Southern Baptists Seeking to Influence Gays (Phoenix-AP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention has announced a new initiative to convince gays that they can become heterosexual. Church leaders say homosexuals can be saved from their -- quote -- "sinful, destructive lifestyle" if they accept Jesus Christ as their savior. At the denomination's annual meeting in Phoenix yesterday, leaders urged Southern Baptists nationwide to reach out compassionately to gays. The presentation included testimony from a pastor from Texas who said he realized that his strident criticism of homosexuals had prevented them from coming to him for help. There are several Christian groups in the United States that try to convince gays that they should become heterosexual. But a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, says "if the Southern Baptist Convention embraces such an outreach, it would be the largest denomination to do so." David Smith says "they're promoting `love the sinner, hate the sin,' but they're really saying that gay people are bad." The Southern Baptist Convention is based in Nashville.
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