Don't ask, don't tell

President-elect Obama is considering lifting the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy IRT to homosexual military members. What should the Christian response be? I’ve been struggling with this a bit, as it appears this pits two Biblical truths against each other….the command to submit to our governing authorities (Rom 13:1-7), and God’s condemnation of homosexuality.

Some history. The current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was enacted by the Clinton administration in 1993. Prior to that, homosexuals were not permitted to serve in the U.S. armed forces.

In 1993, a primary argument for the new policy was it corrected (to some degree) a long history of discrimination against homosexuals. Supporters of “don’t ask, don’t tell” said this discrimination was exactly the same as past discrimination against African-Americans and women. Supporters of “don’t ask, don’t tell” were making precisely the same argument as those who favor lifting this policy today, (which would allow homosexuals to openly serve in the armed forces). I found the basis for the argument questionable then, and I do today.

Discrimination heaped upon African-Americans and women in the past by the military was wrong and short-sighted. In effect, our military was denied the talents and gifts those groups bring. The question is, is it legitimate to extend the same concept to homosexuals? Is restricting homosexuals from serving “discrimination”, as restricting African-Americans clearly was?

Does God have anything to say about this? The Bible is crystal clear that homosexuality is a vile sin, indeed a judgment. Other than those that reject Biblical inerrancy, no one denies this. Dr. Al Mohler wrote a paper recently that explains this far better than I ever could.

Please note one other thing. Scripture never says anything remotely negative about any minorities or women. Quite the contrary. This is a key difference, and the reason why discrimination on the basis of race or gender isn’t equivalent to “discrimination” based on “sexual preference”.

Former Chairman, JCS Gen Peter Pace expressed it well when he said "I believe that homosexual acts between individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said Monday. "I do not believe that the armed forces of the United States are well served by a saying through our policies that it's OK to be immoral in any way."

This is why Christians are troubled by this issue. However, if the policy is changed, we must comply, and set the example of law-abiding citizens. And we must remember individual homosexuals are made in the image of God and are in need of Christ, just as any other unbeliever is. We must treat them with dignity and respect.