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From: djohnson@cs.ucsd.edu (Darin Johnson)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: Homosexuality issues in Christianity
Message-ID: <May.13.02.30.51.1993.1554@geneva.rutgers.edu>
Date: 13 May 93 06:30:52 GMT
Sender: hedrick@geneva.rutgers.edu
Organization: =CSE Dept., U.C. San Diego
Lines: 33
Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

>Any attempts to make homosexuals
>feel unwelcome because of our discomfort with homosexuality is incompatible
>with Christianity.  Is our hatred so deep that rather than see someone
>try to become closer to Jesus, we need to keep them away.

This is too often true.  Many people try to place this as a "higher"
sin.  However...

>Does Jesus need
>us to screen out those guilty of a particular sin.  Do we really mistrust 
>Jesus when he says he can forgive any sin?

A big part of the problem is that many of the homosexuals and people
advocating acceptance of homosexuality in churches do not consider
(active) homosexuality a sin.  I don't often see the attitude of
"forgive me and I will try to change".  Instead I see "there's nothing
wrong with my life and I can be a good Christian, so it must be you who
have an illness because you don't accept me".  Christians can and will
accept homosexuals, just as they will accept *any* sinner.

Sure, it may be natural to some people to be homosexual - but it
is also perfectly natural for everyone to sin!  I was born with
a desire to sin, but I work to prevent myself from sinning.  It's
much less common now, but I *still* have urges to lash out in
anger.  There also may not be a sudden disappearance of sinful
desires (or ever!), so it is sad to see people leave the church
when they are discouraged that they are still homosexual after
several years.

-- 
Darin Johnson
djohnson@ucsd.edu
    "Particle Man, Particle Man, doing the things a particle can"
