By: Gen. Jim – 8/30/24
Augustine once said, “Hope has two doors: Anger and courage.”
With the LGBTQIA movement in full swing in church, in state, in family it is hard to keep “hope” alive. By hope I mean that things will get better not worse! Losing hope tends to arouse anger and it can also arouse courage to do something about the HOPELESS situation at hand.
The matter of sexual ABOMINATIONS needs to be countered, not sided with, especially the church. Since God’s Word condemns all LGBTQ plus practices/sins, it is a SIN for Christian believers to side with what the Bible condemns.
In this article I want to deal with incest and homosexual practice. We tend to group incest with heterosexuality and homosexuality with male/male – female/female. Incest relates more to non-same sex sex.
Leviticus 18 speaks about both: “None of you shall approach anyone who is near of kin to him, to uncover his nakedness…” (v.6). This condemnation/prohibitions gives us the mind of God on sexual matters. Marriage is dealt with in these verses; intermarriage is denounced, v.6-18.
It should be noted, “any that is near of kin” (v.6), to any particularly allied to his own family, the prohibited degrees in which are specified from the 7th – the 17th verse inclusive, “Notwithstanding the prohibitions here, it must be evident that in the infancy of the world, persons very near of kin must have been joined in matrimonial alliances; and that even brothers have matched with their own sisters” (this must have been the case in the family of Adam) wrote one Bible scholar. This was allowed to populate the world (see Genesis 1:28 where God blessed the first man/husband and the woman/wife; Genesis 4:1 Eve gave birth to Cain; v.2 she gave birth to Abel; Genesis 4:17 tells us that Cain knew his wife (obviously from same family, a sister?). As time progressed the closeness of the A/E family disappeared. (See Genesis 6:1,2 where the families were separated by religion, that is the daughters of men some believe refer to those who fell away from belief in God; the sons of God were those who kept the faith (this is debated).
So, Leviticus 18 deals with incest/and illegal marriages. It deals with having sex with a woman while on her period (v.19); it deals with adultery as well as with homosexuality (v.22); sex with beasts was an abomination (note: Leviticus 18:23, this sin was punishable by death as were the sins of homosexuality). Sex with animals was condemned back in Exodus 22:19 and well as Leviticus 20:15,16 – man and woman were to be put to death as well as homos, v.13 – both active partners!
Homosexuality was an old sin/abomination. It was practiced in the land of Canaan as well as among the Greeks and Romans.
The question has been raised: which is the greater sin, incest or homosexuality? I’ve written dozens of articles on “H,” few on “I.”
When we think of incest, we think of 1 Corinthians 5:1 – “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality is not even named among the Gentiles that a man has his father’s wife!” (See Leviticus 18:6-8 et al). Here incest is called either fornication or sexual immorality (KJV/RSV et al.)
The Greek term “πορνεία” means extramarital intercourse of any kind. The RSV avoids the use of fornication on the ground that it is a word in common use today.
[Fornication: Greek “porneia” / “porneuo”]. Here in 1 Corinthians 5:1 the woman may not have been a Christian but the man was, so, in any case, it was the man’s conduct which was determanitive, for he should have known about Leviticus 18 what made things worse was that the Corinth Ekklesia condoned this sin (v.2).
Paul’s anger was stirred up over the whole “damned” affair, which gave him the courage to give instruction for the congregation “to deliver such a one unto satan…” (v.5). What? Punishment might bring the sinning soul back to God.
We could use some of Paul’s advice in today’s back-slidden church: it has capitulated to all manner of sexual practices, even ordaining queer pastors et al. Sexual/moral LOOSENESS has infected so many churches today, leaders are responsible for the maintenance of moral standards. Many churches today are so screwed as to believe they have an exclusively divine prerogative to be sexually UNCLEAN!
Would Jesus Attend A Gay Wedding?
In one of Professor Robert Gognon’s discussions on sex sin he was asked “Would Jesus attend a gay wedding?” He goes around to the touchy issue of which of the two sins is worse, homosexuality or incest. The issue on homosexuality centered on “gay marriage.” As you by now guess where I’m going by citing 1 Corinthians 5:1 “… that one should have his father’s wife” = an incestuous marriage.
