You're way off base with your analogy. Who do homosexuals harm? No one.

You can turn my words around if you like, but it doesn't invalidate my point. I am not intolerant of Christian thought on this. They are certainly free to think in whatever way they want. I am not advocating sending Christians to prison for thinking homosexuality is a sin. I'm not even advocating that they be excluded from certain groups, though, I would have a hard time agreeing to giving them federal tax dollars. I am simply saying, as free as Christians are to call homosexuality a sin, others are free to call this way of thinking intolerant. I think there are plenty of Christians who would readily agree with that assessment, and in fact, would find no shame in being intolerant of homosexuality.

Actually, our society is much more tolerant of most of those people, while there is a misplaced zeal to co-locate the term "homosexual" with "pedophile". I've also heard preachers who profess to follow the Christian faith claim that homosexuality was the same as having sex with pets and dead people.

Take Jerry Falwell... He sincerely lobbied then Governor Bush to commute Karla Faye Tucker's death sentence. Conversely, he claims that AIDS is a God sent remedy for "the Gay problem". I went through Stephen ministery training three years ago and was amazed at how eager some of us were to counsel convicts, but nobody seemed to want to spend time in the hospital with the terminally ill.

We welcome these people who have, in many cases, left indelible marks on people and families, wounds that will never heal into a faith that is supposed to be loving and caring. We hold up the stop sign and disallow those who follow their natural instinct in their partner choices.

So, kill somebody? Yes, it's one of the big ten no-no's, but you can still be a Christian minister in almost any (if not all) denominations. Queer? NOT one of the big ten, but no. This club is now exclusive and private.

You know what, I'm disappointed in this thread.

I was really hoping for something positive from "What a beautiful world"

Strange how religion and love and difference, three things I tend to find somewhat beautiful in purest states, have clashed to form this ugly scenario.

People here don't seem to know, or maybe just don't seem to grasp this fact. Being gay doesn't eliminate you from the kingdom of God. Some sects are tolerant of homosexuals. The catch is you don't act on it. Fact in point is the Catholic Church, the foundation of which is life, which revolves around a nuclear family, a father and a mother. Since God made it so men and women create life, not man and man, it is a natural step to marry and enter into that special sacrament with God. The issue is a matter of sex and abstaining. It's a sin for man and woman have sex outside of marriage in the church, marriage is centered around procreation and family; gays cannot procreate therefore no room for marriage.

Plus letting murders become preachers riff is tired and lame, one of christianitys focal points is the idea of forgiveness, what's wrong with forgiving someone who is truly sorry for their sins? If you don't believe they are sincere, that's on you, judgement is ultimately reserved for God. And besides Jesus didn't come for the righteous, he came for the sinners.

I agree with this wholeheartedly.

I'm assuming you mean my post, in which I say, way to take it out of context.

Do I believe we should allow a murderer to become a pastor? Yes. If a convict is truly reformed and truly enters a ministry to do good works, great.

Rapists are a bit more dodgy because they plant a bomb that can blow up on somebody 3 years from now (AIDS). But if they make restitution with society and most of all, their victim, then yes.

let me point out one thing you post: <I>Some sects are tolerant of homosexuals. The catch is you don't act on it.</i> As a straight male, I used to believe this, when I was in high school. In fact, when people would throw around the the term, "you fag!" I would think that was stupid because I thought, "NOBODY is actually gay!" Then I went into the world as a naive pup and learned a few things.

Honestly, and I say this as a person who was educated by a Methodist college, who takes his walk seriously and recognizes he will always be a sinner, until recently I felt that homosexuality was a God given burden to people just like Job's frequent tests. I felt that homosexuals had to rise above it and conquer it. But then, there's love. Aside from attraction, there's love. Imagine stormtroopers coming into your house and taking that which you hold most dear. Is that right? Would an omniscient and omnipresent God who bases all decisions in LOVE do that? No.

Gay people are as natural as straight. I know this down to the very core of my being. And you absolutely can't command love as the trinity does, and then deny you the love of another. Even when God commanded a man to sacrifice his son, he recognized the love and provided a ram nearby to take the fall.

Sorry for the long winded response. Messing with love gets me all grrrrr.