Message: WOW! I just received a pamphlet at my
house spewing out the sins of homosexuality. As a straight person
I am deeply offended by your extreme homophobia. Do you have any
idea what it means to be a Christian? Christians are supposed to be Christ
like. Compassionate. Loving. Non-judgemental. The lies
and hatred in your pamphlet are not only offensive, but so un-Christian
that I was appalled. "Judge not and ye shall not be
judged." You compared gay people to serial killers in that
serial killers don't chose that life style either. That's quite a
stretch. Narrow minded, bigoted, homophobic people are FAR scarier
to me than ANY homosexual could ever be. Spend more time getting
groups of people together, rather than dividing them. I am SO tired
of the religous right and their ignorant views and devisive propagada. I
am so tired of hatred masked as Christianity. It sickens me.
Do you believe AIDS is God's way of killing gays? If so, you loose
any credibility in the Christian world whatsoever. STOP. Be
Christ like. Your website and pamphlets are almost laughable, but in
reality they are scary and hateful and so UN CHRISTIAN that you should be
ashamed. I will pray for your enlightenment. Please do not
respond...any response would only be predictable and hateful and fodder
for those of us who have a heart and an open mind....oh yeah and a clue.
Thanks for listening...maybe someday YOU will see the truth. My GOD
is a loving, forgiving, compassionate GOD. I worhship HIM and hope
HE can teach you about what Christianity really means. Thanks for
listening.
Pastors urged to tone down antigay
rhetoric
By Associated Press | September
12, 2005
PORTLAND, Maine -- Pastors opposed to the state's gay rights law are
being advised to tone down their condemnation of homosexuality and focus
as much on love and support as on sin and scripture.
Haley and Melissa Fryrear from Focus on the Family urged about 200
leaders from Maine's evangelical community last week to stop quoting
Leviticus, which refers to gay sex as an ''abomination," and to avoid
sayings like, ''Love the sinner, hate the sin."
They encouraged balance in churches, communities, and public policy
debates.
That balance could be key for Maine's Christian conservatives trying to
win support for a November ballot question. They hope to overturn a
pending state law that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
A righteous or hateful tone could steer undecided voters away, while
one of kindness and compassion could help win supporters, said Mark
Brewer, a political science professor at the University of Maine.
''You have to avoid coming off in any way as hateful," Brewer
said. ''If they can't do that, they won't succeed."
Gay rights advocates question how much love and support conservative
Christians can muster while they condemn same-sex relationships as morally
wrong.
Jesse Connolly of Maine Won't Discriminate, the campaign to add sexual
orientation to the Maine Human Rights Act, questioned how much love and
support exist in an effort by conservative Christians trying to stop a law
that would ensure that people can keep their jobs, apartments, or lines of
credit.
''If there was compassion in what they talk about, they would be on our
side," Connolly said.
Christian conservatives in Maine have swayed voters on the
antidiscrimination measure before. Mainers in 1998 sided with conservative
religious groups and repealed a law that would have outlawed
discrimination against gays. Two years later, lawmakers did not pass the
measure, but asked voters to decide. Mainers rejected it in a close vote.
The most recent dispute over the antidiscrimination law started last
spring. The Legislature enacted the law, but conservative Christians led a
drive that gathered enough signatures to force a vote in November.
Colin Lemont of Calvary Bible Baptist Church in Whitefield said he
hopes Focus on the Family's message will help to keep the campaign from
becoming nasty and divisive. ''That really needs to become a key component
through this whole debate and process," Lemont said.
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