Can You Be Gay and a Christian ? ? ?

They were not ranked by severity. There were sins that spelled out specific punishments. Furthermore, that passage was from the OT - the rules changed when Christ came down.

Please save your histrionics for the other forums. It has no place here.

I'll respond to this specific post later.

So we are back to square one. The passage that hasbeens posted did not say anything about severity, but only listed punishments to be meted out.

To have a ranking, you must compare them and say that one is worse than another. That passage does no such thing.

I was mistaken in that.

 

Proably, sure. But let's just stick to the sins that have death as a punishment - this list came from a quick search, so if there are any errors, I will be happy to go back and do a more exaustive search):

Do you really think that the ones in bold should be considered as bad as murder, kidnapping, or rape?

That is what I was trying to say in my earlier post. The differences in severity exist for us, not Him.

 

I believe you're referring to this passage in chapter 5 of Matthew's gospel:

In the beginning of the passage, Jesus likens anger to murder; & later he likens lust to adultery. Anger & lust are both feelings that an individual may not be able to avoid entirely, but he can certainly exercise some control over. Feelings spring from thoughts, & changing one's thoughts can therefore change the feelings. One may not be able to banish anger or lust from his mind entirely, but he can certainly choose not to dwell on those things & to direct his focus elsewhere.

A homosexual is a homosexual, regardless of whether he acts on that drive or not. Being a homosexual is not a choice; it's an inborn state that continues regardless of the person's behavior. They're certainly just as capable of lusting as heterosexuals, though; & can control how much they dwell on those thoughts & feelings in the same way. But even if that person refuses to indulge in lustful thoughts, he still IS a homosexual.

I wouldn't interpret this particular bible passage as condemning anyone, including homosexuals, for what they are, or for what they feel. I do think it indicates that we're to be held responsible for how we focus our thoughts & what our attitudes are.

 

I dont believe you can be Christian and Homosexual at the same time. For starters, the word "Christian" means to be Christ-like, and I dont believe being homosexual is anything related to being Christ-like. Second, one requirement to being a Christian is to repent from their sin, and since homosexuality is defined as an abominable sin, one cant be a follower of Christ and living an abominable lifestyle at the same time.

 

They're not specifically ordered, but honestly, what kind of person would look at the punishments for murder vis-a-vis trespassing and conclude that the discrepancy didn't indicate that murder was a more serious crime? You're getting yourself in more trouble by making ridiculous statements instead of just acknowledging that you were wrong, as hasbeen99 already did. Learn from his example and save yourself a lot of headaches.

You seem to be under the impression that the entire OT was invalidated by the new covenant. You're wrong. In fact, you're wrong about a lot of this, so you might want to spend some time attending some sort of Bible study.

That's pretty rich coming from a guy who is openly lying about what I've said just because you're embarrassed about being proven wrong.

No, we aren't. Death is as far as mortal punishments can go, but that isn't the case for the supernatural. Depending upon your denomination of choice, there are indications that even among sins where the prescribed punishment is death, some are considered still more serious than others. Apostasy, for instance.

You're mistaken about a lot of things.

And you're still wrong, although it's obvious that you don't have the courage to admit that the way that hasbeen99 did. The only way you could say that the difference doesn't exist for God is if you're suggesting that the Bible was written contrary to his will, and I really don't think you're trying to go down that road. If you believe that God directed the writing of the Bible, then it absolutely and obviously is his view that sins vary in severity. Shoot, I tried to spare you this embarrassment at the beginning by pointing out that it's correct to say that all sins are forgivable, but that they're not equal. You should have taken my cue and claimed that's what you meant all along.

Sure, and a repentant homosexual is fine. But someone who continues to fantasize about homosexual acts is sinning regardless of whether or not they engage in the act itself, at least according to the Bible.

I strongly caution you to stop making this statement. Scientists do not agree with you, you're just repeating what you've heard from pro-gay activists. There is no science that proves homosexuality to be genetic, and while it seems pretty likely that some or most cases may originate there, it's also equally obvious that many people are not born gay. As I've stated before, studies have shown that people who experienced some form of sexual trauma are more likely to end up being homosexuals as adults than the general population. To think that it's all genetic is just naive.

 

The word Christian means someone who follows the teachings of Christ and as I pointed out before, Christ never addresses homosexuality in the Gospels. In fact, even with your definition, the sexuality of Christ is never discussed at all.

Now, let's even go by your definition. Do you consider yourself Christ-like?

 

Yes, I follow the teachings of Christ. But do you consider repentance as a requirement to salvation? If you dont, you might want to take another look at The Bible because its quite clear on the prerequisites to salvation.

 

I'm honestly shocked that people like you are still out there.

 

Well, there's quite a big number of us that believe this way. I cant explain it, we're born this way. Wait, where have I heard that line before?

 

No, you aren't. Moreover, you know that according to the Bible he's right. Your false outrage is just a means for you to dismiss the reasons behind his beliefs. Christianity doesn't approve of homosexuality, and you can either come to terms with that or just get to the point where you don't care.