Pastors, LGBT Groups React to Joel Osteen's Remarks on Sin

Christian Post ^ | 01/30/2011 | Audrey Barrick

[Gamecock]

Osteen calls homosexuality a sin?

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

[blasater1960]

It just amazes me that anyone in a leadership position in a Judaic or Christian organization could say that being a homo is okay. It is no different than “accepting” serial adulterers, murderers, rapists, theives etc. as if those are “okay”.

[Gamecock]

YBPDLN PL Ping

The YBPDLNPL is generally published infrequently, but based on the exploits of the megachurch pastors posts can spike for a period of time. If you would like on or off of this list please FReepmail me.

[Richard Kimball]

"As a Southern Baptist and an ethicist I believe that we can’t follow Jesus’ commandment to love God and our neighbor as our self if we start with the premise that homosexuality is sinful," Torre argued. "Starting with the belief that people are sinful doesn’t allow us to get to know them, let alone love them."

Or, as Aleister Crowley, the occultist, put it, the entire sum of the law is, "Do as thou wilt."

[JPG]

True, and if you run out of ink you can always became an atheist. No God = no sin = no problem. (for now)

[achilles2000]

De la Torre is no Southern Baptist. He just calls himself one to make himself appear to have a constituency.

[17th Miss Regt]

You must start with the belief that people are sinful.

Ya know, God really didn't mean it when he inspired Paul to write that.

[Joann37]

It’s about time! Osteen has danced around “sin” for years, just preaching the upside of the Gospel instead. I’m glad he is finally speaking the truth.

If the libs don’t like it, too bad. Any Christian preacher should stick to Scripture, period.

[Army Air Corps]

I guess these folks only want a God who doesn’t put any demands on them.

Ding, ding, ding! They want a fluffy deity that pats them on the head and says, "It's all good. It's all a-okay so long as YOU get to do what YOU want to do." They want a teddy bear.

[gitmo]

I thought a key issue was that nobody really knows what causes homosexuality. But, it’s a behavior, and I thought the focus was on the behavior being sinful.

I've concluded that the cause is not the key issue. We know that everyone has an inborn proclivity to sin. Some people are drawn to rage and murder, some to gossip, some to stealing, some to fornication. Whether that behavior is learned or inborn is irrelevant. I have been addicted to sins that were apparently inborn and to sins that I learned. I am still responsible for confessing and repenting.

I think homosexuality can be inborn or can be learned behavior. But it is sin in either case.

[FourPeas]

LGBT group the Human Rights Campaign called for an immediate apology

Red Flag. A person is being urged to apologize for giving voice to his religious beliefs.

[reg45]

I am reminded that Jesus said “... go, and sin no more.”. He did not say “Party on, dude!”.

[zbogwan2]

No matter which way one paints homosexuality it is a sin. Those that practice it can give a million in one excuses as to how great it is,but it's still a sin!

The Good Rev. Joel should be lauded for calling a sinner a sinner, and not trying to cloud God's Law.

[reg45]

The Ten Commandments have become the ten lifestyle choices.

[Joann37]

heterosexual sinful behavior such as fornication and “...adultry is also condemned by clergy. Why is there only outrage when they talk about homosexualiy, and not about the other sexual sinful behavior? Preaching against the sins of a man and a woman don’t seem to attract the headlines that anyone preaching against homosexuality attracts.
...”

Good point. Adultery, divorce and remarriage are equally condemned in Scripture, but the Church is largely silent on these issues. Just because so many are affected doesn’t make it right.

[gitmo]

Too bad the < /sarc> tag wasn’t included in the original texts. Sometimes it’s so hard to tell when God was talking tongue in cheek.

< /sarc>

[FourPeas]

"Starting with the belief that people are sinful doesn’t allow us to get to know them, let alone love them."

*facepalm*

This dude is a Southern Baptist, and a minister? Did he never bother to read his Bible or study theology? After he said this did he still have a job? Please tell me the deacons of his church called an immediate meeting and are asking for his resignation.

[MsLady]

Amen to that one. Geez it’s a pretty sad day when someone as mild mannered and caring as Joel Osteen, can’t speak the truth.

[Lee N. Field]

YBPDLN PL Ping

OK, so who's the frontrunner now, to be the first "homo affirming" big box church pastor?

[Dr. Eckleburg]

I was very happy to see Osteen deny the homosexual lobby. That took guts in this idiotic climate.

If every pastor spoke out against homosexuality exactly as he did, there would be a lot less homosexuality being shoved in our faces, our schools, our communities and our lives.

I haven’t seen Warren do that.