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Parliament condemned homosexuals; will the President throw the first stone?

What you need to know:

  • The moral situation in Uganda and elsewhere is a result of sin
  • Each one of us is born with one type of orientation or the other in life

Allow me to make a contribution to the ongoing debate on the Bill criminalising homosexuality which Parliament has just passed. Parliament argued that homosexual practice is against African culture and norm. 
Members argued that in some cases the culprits should be condemned to death.  I find the whole drama similar to the story in the Bible (John 7:53, 8:11) related to the woman caught committing adultery and brought to Jesus for justice. In both cases, law makers are involved. 

In the Bible the teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery and made her stand before them and they asked Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery”. They quoted their culture: “the Law of Moses commands us to stone such women…, now what do you say?” Jesus answered, “If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her”. 

With this answer, they left one by one and no one condemned her. Then Jesus said, “neither do I condemn you…Go now and leave your life of sin”. Bible scholars identify this woman most likely to be Mary Magdalene who became close associate with Jesus: she was by the Cross of Jesus (John 19:25), she came to the tomb weeping, found the tomb empty and was the first to see the risen Lord (John 20:11-16). This story of the Bible teaches us many things, especially how to rehabilitate a sinner.

The moral situation in Uganda and elsewhere is a result of sin. When we commit sin repeatedly without repentance, our conscience dies: we form a conscience of our living. Homosexuality is not the only sin. We forget common sins like evil thoughts and desires, telling lies, stealing, fornication, and many others, all of them if not repented take us to hell. We manipulate the law. Even in the story of the Bible where a woman was caught in adultery, where is the man with whom she was committing adultery? 
In a social media platform , a woman activist posted a suggestion that homosexuals should be castrated, how about lesbians? In Muslim countries, where they operate strictly under Islamic laws, many people are wrongly accused and they end up being punished wrongly. Sexual crimes are difficult to prove without reasonable doubt unless caught red-handed.

Each one of us is born with one type of orientation or the other in life. Others develop psychological disorders.  Orientation in itself is not a sin; it leads to temptation which is also not a sin in itself.  Whatever orientation you have, it becomes your cross to carry to follow Jesus. 

Homosexuals and people with pedophilic orientations are not any different to deserve special treatment. Proper religious education should emphasise the fact that homosexuality is a sin. As if this is not realised and that is why they are fighting for their right. God allows us to be tempted within our ability to resist and that is where we get our reward by carrying our cross. 
This also should open our eyes about the nature of our education. How did this evil vice penetrate our schools on our watch? Students themselves would have rejected it if they are properly taught what sin is. This is an eye opener to look into our religious school syllabus. So Mr  President are you going to cast the first stone on homosexuals? 
  
LGBTQs commit sin and we should hate the sin but not the sinner. Jesus was seen in the company of sinners for which the Scribes and the Pharisees accused him. Christianity is for sinners. To rehabilitate them, they should be amidst us. Legislation will create enmity between law enforcement officers and the homosexuals, creating a barrier for rehabilitation. 
The author, Dr  Okoth is a concerned     Christian and citizen        [email protected]