"Woe unto them that draw iniquity with cords of falsehood, and sin as it were with a cart rope; that say, Let him make speed, let him hasten his work, that we may see it; and let the counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it! Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isa. 5:18-21).

Isaiah’s prophecy is a pronouncement of condemnation upon the children of Israel for their plunging into sin, redefining right and wrong to suit themselves, and then daring God to do something about it. It wasn’t long until the folly of their rebellion was realized in captivity, first the northern kingdom by the Assyrians and the southern kingdom by the Babylonians.

Are you a bigot? Very few of us would admit to bigotry, and well we should not. We have come to a point in our society where whenever we disapprove of nearly anything a person might do, we are labeled as bigots. I discriminate. I believe that we are supposed to discriminate. The problem of discrimination arises when the basis of our discrimination becomes unjustifiable. We are wrong to discriminate on the basis of skin color, ethnicity, or other inherent characteristics in an individual. But we must discriminate when behavior is such that we cannot approve.

It was the practice of the Nazis to convince people that lies were the truth by repeating them over and over. When anyone with a differing point of view pointed out the untruths, they were shouted down and berated with racial epithets. We have the same thing occurring today. When people stand up for what is right, the modern day Nazi begins to shriek that he is offended and levy charges of bigotry. Names are called and upon the altar of political correctness sacrificed the bones of another honest man.

One of the lies we hear often today is that a man is born either heterosexual or homosexual. It is repeated over and over and over, and many who should know better are beginning to concede to the lie. It is an outrageous lie. There is not one reliable study made by either biological scientists or psychologists that remotely suggests that sexual orientation is genetic. Yet the mantra of the homosexual today is, "We are born that way." The devil is a liar and so are his minions, whether they be on the political stump, in the media, or in the pulpit.

Two news items got my attention since I have returned from Washington that cannot be allowed to slip by. The first regards the Mayor of Tempe, Neil Giuliano, and his attempt to impose his deviant sexual preference on organizations like the Boy Scouts of America. Giuliano is openly homosexual. In the last couple of months he has made an attempt to keep city employees from contributing to the United Way because of its contributions to the Boy Scouts. The Boy Scouts do rightly discriminate based on sexual orientation. I am not a big fan of the Boy Scouts, and I do not support the United Way because I cannot support some of the charities they give money to. But they are right on this one. The Boy Scouts not only are right to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation, but they have a responsibility to do so.

The second news item concerns Charles Coppinger, the chaplain of the Arizona state legislature. Coppinger revealed earlier this week that "God has created me as a gay man." The Tribune newspaper says that his "declaration left several lawmakers shaken." Well, no kidding! But people are so afraid to say the right thing, so afraid to stand up for Biblical morality, I suppose because they fear the wrath of the PC police, that we find them repeating the lie. Senate Majority Leader Rusty Bowers was quoted, "I don’t condemn any man or any woman for having a same-sex attraction. State Senator David Petersen said that "Charlie has been a great source of inspiration to me" … but "Could I support him as chaplain. The answer is no?

The political correctness bell has rung down at the Statehouse. Many of the legislators, like Bowers and Petersen prefer to "tiptoe through the tulips" on this one rather than coming out and saying what they personally believe. While there are some who openly support Coppinger in his lifestyle, like Lori Daniels of Chandler and Elaine Richardson of Tucson, there are a few who have some courage. Representative Karen Johnson has said that Coppinger should step down until he gets things worked out in his life.

One thing that is good. Coppinger’s position is not funded by state revenues. His salary and operating budget comes from donations of individuals and churches. Some of this money will disappear, but I am certain that it will be made up quickly, if not by churches that have no Biblical conviction on such matters, then by homosexual activists and groups to which they belong.

The state ought not to recognize such a position anyway, and do away with any privileges he might be offered above those of any other minister.

Homosexuality is wrong. It is not a matter of genetics. It is a matter of choice. Though choice may be influenced by physical tendencies or environment, sexual orientation is a learned condition.

There is much in the scientific community that supports such a statement. But the tip off that the statement is the truth is what the Bible says about this deviant behavior. God condemns it as the inevitable outcome of refusing to submit to his law. "Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness, that their bodies should be dishonored among themselves: for that they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile passions: for their women changed the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another, men with men working unseemliness, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was due" (Rom. 1:24-27). "Or know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with men, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:9-10).

Are homosexual acts wrong? Do you believe the Bible? Years ago I heard a "gay-activist priest" claim that the Bible condemned homosexuality because it "did not understand homosexuality." There is no debate that the Old and New Testaments condemn homosexual behavior. This man did not dispute that. He disputed the Bible’s understanding of the problem. Did they not have homosexuals back then? Did they not have general societal approval of this deviancy? Does not God know the hearts of men enough to discern right and wrong in them?

We are living in times like Isaiah described. Will God find in us the 10 righteous souls that he could not find in Sodom? (Gen. 18:23-33). We need to pray and be strong.