If "the greatest of these is love..."?

The snarls and howls you are hearing, Bret, are the agony of defeat. Many churches (Episcopal, United Church of Christ, ELCA Lutheran, and now PCUSA Presbyterians, are either gay-friendly or in the process of becoming so. Even Evangelical Christian youth don't generally see a problem with being gay. The anti-gay movement is dying out, and they know it. So they are lashing out - but their time is limited.

And to the person below who couldn't think of a single good reason to condemn homosexuality except to quote 1 Cor. 6:9, you should know that Martin )uther translated that 500 years ago as "child molesters", and evidence from Aristides, Eusebius and John of Constantinople makes it clear that rape of boys was meant.

Bret, God lovesx you, me, and all LGBT people as his children. Check out the links below.

I'm sorry if you had come across many "Christian" that feels that way. Being a gay is a sin, yes, but I don't believe there is any measurement of one sin being major than the other. a Sin is still a Sin. No matter how big or small some might think.

I hope you don't think all Christian are like that.

Since you want to take your answers from the gospel of John and the actual words of Jesus, let look at what else he had to say.

There is a well know account in John (chapter 8) of a woman caught in the act of adultery who was brought before Jesus. The crowd there wanted to fulfill the Old Testament law that such people were to be stoned. Jesus did not stop them. Rather he gave permission to anyone who was without sin to be the first to cast the stone. (Interesting that the OT law also says that the first to cast the stones must be witnesses to the crime - which they all were - who were innocent of any part of the crime.) When faced with that, none of them were able to throw that stone because they all had a part in her sin. (Why do you think her bed partner was missing? They were trying to cover something up.)

Once the crowd had left, Jesus then demonstrated what his concept of love was. He forgive the woman. BUT he did not stop there. He also placed a moral demand on her life as a condition of that forgiveness. "Go and sin no more."

Notice that he did not start an"adulteries support group", he did not lobby for "adultery rights", he did not advocate prostitution and say that it was right. He told her to STOP doing it. That is the true act of love, his desire to see her free from something destructive and harmful.

The New Testament also deals with the subject of homosexuality. Guess what it tells us? That we can be forgiven for it - but that we have to STOP doing it.

The apostle Paul gives us the Christian response to homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11:

"Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."

Paul tells us that some on the members of the Corinth church had been homosexuals, but that they had cleansed of that and no longer engaged in those acts. And that is the correct Christian response to homosexuality. Those who engage in it have not inheritance in the kingdom of God. Same as those who engage in the other sins listed there. But they can also be forgiven and cleansed from that sin, same as any of the others.

To seek to have someone freed from a destructive and harmful act is love. (Granted, not all Christians present this in as loving a manner as they should.) The only reason why the Christian church is making the issue of that we do today is because others are forcing the issue to by trying to somehow convince the world that is "acceptable", when it is not. If they were to stop pushing the issue there would be no need for the church to respond. Place the blame where it belongs, with the people pushing that agenda, not the Christians.

Nothing in John 13 supports that idea that allowing people to continue in sin is somehow "loving" them. Rather Jesus clearly taught the opposite.

i totally agree! there are some Christians out there that give the rest of us a really bad name. A lot of Christians that i have met are EXTREMELY judgmental. they seem to forget that "he who is without sin cast the first stone". I wish i could make these people stop terrorizing homosexuals, or women who get abortions... but unfortunately i cant control these people who claim to call themselves Christians. A real christian is not judgmental, they practice being humble, kind, and accepting of every single person regardless of their lifestyle. this is how every christian should be.

Being a Christian means you are a follower of Christ and his teachings. And Christ would never murder an abortion doctor, or kick a homosexual out of church. EVER.