THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9409300013
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J4 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Medium: 60 lines
Bill Ruehlmann's ``Rethinking the relationship between homosexuality, religion'' (Sept. 18) is a misrepresentation of the discussion in the Christian church regarding homosexuals. The moral standard of right and wrong within the church has always been the teachings of the Bible. Nowhere does the Bible state that homosexuality is an ``unpardonable sin'' as Mr. Ruehlmann accuses Christians of saying. It does, however, call it sin - plain and simple.
Ruehlmann concludes that the central question is not whether you are gay or straight, but if you're hungry, cold, etc. He misses the point. Jesus, and by proxy the church, can love you as you are and help you come out of sin, hunger or poverty.
The central question is: Can I accept Jesus as he is without changing him to meet my concept of who he should be?
DAVID M. CONDRON
Norfolk, Sept. 20, 1994
Regarding Bill Ruehlmann's ``Rethinking the relationship between homosexuality, religion,'' we believe that grouping African Americans and other ethnic minorities in the same category as homosexuals is an error and grossly misleading.
Mr. Ruehlmann and other ``professed Christian'' writers who use this erroneous comparison as a foundation for eliciting sympathy for the homosexual cause might have better served themselves and their readers by first consulting God's word. God warns in James 3:1 that ``. . . we who teach will be judged more strictly.''
Society does not set the standards for God's law. God does, and he is not ambiguous. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, God's law, given directly to Moses, states that homosexuality is ``detestable.''
In Paul's letter to the Romans, Chapter 2:27, he says, ``Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.''
The new Life Application Bible explains further: ``Many homosexuals believe that their desires are normal and that they have a right to express them. But God does not obligate nor encourage us to fulfill all our desires (even normal ones). Those desires that violate His laws must be controlled.''
In John 15:12, Jesus says, ``My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.'' He loves me enough to warn me of the consequences of my sins while forgiving me for them.
I can ``love my neighbor,'' but I cannot love his homosexual lifestyle.
Until Mr. Ruehlmann or any other ``professed Christian'' writers can show us in the Bible where God says he wants us to ``emphasize the similarities'' and ``minimize the differences'' between homosexuals and heterosexuals, we can only conclude that the differences in the Christian heterosexual lifestyle and the homosexual lifestyle are irreconcilable.
MR. and MRS. LAWRENCE J. WISE
Virginia Beach, Sept. 19, 1994 by CNB