Posted on 06/14/2016 5:32:09 AM PDT by Kaslin
I know that many of you are not only hurting today, you are also angry. And your anger is not just directed at the Muslim terrorist who slaughtered so many of your people. You are also angry at Christians like me, believing that we have helped to create the toxic, hateful atmosphere that led to the horrific massacre.
A gay activist in Charlotte, North Carolina with whom I’ve shared meals and interacted many times, expressed his anger towards what he called the “sanctimonious bulls—t” of conservative Christian leaders, saying, “You helped cause this massacre. Your anti-LGBTQ theology assisted in helping others, including the Orlando shooter, in seeing each of our precious LGBTQ lives as dispensable and worthy of death. . . . F--k your prayers and your chaplains. How 'bout you stop your anti-queer theology that supports our death and despair, huh?”
In your eyes, people like me are hateful bigots, not recognizing the validity of your marriages, not recognizing the depth of your relationships, not recognizing the beauty of your families.
And when we say that homosexual practice is sinful in God’s sight, you feel that we are branding you as inferior human beings, virtually damning you to hell for who you are and for who you perceive yourselves to be from the womb.
Some of you have called us CINO’s (Christians In Name Only), reminding us that Paul taught that love does no harm to its neighbor (see Romans 13:10) and claiming that we are doing you to irreparable harm and damage when we tell you that God has a better way, that it’s wrong for you to engage in same-sex relationships, and that, with God’s help, it can be possible to change from gay to straight.
Many of you hear those words as anything but loving, to put it mildly.
As one woman posted on my Facebook page yesterday, “I blame YOU and people like you for the tragedy in Orlando. As of now, 50 people are dead, 53 injured, including at least one police officer, due to homophobia. And you, and your ilk spreading your messages of hate daily directly contribute to senseless tragedies like this. . . . SHAME ON YOU!”
In reality, if people truly listened to my message (or that of my colleagues), it would never dawn on them for a split second to attack you or try to harm you, and as I’ve said many times publicly, if someone tried to do you harm and I was present, they would have to get by me.
My friends and co-workers feel this way as well: As Jesus laid down his life for us, we are called to lay down our lives for others.
You might say in response, “Brown, you just don’t get it. Your words hurt us deeply and your political stances do violence to us. You’re no better than a mass murderer.”
I say to you in response, “Then forget about me or other Christian leaders and in your moment of intense pain and anger, look to Jesus.”
Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30).
Jesus said, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst” (John 6:35).
Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
And Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it” (Mark 8:34-35).
It is Jesus, not religion, that you need.
Maybe you were raised in the church and have issues with “organized religion.”
Maybe you have been hurt by professing Christians or believe that we’re all hypocrites.
I can tell you that Jesus will never hurt you and that Jesus is not a hypocrite, and if you will call out to him from the depth of your pain and despair and ask him to save you and forgive you, he will, just as he forgave and saved me in 1971 when I was a heroin-shooting, LSD-using, 16-year-old, Jewish, hippie rock drummer. And he has never failed me since then.
You ask, “But are you telling me that I’m supposed to stop being gay? Is that your message?”
My message is that we are all sinners in need of God’s mercy and transformation, and you can pray what all of us prayed: “God, I confess to you that I’m a sinner in need of forgiveness, and I cry out to you to forgive me and give me a brand new life.”
Then put your entire life into his hands – your past, present, and future; your hopes, dreams, and pains; your sexuality and your desires – and say, “Jesus, I want you to be the Lord of my life, I believe you died for my sins and rose from the dead, and wherever you lead, I will follow you.”
Call out to him today from the depths of your heart, and he will hear your cry.
Then begin to talk with him daily in prayer and read the Scriptures on a regular basis to discover God’s will for your life, and do your best to connect with other followers of Jesus who seek to live by his teachings.
It is true that he calls for the complete surrender of our lives to him, but when we take the plunge, holding nothing back, we discover the very meaning of life itself.
If I can be of any help to you on your journey, please let me know. As much as you may perceive me as an enemy, I am praying for God’s very best for your life.
