By the way, David, I am not a supporter of the gay
rights movement for the very reasons that you articulate below; however as a
Christian I am committed to treating them with dignity and Christian charity. I
would like to share a story with you from J.B. Torrance's Worship,
Community, and the Triune God of Grace (IVP: Downers Grove, 1996). I read
this and could not get it out of mind; it continues to shape my thinking in this
area:
The Two Hands of God. A colleague of mine for many years, Roland Walls, lives ... in Roslin village, a few miles out of Edinburgh. One day I noticed in his garden a piece of sculpture I had not seen before. He told me about it. A young sculptor, brought up among the Exclusive Brethren, one day confessed to the fellowship that he was gay. As a result, he was asked to leave the Assembly. In his distress, he found his way to the Roslin Community, where Roland found him on his knees in prayer in the chapel. The young man poured out his story and unburdened his heart. At the end of their conversation, Roland simply put his arms around him and gave him a hug! That hug symbolized everything for the man. He knew he was loved, accepted, forgiven. He went back, found a block of sandstone and carved out a figure of the two Adams. They are kneeling, embracing one another. Christ has his head on the right shoulder of fallen Adam, and fallen Adam lays his head on the right shoulder of Christ, the second Adam. The only way in which one can distinguish between the two is by the nail prints in the hands of Christ. That sculptor saw himself in fallen Adam, and in that symbolic hug he saw himself accepted in Christ, the second Adam. There [in that sculpture] one sees in ... Pauline theology ... -- that what was lost in Adam has been restored in Christ. ... It is the biblical concept of "the one and the many" -- that we, the many, can see ourselves accepted by grace in Christ, the one mediator, who fulfills God's purpose -- to gather together all things in Christ, the head (anakephalaiosis) -- the doctrine of "recapitulation" [see e.g., Eph 1.10].
Our job, it seems to me, as Christians is
not to convict people of their sins; that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Our
job is to love them, to accept them, to embrace them, as Roland did the young
man, sinners that they are, that they might know the abounding grace and
forgiveness of their Lord. I am very confident, David, that if we will content
ourselves with doing our part, we shall discover that the Holy Spirit will have
little difficulty in doing his.
Bill
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Taylor" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 12:53
PM
Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Mormons and Street
Preachers
> homosexuality should no
> longer be called a homosexual. Do you agree?
>
>
> I certainly do, -- AND NEITHER SHOULD HE BE CALLED A FILTHY DISGUSTING
> PERVERT!
>
> Bill
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "David Miller" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: <TruthTalk@mail.innglory.org>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 12:42 PM
> Subject: Re: [TruthTalk] Mormons and Street Preachers
>
>
> > Bill wrote:
> > > The truth is that there are some who
> > > have these tendencies who have not
> > > or are no longer acting upon their
> > > sexual desires. Whether they have
> > > stopped that which was once their
> > > lifestyle, or they have never acted
> > > upon their desires in the first place,
> > > the question remains: Why must they
> > > necessarily be filthy, disgusting perverts?
> > > I think Paul thought they did not have to
> > > be; hence his statement: "And such were
> > > some of you. But you were washed, but
> > > you were sanctified, but you were justified
> > > in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the
> > > Spirit of our God."
> >
> > If an adulterer comes to Christ and no longer commits adultery, do we
> > continue to call him an adulterer? I think not. In like manner, a
> > homosexual who comes to Christ and no longer commits homosexuality should
> no
> > longer be called a homosexual. Do you agree?
> >
> > The reason this is important is because there is this HUGE politically
> > correct lie out there that homosexuals are born that way and that
> homosexual
> > rights is a civil rights issue. Laws are being changed all over the
> country
> > to add "sexual orientation" to their anti-discrimination laws.
> >
> > Homosexuality is defined by behavior just like the terms adultery and
> > fornication. If a female becomes born again, she is still a female, and
> if
> > a black person becomes born again, he is still a black person, but when a
> > homosexual becomes born again, he is no longer a homosexual.
> Homosexuality
> > is a sin, but being female or being black is not. See the difference?
> >
> > Peace be with you.
> > David Miller.
> >
> >
> > ----------
> > "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may
> know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6)
> http://www.InnGlory.org
> >
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> >
>
>
> ----------
> "Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
>
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