Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire, V. Gene Robinson appeared at 2007 Leo Goodwin Symposium at Nova Southeastern University Law School in Broward County. He was the final speaker of a four part series on morality and legal rights for sexual minorities.

I was stunned and angered as I listened to Gene Robinson share his “thoughts” before an adoring audience of a few hundred students and community members. The majority soaked up his every word as if he were an inspired prophet. One self-identified Episcopal priest gushed, “as you were speaking my heart was burning.” This is a reference to an account in Luke’s Gospel where the disciples describe the effect of the words of the risen Christ!

But a single little spark could have burned down the entire Nova Southeastern University from the pile of straw man arguments Robinson had set up and knocked down. With a homey rhetorical style, theological slight of hand and a crafty twisting of selective scriptures, he cobbled together the old tired lies homosexuals perpetrate on the theologically illiterate. It was sophistry at its worst, all packaged up in the false humility of a grandfatherly demeanor.

What is especially galling to traditional Christians is that he tries to baptize his anti-Christian diatribe by wearing the accouterments and authority of a Bishop’s office. Directly, and by use of innuendo, he insulted traditional, Judeo-Christian morality and called faithful Bible believing people, among other things, hypocrites, idolatrous, paternalistic, misogynists, heterosexists and theocrats.

If only we all had the knowledge and sensitivity of a V. Gene Robinson. Although during question and answer time Robinson acknowledged that he really did not know anything, he spent an hour telling us that he knows the Holy Spirit has changed four thousand of years of the Judeo-Christian understanding of sexual morality. This seems a bit arrogant to me. The audience soaked up every irrational and illogical assertion as if it were from the throne of God.

If Robinson is right, isn’t it convenient for God to change his mind now? All the previous generations of Christians who fought their sinful sexual impulses and attempted to live a lifestyle of repentance from sexual immorality must feel very foolish or confused, if not angry. We are enlightened now, Robinson would argue. But Robinson’s sexual morals do not resemble some brave new sexual path, just an old pagan one, one that Western Civilization, influenced by Christianity, rightly rejected. So, I suppose God was just being cruel to all the previous generations Christians foolish enough to resist sexual temptations.

Why is it that Robinson gets a pass on his sexual proclivities? He must have a very special sin indeed, one so powerful that not even the risen Christ can help him to overcome. That is not what the scripture teaches or what church history supports and thousands of ex-homosexuals report, but Robinson doesn’t care. He “knows” that God loves him in his open sin. He even confessed that he always wanted to be a June bride. This condition is usually described as self-delusion or invincible ignorance.

All people have some degree of brokenness around their sexuality. Our own sinful desires and the sinful acts of others have affected us all. That’s why Jesus taught us to pray, “forgive us our sins as we forgive those who have sinned against us.” In Christ, we can be healed and empowered to live the Christian life as we make use of the means God has given us. But Robinson gets to indulge his sexual brokenness. So much for “picking up your cross” and following Jesus.

That fact that we live in a fallen world does not mean we can change the rules we don’t like. In fact, it is the grace of God that has revealed his moral law. Now we know what we are to do regarding our sinful impulses of all kinds- repent, flee to Christ and ask for God to give us his perspective and power to resist them! Man’s sinful dispositions do not change the fact that God has reserved sexuality for heterosexual marriage.

Robinson makes use of a slippery and arbitrary mysticism. When confronted on his subjective use of scripture, he tries to justify his position by an appeal to the Bible at one point, then rejects the Bible’s teaching altogether when it is not to his liking. He justifies rejecting Christ’s clear teaching on adultery and remarriage because it makes people feel bad. Using a typical homosexual tactic, he manipulates the audience by portraying himself as a victim, like the African slaves. The only thing slavery and sodomy have in common is they are both sinful.

The audience was blissfully approving as this evangelist from Sodom ducked my question and then attacked another person who called him on his arbitrary and mystical use of the Bible. “That book saved my life” Robinson yelled! “God spoke to me out of that book.” Yet, he previously said the Bible was the Word of God, but did not contain the very Words of God. Confusing isn’t it? It is the typical, deceitful way the gullible are confused: You talk and dress like a believer, then destroy the very foundation of belief. That was Robinson’s familiar, wicked tactic, the same one the Serpent used in the garden.

In one last gesture of diabolical manipulation, Robinson said in front of the audience that “he would want me in his church.” How maniacally magnanimous. This intended to make him look like the bigger man (or bride), accepting even of me, with my ignorant, hypocritical, idolatrous, misogynist, heterosexualist ways.

The event ended and I was standing outside the room when two beautiful black female students came up and spoke to me. I told them I thought they ought to be wary of me a white guy who, according to Robinson was a racist misogynist. They laughed and expressed that they were thankful I spoke up and expressed frustration that homosexuals always try to use the oppression of blacks to justify their sin. An older white couple also approached me. The woman was weeping. “That man destroyed my church,” she said. “I had to leave my church because of him.” Robinson does not seem to care that he had torn asunder the clear teaching of the Bible, thousands of years of traditional Christian morality and the now is ripping the Episcopal Church apart. Apparently, it’s all about Gene and his homosexual allies.

At the reception that followed, I spoke privately to Robinson. I told him directly that his presentation was very unfair and offensive and mischaracterized me and the people who believe like I do. “I do not want to be part of your church, nor do I want you to be part of my church,” I said. “There is only one church, the church of Jesus Christ. And the way into that church is through repentance. I had to repent of my sin to get in, and so must you.” In another attempt to appear magnanimous, Robinson said, “I will pray for you.” I replied, “I will pray for you that God give you the gift of repentance.”

Even so, Heavenly Father, change Gene Robinson’s heart, grant him repentance and show him mercy, the same mercy all repentant sinners have received, though the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ. Protect your Church from the false prophets and wolves who seek to devour the flock of God. A-men.