Stains on Seattle

Seattle, this was my first time visiting you.  You had some of the best coffee I've ever tasted, seafood that exceeded my every expectation, a wealth of paraphernalia in Pike Street Market, the culmination of man's engineering and knowledge of physics in the Space Needle, and the elegant, mind-boggling displays of the Chihuly Garden.  I was struck by the friendliness of your citizens and the quality of your Uber drivers.  I was unable to find a restaurant that was even a slight disappointment.  In your renowned exhibits and famed streets I shed tears, stood in awe, and engaged in profound introspection.  Two days was far too brief a time to experience all that makes you unique.

You have much to offer, Seattle--far more, I'm sure, than I know.  It's likely that many of your prideful citizens think the very same, and are content to remain working, exploring, dining, and venturing within your bounds.  You offer the world to those who are your own, and to those visiting from afar.  But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?

There is nothing inherently wrong with your towering buildings, your perfected recipes, your robust coffee, or your sprawling markets.  In such things you are a titan, and to be recognized.  Consider Pike Place Market, for example.  Along that strip I saw wares of every kind I could imagine; people with God-given abilities created innovative items for others to enjoy, and sought to sell these to make a living.  What a lovely thing it is to encourage ingenuity! But at what expense do you offer the world to those who wander your streets? Alongside creativity and craftsmanship, you parade evil before the eyes of all.

Rainbow flags hang in the windows of many shops that line your streets.  Numerous crosswalks are striped with the colors of the rainbow, as well.  It is one thing to believe that homosexuality is not sinful (even though it is); it is another thing to celebrate it with flagrant displays.

Now if you are offended but still reading this, then I thank you for being mature and levelheaded enough to continue.  I have stated that homosexuality is evil, and I hold to that statement.   Before someone brands me homophobic, hate-mongering, or intolerant, I ask that my reader reserve judgment until he or she has looked carefully at my argument.  Why do I believe that homosexuality is wrong? I present my logic here:

1. God is real.

2. Of the countless religions that proclaim the existence of God, Christianity possesses the only book that has never been refuted.  It does not contradict nature, science, or itself; any claims to the contrary have not been backed by thorough research, and are derived from surface-level readings of the text or a misunderstanding of the full scope/progressive revelation of Scripture.  Due to these facts, it is highly reliable.

3. If the Bible is reliable and trustworthy, and claims that it was God Himself who inspired its composition (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21), then it should be trusted as a document that not only presents historical events factually, but as one that is also authoritative in morality and ethics.

4. If the Bible is authoritative in morality and ethics, then the following sins listed 2,000 years ago are still sins today: "Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

Am I singling out homosexuals? No, that is not my goal here.  In fact, right around the corner from Pike Place Market, I noticed a building with the words "Live Nudes" glowing in neon above one of its windows.  When I asked one Uber driver what I should do while in the city, he immediately notified me of the best bars with the best alcohol.  This is not just a problem with homosexuality; this is a problem with the heart of Seattle--and with many metropolitan cities in America.  We have normalized sin.  We have painted the streets and buildings with it so that it doesn't seem so bad.  We have done all we can to numb ourselves to the conviction of what is wrong, because no one likes to be uncomfortable.  No one likes dealing with matters of conscience.  The best way to kill the conscience is to view evil as something to be celebrated rather than mourned.  Things that would have been shameful 100 years ago, and deemed necessary evils 40 years ago, are praised in 2018.

 At this point, you may wish to tell me, "But Kory, we have just become more accepting of various ways of life.  It's a great victory that people are now free to be who they are without fear of persecution." That sounds like a noble rebuttal.  But what if "who we are"-- and I mean in the deepest recesses of our souls--is not as noble as we think? What if, in resigning ourselves to ourselves, we no longer recognize flaws in our nature as worthy of being combated? What if, in the presumption that we have gained more freedom in this past century, we have actually allowed ourselves to become imprisoned by the things that God calls unholy?

You see, to celebrate sin in the way that you do, O Seattle, you must disagree with at least one of my four premises.  Perhaps you do not believe God is real...but I have a feeling that many within your borders would claim that He exists, and is love.  I believe that premise 2 is where there would be some contention (and if you reject premise 2, you reject those that follow).  Many people have not read the Bible, other than some of its decontextualized passages such as, "You must not boil a young goat in its mother's milk (Exodus 23:19).  If they have read it, it was a cursory reading.  The fact is that most people are ignorant of what this book--now over 2,000 years old--teaches.  Ignorance is bliss, indeed.  But in your ignorance and blissful imprisonment to what feels right but is wrong, you willfully reject an unrefuted, inerrant, perfect book gifted to mankind by a perfect God.  You are doing logic, and your soul, a disservice.

Homosexuality is a sin.  So are sexual immorality, drunkenness, and all of the other things listed in the passage above.  And to be fair, I will openly admit that Christians are not exempt from facing these struggles.  And struggles are what they should be at most.  The Bible has always taught that this struggle is a war waged between the flesh and the spirit (see Romans 7).  What our secular society aims to do is deny the war and disguise it as a parade.

I pray that some have read this and felt conviction.  I hope God has used me to awaken consciences.  It is time, Seattle, to turn away from what is evil and turn to what is good.  It is time to put away idleness and, against your heart's desire, to take up the Bible and discover the Truth for yourself.  God says, "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil" (Isaiah 5:20). If you display rainbow flags, you are celebrating before the eyes of God and man that which is evil.  May you never do so again.  May God wipe away all your stains and make you white as snow.  I say these things out of love and out of deep distress for your future, and will pray for a change in your streets.

Fellow Christians, if you are reading this, then let us pray together for our society.