The Corinthians were notoriously guilty of sex-sins and debauched living, one being incest. The question arises, was the man’s father dead or alive? (See 2 Corinthians 7:12, where, speaking of the person who did the wrong, he introduces also him who had suffered the wrong; which we take it to mean the living father). This would make the incestuous person more guilty, a flagrant violation of Jewish law.
The degree of severity of the offense of incest. The prohibition of homosexuality and incest is similar. It is having a sexual relation with persons of the same: incest = sex with kinship, already too much one flesh, being united with a person of the same flesh (i.e. family), “kinship bond” if you will. The gene pool is involved.
In the case of same-sex (ss) the degree of “sameness” is actually a greater sin (according to Dr. R.G.). one is gender in a biological sense than kinship in an incest relation. To differentiate the sexes in a matter that matters: kinship = sameness in flesh; same-sex = gender. God ordained male and female. He did not ordain male-with-male or female-with-female.
In the case of incest – male with female – procreation is not denied as in a same-sex relation. God told the man/woman to fill the earth, something homo/lesbian sex cannot do. Period. Even if procreation cannot be fulfilled, the male/female bodily parts were designed nevertheless.
We don’t know if the son of the father married his father’s wife or just had sex with her. Was the woman the mother of the son? Some believe the person in question had married the wife of his deceased father, not his own mother, but step mother, then a widow. The fact remains, despite the theories, Paul’s anger was kindled. The sin must have been of the worse kind.
The NIV reads: “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: a man has his father’s wife.” The Roman orator Cicero states that incest was practically unheard of in Roman society. The O.T. prohibited such a marriage (Leviticus 18:8; Deuteronomy 22:30; 27:20 et al).
How many today are excommunicated from churches for sex-sins, be they homo or hetero? Ostracized from a church these days is rare indeed. If you do, as a leader, get ready for a law suit (we were sued for 20 million $$ for putting out a sinning female (sex sins) back in 1988!). We have suffered great loss over the years for teaching what the Bible teaches on sex-sins, especially same sex sex!
Cicero styles incest, “scelus incredible et inauditum,” an incredible and unheard of wickedness. But it was practiced by money nations.
Some think that this woman might have been a proselyte to the Jewish religion from paganism; and the rabbi taught that proselytism annulled all former relationships, and that a woman was at liberty in such a case to deport from an unbelieving husband, and to marry even with a believing son, i.e., of her husband by some former wife.
It is known that inbreeding aka incest is bad. Science has proven that children of an inbred family have deep problems. Growing up in KY and AR we were very aware of this. It was not uncommon to know of such families. It was not uncommon for fathers and mothers to have sex with their daughters and sons. And incest among aunts/uncles/cousins was (and is) very common. Now, today, in our “woke culture,” incest is no longer looked upon as a sin or a no, no.
Do your own homework. The Mormons are known for such immoral practices. Child molestation within families is common these days. Psychological and physical damage can be life long for some. Cognitive distortions are common symptoms experienced by child sexual abuse.
I mentioned that same-sex denies procreation. God’s intent from the beginning was for man/woman (married) to procreate. Sex is good if lawful. Genesis 1:28 tells us “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth…”
I want to end this article with quotes from different early church father, starting with Apostolic Constitutions (compiled 390 a.d.): “We believe that lawful marriage and the begetting of children is honorable and undefiled. The difference of the sexes was established in Adam and Eve for the increase of mankind.” (7.454). Later on in the AC we read: “When the menstrual purgations appear in the wives, their husbands should not approach them, out of regard to the children to be begotten. For the Law has forbidden it when it says: ‘You will not come near your wife when she is in her separation’ (Leviticus 18:19). Nor, indeed let them have relations when their wives are with child. For [in that case] they are not doing it for the begetting of children, but only for the sake of pleasure. No lover of God should be a lover of pleasure.” (7.463).
