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We are to rid ourselves of these behaviors as *Born Again Christians*

No, I don't think the Bible teaches that. It is the grace of God, the blood of Christ covering our sins, that saves us. Our gratitude toward a loving and gracious God means our desire to please Him and follow Him and worship Him creates fruits of the spirit. When we 'try' to 'rid ourselves of these behaviors' we fail, because in our human frailty, we are incapable of managing our failings.

For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Romans 7:19

And that was Paul! Imagine how important it is for the rest of us, like Paul, to admit that without Christ, God's grace and mercy, we are all sinners and deserve punishment. You can do nothing on your own strength or will--it is only through God's grace that we are forgiven and saved.

My sin of gluttony is on display for all to see in my physical overweight appearance. God loves me, and I struggle daily to fight the human condition I was born into. I am genetically predisposed to be fat. I am not genetically predisposed to be a glutton. But one leads to the other, and I must love God enough to fight my human failings that have led me to eat like a glutton. And gluttony leads to death the same way that homosexuality leads to death. Food is a 'god' and can become idol worship. And, many parents not only condone it, but teach it to their children and dismiss the notion that overeating and abuse of food is somehow not a sin. Schools provide fattening food to children and I don't see Christian parents storming the schools demanding they provide healthy food for their kids, whose bodies are temples of the Lord's.

I have many friends who are gay, and a few of them have chosen not to live the lifestyle because they have found the Lord. Others do practice homosexuality, but I can tell you that I am no better than they are in the eyes of God. God loves those precious souls the same as He loves me. His love for them is not lessened for their sin of homosexuality than it would be for my sin of gluttony. Or coveting, or lust. Sin is sin to God, and because He is holy, He cannot look upon us when we are covered in sin. Christ's blood provides redemption and forgiveness, and for my Jesus, that redemption extends to all for all sins, even for homosexuality.

Does this mean we should continue in sin? May it never be! As "Born Again Christians" does it mean we judge our neighbor? We are commanded against it. Does it mean we love our neighbor? We are commanded to do so. Do we participate in or condone their sinful behavior? No. But my comments were aimed at the hateful "Christian" vitriol I was reading in this thread about gay people, not their behavior.

Finally, what do we as Christians do in this political climate? We vote. We vote for people who will change the laws. But it is not our place to HATE the gay population, and I personally am ashamed every time so-called Christ followers take that tack, because it is NOT Christ-like.

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"Jesus in Matt. 7:1-3

I want a really, really generous and gracious measure when I stand before God. Not the one I see most so-called Christians using on those outside the church, which is also not Biblical.

But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you." - 1 Cor. 5:11-13

Don't even get me started on this list of sins and how many Christians practice them within the walls of most churches or their homes on a fairly regular basis...

Blessings.