If someone told you that they loved you, but hated the fact that you were married to someone of the opposite sex...and therefore, would not welcome you in their church...would you truly feel their love?
If someone told you that they loved you, but hated the fact that you had children, and would not welcome you in their church because of such...would you really think they loved you?
How can you love someone when you do not agree with the essence of who they are? How can you love someone if you do not agree with who they married, or if you think it is wrong that they had children?
So, how can you say, you love the homosexual, but hate homosexuality? If you loved the homosexual...would he not be welcome in your church, home and life?
Your thoughts?
2007-09-27 05:13:40 · 12 answers · asked by G.C. 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Heck if I know....great point....
What if I said, I love the Christian...just hate the Christianity...can that be?
2007-09-27 05:23:59 · update #1
Yes, homosexuals are welcome in my home, life and church. I've even worked for two in my lifetime and have a homosexual coworker now. Does it bother me? Not in the least! They treat me with respect, I treat them with respect and we're good friends! It's easy to love the homosexual and hate homosexuality when you think about what it does to their SOULS as well as what it could do to their bodies. The fact that these coworkers/friends of mine are homosexual doesn't make me like them any less. One can only pray for the condition of their own soul and that of their friends and let GOD do the judging. We are to "...love your enemies as Christ loved the church..." If we're to LOVE our enemies that much, why should we treat homosexual acquaintances any less?
2007-09-27 06:20:58 · answer #1 · answered by bigvol662004 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Ah yes...
People always say that (well, at least the people who are TRYING to be decent people), but what they don't realize is just how rude that is TO a homosexual.
Seriously, it's a smack in the face, because like you said, it IS who they are. This is not something they chose.
It's like me walking up to a Christian and telling them, I love you, but I hate Christianity. They would flip! It's a part of them, just like homosexuality is a part of a gay man or woman. It's sad the dillusion that some people have thinking that they can change. They can't. And the ones that "have changed" are either 1) lieing to themselves and others or 2) so desperate to get people's respect and love they will FAKE being "cured" so they don't have to deal with people's crap anymore.
This is a sad world we live in, but it's life. They won't understand it much like we won't ever understand HOW they can reach such assumptions.
2007-09-27 05:20:58 · answer #2 · answered by Heck if I know! 4 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I think it's extremely possible to love a person but hate an act. For example, do we love a murderer? We should. Does that mean we should accept murder? I love my dad but I hate the fact that he smokes. Since I don't like his smoking, does that mean I don't love him? Maybe I love him so much that I wished he took better care of himself. I have friends who are in gangs. I hate the fact that they are in gangs. But they are still my friends and I still care for them. The people who say that's a cop-out or that it's impossible to do are simply being too simplistic in my point of view. They have to see that love sometimes is hard. Love sometimes requires pain. God loves Christ but asked that He endure pain and suffering. He loves US so much that He sometimes disciplines us (and that's not easy for us). And in the end, I am called to hate sin but love a sinner. It's not my choice... it's my duty in obedience to God.
Romans 12:9 "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."
That verse says it all. We (Christians) are called to SINCERE LOVE which means we should HATE EVIL.
With that said, homosexuality may or may not be classified as "evil" depending on how one interprets the Bible. And I leave that to each individual between them and God. But I know this: a homosexual would be just as welcome in my home and church as anybody else. And I would argue all day that it would be wrong to NOT accept somebody simply because they may or may not have sin in their life. Because if I really believed that a "sinner" should not be allowed in my home, then I could never go home!!! I am a sinner - no better than a murderer. And I do love myself but hate the sinner in me.
Be very very blessed! I pray you are surrounded by open-minded loving Christians.
BTW - If you said you loved the Christian but hated the Christianity, I would still love you and I know people that do say that!! And I do know they love me regardless of their view on my faith.
2007-09-27 06:05:46 · answer #3 · answered by Cool Dad 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That's a common misunderstanding of what love really means. Love has become synonymous with acceptance. They are not and do not have to be one and the same.
God loves us but tells us repeatedly to turn away from sin. So he does not "accept" all that we do but he loved us so much he sent his own son to die for us. But he has not once said "do whatever you want I love you anyway."
So it is with all sin...not just homosexuality. Your examples are lifestyle examples...married to the opposite sex or having children...neither of these are sins in themselves. But homosexuality is a sin. Just as murder is, and stealing, lying...etc. They are sins. You can love someone and tell them if they continue to lie they will not be welcome in your home.
