Paul on Mars Hill went there to proclaim the Gospel, not to argue the passing news items of the day.
To put yourself deliberately into an antagonistic environment is really foolish. As a ministry we have rejected several invites to appear on radio or TV to argue our case on certain news stories. This is because TV and radio are not interested in what we have to say – only in the furore we would raise amongst atheistic and other radically-sinful audiences and debaters. Some ministers enjoy this kind of self-made battle, but we do not, and we are not called by God to do so.
As for how to mix both scriptural and social aspects of homosexuality – why bother? The usual reaction is to try and play catch-up with students and others whose intention is to make you look stupid.
What's the point?
I always tell Christians to TAKE CONTROL OF THE SITUATION. Do not allow these people to drag you by a nose-ring around their familiar sins and filth arguments. Stand back and open your mouth, as Jesus commands us to do. Then, He says, the Spirit will fill our mouths. It is only when we treat His word as a debate that things go wrong. I know this from fifty years' experience.
Do not take on large groups of people! Keep it small. And do not go out to present a carefully written plan. By all means have a few major points – but leave the rest to the Lord.
It is my view that we must present the human and godly facts about homosexuality. It is also my view that we must 'box clever' and start with the medical and other facts about the subject. THEN bring in what God says. If the 'audience' is comprised of students then they MUST acknowledge the proper place of genuine research. If they refuse, then proclaim them to be dullards and ignorant – and walk out.
The time of using large-scale techniques is over. We are being judged by God for our laxity. It is too late to panic and try to turn the tide. Only truth and prayerful repentance will do anything now. And if your clever enemies say everything is relative, turn it back on them by saying that if that is so, then YOUR statements are just as valid as their own!
I can, and have, presented the dual facts to students, and it has worked – but to my detriment in the end.
I gave illustrated talks to students when the time was right – immediately on the heels of the discovery of AIDS in the 1980s. The result was – loss of my job and lifelong blacklisting in academic circles. But, the enemy was roundly silenced in public!
So, before trying to devise clever ways to talk to students, beware and know that the probable result will be your demise. In itself this is not an issue – but the issue will be whether or not what you said has any use at all, apart from as a genuine witness prompted by the Holy Spirit Himself. IGNORE their line of argument and replace it with the line of your own making. That is important, because it puts them on the wrong foot.
'Gay is wrong. That's a fact'
SHOW the research findings. SHOW the total inability of homosexualists to prove their theories. SHOW that Homosexuals caused and perpetuate HIV and AIDS and other diseases. SHOW how they destroy society from within, and how. SHOW how they are using fascism and dictatorship to silence other views. Only after all this should you talk about what God says. In this way you will already have silenced the opposition. It is a shadow of how Jesus used to get Pharisees to answer their own queries with their own laws. And it shut them up!
We need a straightforward statement, such as 'Gay is wrong. That's a fact', etc. It will drive radicals around the bend, but it will get the message across. Begin with their own facts and figures. Let the word of God then follow up with actual authority. Do NOT become the plaything of stupid students who have been indoctrinated by liberals and perverts. LEAD THE WAY and do not allow them to steal the show. If they try, just turn the tables straight away, as Jesus did – by turning the tables on them by getting them to answer their own ridiculous queries with their own facts. If each fact has a biblical equivalent, then that's fine.
No doubt many will disagree with me on this, but I have had a very long battle with these people. I bear all the scars and have had to live with the consequences, and know their minds. Listen or not.