CONTENTS

APOSTOPHOBIA



        A "fundamentalist" and I were talking about this project one day. He accused me of doing grave damage to the Bible. (Actually, he said that he had never seen a person who is so capable of perverting the truth out of the Bible as I am. Considering his perspective on the Bible, I'm kind of proud of that distinction.) Then, he went on to make his case against homosexuality. Since the main purpose of sex is reproduction, homosexuality perverts that purpose. He knew that homosexuals were not made that way, because that would make them useless and "God don't make no junk."
        I suggested to him that he might be a victim of homophobia, the fear of homosexuals or anything to do with homosexuality. His response was clear, simple and to the point. "I ain't afraid of no gawd damned faggots!" Then he got up and left.
        In reflection, I realized that he was probably right, he probably did not have homophobia. I have known several people who are probably more open to the homosexual life-style than I am, but not affirming. They may defend the homosexual against spiritual brow beating, maintaining that this person knows what the word of God says and doesn't need to be told again. However, they let it be known in no uncertain terms that while they can "love the sinner," they, "like God, hate the sin." This is not homophobia. This is something else entirely.
        The term I have coined is "apostophobia." It is a combination of two words. The first is our English transliteration, "apostacy," for a Greek term that means "falling away." This term, used in Hebrews chapter six, refers to those who "fall away" or abandon the faith once they have received enough to realize it's merit. Pseudo Paul says it is impossible for those who... "fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame." (Hebrews 6:6, KJV) The second part of the term, "phobia," we are all familiar with. It means an unrealistic fear. Literally, "apostophobia," would mean the unrealistic fear of falling from faith, and therefor, from grace. However, I use this term to mean the unrealistic fear of offending God.
        I am not trying to suggest that homophobia doesn't exist. It does exist and it is very real. I have seen grown men, men of faith, who cannot think reasonably about the homosexual issue because of homophobia. One of these men confessed to me that while he was a young sailor in the navy, out hitch-hiking back to base, he was picked up by a man who wanted sexual favors for the ride. This man was most probably a pedophile, and not a homosexual. However, the person who told me the story sees the man as a homosexual, out to recruit others to his form of sexuality, and there is no convincing him otherwise. He indeed has homophobia.
        Apostophobia also exists and is just as real. It is the fuel that provides the energy to bibledolotry. Again, this is not to say that all who commit bibledolotry have apostophobia. Instead, this realizes the truth which is for bibledolotry to exist in this day and age, a time which would reject the Bible in its entirety, bibledolotry must have people behind it who get something out of it. These people are the apostophobiacs, those with apostophobia.
        Our best literary example of apostophobia is the pre-conversion Saul of Tarsus. This man, a Pharisee, was so outraged at the budding church, that he sought permission from the religious authorities to seek out followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem in chains to stand trial, be condemned and executed. For Saul, these followers of Jesus were not only a threat to the "only true religion," they were also a personal threat to his own spiritual status. The only way he could deal with them was to destroy them. He must have feared that somehow their existence would pervert his own faith and cause him to be condemned to hell.
        We see this very same unreasonable over-reaction today in the recent fish controversy. Some one got the brilliant idea of taking the fish outline, the traditional symbol of Christian faith dating back to the first century, and putting feet on it and Darwin's name in it. The apostophobiacs reacted with obscene bumper stickers which depicted the "Jesus" fish eating the "Darwin" fish with the caption, "Survival of the fittest." For them, just the idea that their precious symbol would be used to promote a teaching they considered to be a "faith destroying lie" required them to expend massive amounts of energy to wipe it out.
        Another example of apostophobia is the Falwellian obsession with the purple tele-tubby. (I call it a Falwellian obsession instead of Falwell's obsession because it appears that all the words wasted to "expose" this cartoon character as gay came from a man Falwell paid to be so obsessed, instead of from Falwell himself.)
        Then finally, there are some of the revivalistic churches and their attitudes toward alcohol. Before the prohibition, several churches adopted a non-drinking clause in their constitutions, saying that the alcoholic might see them drink, think that he could as well, and get into trouble because of this. Later, many of these churches decided that it was the will of God that no Christian drink. The Bible students of these churches, whether the pastor or lay-people, made extensive lists of proof-texts against the use of alcohol and promoted these lists as the "Biblical view toward alcohol." This was Bibledolotry. The apostophobiac is the member of such churches who are constantly alert for tel-tale signs that some other member is polluting the church by taking an occasional drink. They, in effect, invade the lives of the members they suspect, thoroughly search the cupboards and storage, and cry foul when they find a bottle, or even a shot glass that hasn't been washed yet. Apostophobia isn't satisfied with cleaning up it's own act. It must constantly police the act of each and every person it comes in contact with.
        Still, the topic of this booklet is homosexuality and not the fish controversy, the purple tele-tubby or the anti-alcohol attitudes of some churches or unreasonable members of those churches.
        Apostophobia, as it is affected by the issue of homosexuality, has two items in its arsenal. These are Leviticus 20:13, which concludes (in the KJV) "...both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." and Romans 1:32, (again in the KJV) "Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them." They read this last passage as meaning that any one who condones such behavior, even if they do not necessarily approve of it, are fit to die.
        The type of personality that best explains apostophobia is that of the battered child. The battered child will do anything necessary to appease his father (or abuser) in order to avoid the abuse. In the same manner, the apostophobiac is motivated by a fear of retribution. The apostophobiac has been "battered" spiritually with "God's wrath." Consequently, apostophobia is incapable of understanding Paul's words, later in the same letter to the Romans: "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. (Romans 8:15&16, KJV) Yet, those words are the cure for apostophobia.
        Quite often the apostophobiac has received an empty gospel, in the same manner as babies are given a dead or empty virus so that their immune system will learn to recognize this virus and fight it off when it enters the body in its live form. The gospel the apostophobiac received either had the love of God removed, or made that love conditional. Receiving and reveling in love is replaced with fear of not meriting, or of losing love. The only cure for apostophobia is the realization that God's love is unconditional, and that the only way that we can know that we have God's love is to open ourselves to that love.
        For the sake of this issue, we must deal with apostophobia for what it is. Since apostophobia masquerades itself as Christianity, yet fails to realize the meaning of the gospel, it is the least Christian of all. It might even be anti-Christian. While we must deal with the passages apostophobia cites in the issue of homosexuality, the arguments apostophobia presents are the last we should listen to. If you find yourself in a discussion or study of the issue of homosexuality and church, reject any testimony from those who would incite a fear of the wrath of God if you don't accept their view-points.

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