Post by novatiger on Apr 10, 2013 11:52:56 GMT -6
You and I have had private discussions on my stance. I don't condone your sexual preference nor do I believe your preference is what God intended. However, I do value you as a person not only because God said I should but also because I believe you are a good person. I applaud your for your strength and for standing up in what you believe even when it places you in the overwhelming minority. It takes a lot of courage to do that. While I believe your life style is viewed as sinful I can not judge you for that. We are all sinful and that is what Jesus died for. I have always been taught that God views all sins equally. No one has the right to judge another's sin. That is left up to God and we will all have to answer to him one day.
I am not as well versed in the Bible as others and do not know exact versus to back up my belief in this matter. I too would be interested to see the verses that we are discussing.
CHB, I'm not picking on you but I want to make what I think is an important point. Sexual orientation is not a preference, it's a biological trait. We all have one and it's fixed before puberty, maybe before birth. Handedness is a good example. It has a similar genetic component to orientation and, like orientation, we've been unable to identify what genes are involved. Neural patterns which are laid down early in development play a large role in both traits. In this sense, saying that it is a sin for a gay man to love another man is rather like saying its a sin for a left handed person to write with their left hand. It makes no sense and I do believe that God makes sense.
There is no choice involved. I cannot choose to be straight anymore than you can choose to be gay. Trying to live in opposition to that orientation can really mess you up, just as trying to force left handed people to be right handed messed them up. It can lead to depression and suicide. Most of all, there is a large empty hole in your life where that life companion should be. "it is not right that the man should be alone" is the first flaw God found. It applies to us as much as it does to straight people. There is a human need for a partner that goes beyond friendship.
Now if you want to consider it a sin that requires change, you have to take into account those facts. What choices do really you really offer us? A change that does not happen? A life of lonely unhappiness? A return to the closet with stolen moments in some alley or back room? This is living as half a person, a broken person and I don't think God requires that of any of us.