WHAT!!!!
Stopped reading right there.
Pastor Brown: “if necessary, bring words.” You have way too many of them to make a dent.
Disagreeing with homosexuality qualifies Christians as “haters” and “homophobes”, which makes reasoned dialog impossible.
Somebody needs to ask them how many homosexuals have been killed by Christians around the world and maybe compare that to what the Muslims do...If Christians were as warlike as they try to claim, most of them wouldn’t be alive to make the claim.
Repentance is difficult.
Submission to God is difficult.
Yeah, and what about the dripping hate coming from the gay community.
This pathetic excuse - that this was caused by Christians because they believe in SEXUAL MORALITY is nothing more than bullying people into accepting a no-morals standard is utterly disgusting.
This is now where we are, if you believe sexual behavior has consequences and, therefore, a set of values to live by is best - YOU ARE NOW AN EVIL HATEFUL BIGOT AND RESPONSIBLE FOR MASS MURDER.
Take a guess at how the gay community would treat Christians if they had the numbers to do so. The only reason they don’t is because they can’t, there will always be too few of them. They can only spew this nonsense because of the media.
There’s only one outcome of this attitude. Eliminate freedom of religion.
He forgot these important John 8:11 words of Jesus to the adulterous woman:
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”
Genesis 18:20-21
20. Then the LORD said, "The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous
21. that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know."
Genesis 19:4-7
4. Before they had gone to bed, all the men from every part of the city of Sodom--both young and old--surrounded the house.
5. They called to Lot, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us so that we can have sex with them."
6. Lot went outside to meet them and shut the door behind him
7. and said, "No, my friends. Don't do this wicked thing.
Leviticus niv
18:22 Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman; that is detestable.
20:13 If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.
It has been going on for years in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Egypt. Christians churches being burned, Christians being burned at the stake and crucified. What the hell is wrong with this country and society where they are so hostel to God and His people? And yet take time out to lift up and endorse sin and debauchery in these homosexuals?
I won’t honor them by calling sexual deviants a “community.” What kind of sense does that make? “Cohort,” maybe. But a community implies order and values beneficial to society.
No, I am not honoring their sinful life styles, but simply telling them that Islam is at war with those who are NOT Muslim.
To put it more bluntly, which my husband and I explain all the time to our millennial children. We know you have homosexual friends, but to engage in the act is sin. God created an organ that supplies life giving seed for its procreations, when that organ is used to penetrate the organ used to eliminate waste to God it is an abomination and a sin.
If your friend claims to be born homosexual, he/she must not act on it, yes celebate for life. Same as for you, be celebate until married.
Amen!
ALL of us is called to repentence and conversion to Christ.
The 'community' of lgbt folks has been LIED to by the 'leadership' pertaining to what the BIBLE says about HOMOSEXUALITY.
I just posted some OT views; and now here are a few more and the NT comments are posted; too.
Isaiah 3:9 The look on their faces testifies against them; they parade their sin like Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to them! They have brought disaster upon themselves.
2 Peter 2:13b Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
Ezekiel 16:49-50
49. "`Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.
50. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen.
1. But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them--bringing swift destruction on themselves.
2. Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute.
3. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.
4. For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment;
5. if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others;
6. if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly;
7. and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men
8. (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)--
9. if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.
10. This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings;
11. yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord.
12. But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.
13. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you.
But there IS hope!!!
1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9. Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived:
Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
10. nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
11. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you could NOT change, you would be in most pitiful shape...
What does ACCEPT mean in this sentence?
That's the subset.
Disagreeing with Whatever_the_Left_wants_to_do qualifies Christians as “haters” and “BIGOTS!”, which makes reasoned dialog impossible.
The larger circle...
Your death and despair are the natural result of your unnatural lusts and perverted acts.
Legally; Jesus could NOT condemn her.
He was NOT a witness to the 'alleged' act.
Deuteronomy 19:15 NIV
One witness is not enough to convict anyone accused of any crime or offense they may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
John 8:9-11 NIV
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
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