Streams of Healing Water - Attempts to bridge the gay and non-gay communities through Christ's love

Hell

OLD TESTAMENT THOUGHTS ON HELL

The first place where we encounter the idea of hell is in the Old Testament. It is called Sheol and is mentioned over 60 times. However it was not seen as a place of punishment. Instead it was seen as the common grave of all mankind. It didn't matter whether you were rich, poor, good, evil, master or slave you still went to Sheol. Job speaks of this idea when he says:

11 “Why did I not die at birth?
Why did I not perish when I came from the womb?
12 Why did the knees receive me?
Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?
13 For now I would have lain still and been quiet,
I would have been asleep;
Then I would have been at rest
14 With kings and counselors of the earth,
Who built ruins for themselves,
15 Or with princes who had gold,
Who filled their houses with silver;
16 Or why was I not hidden like a stillborn child,
Like infants who never saw light?
17 There the wicked cease from troubling,
And there the weary are at rest.
18 There the prisoners rest together;
They do not hear the voice of the oppressor.
19 The small and great are there,
And the servant is free from his master (Job 3:11-19 (New King James Version)

To the ancient Hebrews Sheol was also seen as a deep dark region, a pit where all was forgotten. Those there were cut off from God and from the living above them. The idea was that the dead were abandoned forever. Sheol was also seen as a bleak subterranean region where the dead both bad and good, subsisted as impotent shadows. It was also seen as a dark underground realm in which all the dead, regardless of individual merit, were housed indiscriminately. There was no concept of eternal punishment. Neither was there any belief before the second century BC of an immortal soul living beyond death, nor of any resurrection or return from death. Human beings like animals were made from dust and at death went back to the dust. If one suffered extreme circumstances in life it could actually be seen as a relief to go to Sheol as there would be a relief from the pain and sufferings of this life as he would enter a land of forgetfulness. After the second century BC there is a concept by some that the righteous were waiting in Abraham's Bosom for the resurrection. Sheol equate to Hades in the Greek of which I will have more to say when I look at the New Testament teaching on hell. So Sheol then was the original idea of hell. How does that differ from Jesus and the New Testament views of hell?

To Tell Or Not To Tell - What Would Jesus Do?

Dear family,

Recently there has been much discussion on whether or not to come out of the closet. Who do we tell if we do? Do we tell everyone and flaunt our beliefs in their face? While I live openly as a gay man I also understand the need because of family, church, friends, job and a myriad of other reasons, that may not be practial for some.

So then does that mean it's ok to hide in the closet and deny what we are? It is my belief that leads to a whole lot of suffering and needless pain as we try to be something we are not. It also causes pain as we try live up to someone else's conception of what we should be, and aren't true to ourselves. We are also not being true to how God created us to be and what He wants for us.

Then there is a third option which is to come out to some who can accept it and affirm us for who we are. To others to remain silent or not advertise the fact of who we are. This would be especaily true of those who don't believe as we do and have not had the enlighment the Lord has given us. More on that in a second. So then which of those three options if Jesus were here today living as gay person would He choose?

Encounters of the Sacred Kind - Are They Biblical?

The following study is based on an article sent to me by Bruce Kine called Close Encounters of the Sacred Kind by Lee Speigel, a contributor to AOL News. It also includes the opinions of Rev. Barry Downing, a retired Presbyterian minister who believes that earth has been visited by extraterrestrial beings since Bible times and believes the Bible proves it. He has said that,

"If UFOs are some type of intelligent power from another world, they may have been around for millions of years and may have been involved in the development of the biblical religion, and I do believe that is the case,"

Downing, has served 34 years as pastor of the Northminster Presbyterian Church in Endwell, N.Y., and has tirelessly researched this material for decades. As a student at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, he specialized in the relationship between natural science and theology and is listed in "Who's Who In Theology and Science."

I'm Gay and Its OK

A look at what the Bible says about homosexuality as discovered by a conservative Evangelical Charismatic Gay Christian pastor  

By   Rev. John W. Brown

Preface  

As a gay Christian for many years I have struggled with the issues of the Bible and homosexuality. I have tried to reconcile what I was taught, what I thought I understood the Bible to teach, and my own sexuality. This then is the story of one Christian's journey and what he discovered. It is written so that others who may be struggling with the same issues can read it and relate. Hopefully through it you can come to find a loving God, acceptance and love through it. It is also written for those who although not gay may be struggling with the issue. This may be because their church is debating whether or not to allow gays to be members of their church and be ordained to ministry. It may be because they know someone who is gay or a member of their family is gay. Perhaps they are just curious. Whatever the reason I invite you to follow my journey of discovery with an open mind and heart. As Christian brothers and sisters, let us find the Biblical truth about homosexuality and what God thinks of it. Will you do that? Also please understand this is not to blast any church and therefore I have avoided listing the names of specific churches to which I have belonged. It is instead intended as an open invitation to all to come, learn, understand and know the truth. It is intended as a tool for reconciliation, and the unifying of the whole body of Christ including gays, lesbian and transgender people. Also all scripture references are taken from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Also I need to thank Dr. John Mathis Lurvey, Marlene Campbell and others. They have loved me, prayed with me, helped me to come to the realization of who I am and be able to accept it. Then to have the courage to go ahead and write about my journey and share it with others.  

How Many?

HOW MANY?
By

Rev. John W. Brown

How many roads can a gay man walk down
Before they will call him a man?
How many times must a gay man cry out
Before his voice can be heard?

And how many gays must take their lives
Until we know to many have died?
The answer my friend lies with you and me
The answer lies with you and me

How many years must they wear their chains
Before they're allowed to be free?
How many years can gays exist
Before all will notice and see?

How can they turn theirs back on gays
pretend ing they just cant see
The answer my friend lies with you and me
The answer lies with you and me.

How many times can a gay man look up
Without being knocked to the ground
How many times can a gay man try to rise
Before they allow him around

And how much hate must a gay man be around
Before its forever bound
The answer my friend lies with you and me
The answer lies with you and me.

11 Oct, 2010

Were Jesus and the Apostle John Lovers?

Some right now might consider me a heretic and want to stone me for even asking such a question. However there are those within the gay community who would insist they were (lovers), and this can be proven from the Bible. So who's right?

There are only five scriptures that speak of any special love between Jesus and the Apostle John. They are as follows:

"Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved." (John 13:23 NKJV)

"When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son!'"
(John 19:26)

"Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!' Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it), and plunged into the sea." (John 20:7)

"Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?'" (John 21:20)

Is It OK To Masturbate?

A while back some of our people went into the "Mature Chat Room" on Christian Gays to discuss the idea of masturbation and "cumming". Dad Larry found out about it, which started him thinking about a series of studies, of which this is the first one. With that in mind, what does the Bible say about masturbation? Does it condemn it, as many of us have been taught? Originally the church viewed sex for one purpose only - that of procreation. Any other reason was therefore morally suspect and wrong. It was also seen as wasting seed that was intended to produce life. Thus the condemnation of masturbation, and any sex outside of marriage, defined as between a man and a woman. However, is that a correct Biblical interpretation, or is there another view?

What Does It Mean To Call Jesus Lord?

Within the straight and gay communities there are people who practice BDSM (Bondage, Discipline or Domination, Sadism and Masochism. This is a form of role play involving "slaves" and "masters".

I have no intention of either defending or endorsing, or condemning the practice. However there are principles within these activities, which are applicable to our lives as servants/slaves of God. I would like to look at those principles to see what we can glean from them in our walk with God, and becoming more Christ-like.