Via NewsBusters, this was not even supposed to be an interview about Phil Robertson's faith or his social views. But reporter Ryan Owens can't help himself, so Robertson is once again confronted with the dopey media inquisition that demands he answer for being a "homophobe."
Robertson gives the perfect answer:
Of course you realize Jesus was just as reviled in His day by the people whose behavior He called out, especially the religious and political leaders who sought their own honor at the expense of God's, but also plenty of common people who simply hated the laws of God and didn't want to be held accountable for following them. Why do you think they were able to stir up the crowd to demand His crucifixion? People who argue you're not being Christ-like because you call sin what it is don't know anything about the real Jesus or the things He did.
By the way, a word to those who argue Jesus never said anything about homosexuality:
Jesus affirmed that the entire Old Testament was inspired by God, so if it's anywhere in the Old Testament, Jesus approves it. He didn't come to get rid of anything in Mosaic Law, but to provide grace to those of us who failed to live according to it (which is to say, all of us).
Also, the rest of Scripture is also Holy Spirit-inspired, so just because a teaching came from, say, Paul, doesn't make it any less authoritative than if it's in the red-letter words of Jesus Himself. There is no way to read 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 and fail to understand its meaning, and you can't use the cop-out that it doesn't count because it didn't come from the mouth of Jesus. Remember, Jesus called Paul to be an apostle, so everything Paul said was under the authority of Jesus.
I also want to answer the dishonest and disingenuous argument that Christians are obsessed with homosexuality but don't raise similar objections to adultery, cheating on taxes, whatever. Here is why that argument is complete nonsense. The church of Christ is currently coming under pressure from homosexuals and their advocates in the culture to embrace homosexuality as acceptable behavior. They are the ones begging the question. Show up at church and demand that everyone accept your shoplifting, because "that's how God made you," and you'll get the same answer. But I haven't heard anyone making that demand.
Case in point: The Phil Robertson interview excerpted above. The interview doesn't ask Robertson to defend his attitudes toward thieves, adulterers, murderers or drug abusers. He asks about homosexuality because that is the culture's currently in-vogue movement in opposition to God's Word.
You're a Christian and people are constantly pelting you with the demand that you renounce one particular teaching in the Bible. You steadfastly refuse to do so, only to have them turn around and say, "He's obsessed with this!"
Because you slugs keep asking about it!
And when he says he loves gay people (as do I), it's no different than what you would express about any other person who is loved in God's eyes, even as that person is beset by issues born of the desires of their flesh ruling over their spirits. You love that person and pray for that person's deliverance, because that will bring the person closer to God, and nothing better could happen for them than that.
All Phil Robertson is doing is holding to the same biblical standards that have sustained the people of God for 6,000 years. Those who now demand that this be changed are the ones who are obsessed.
