Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uwm.edu!lll-winken!sun-barr!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: jhpb@granjon.garage.att.com Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Gay Ordination in the Presbyterian Church Message-ID: Date: 20 Mar 91 09:09:35 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: AT&T Bell Labs (Liberty Corner) Lines: 36 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu Someone wrote: > As a side note, I find it irksome at times that MANY people just love > prioritizing sin, making some "worse" than others. This just isn't > the case. A hateful word spoken to another separates one from God > just as far as being sexually immoral. There are probably some people > who, while refusing a homosexual from entering their church (or state), > applaud a dishonest politician for being "Christian" because they vote > the correct way. And I'm sure one can find recent examples of > churches which ensure that no homosexual is ordained, yet fail to > screen against the "lesser" sins. I think the distinction of sins is *precisely* the issue with homosexuality, and something that so many seem to be confused on. Some sins, not completely repented of, deserve Hell, and some do not. All sins deserve punishment, but some deserve eternal punishment, others only temporal. There are plenty of people who deny this. Fortunately, they are inconsistent in their beliefs, and follow their consciences, not their theology. Everyone understands that there are just some things that one does NOT do. Striking one's father, murdering someone, grand theft, or frequenting houses of prostitution are things that a follower of Christ does NOT do. People may SAY that these things are equivalent to, say, making a sharp remark to someone when provoked in a high pressure situation, but in reality, they don't ACT that way. Some sins have to be completely cut out of one's life all at once, others are of a lesser sort that need to be worked on over time. Homosexual thoughts, words, or actions CANNOT be engaged in, if one wishes to enter the kingdom of Heaven. They're sins of the grave kind, like murder, large theft.