<> Ask the Pastor Rev. Walter Snyder It's been a long and interesting week since the last column entered the Sunday Newsboy's clutches. Sermons, meetings, hospital calls, and the like have come and gone. The paper has edited my previous words to fit the page. My daughters have grown a bit older. The news from abroad and here in the States has been a mix of bad and good. Yet in a changing world, our unchanging God is still in control. Good times and bad, joyful and sad, our forgiveness through Christ is certain. Another (almost) certainty is another column deadline. Don't you love that word DEADline? I like to think of it a LIFEline. If I get the questions answered and into the NewsBoy offices on time, "Ask the Pastor" lives for another week. I guess that I could make a theological comparison between newspaper life and the Christian life. The column passes through the deadline to receive life in the paper. The Christian passes through death to receive eternal life. I know, I know, that's stretching it. Well, let's get on to the week's responses. First, we don't have a question, but an expansion on last week's question about the wearing of a clergy collar. This comes with thanks to Mrs. Nancy Hill, wife of Father Gary Hill of Trinity Episcopal Church. Father Gary went into a preschool class at the beginning of the year. Many of the children are not from church bodies where the collar is used, so he asked if they knew what that was around his neck. One bright youngster responded, "Yep. Kills fleas and ticks for four full months." Q: I know that the Bible has strong passages against homosexuality. Yet there seems to be scientific evidence that many people are inclined this way because of genetics. How do you square science with the Bible? I won't try in this brief area to square all of science with the Bible. Whole libraries are filled with the efforts of others to do so. However, in the area of homosexuality, let's focus first on the clear word of Holy Scripture. Homosexuality is condemned, often in very harsh language. Paul spends much time on the subject as he writes the Corinthian Christians, probably because it was a great problem in Corinthian society. The Bible nowhere says that there isn't an inborn desire that some people have for same-sex relationships. In fact, the Bible says that there is an inborn predisposition for all sin. For example, Psalm 58:3 says, "The wicked are estranged from the womb; These who speak lies go astray from birth." Yet it is not only the overtly wicked who carry sinfulness from the womb. King David lamented about himself in Psalm 51:5, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me." Many people exhibit violent tendencies at a very early age. Just because they may be predisposed to violence doesn't excuse them if they beat, maim, or kill someone else. Others show inclinations toward enriching themselves at the expense of others even as young children. Yet they are held accountable if they embezzle, burgle, commit armed robbery, or such. Society judges these people criminals needing arrest and punishment while the Bible judges them sinners needing repentance and forgiveness. You could draw parallels with many such vices, sins, or crimes. Yet none seem to inflame us as do sexual matters. Those opposed to any deviance from God's Law are frustrated by a society that seems increasingly tolerant. Those who say, "You can't legislate morality," are frustrated by what they deem archaic, superstitious laws. Even Christians find themselves divided. You need to be convinced by God's Word in matters of right and wrong. Christians have often lived in societies that allowed what the Bible condemned. The believers we remember - those commended for their faithfulness - are those who did not conform themselves to the world, but were transformed by the Word. The transformation is worked by God in Christ forgiving us and making us more like our Savior. The same forgiveness was won at Calvary for all who transgress God's commandments, and can transform all of us conceived and born sinners. That finishes another week. Remember, you can submit your questions by mail to "Ask the Pastor," PO Box 1080, Jasper, Texas, 75951. Computer users can e-mail xrysostom@aol.com. Or you can stop me on the street and "Ask the Pastor." Walter Snyder is the pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Jasper and Faith Lutheran Church, Woodville and coauthor of the book "What Do Lutherans Believe? A Study Guide in Christian Teachings for adults." Copyright (c) 1995 by Walter P. Snyder Permission is granted by author to reproduce or retransmit this by any means, provided that its content is not altered, that this notice of copyright and permission is included, and that no financial gain is realized.