DISQUS

DCM · 1 month ago

I read something interesting in another story about this: in not *one* state has the majority been found to be in favor of same-sex marriage. Not that the majority is necessarily right, as we know; but this means every state that has legalized same-sex marriage (or could legalize it) has done so (or would have to do so) *against* the wishes of most of its people!

Charlie McDonald · 1 month ago

A simple majority is not a mandate. I think a 2/3rds majority would be considered a mandate. This is a slippery slope for Christians. (http://www.fallacyfiles.org/slipslop.html) What happens in States where Christians cannot muster a simply majority on issues important to them? Should the State be allowed to tell you what you can or cannot do and how you can live your life by a simply majority vote of the people? And if Islam becomes a dominant religion in some states in the United States, do you want them to have the power of a simply majority vote? Or Atheists?

Charlie McDonald · 1 month ago

I'm not hurting and broken. I'm just tired of people like you, who do not know me, nor deign to get to know me, persisting in your attempts to rob me of my human dignity. If God is Love, where is the Love?

Bob Ellis · 1 month ago

If you are engaging in homosexual behavior, you are robbing yourself of your dignity, Charlie. God obviously didn't create you to function in a homosexual manner; simple biology should tell you that.

God loves you far too much to resign you to or even condone homosexual behavior. It is a violation of his design for the expression of human sexuality and falls immeasurably short of the blessings of a committed sexual relationship with the opposite sex within the sanctity of marriage.

Charlie McDonald · 1 month ago

Well, I agree with you that God created me Bob. God created everything, so why would he choose to create something and then hate it?

Simple biology tells us that sexuality is much more complicated and diverse than we understand. Scientists changed the sexual expression of fruit flies by altering a single gene, effectively making them homosexual. http://www.skeptictank.org/gaygene.htm

Also, we don't yet begin to understand the full spectrum of sexual behavior in animals.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexual_behavio...

I think my biggest thing Bob, is that I think moral values are good. And I think what is good for the greater Christian community can also be good for the gay community. The values of commitment, fidelity, honesty, contribution to your community and many others should not be the sole harbor of Christianity. These values are good, why not SHARE them with gay people and help make their community stronger and more vibrant so that they can be more participatory in America. There are many roles that gay people can perform in our society. Gaps where there is a need for extra human beings to make our world better. Isn't this what the Christ has asked us to do? Were not the ten commandments replaced with one? "Love the Lord thy God with all your heart and LOVE ONE ANOTHER."

I think the point may be moot at some point in the future because people like you tend to view being gay as a disease and not part of the natural order of life. So, when the gay gene is actually discovered I can see a strong push from the right to 'repair' what is not actually broken. I just honestly find it sad that many modern Christians whose ancestors were so persecuted for centuries are now the persecuters. We have so much we can learn from each other and so much we can share. Misunderstanding and hate wastes our mutual energies and keeps us from making the world a better place for all humanity. And the severe number of people that now hate and mistrust Christianity as a whole because of this persecution is surely not what God intended. And it's not just gay people that are viewing this intolerance as a stain on the soul of organized Christianity.

Bob Ellis · 1 month ago

That's a very good question, Charlie.

God didn't create you to commit homosexual acts any more than he created me to be a drunk and live a heterosexually promiscuous life as I once did.

We both chose to give in to sinful temptation.

Fortunately, we can both exercise the free will that God gave us both to NOT commit those acts anymore, as I chose some 15 or so years ago. The ability to choose not to sin is much easier when one is born again after surrendering their life and will to Christ; I did, and you can, too.

We sometimes see homosexual behavior in the animal kingdom for essentially the same reason we sometimes see it among humans sometimes: we live in a fallen, sin-cursed world where things do not always function as God intended them to. But unlike animals, humans have a conscience to guide us toward moral standards, and a free will to choose the moral standard.

Scientists will likely never find a "gay gene" that predisposes one to commit homosexual acts. That "unholy grail" of the homosexual community has been diligently and desperately sought for decades, with no luck whatsoever.

And scientists will never find a gene that predetermines homosexual behavior any more than they will find one that predetermines drunkenness and heterosexual immorality. Too many of us have left behind the sins of drunkenness, heterosexual sin and homosexual sin.

God loves you very much. He loves you so much he is intolerant of the sin that separates you from him. God is completely holy and within sin or flaw, and because of this he cannot embrace or even tolerate sin. Only Christ can wash away our sins and make us holy in his sight, and we must renounce our sinful ways and turn over our life and will to Christ in order to receive that cleansing.

I hope someday you can see beyond the lies and deceptions that keep so many homosexuals in slavery to sin and can enjoy Christ's forgiveness and healing.

DCM · 1 month ago

Charlie - Perhaps there are people who have genuinely hurt you and even hated you. But that's not where real Christians will be coming from. But, as Bob points out, they will also not be in favor of you being left in a place that you may think is OK, but many know is not. I've known people who were living as homosexual, and they were clearly hurting -- well beyond any pain from persecution they may have gotten -- even as they denied it.

BTW, as someone who has been been guilty of pornography use and divorce (or, more correctly, marrying someone I shouldn't have -- even externally normal marriage isn't always OK), I don't consider myself to be any better than someone who practices homosexuality. The difference is, I know none of that was OK and I've determined to move on from it.

harvey50 · 1 month ago

What stupidity,how can these people and i use the term lightly, think that the can marry someone of the same sex and have a family.They go through the motions of a marriage and then they want to have children,what to do ,we adopt,now they have to have a man and woman to furnish their so called family.These people have a problem.

WXRGina · 1 month ago

This vote in Maine was another victory against the onslaught of the militant homosexuals. I know they will not give up trying to win legal "affirmation" of their deathstyle choice. We also can never let up in our resistance to their agenda.

The recent case of Peter Vadala who was employed at Brookstone in Logan Airport in Boston and was "set up" and fired for simply saying he believes homosexuality is wrong, is another example of where the homosexual movement is attempting to go. Throw in the bogus "hate crimes" legislation, and ultimately, the goal is to outlaw any criticism of homosexuality. Distill this down, and it's goal is to stifle our First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression.

I'm sorry for Charlie and others who are trapped in, and deceived by, homosexuality, but they are not without recourse, not without a way out.

God IS Love, but He is also holy and righteous, and He has clearly laid out the distinction between truth and error, salvation and sin. He is quick to grant mercy, healing and forgiveness to those who seek Him, but woe to those who set themselves up as enemies of God and close their hearts to His Word.

Gina Miller

DCM · 1 month ago

Those who are willing to honestly seek the truth will find it. The rest will go on thinking that whatever they want is "right" and whatever they don't want is "wrong."

WXRGina · 1 month ago

That's an excellent way to put it, DCM.