Repentance and the Sapphic Lifestyle: A Call to Change
By Elizabeth Prata
SYNOPSIS
I discuss a post promoting an inclusive queer community group in my city and express sorrow over the misguided celebration of sexual sin. I emphasize the importance of repentance to align with Christian values. The commentary also presents evolving terms related to sexual identity, while urging spiritual redemption through Jesus.
I read the posts in my county Facebook group and the adjacent city’s group. The city is liberal. The county is conservative. In the City group I saw the following post:
FACEBOOK POST: “I run a queer women/sapphic community group based in Atlanta called Peach City Sapphics, and I’m excited to start bringing inclusive events to Athens! A lot of the queer scene here feels super undergrad-heavy and not always the most diverse, so I’m hoping to create some fun, affirming spaces for sapphic folks of all backgrounds — especially those who are lesbian, bi, queer, or anywhere on the spectrum. If that sounds like your vibe, feel free to follow us on Instagram and DM me if you’d be interested in coming to events or helping brainstorm! Let’s build something beautiful here in Athens too!“
I pondered that for a while. Firstly, I am sad that the so-called ‘queer folk’ are so lost. They don’t know how angry God is with sexual sin. They don’t know how ugly their sin is to Him. It’s not “beautiful”. They should not feel “proud”. They should fear God and repent.
My second thought was that after having observed the sexual revolution for some decades now, in a perverse sense, I admire their persistence, dedication, and commitment to their religion, which is self-worship based on sexual sin. They work hard at evangelizing, as we saw with the sudden influx of “drag queens” into children’s story hour at libraries and civic events.
Thirdly, those who are dedicated to this chosen lifestyle are adept at shifting the language so that their sin doesn’t seem so powerfully perverse to those who have not chosen it. I am speaking of this old but newly emerging term, “sapphic”.
Sappho was a Greek poetess who lived from 630 BC to 570 BC. She lived on the island of Lesbos, and she wrote lascivious lyric poetry about the delights of younger women. To many, she is both a feminist heroine and a gay role model whose works subverted traditional marriage. Few of her poems remain, yet she is considered the cornerstone of ancient Greek literature. It’s where we get the term lesbian, and the term sapphic obviously points to the eponymous poetess who is famous for her abominable predilections.
Sadly, to secular researchers, or blessedly to Christians, very little of Sappho’s works remain today. Scholars estimate that she wrote around 10,000 lines of poetry. She was prodigious in her output and her works are constantly quoted or mentioned in ancient texts. Yet, only about 650 lines remain today. Some fragments are as small as a single word.
So, apparently she was an astounding lyric poetess, but the themes and content of her works are sadly representative of our fallen state. Those wishing to emulate her perverse focus on same-sex attraction continue today, as evidenced by the posting on the Facebook group.
AI explains that “Sapphic is an evolving term used as an umbrella for anyone who is attracted to women, encompassing lesbians, bisexuals, pansexuals, trans women, trans men, non-binary individuals, and cis women, among others. It’s a way to describe the experience of love, attraction, and desire between women, emphasizing the focus on the person rather than their gender identity.“
Yes, descriptions and terms to identify those with same-sex lifestyle choices have undergone an evolution. As fast as we are inured to one term, another comes to the foreground, which, by the way, is usually less incendiary than the last one. For men, we’ve seen an ‘evolution’ of terms such as Sodomite->homosexual->gay. For women, we have Lesbian->gay->Queer->Butch/femme->Dyke->Sapphic.
Though the term ‘sapphic’ has been around since the 1700s, its use is becoming more popular and used in non-homosexual contexts, as we see in the poster for the Facebook event.
Though homosexuals choosing their lifestyle talk a lot about ‘being our authentic selves’ or mention their ‘identity’ (we are NOT identified by our sexual activity), it’s human beings’ fallen state that is our most common bond. If we are unconverted, we are being our most authentic selves – sinners – when we choose same sex activity. It is only through faith and repentance, submission to Jesus who paid the penalty for that sin that we become who we need to be, not ‘who we are’.
For ‘sapphics’, Jesus stands ready to receive you, if you forego the lifestyle and repent. His standards for human morality are clear in His word. Sex is an activity to be engaged in with one person of the opposite sex within marriage, for life. Outside of marriage, celibacy and abstention from pornography are the standards.
It makes me mournful to see the advance of homosexuality because I know that people who choose that lifestyle are in spiritual pain and darkness. But as much pain as they are in, the wrath of God abides upon them, and we must share that fact with those who, absent repentance, will endure much worse pain throughout eternity in hell, along with all who sin of any type. But God gives grace and mercy to those who seek Him. He stands ready to receive those who seek to abandon their sinful ways and turn to Him for righteousness. He is a great savior, who saves the lost from their sin. In Him, there is peace.
