Sex, Lies and The Gay Debate (DL Foster)

Sex, Lies and the Gay Debate

By DL. Foster

At a time when homosexuality is widely embraced. the Bible's message hasn't changed. A battle is raging in our society over the issue of homosexuality. On the surface, it appears that those on the "right" side of this battle are losing. Consider these facts:

• Religious homosexuals have made stunning gains and captured worldwide attention in the church.
• Our nation's judiciary has become infected with activist judges who care little about traditional sexual morality.
• Lawmakers have taken up the cry of tolerance for homosexuality.
• Religious leaders have lost a hard-gained moral voice because of repeated divorce, ego battles, sexual scandals and money pursuits.

These are not simply exaggerated generalizations. In Los Angeles, a major Pentecostal denomination's leading bishop became embroiled in controversy when an openly homosexual clergyman was invited to preach at his church. The Episcopal Church recently consecrated an openly gay priest as a bishop. 
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How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go (Trevin Wax)

How I Wish the Homosexuality Debate Would Go
Just once, I’d like to see a TV interview go more like this:

Host: You are a Christian pastor, and you say you believe the Bible, which means you are supposed to love all people.
Pastor: That’s right.
Host: But it appears to me that you and your church take a rather unloving position when it comes to gay people. Are homosexuals welcome to come to your church?
Pastor: Of course. We believe that the gospel is a message relevant for every person on the planet, and we want everyone to hear the gospel and find salvation in Jesus Christ. So at our church, our arms are outstretched to people from every background, every race, every ethnicity and culture. We’re a place for all kinds of sinners and people with all kinds of problems.
Host: But you said there, “We’re a place for sinners.” So you do believe that homosexuality is sinful, right?
Pastor: Yes, I do.
Host: So how do you reconcile the command to love all people with a position on homosexuality that some would say is radically intolerant?
Pastor: (smiling) If you think my position on homosexuality is radical, just wait until you hear what else I believe! I believe that a teenage guy and girl who have sex in the backseat of a pick-up are sinning. The unmarried heterosexual couple living down the street from me is sinning. In fact, any sexual activity that takes place outside of the marriage covenant between a husband and wife is sinful. What’s more, Jesus takes this sexual ethic a step further and goes to the heart of the matter. That means that any time I even lust after someone else, I am sinning. Jesus’ radical view of sexuality shows all of us up as sexual sinners, and that’s why He came to die. Jesus died to save lustful, homo- and heterosexual sinners and transform our hearts and minds and behavior. Because He died for me, I owe Him my all. And as a follower of Jesus, I’m bound to what He says about sex and morality.
Host: But Jesus didn’t condemn homosexuality outright, did He?  MORE

A Reasonable Argument Against Homosexual Marriage (Frank Turek)

The legalization of homosexual marriage threatens traditional marriage — the national immune system that protects our civilization from destruction. Biblically based arguments against homosexual marriage carry little weight in the public square; however, it is possible to make a reasonable argument to protect traditional marriage and oppose the legalization of homosexual marriage without appealing to the Bible.

This argument is as follows:

1. Traditional marriage is beneficial to the public welfare.

2. Homosexual behavior is destructive to the public welfare.

3. The law is a great teacher; it encourages or discourages behavior and attitudes.

4. Legalization of homosexual marriage would encourage more homosexual behavior, which is

inherently destructive. It also would weaken the perceived importance of traditional marriage

and its parenting role, thereby resulting in further destruction of the family and society itself.

5. The law should endorse behaviors that are beneficial and restrain (or certainly not endorse)

behaviors that are destructive.

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Homosexuality and the Bible (Al Mohler)

Homosexuality is now the most controversial issue of debate in American culture — and it is likely to stay that way for a long time. Once famously described as "the love that dares not speak its name," homosexuality is now openly discussed and debated throughout American society.

Behind this discussion is an agenda, pushed and promoted by activists, who seek legitimization and social sanction for homosexual acts, relationships, and lifestyles. The push is on for homosexual "marriage," the removal of all structures and laws considered oppressive to homosexuals, and the recognition of homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals, and others as "erotic minorities" deserving of special legal protection. The movement to normalize homosexuality won a huge victory last year when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case More

Out of Mormonism - a testimony

(Saints Alive) Ed Decker.  Being a Mormon was really something special! There was a spirit of having arrived in the very center of eternity that came with membership. The image was one of wholesomeness, industry and happiness. There was a built-in self-esteem that came with the name "Mormon", a strange, proud kind of humility, an urgency to excel.
So many members are converts. They seem to be the ones with that special zeal for the Gospel. They had lived that life of partial truth in the darkness of some other church. They are the ones who have been reached by the great missionary vision of the L.D.S. Church. They represent the "fruit" of the truth that Mormonism is the "only true church". Once the basic truths of the LDS doctrines were explained in the missionary lessons, and the urgently sought-after, mystical "burning in the bosom" received, the convert is joyfully baptized and confirmed a member of the "only true church" and given the "Gift of the Holy Ghost".   MORE