this one sin more than any other?”
I’ve always challenged those making such an assertion to randomly pick one evangelical church this coming Sunday and show up to services. Go in, sit through the service, and then report back whether or not they heard anything about homosexuality or even sex lives in general that morning. Christians aren’t nearly as pre-occupied with people’s sexual lives as what the left would have you believe.
In fact, the reason the left thinks that we are is two-fold. First, it is a depiction of how little progressives actually understand who evangelical Christians are, what we believe, how we worship, or why we are submissive to Scriptural authority. But second, it’s actually classic projection – an indictment of their own preoccupation with the issue.
Here’s what I mean. Since progressives are intentionally or unintentionally in the dark about the actual lifestyle and motivations of Bible believers, since they aren’t regularly (or even sporadically) attending evangelical church services, the only interaction they have with us is in the political square. It isn’t that we aren’t talking about, focusing on, or obsessing over other priorities; it’s that progressives don’t care to listen to any of that. They are focused on the god of government power, and since we stand opposed to many of their political causes, they have come to believe that’s all that defines us. Homosexuality is merely the most recent example of this phenomenon.
- Progressives were the ones who demanded to repeal sodomy laws.
- Progressives were the ones who demanded civil union legislation.
- Progressives were the ones who demanded gay marriage be permissible for states.
- Progressives were the ones who demanded gay marriage be mandated on all states.
- Progressives were the ones who demanded gay adoption rights.
Notice in each of those examples who it is that is pushing the issue. It isn’t Christians. Yet when Christians reacted to, spoke out against, resisted, or questioned the wisdom in any of those policy objectives, they were accused of “being obsessed?” Nonsense.
It is the progressive left that has for generations demonstrated an obsessive preoccupation with, and bizarre fixation on the sexual revolution. Christians, who are busy building the Kingdom of God on earth have merely responded to their onslaught, largely because we cannot turn a blind eye towards manmade efforts to mislead, entrap, and shackle fellow image-bearers with the consequences of sin.
And how vociferously do liberals react to such socially conscious Christians? Consider what just happened on NBC just days ago. Reacting to Pope Francis’s recent condemnation of sexually activist homosexual priests, the Late Night with Seth Meyers program went off. That may be surprising given the left’s general appreciation for Francis since as Pope he's exhibited a propensity towards embracing left-wing causes. But writer Jenny Hagel demonstrated that on the left, failure to walk in lockstep on the issue of homosexuality is the unpardonable sin:
“This guy’s not cool. This guy’s homophobic. … Do you know what’s cool? Telling LGBTQ people that they are perfect and beautiful and whole just the way they are. … Hate speech is hate speech and we need to call it out no matter where we see it.”
Again, it’s clear that Hagel has no concept of what Christian doctrine or theology even is. That’s why it’s fairly fruitless to address any of her “points;” she begins with a fundamental misunderstanding of Christian reality, so of course she will arrive at absurd conclusions. But to the larger point here, this is yet another indication of the left’s priorities: sexuality is all that matters.
Everybody has their own interests and passions. It’s clear that for the left, that interest is the promotion of sexual immorality in their vain and futile effort to achieve some illusive sense of human liberation. That’s their prerogative of course. But enough pretending that its Christians, not progressives, who are the source of this cultural conflict.