Day 1 Introductory Topic: Truth

Visual Aid

• See Attachments on the Left

Convention Introduction

• Welcome to our second annual HS & MS Youth Summer Apologetics Convention
• As we said last year, we will hold this convention every year in June with a focus on Apologetics
• Can anyone remind me of what the word "Apologetics" means? To give a defense
• And this comes from Scripture in 1 Peter 3:15 - "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" - give a defense in Greek is ἀπολογία - "Apologia" - the root of the word Apologetics
• Last year we took a very high level and a very classical apologetics approach - We discussed Evolution, Big Bang Theory, the Resurrection, Authenticity of the Bible, etc.
• Many of you, since that time, have had one or two interactions with people where you were called to give a defense - maybe more, maybe less.
• Probably the most fundamental concept in all of Apologetics is Truth. The Truth.

The Truth

• Is there such thing as Truth?
  
  • Many people today will say something like "well tell me YOUR truth" or "MY truth is this or that"
  • https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yVnfS2m2VbA 
    
    
• What is the Truth?
  • Truth is reality - what is real
  • The Lord Jesus Christ said "I am the way, the truth and the life"
    • What does this mean?
    • It means that all of His Words are True - all of His Teachings, His promises about the Kingdom, His Promise about the Second Coming, His Judgment - are all true.
    • It means that if we want to know the Truth, we should seek Him and seek the truth through Him
    • "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
      
      
• What the Truth is NOT
  • Truth is NOT whatever works
    • The ends don't justify the means
    • If I don't want to get in trouble, so I lie to my parents and they believe me, and I don't get in trouble... my plan worked! But that doesn't make it Truth. Still, whatever I told my parents was a lie. Just because it worked doesn't make it true.
      
      
  • Truth is NOT what is understandable
    • We don't understand how the human brain works - but that doesn't mean it's not true.
    • We don't understand the Trinity and how can Three in One and One in Three - that doesn't mean it's not true.
    • We don't understand how the bread and wine becomes Body and Blood - that doesn't mean it's not true.
      
      
  • Truth is NOT what makes people feel good
    • Bad news can be the truth
    • If I come and tell you that your grandmother has departed - you won't feel good... but it's the truth.
    • If you get a bad grade on a math test, you won't feel good... but it's the truth
    • "Facts don't care about your feelings"
      
      
  • Truth is NOT whatever the majority says
    • In the time of Noah, when everyone reached the conclusion that there is no flood - they were wrong.
    • In the time of Lot, when everyone stayed in Sodom and Gomorrah - they were wrong.
    • In the time of Nazi Germany, the majority of people in Germany contributed to the persecution of Jews - they were wrong.
      
      
  • Truth is NOT what is intended
    • Those who support homosexuality always think they are doing it "out of love" - they might have good intentions but they are uninformed. No matter how good their intentions, it doesn't make it true.
    • Those who support abortion always think they are doing it "to liberate women" - they might have good intentions but they are uninformed. No matter how good their intentions, it doesn't make it true.
      
      
  • Truth is NOT what is believed
    • Someone can sincerely believe a lie
      
    • If you have a key in your hand and you sincerely believe it's the right key for the door. You have no doubt in your mind. But it's the wrong key... No matter how sincerely you believe it's the right key, it's not the truth.
      
    • If you have a bottle of poison and you sincerely believe it's juice. No matter how sincere your belief, if you drink it you will die. That's the truth.
      
      
  • Truth is NOT what is publicly proved
    • For example, I have the password to my computer at work. I am the only one in the world who knows what it is. And yet, it is true.
    • The location of a hidden treasure... it doesn't have to be public knowledge to be true. 
      
      
• Attacks on the Truth
  • You will be accused of being narrow-minded
    • The math teacher who holds the belief that 2+2=4 - is he narrow minded?
    • To be open minded, does he have to say that 2+2 can be 5 or 8?
    • The Truth is the Truth.
      
      
  • You will be called arrogant
    • Is the math teacher who then INSISTS that there's only one right answer to 2+2 - is he arrogant?
    • The Truth is the Truth.
      
