Posted on 12/12/2006 5:12:42 PM PST by shrinkermd
Justin Lee believes that the Virgin birth was real, that there is a heaven and a hell, that salvation comes through Christ alone and that he, the 29-year-old son of Southern Baptists, is an evangelical Christian.
Just as he is certain about the tenets of his faith, Mr. Lee also knows he is gay, that he did not choose it and cannot change it.
To many people, Mr. Lee is a walking contradiction, and most evangelicals and gay people alike consider Christians like him horribly deluded about their faith. Ive gotten hate mail from both sides, said Mr. Lee, who runs gaychristian.net, a Web site with 4,700 registered users that mostly attracts gay evangelicals.
The difficulty some evangelicals have in coping with same-sex attraction was thrown into relief on Sunday when the pastor of a Denver megachurch, the Rev. Paul Barnes, resigned after confessing to having sex with men. Mr. Barnes said he had often cried himself to sleep, begging God to end his attraction to men.
His departure followed by only a few weeks that of the Rev. Ted Haggard, then the president of the National Association of Evangelicals and the pastor of a Colorado Springs megachurch, after a male prostitute said Mr. Haggard had had a relationship with him for three years...
...A lot of people are freaked out because their only exposure to evangelicalism was a bad one, and a lot ask, Why would you want to be part of a group that doesnt like you very much? Mr. Lee said. But its not about membership in groups. Its about what I believe. Just because some people who believe the same things I do arent very loving doesnt mean I stop believing what I do.
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(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
by the logic of this anecdote, crack cocain should be legal because using it feeeeels good. People have no control over the fact that cocain use feeeeeeeeels good to the brain.
True, many are not, I guess. But we all fight the same battle (those of us who choose to fight); no sense pretending it isn't there.
Anyway thanks for the kind words; see you around, and Merry Christmas from a fellow pastor's kid.
Why are you posting such an angry message to someone who agrees with you?
Repent means to stop, to turn, not continue onward.
That would be Grace anyway.
The short answer is - of course I am. But we are all personally responsible for our own salvation. There is nothing I can do to force him into heterosexuality and I wouldn't want to even if I could knowing the confusion that's in his heart. No woman deserves that.
My pastor at that time has since passed away (this was almost 20 years ago). But I still hold his wisdom and kindness in my heart. He could clearly see the path that relationship was headed. He simply told me there were all types of love - there was love that nurtured and love that hurt...and then he asked me what type of love Jesus had in his heart.
I guess I could say that what happened next was like an epiphany. The light bulb above my head lit up and I knew what I was supposed to do. We are all imperfect sinners - every single one of us - but I strongly believe we will be judged not only for what we do in this life but also for how we treat our fellow man. I do not consider myself God so I have no business judging God's Law. That's His job. Of course (before you bring it up) secular law is quite a different story and I've served on several juries throughout my life. Hope that answers your question.
I sense from your messages that you don't agree with me and that's fine. It took many years of soul searching for me to get to this point. Let me be very clear - I do not agree with the choices he's made in his life...tolerance does not equal agreement. What I don't agree with is the very extremist "people of God" who feel the need to hold up signs that say, "God Hates F*gs". People who claim to follow the word of Jesus Christ and then use it to hate. This I will NEVER understand.
Perhaps those people have read a different version of the Bible. To me - Jesus had a sincere, compassion and non judgmental love for ALL of us. He did not pick and choose who he loved but rather chose to see the goodness we ALL have in our hearts.
Gays should first seek the path of repentance.
We lose body language, inflection, tone....
I agree that the sign holders are wrong. 'GOD hates SIN' would be accurate - the other side could say 'GOD loves YOU'
And in fine print: and will be waiting for you when you finally see the error of your ways
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