The sin of homosexuality cannot be justified anymore than any other sin. It is not just another option, it is a perversion of God's gift of sexuality. Therefore it cannot be accepted. But the person is a child of God and should always be seen as such. All of us have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. None of us can ever justify sin no matter how much we like it or feel that it should be justified...it can't be.
2007-09-27 05:29:27 · answer #4 · answered by Misty 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Although I agree that it is possible to love someone and dislike the things they do, I think that sexual orientation plays too much of a part in who a person is. I think that hating someone's homosexuality results in hating who they are. There's too thin a line and its almost impossible not to cross it.
2007-09-27 05:24:01 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
"Love the sinner, hate the sin" is a way to justify homophobia. It makes the person saying it feel more comfortable with his/her sin of homophobia. It allows him/her to continue living in this sin and pretend like God approves of this choice.
If it said to a heterosexual, "I don't approve of the fact that you're heterosexual; I think your heterosexuality is sinful and immoral; I don't believe you or any other heterosexual should be allowed to marry the person you love; I don't think you should have children; I don't think you should be allowed to adopt children; I think businesses should be able to fire you due to your heterosexuality; you should not be able to put your spouse or family on your health insurance plan; if your partner is dying in the hospital, you should not get to visit him/her if any other family member objects; you should not be allowed to serve in the military; I think you need to change your sexual orientation and if you don't agree, you are willfully disobeying God; you are not welcome in my church; you cannot be a Christian and a heterosexual; I think you should not flaunt your heterosexuality in public, how would I explain it to my children?; and I think if you complain about any of this, you're trying to play the victim card.....however, I really love you.
Would any rational person believe this remotely resembles love?
2007-09-27 19:42:03 · answer #6 · answered by Michael B - Prop. 8 Repealed! 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Obviously, you're confusing "love" and "like" - i.e. acceptance. They are not the same thing. As a parent you always love your child, but no one in their right mind accepts destructive or violent behavior from their children. You love a child with all your heart, but you don't accept when they use drugs and endanger you and the rest of the children in the home. A mother with a newborn loves her child dearly, but love is the only thing keeping her from tossing the kid out a windown at 4 in the morning when he's been screaming all night - she certainly doesn't "like" the kid right then.
Parents are often required to decline to accept behaviors that would impair a child's future - refusing to do homework, skipping school, refusing to do chores around the house, or learn how to operate household machinery and learn household skills they will need as a adult. A parent often has many battles with a child to try and make them realize that just doing what they want all the time is not in their own best interests long-term or even short-term. You don't like your kids when they're acting like jerks, but you always love them. You don't accept their refusal to learn and cooperate, but you always love them.
And if they become dangerous to the family, then they have to leave. It has nothing to do with love. You will love your child until the day they die - even if they steal and beat and murder people for their drug money. But you don't accept what they do and you don't like them when they insist on doing it.
So why should you expect God to be any different? If you want fellowship with God and His people, then it has to be on His terms, not yours. He knows what's real and what's not, what's good and what's not, what's acceptable and what's not. You are like a child who cannot see the big picture - like a teenager who thinks they know more than their parents. You want things on your terms and your terms alone.
Out here in the adult world, it doesn't work that way.
Shalom.
2007-09-27 05:31:30 · answer #7 · answered by Ahavah B 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Great points. If you cannot love the way I live my life, then you cannot love me. I am an open book. Anybody who has a problem with it can leave me alone.
2007-09-27 11:31:42 · answer #8 · answered by Linz ♥ VT 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
actually, we do have some "gentlemen" that attend our church...yaknow, i am not God, so i am not going to judge (as in point it out to them) what they are doing as wrong...heck, i live with my boyfriend out of wedlock, and we go to church---JUDGE NOT, LEST YE BE JUDGED BY THE SAME MEASURE, right??? granted, we don't wear t-shirts that say WE'RE FORNICATORS, but we haven't had any "problems"...to answer your question, though...my mother loves me, of course, but she doesn't mind putting my lifestyle choices out on the chopping block at all!
2007-09-27 05:22:42 · answer #9 · answered by ddking37 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yup, it's kind of a cop-out, isn't it?
New testament love meets old testament hate.
2007-09-27 05:18:02 · answer #10 · answered by blooz 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