Mohler’s Concession
In a recent Time article, Al Mohler concedes “that science may one day prove homosexuals are born gay” and he very well could be right. This was greeted by the homosexual community with a fair amount of glee, until they read where he states that, even if this scenario should come to pass, it in no way changes the morality of the lifestyle. Conservative evangelicals hold that homosexuality is a sin, no matter what its cause, just as we don’t condone drunkenness, gluttony, and chronic anger, for example. It may be that there is a biological cause for these lifestyles (indeed, there is strong support for a predisposition to anger and gluttony/obesity), but that doesn’t negate their harmful moral and physical consequences, nor does it remove from those afflicted the necessity to resist the predisposition. These people1 (and, maybe, someday homosexuals) may have the deck stacked against them, genetically, but that doesn’t mean one should just give into any old urge that crosses our mind. To that point, we all have the obligation to pursue a life of holiness, whether our sin is as “big” as homosexuality or adultery, or as “little” as speeding or “white” lies. The Holiness of the Lord makes no distinction, and neither should we.
1 I use the phrase “these people” with the painful understanding that it is far too common for Christians to separate ourselves falsely from “these people.” It doesn’t take a whole lot of honesty to see that we’re just as flawed as those we pharisaically excoriate, so it is certainly with the humility of an admitted sinner that I make these statements, knowing full well that I have my own list of offenses for which to answer.