Breaking news . . .
Brad Pitt has contributed $100,000 to Human Rights Campaign, a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender organization that fights for same-sex marriage (click here for story). Back in June, Country superstar Carrie Underwood also voiced her support for gay marriage.
"As a married person myself, I don't know what it's like to be told I can't marry somebody I love and want to marry," Underwood told the Independent. "I can't imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love." (click here for full story) [1]
While Pitt can be applauded for putting his money where his convictions lie, Underwood's comments are disconcerting. An avowed Christian, whose songs include the mega hit Jesus Take The Wheel, her views are out of line with the very Scripture that undergirds her Christian faith.
My trouble with Carrie Underwood's statement is this, she puts herself in a place Jesus did not. She elevated herself over the Scriptures.Apparently Jesus can take the wheel, until Carrie doesn't think it is a good idea. But that means Jesus is riding shotgun and that is a seat he won't occupy. Not for Carrie, not for Brad, not me, not for you.
This post is not homophobic. I am not afraid of homosexuals. When I look at Jesus he loved people---period! That is my heart.
This post is, however, "hermaphobic." I AM afraid that people like Carrie Underwood make the Scriptures say what they want---or ignore it altogether. That's bad hermeneutics.[2]
Evangelical and reformed Christians live by the Reformation principle Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone), "The only source and norm of all Christian knowledge is the Holy Scripture."[3] This belief traces to Christ himself.[4]
- Jesus said, "Scripture cannot be broken." John 10:35
- Jesus believed God made people. Matthew 19:4
- Jesus believe in Noah and the flood. Matthew 24:37-39
- Jesus believed all that Moses and the prophets said. Luke 24:25-27
- Jesus quoted Scripture to defeat Satan. Matthew 4
- Jesus rebuked the Sadducees for not knowing their Bibles. Matthew 22:29
Jesus elevated the Word of God. Do we?
One of my early college professors asked me a question I have never forgotten: "Are you going to stand over the Bible or is the Bible going to stand over you?"
That's a good question for Carrie Underwood. It is a good question for me. It is a good question for you.
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[1] Christie D'Zurilla. "Carrie Underwood's gay marriage stance gets a conservative nod." Los Angeles Times, June 11, 2012. www.latimes.com. Accessed November 1, 2012.
[2] Special thanks to my friend Mark Eckel for the term, "hermaphobic", and for some great thoughts/edits on this post.
[3] Heinrich Heppe, in "Sola Scriptura: Crucial To Evangelicalism" by R.C. Sproul. www.biblicalstudies.org. Accessed November 1, 2012.
[4] Click here for an outstanding article, "Jesus Christ on the Infallibility of Scripture." www.