I'm pretty sure it says not to murder in the Bible somewhere. How can you forgive those who murder and rape and molest, but not forgive gay people, who are simply trying to live their life happily? Priests absolve people of their sins before death. So a man who has lets say murdered 20 people is forgiven, but a gay man who falls in love with another man is going to hell?
Can someone explain?
2006-08-22 14:56:40 · 40 answers · asked by lindas299 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I am going to leave this to voting. I cannot choose a best answer. Thank you for all of your responses
2006-08-23 16:09:54 · update #1
Christians and American society forgive Murderers, Pedophiles and such if they stop those behaviors completly and it is the same for gays. You are forgiven if you stop homosexual activity.
2006-08-22 14:59:59 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 2⤋
Whoever told you that there is no forgiveness for homosexuality was wrong. Sin is sin. Any and every sin is deserving of hell; Jesus Christ forgives them all.
Homosexuality is, according to the Bible, a sin. An abomination, actually, along with other immoral sexual acts. But, it is not unforgivable.
God, fortunately, understands these rules than anyone else. We often foul up His perfect will because we do not (and cannot) understand it. So, we interject our own interpretation and what you end up with is people putting more weight on the sins they really don't like and less weight on the others. For many, that means homosexuality is really, really bad, while a lot of other things are just bad. In truth, they are all equal.
On the other hand, we are told to teach people the truth and make them disciples. That is the Great Commission, the command of Jesus to His followers. So, we take a strong stand on things which we believe to be correct. The Bible is clear on the issue of homosexuality, so we stand strongly against it. If this comes across as indicating that God will not forgive that particular sin, we have miscommunicated.
2006-08-22 15:05:34 · answer #2 · answered by hisnamesaves 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The bible says that whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you live in sin(keep killing people, keep doing pedophile acts, gay lifestyle, per your examples) you will go to hell. The bible instructs all Christians to forgive everyone b/c of the forgiveness God has offered to us. To escape hell, one must leave the lifestyle of sin they are in no matter what it is.
So I, being a bible believing Christian, forgive everyone. I do not condemn you. I do judge according to 2 Cor 15 using the bible as the basis for judgement. If the bible says that something is a sin, I will judge a person by that because when that person dies they will be judged by God's words anyways. Better now than then. Also, 1 Cor 2:15 says that as a Christian we are supposed to judge and discern all things.
Sin that is forgiven by God is a past tense. The bible says that he has thrown your sin into the sea of forgetfullness. If your sin is in the present tense (or you are actively still sinning) you are not forgiven by God.
God loves everybody, but expects us to live to his expectations of a holy life. The bible says that without holiness, no one will see God.
2006-08-22 15:16:39 · answer #3 · answered by the_thing_has_come 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't think you should generalize all Christians. Yeah, there are those that have that opinion, so screw them and don't worry about it lol. Most Christians don't feel that way, and, unfortunately, its the ones who are the most outspoken that do feel that way. I'm Christian and there are a couple of gay people in my parish, and no one is prejudice against them in any way. Fact is, people are finally realizing that religion needs to be able to fit practically into the modern world and accept that it needs ramifications to do so. In other words, Christians are realizing they are wrong, and those that are outspoken against gays are trying to stop the movement towards the 'modernization' of the Christian religion. Anyway, thats just my opinion. Oh, and Christians who do forgive murderers and such are just hypocrites and they should be the ones being criticized for their lifestyles.
ps to azar and bath: check your research because there have been studies which conclude that homosexual males (the study was not done on homosexual females, at least not on the article i read) do, in fact, have chemicals which are released in their brain that are different from heterosexual males. Next time, back up your answers with some facts.
