Originally posted by massdak:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by SimplyBee:
Hey GeneMBridges, thanks. I was hoping there was someone who would, while not endorsing my theological viewpoints, recognize the seriousness of the social landscape on this issue. My presence here is most certainly not to push my opinions on homosexuality off on anyone, because I am seriously outnumbered and have done that too many times as it is (with no avail, I might add).
It’s just that you would be amazed at the response you get when you show a gay person even just a small, minute taste of the love and peace that comes from a relationship with Christ. It is truly an incredible manifestation of the Holy Spirit to see a gay man or woman become saved. It would just…(forgive the expression)… knock your socks off. The rest – the opinions, the convictions, the theology - trust God with that. I haven’t been disappointed so far.
you should let people know about you stance regarding this issue, the unfortunate aspect of this posting board is that those who post and that are clearly not Christian leaves those who are at a disadvantage, as it is implyed that all who post here are Christian baptist. at least if you straight forward let people know where you stand then either moderators can ban you or Christians can respond in a direct mannor. </font>[/QUOTE]No, Simply Bee does not "need" to do that at all. He is simply making some observations and letting others draw their own conclusions. In so so doing, he is, how shall I say, proving Machiavelli to be quite correct. Christians here are responding here quite directly, in my personal opinion. Not only that, if he was to state his opinion or position outright, I know from personal experience with members of this board that his words would be made to say things they did not actually say and do not actually believe. I seem to recall several rounds with you, yourself, a few months ago that, even when posting information from ExGay Ministries themselves that did not support your own position on this issue, you continually accused me of "excusing" sin, when that simply was not true. That was your opinion, but it was not an accurate one by any stretch of the imagination.
As for moderators banning him, why should that be the case? He's not attacked anybody's character. He's not used perjorative language. He's not sat in judgment of another's salvation. He's simply raised some concerns in response to your original post. If he's Baptist and a Christian then there is no need to abridge his ability to articulate his views unless he begins attacking others, et.al. To even suggest that smacks of a "silence those with whom we disagree" attitude, that really has no place in a free society.
I like Simply Bee's style. I disagree with him on some things. I agree with him on others, from what I can tell. One thing is for sure, for any one of us to sit in judgement on the salvation of another is to put ourselves in God's place, and that is truly an intolerable place to set ourselves. None of us knows the heart of another. None of us knows the place or the struggles going on within the minds of others. There are plenty of us Christians now steeped so high in sin that any one of us might look down our noses and say that person can not possibly be saved, yet years from now find out that at the time we met them they were terribly backslidden. Likewise, we may all find ourselves terribly surprised when we sit at the Lord's Table in heaven for that first family meal and find out that some of us that we thought would be there with us are not and others we thought from a chance encounter on the internet would never be there are sitting right next to us.
I think some of the questions that the responses here raise bear addressing. For example, the term "gay lifestyle" has been used a few times. What exactly is "the gay lifestlyle?" Is a person who is gay but is not in a relationship with a person of the same sex living "the gay lifestyle?" Are they only guilty of homosexual sin if/when they have sex is it merely enough to possess homosexual feelings or same sex attractions to be living "the gay lifestyle." Is the mere possession of such feelings enough to discount a person's salvation, if you feel that homosexuals can't also be Christian? What exactly constitutes a person who is a "practicing homosexual?" We throw these terms around glibly, yet we don't really define them. It's as if there's this general idea, but is that idea really accurate?
Now, unfortunately, I can't go any further with this thread as I've got Frances and her refugees to begin dealing with tomorrow. I took a long hiatus from this board for the summer after posting at great length about these very issues no less. My own thoughts and feelings have been articulated. However, since I'm not going to be here to articulate them again, likely for quite some time unfortunately, I leave the above questions to ponder. I already have my opinions about the matter. I leave the above for you all to pontificate upon, perhaps in another thread.
Take Care,
God Bless you my friends;
Simply Bee, "You're welcome."
Gene