      
  • You will be accused of excluding people
    • If the math teacher doesn't allow another teacher in his class to come and teach that 2+2=5 - is he excluding people?
    • The Truth is the Truth.
      
      
  • You will be accused of being offensive and divisive
    
    • I took this video from a portion of this new documentary about Transgenderism called "What is a Woman?"
    • Lisa and I were watching it and this part had me completely dumbfounded so I wanted to share it with you.
    • The interviewer is Matt Walsh who is a talk show host, and he's interviewing a College Professor of Gender Studies.
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e77nDWpq3eQ
      
      
• The Truth has Consequences
  • If I take the wrong amount of medication, it could kill me
  • If I choose the wrong investment, it could make me poor
  • If I board the wrong plane, I will end up in the wrong destination
  • If I follow a lie, or support a lie, or participate in a lie... I risk my eternal life.

Why Discuss Homosexuality?

• When I was in Middle School, there was no such thing as gay. We didn't know about homosexuality. We didn't hear about it anywhere - not even at church. Not a single person in my school was a homosexual. And I didn't live in Egypt. I didn't live out in the country or in the midwest... I went to Meadow Woods Middle School and my brother and sister went to South Creek Middle School. The same Middle Schools that some of you went to or go to.
• When I was in High School, we had one homosexual in our school who had "come out" and two more who were "in the closet."
• We're not talking about 50 years ago. That was just 13 years ago. Now raise your hand here if you have seen homosexuality in your school.
• How did a change this big happen? How did those who are against the Truth, convince so many people to believe in a lie?
  • The Scriptures told us that this would happen.
  • In St Paul's Epistle to the Romans, he mentions many sins and homosexuality is one of them, but he summarizes them as: "who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." (Romans 1:25)

How did Homosexuality Become so Prevalent in our Society?

• If Homosexuality is so wrong, why do so many people follow or support it? Why is the majority behind it? How could this happen?
  
  
• In 1987, an article called "The Overhauling of Straight America" was published in a magazine
  • https://library.gayhomeland.org/0018/EN/EN_Overhauling_Straight.htm 
  • The article had 6 points
    1. Talk about gays and gayness as loudly and as often as possible
    2. Portray gays as victims, not as aggressive challengers
    3. Give protectors a just cause
    4. Make gays look good
    5. Make the victimizers look bad
    6. Solicit funds
  • The article talks about how to get into politics, how to get into advertising, how to put favorable gay characters in movies and shows, how to convince celebrities and athletes to come out as homosexual, how to compare those who are against homosexuality to Nazis or KKK, how to present a commercial, etc. All of this is written down in an article from 1987 - before I was born! Before any of it actually happened.
    
    
• In 1989, a book was published called "After the Ball: How America Will Conquer its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the 90s"
  • It took all of those points and dropped them into three categories
  • Desensitization
  • Jamming
  • Conversion
    
    
• And this is exactly how it played out in the 90s and 2000s

Desensitization

• "Inundate them in a continuous flood of gay-related advertising presented in the least offensive fashion possible. If straights can't shut off the shower, they may at least get used to being wet."
  
  
• Prevalence in Hollywood
  • Movies, TV Shows, Commercials
  • Every movie nowadays needs to have at least one homosexual character or it gets attacked
  • Many shows that ran for a long time all of a sudden have a gay character
  • TV Shows are showing men with men or women with women
  • Homosexual character in the Movie/TV Show is always the best dressed, smartest, wittiest, funniest, doesn't make a mistake, etc.
    
  • Athletes and Actors who "come out" - they become the image of the movement
  • When you see a gay character on a show, maybe you don't even get offended anymore. It's just there.
  • Hollywood is lying to us. They are not saying the Truth. 
    
  • Raise your hand if you've seen homosexuality in movies and shows.
    
    
• Prevalence on Social Media
  
  • All over TikTok there are videos of people talking about "well my pronouns are they and them or ze and zer" and "I'm pansexual" or "I'm asexual" or whatever
  • The videos usually have someone who has modified his or her body - lots of piercings, crazy hair coloring, tattoos, tons of makeup... someone who no longer looks human.
  • The algorithm works to push these things to the top and to flood your feed with them
  • All of this is a lie! It is not the Truth
    
  • Raise your hand if you've seen homosexuality on social media.
    
