We are not homophobic, but the Bible is very clear that a man should not lie with a man and woman should not lie with a woman. Gay people are more than welcome to stay here, but not in the same bed. It is a case of love the sinner, but not the sin. How people choose to live their lives is their business, but I am responsible, in the eyes of God, for what happens in my home.
Christians are increasingly marginalised in British society, and what we have here is a head-on collision between the conflicting beliefs of Christians and those of homosexuals. Why should the rights of gay people take precedence over ours?
- Mrs. Peter Bull, Marazion, Cornwall
Mr. and Mrs. Peter (Hazelmary) Bull ran a bed and breakfast in Cornwall, England the past three decades. Since they are Christians, the Bulls clearly stipulated to those considering staying with them that they were not willing to rent a double-bedded room to unmarried couples. Five years ago, the Bulls declined to rent a double-bedded room to an unmarried couple and the couple sued.
Does it marry whether the couple were one man's wife and another woman's husband committing adultery, an unmarried man and unmarried woman committing fornication, or two men committing sodomy?
In one sense, no; but in another sense, yes. Adulterous or fornicating couples might well have left the Bulls to their Christian faith and good riddance, but not a sodomitic couple. Two men committing sodomy named Martin Hall and Steven Preddy took the Bulls to court and the court fined the Bulls £3,600. This is the tolerance gays have for Christians. Remember how compassionate and hospitable and gentle the men of Sodom were towards the angels of the Lord just before God burned them up with brimstone and fire? Is the violence of the Sodomites part of the wisdom of Scripture with helpful application to our own time? Is this part of Scripture "profitable?"
Sodomites are out and loud, demanding the Christian conscience not appear anywhere except deep down in the Christian's heart where it's no good to anyone. Their perversion trumps everyman's freedom, especially of religion. Since being fined for their Christian witness, the Bulls have been harassed, vandalised, had their web site overwritten with pornography, and received death threats. Now they're out of business.
But are the Bulls victims?
No, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bull are both marturia, Greek for "witness."
Dear Christian brother, our Lord warned us of the faith that's not confessed: it's no faith at all. If we are ashamed of Jesus and His Words in this sodomitic generation, Jesus warns us:
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38)
Five years after paying their fine, the Bulls's appeal has worked its way up to the UK Supreme Court. And what do the Bulls have to say to the Escondido R2K academics trying to relegate Christian conscience to the church and home, keeping it out of the public square?
God demands that our faith doesn’t end at the kitchen door. He means for your faith to run in every corner of your life. You can’t just section Him off like that.
Tim serves Clearnote Church, Bloomington, Indiana. He and Mary Lee have five children and big lots of grandchildren.
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