A love-hate relationship: Kirk Cameron, Mark Driscoll, Piers Morgan, and homosexuality

I hate it when someone hates someone, for hating someone, when the person really never hated anyone.

You may be thinking, “Wow that is a lot of hate.” After you wrestle through that sentence and determine who hates who, you may notice how this line of thinking is not merely a fun tongue twister, but a sad reality for many people today.

This line of thinking can be seen most clearly by those who have caused a stir over two recent interviews with Piers Morgan.

Piers Morgan recently interviewed both Kirk Cameron and Pastor Mark Driscoll on his CNN talk show Piers Morgan Tonight. During both interviews Morgan questioned the men on their views of homosexuality.

The response of these men has ignited a public controversy. What was said by these men that has caused this uproar? Did Cameron and/or Driscoll’s responses merit the criticism in which they have received?

When Kirk Cameron was asked whether homosexuality was a sin, he responded by saying,

“I believe that marriage was defined by God a long time ago. Marriage is almost as old as dirt and it was defined in the garden between Adam and Eve: one man one woman for life till death do you part. So, I would never attempt to redefine marriage and I don’t think that anyone else should either. So do I support the idea of gay marriage? No I don’t.”

Mark Driscoll’s sounded very similar to Cameron with his response. When confronted with the question, Driscoll responded by saying,

“I believe that all sex outside of heterosexual marriage. So, me as a teenager having sex before marriage, that was wrong. People looking at pornography is wrong. Single people having sex is wrong. Homosexuality is wrong. So there’s a long list of things that the Bible says is wrong.”

As a result of these interviews, both men have been caricatured as being homophobic. Both men’s responses have no hint of homophobia.

The secular media have construed these responses to mean that these men hate homosexuals. Even if one disagrees with these men’s views on homosexuality, it should still be clear that their responses in no way come across as hate speech. People disagree with positions all the time, without hating the person’s who hold them.

I personally believe Chik Fil A is the greatest fast food restaurant in the world.  I know several people who (wrongly) disagree with me on this. Although my friends and I may disagree on this position, our disagreement does not mandate hatred for one another.

Furthermore, scripture calls for the Christian to place a dichotomy between these two lines of thinking. What two positions are Christians called to hold?

Scripture gives a clear definition of sin. Not only does scripture define sin, it also calls all mankind to flee from it. The Christian is called to recognize, hate, and flee from sin.

Sin is not something that is exclusive to homosexuals. Paul is very clear in the book of Romans that all men are sinners. If one were to hate a person because he/she is a sinner that would entail him hating all men, even himself. Although the Christian is called to hate sin, he is also called to love his neighbor.

Christ models the importance of loving men in spite of their sins.  Even while we were living in our sins, Christ died (Ephesians 2). Christ embodies perfect holiness.

Christ perfectly displays a hatred for sin. It was this sin, which drove Christ to the cross. Christ’s hatred for sin did not prevent him from showing love and mercy to mankind. The greatest picture of love toward sinners, in spite of their sin, can be seen when Christ dies on the cross for these sinners.

Both Cameron and Driscoll’s response display this balance in which the Christian is called to hold. Both men recognize the sin, yet display love toward the sinner.

The church has not always displayed a perfect balance between these two thoughts. This imbalance which sometimes creeps in, should display that the church too is made up of sinners who have been saved by the grace of God.

This imbalance does not negate the sinfulness of sin, but it demonstrates that the church will always experience “growing pains.”