Lactantius (304-313) writes, “Sexual desire is given to us for the procreation of offspring.” (7.185). Lactantius was a Roman teacher of rhetoric that converted to Christianity. He wrote, “There would be not adulteries debaucheries, and prostitution of women if everyone knew that whatever is sought beyond the desire of procreation is condemned by God (7.143). On the subject of conception he writes: “The soul is not introduced into the body after birth, as some philosophers think. Rather, it is introduced immediately after conception, when the divine necessity has formed the offspring in the womb.” (7.297). What he is saying is that the unborn is a human being, not a piece of unwanted flesh as the abortion folks tell us – BIG LIARS!
There were many in early Christianity that wrote against the abortion (will follow up after this article on incest, homosexuality and conception). Tertullian (160-230, was from Carthage, N. Africa who wrote many apologies, (works against heretics) He wrote, “Tell us whether you feel in the embryo within you any vital force other than your own.” (addressed to expectant mothers). He continues, “For your bowels tremble, your sides shake, your entire womb throbs, and the burden that affects you constantly changes its position. Are not these movements a joy to you and a positive removal of anxiety? Does this not make you confident that your infant possesses vitality and enjoys it? If his restlessness stopped, your first fear would be for him (or her).” (3.205). You ladies that have MURDERED your unborn need to repent for this evil deed. You murdered a human being – a defenseless human being that had no chance to experience life outside the womb!!
Tertullian makes it clear that an unborn baby is not mere unwanted tissue but a growing human being with a soul. [Note: David’s psalm explains this: “For you (God) formed my inward parts; you covered (lit. wove) me in my mother’s womb. I will praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… my frame (lit. bones) was not hidden from you, when I was made in secret… your eyes saw my substance being yet unformed… the days fashioned for me…” (Psalms 139:13-16, NKJV). Solomon’s proverb (31:8,9), I think speaks of the unborn or could be included in “all who are appointed to die,” (v.8)].
Tertullian continues with, “Life begins with conception, for we contend that the soul also begins from conception. Life takes it commencement at the same place and time that the soul does.” (3.207). He says, “The flesh and the soul have a simultaneous birth, without any calculable difference in time.” (3.578). He also gives two other lengthy quotes found in 3.208 and 3.217.
[As I write this article (August 30, 2024) V.P. Kamala Harris (who is running against former POTUS D.J. Trump) and her V.P. pick Tampon Tim Walz promise never-ending abortion rights, aka “MURDER OF THE UNBORN,” plus full equal rights to transgenders et al perverted persons. This, they say, is “true democracy.” I say it is truly DEMONIC!!!
The issues or matters that matter, are being pushed on all sides. Truly America/Amerika is in a CRISIS like never before. LGBTQ plus, infanticide, gay marriage (even the marriage to or wed oneself is on the table). Sex with beasts, illegals can come in, gets lots of free stuff-and-things, including, lots of free $$, education, health care – you name it, they can receive it from the DEMONcratic party… while these same people rape, plunder, murder!
Pardon me for asking but where has the rule of law gone the dems talk so much about? It seems that murder, theft, lying, deceit, fraud, and every other macabre thing is allowed under the Biden/Harris regime, aka “Cartel of Craziness.” The SWAMP creatures are restless, the stink, malodorous stink is unbearable. Cannibalistic communism has replaced (true) democracy. Those in power (on the “Left”) daily masticate, i.e. chew up those on the “Right,” those of the Christian camp and on the (true) patriotic camp. The “Left’s Megalomania – delusion of grandeur – is off the charts. Their malody (mental illness) increases day-by-day. Morbid! Ad nausea!
It is time, dear Americans, to pray for these misguided souls, these sanguinary souls who THIRST for blood (for war and never-ending abortion). The Political Correctness/weirdness, wokism is OUT of CONTROL. Old Joe, who got booted from his position (POTUS) by his own party, loafs around, stays on vacation, eats ice cream and sniffs little girls and boys… while comrade Kamala tries to get supporters to elect her as the first WOMAN of color for POTUS. Can she even define what a “woman” is? Can she prove that she is Black, not of Indian origin? Does it matter? To them their insanity does matter.