Counterpoint: Soul concern

That ruling overthrew all state sodomy laws. In his dissension, Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “The court has taken sides in the culture war.”

The court’s decision was a huge victory for the LGBT movement across the nation and in Oklahoma. It was seen as a validation of the homosexual equalrights movement that started back in June 1969, after the police raid on a homosexual bar, the Stonewall Inn, in Greenwich Village, N.Y. More recently, President Obama for the last three years has declared the month of June as National LGBT Month. We read earlier this month in Oklahoma Gazette where another mainstream denomination is moving toward ordaining homosexuals.

The passing of hate-crimes legisla tion and the overturning of “don’t ask, don’t tell” in the last two years also have emboldened gay rights advocates to become open and aggressive to push their agenda to legitimize their lifestyle. It is no wonder that the local Cimarron Alliance believes that now is the time to launch their campaign to educate the general public about the 365,000 homosexuals in Oklahoma.

This launch is just another sign of the times we are now living in. When my wife, Sally Kern, was knocking doors in her first campaign for state representative in 2004, she told the people, “I believe we are in a cultural war to save the Judeo-Christian values that have made our state great.” That has been her motivation as an elected official since that time. The reality is that the cultural war is intensifying.

The sad thing is few pastors and their churches are doing anything about it. Some have the attitude, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” For me, as a Bible-believing pastor, my greatest concern is for the souls of individuals in their relationship with God, and for our state being totally dependent on his blessing for our prosperity. The souls of mankind and the prosperity of Oklahoma are in jeopardy when we violate his moral standards and embrace what he has declared as sin.

I know it’s not popular to say in this politically correct media environment, but homosexuality is a sin. An individual who embraces it is at odds with God’s natural order. There is forgiveness through Jesus Christ for those who chose to be delivered from the homosexual hold on their lives.

That is not true for a nation or state. History has shown that societies that embrace homosexuality rapidly deteriorate morally until they finally fall after a few generations, due to the loss of their moral foundations. The most important part of that foundation is the family.

Given our present situation in Oklahoma, I do not say “God bless Oklahoma” much anymore. Instead, my prayer is, “God have mercy on us all.”

Kern, husband of state Rep. Sally Kern, R-Oklahoma City, is pastor of Olivet Baptist Church and adjunct professor at Mid-America Christian University.

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