Being gay, doing nothing about it and proclaiming to be Christian is no different than proclaiming to be Christian and practicing any other sin including theft, lying, cheating, or any other sin outlined in the Bible. If you have convinced yourself that it’s OK to continue ‘as is’ then you have some serious studying and soul searching to do.

I simply don’t understand this. It’s like saying, “I am approaching this topic from the point of view that I can’t be wrong”. But that’s what religion is – a lie to the self that you already know all the answers. The rationalizing away of Mr John’s obviously true points is no surprise.

However, I do see homosexuality as a sin. Context clues (i.e. men can’t get pregnant or procreate with each other..the bible speaks of gay sex as an “unnatural” activity, as sex was intended for a man and woman) and scripture references clearly label it as such. I see the gay uprising and resentment towards Christian “haters” as not so much a case of matryrdom and “persecution for righteousness’ sake” for the christians, but more as a result of the many social follies and interpersonal errors that christians have stubbornly continued to make over the years for “righteousness’ sake”.

It is not the christian’s call to judge or condemn, that is God’s job and God’s job alone. When God called us to “go into the world and preach the gospel” I do not think he was using the word
“preach” in the context that we perceive it as (i.e. church-style preaching). I believe he was telling us to communicate the gospel, but through our actions. He was telling us to LIVE the gospel, which speaks of love and service. I can guarantee that if Christians were actually living the gospel and showing love (not conformity) to the gays instead of trying to constantly butt heads with them and tell them they are filthy sinners, then not very many gay pride parades would be taking place. The psychological cause of behavior such as huge public protests and parades is a sense of being cornered and condemned; Gay pride parades are a direct result of gays feeling smothered and condemned. If they did not feel this way, they wouldn’t find it necessary to give a loud, public display of their beliefs. It is when people feel judged and backed into a corner that they revolt and speak out in the strongest manner possible. In all honesty, I think gay pride parades are an indirect result of christian misbehavior in dealing with homosexuals. Christians want to pin it all on the devil, saying that his influence is swarming our nation when in reality some of the very cultural happenings they revolt against are an indirect result of their own errors in judgement when it comes to dealing with non-christians. Christians tend to have a victim mentality, blaming the state of their world on the influence of godless individuals when the very fall of mankind was the direct result of Christian misbehavior, not the misbehavior of an ungodly, adulterous homosexual; Adam and eve were christians, for they walked with God and loved him. Those are just my thoughts..

Thank you for responding to this controversial topic.

I’ve been trying to think of a way to respond to your comments, but I feel it won’t be too beneficial since I am approaching the topic from a religious (and Christian) standpoint. I believe the Bible will always be relevant. My Christian Bible also clearly labels homosexuals as sinners (referenced in the above verse in the post), but I am no means implying that the behavior I commit as a Christian is any less sinful.

Andrew,
Thanks for the link. I’ve bookmarked it and will give it a read soon hopefully.

As long as society continues to give unwarranted weight to religious opinion, i.e. it is religion therefore untouchable, people will be able to use it to give weight to their own fears under the guise of morality. To this extent then all religions can promote hatred.

On the flip side is the fact that the bible explains morality from the perspective of those living 1500 years ago in an entirely different world. It is therefore quite surprising that even with significant interpretation it is possible to find even the slightest shred of common ground between modern morality and the contents of the bible, or any other later book based on it.

Given the other content in the bible that is selectively considered to be metaphorical as it no longer conforms to social norms (the treatment of women is a very good example) it should be fairly clear that those using it to justify statements against anyone, not least gay people, are using it only as a lens to their own fears, and that it isn't the bible, or Christianity, that is the problem but the very nature of religion itself.

You might find this examination of the evolution of a universal moral code interesting. It is a long read but the bit on the experiments is very interesting:
http://shroudedindoubt.typepad.com/bag_of_worms_y…