2006-08-22 15:07:49 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well actually they do and probably moreso than the murderer and the pedophile. Even Christians arent too crazy about inviting one to dinner even if they havent molested or murdered in a long time. But the Christian belief is that the person has to stop committing that sin first.. and then be forgiven. God doesn't work like that though, He knows when someone is truely sorry and when they are not. Any church will welcome "ex-gays" but they dont have a problem with those who commit sins THEY find less "gross"
2006-08-22 15:04:10 · answer #5 · answered by impossble_dream 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians don't forgive anyone, Only God can forgive you of your sins. The important thing is that you repent. No murderer who continued murdering was ever forgiven. No Homosexual who continues to practice Homosexuality will be forgiven. Just as with someone who has the urge to steal and chooses not to give in the that feeling, so also can a person who has the urge to have same-sex relations can control that feeling as well. Just because a man feels like having sex with another man doesn't mean he has to do what he feels. There is a thing called Adultery and Fornication that applies to all not just straights. Just because you are gay doesn't mean you can ignore all the other rules about sex like having it outside marriage and NO you can't get married because marriage is part of sex. Homosexuality is a NON-VALID sexual option. If you feel this is not fair then don't talk to yur Government, talk to God and ask him for the ability for two men or two women to make babies, then you will see marriage happen for homosexuals. I fully understand that you can not choose which temptations you get. You can not choose to not have homosexual urges. Neither can I, I am gay. I can however choose not to act on those urges and to recognize them for what they are. A Test. Part of the reason I am on Earth. Learning to resist temptation is part of the reason we are here. Learning to rely on God's help to resist temptation is also.
Don't be conserned about what Hypocrites forgive or don't forgive, it will be God judging you not them.
2006-08-22 15:20:06 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes I can explain, because you've got things very confused. A murderer can be forgiven. If that man goes out and murders again, what has he done? He's sinned again.
Now.....what is the difference between this sin and the sin of homosexuality? No difference. Sin is sin.
It's not about us as Christians, dear. It's about what God has said in His word. People are furious because Christians will not compromise God's word according to the cultural pressures of the day. I don't condemn anyone; that is for God to do. But I'm not going to lie to anyone and say homosexuality isn't a sin...I can't do that, because His word says it is.
2006-08-22 15:02:50 · answer #7 · answered by christian_lady_2001 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Where are you getting this information? You have been getting some misinformation, most likely from religious people who say they know God, but not from true Christians. The Bible says "All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." and
Ephesians 1:7 (Whole Chapter)
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.
Forgiveness is given freely to everyone, no exceptions.
1 John 1:9:
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Gays are no different than any other person when asking for forgiveness. If any proclaiming "Christian" tells U otherwise, he is wrong.
2006-08-22 15:07:32 · answer #8 · answered by pierson1953 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Christians are called to forgive everybody who sins against them but it sounds like what you are asking is "why do Christians accept murderers and pedophiles and not gays?"
If that's what you are asking then the answer is that Christians accept repentent sinners into their churches. My Pastor recently preached a message that aired on the radio across this country entitled "Can't we all just get along".
In that message he talked about how he held an exploring membership class at our church and at the end a young man came up to speak with him and confessed that he had a problem dealing with his homosexual tendencies and he really wanted to join the church and live a life with Jesus as his Lord but he didn't want to ruin the church coming in with this problem area of his life.
My Pastor told him that he was more than welcome to join the church because he wanted to overcome his sins and not abide in them and that we would be happy to welcome such a person in our fellowship because we all either came from a similar background of struggling with sin in our lives or where still in the midst of the battle.
After that he talked about how a straight couple had wanted to join the choir. They were living together but they were not married and they thought the church should mind it's own business and not bother them about it. They got really upset when he told them that they were welcome to come and listen to the sermons but they were not welcome to become members and sing in the choir until they repented of living in sin.
You can hear the message if you want, it was the section of this message that aired Friday or Thursday of last week. http://www.oneplace.com/ministries/enduring_truth/archives.asp
2006-08-22 15:08:44 · answer #9 · answered by Martin S 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You are making more of an uninformed statement than asking a legitimate question. The question is filled with so many fallacies and wrong assumptions it is hard to know where to begin.
Murder is sin. Pedophilia is sin (I would say one of the most wretched sins), Homosexuality is sin.
God loves sinners and hates sin.
Christians are called to do the same.
2006-08-22 15:07:44 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the bible says with out repentance there is no forgiveness .in the greek and hebrew,this meens that you are sorry for what you have done .and then you turn from that sin .this dose not mean you go and do these thing agian.in roamans 6;1-9.says so then should we go on sining so that grace may abound .
by no means if we are now dead to sin .we should walk in it no longer.....i say then if you were gay and have repented then you are forgive .
romans is the chapter that all gay people should read.it has alot of info .on that stuff amen.
i hope this helped.............GOD BLESS YOU ...todd...............
2006-08-22 15:16:08 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