Re: Was "Re: Christians egregious error"

On Apr 23, 12:30 pm, bir...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
sweepster <sweeps...@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
Re: Christians egregious error
I'm emailing this, as well as sending it through google, since you said
you were having problems with posting.

Thanks,
Tara
--------------------------------
I was basking in the warm glow that comes after attending my
GLBT-friendly church and the thought came to me that one of the most
egregious errors that some Christians make is to oppose homosexuality.
Instead of taking a critical look at the context and translation in
which homosexuality appears in the Bible (i.e. homosexual prostitution
and population increasing in nomadic, agrarian societies), they take the
passages literally to mean the loving, longterm relationships of today.
....
The Bible is a great collection of writings, but considering the
original documents no longer exist, much was passed down through
oratory, there are missing and destroyed parts of the copies of the
originals, committees were formed to decide what was meant in obscure
and missing passages, it's ignorant not to look at context and the
culture that existed when trying to decide what certain passages meant.
....
Hello,

You would be correct if the Bible we have today has been corrupted so
much as to render it unworthy of trust. But Scholars who have studied
it in detail, do not find that to be the case. Actually it is
remarkably preserved, esp considering how many copies have been made,
and how old the writings are etc.
....
So God is very clear on this subject, and genuine Christians put God's
thoughts over man's thoughts. (Ac 5:29)
---

[A portion of the original posting suggests that the text is not well
established, thus justifying this response. However the arguments
involving homosexuality are really about interpretation, not the text.
The interpretation includes both what exactly what behaviors the
author intended to include, and in what way the texts apply to us
today.
--clh]- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Again its a case of loving the sinnner while despising the sin.

I recently heard from a male of long time homosexual inclination that
it was "built in". I'd point out that as far as I know he is
celibate, and has been for a long time, which for a male of normal sex
drive would be difficult in itself.

On the other I've heard from a non-homosexual pastor that in every
case he'd dealt with, homosexuals were made, not born ie. there was a
decisive action by themselves or someone else that kicked off the
sequence. For that matter, premarital sex is similar - once somebody
has intercourse for the first time, and if it's outside of marriage,
they're going to find their inhibitions about unmarried sex take a
nosedive. Depending on their temperament, a life of promiscuity is
quite likely.

I once heard a testimony by a former homosexual in a church that at
his second suicide attempt Christ materialised in front of him, moved
towards him and then seemed to merge with him. From that time on he
never even had to struggle with his homosexual urges.
Two different opinions, and a rather unusual testimony - what to make
of it?

Well, due to the fact I have consideable respect for both of the
parties giving their analysis of what might be called the "homosexual
urge" ie. one says its built in, and the other says they're made, I'll
have to sit on the fence for the moment. In other words I can't judge
a man or woman for "being homosexual", because I don't know their
makeup.

In the second case, if Christ was concerned enough to turn up in that
bloke's living room just as he was about to commit suicide for the
second time, then He obviously cared enough for him to prevent him
from sending himself to Hell and also to deliver him from his self
destructive tendency. He had made a previous confession of Christ.

Now both of these things are different from the "homosexual
lifestyle". I have no time for the Sydney Mardi Gras for example, and
I sometimes wonder what part it, along with abortion and several other
aspects of the Australian moral scene, are having in creating the
curse of our current drought for instance, the rise of Islamic
terrorism, with some offshoots in nearby Indonesia, and the gradual
drawing of Australian troops into a number of foreign conflicts, along
with our burgeoning national debt. I can only shudder to think of the
eternal fate of some of the participants in the Mardi Gras if they
keep mocking God and Christ the way they do. They can change of
course.

But on the other hand, God forgives. There are no instances in the
New Testament of Christ "healing" a homosexual as far as I know, yet
church tradition teaches that Mary Magdalen was a prostitue. Christ
told the Pharisees that prostitutes, tax collectors and publicans were
getting into heaven ahead of them.

In fact, one of the problems of the modern Western church is that it
has almost no appeal for sinners, but is largely made up of people
with nice homes, good jobs, nice families and all the rest. In other
words, it is a middle class establishment. What happened to the call
to "sinners"?


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: another Republican is born again..
    ... "That is until I made amends with God," she added. ... "The church should understand that they have a higher responsibility to teach the youth about unconditional love, and how we can spread the love, not why being gay is a bad thing," she wrote. ... Her comments come as an overwhelming majority of the American public, Christians and non-Christians alike, believe present-day Christianity is "anti-homosexual," as revealed by a recent Barna Group poll. ... Young Christians largely criticize the Church, saying it has made homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else and that the Church has not helped them apply the biblical teaching on homosexuality to their friendships with gays and lesbians. ...
    (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
  • Re: another Republican is born again..
    ... "That is until I made amends with God," she added. ... Tequila said she didn't meet God in a church, ... "As the research probed this perception, non-Christians and Christians ... homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else and that the Church has ...
    (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
  • Re: another Republican is born again..
    ... "That is until I made amends with God," she added. ... "The church should understand that they have a higher responsibility ... Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians ... homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else and that the Church ...
    (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
  • Re: another Republican is born again..
    ... "That is until I made amends with God," she added. ... "The church should understand that they have a higher responsibility ... Christians explained that beyond their recognition that Christians ... homosexuality a "bigger sin" than anything else and that the Church ...
    (rec.sport.pro-wrestling)
  • The truth
    ... Gay Friendly Christians ... were once trained to deal with homosexuality as a "problem," today ... Whereas the Word of God condemns homosexuality as a SIN which brings ...
    (alt.politics.bush)