    
• By shoving homosexuality down our throats, we start to become desensitized. Desensitization.

Jamming

• Accuse religious people
• Portray anti-gay institutions as "backwards" and "antiquated" and "out of step with the times"
• Take two contradictory images and juxtapose them
  • Christians hate Nazis and Skinheads and KKK
  • You portray people against same-sex marriage as being akin to Nazis, Skinheads and KKK
  • Since no one wants to be accused of being a Nazi, Skinhead or KKK - eventually, no one will want to be accused of being against same-sex marriage
    
    
• Prevalence in the Press
  • In March of 2022, Ron DeSantis, Governor of Florida signed a bill called House Bill 1557 - Parental Rights in Education
  • The Bill did many things:
    • Prohibits Classroom introduction on sexual orientation and gender identity for students in KG through 3rd Grade. After 3rd Grade, the conversations need to be age-appropriate.
    • Requires schools to notify parents about any healthcare services that the school provides and gives them the right to decline it for their children
    • Requires any questionnaires or health screenings given to students in KG-G3 to be given to the parents FIRST
      
  • Does anyone here think that this is unreasonable? That this is harmful? Would anyone disagree with this bill? Do you think that this bill is anti-gay or anti-trans?
  • Let's look at how the Media reported on this Bill
    • They called it "Don't say gay"
    • They called it "Cruel and Dangerous"
    • They claimed LGBTQ Students are being "Terrorized" and this Bill would make it worse
      
  • The Media is lying. The Media did not say the Truth.
  • Raise your hand if you've read about this or heard about this
    

Conversion

• "It isn't enough that anti-gay should be confused or even indifferent about us. We are safest in the long run when we can actively make them like us."
  
  
• Prevalence in Corporation
  • In June every year, we see lots of companies - restaurants, home shops, credit card companies, military contractors, even the US Armed Forces change their logos and post about "Pride" and do a bunch of random things to "Support" the LGBTQ movement
  • Those same companies, on their Middle East branches would never dare to do that
  • The companies post about Love and #LoveWins and talk about Pride being a good thing
  • They put Pride stickers on their doors and say "it can bring more customers"
  • The Companies are lying. The Companies are not saying the Truth.
  • Raise your hand if you've seen homosexuality in companies
    
    
• We find ourselves in a society that is caught off guard. Converted by a radical ideology. Conversion.

Conclusion

• So we see Homosexuality become prevalent in our society in the last 20 years because of a conscious attack in our country through three steps that were outlined and defined 30 years ago:
  • Desensitization through the Media and Hollywood
  • Jamming by attacking those who oppose it
  • Conversion
    
    
• So why are we discussing Homosexuality?
  • Because it is an attack on the Truth. And we care about the Truth.
  • It is a lie that is being exchanged for the truth of God, that is indoctrinating our society and our youth and children and desensitizing us to what sin is. And we care about our Youth and Children.
  • Because you all have asked about it and discussed it and seen it with your eyes
    
    
• Our Purpose in Life is to Know God and to make God known to others. So our Goal in the next two days is for you to:
  • We want you to KNOW the Truth - that Homosexuality is sin. No matter what the majority or the media try to teach us. No matter what makes people feel good. No matter what the intentions are. Sin is sin.
  • We want to equip you with the answers to be able to give a defense.
  • We want to help you show the love of God and be a light in the world even when surrounded by all this darkness
    • What does it mean to hate the sin and love the sinner?
    • How can I love the person who is struggling with homosexuality?
    • How can I practically SHOW this love?
    • How can I "speak the truth in love" (Ephesians 4:15)

Day 1 Outline

• On the first day, we will have four stations that answer four questions:
  • Where does Homosexuality come from?
    
  • What does the Bible really say about Homosexuality?
  • Why do we care so much about Homosexuality if it's not hurting us?
  • What is God's intention for sexuality?
    
• At the end of the day, we will have a section for a Final Debate - we'll pose the arguments to you in the way that we see them - at work, in the media, on the internet, etc. and YOU will have to give a defense. You will become the Apologist.