Posted on 03/20/2007 11:56:34 PM PDT by Muentzer2005
They say everything is bigger in Texas.
But the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas makes one Texas-sized claim that few would expect in the conservative Bible Belt state - it says it is the world's biggest gay church.
"I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humour," says senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson.
On a more serious note, she says the church, affiliated with the United Church of Christ, is a spiritual refuge for gay people of faith in a region associated with more conservative brands of Christianity.
"Because we are in the Bible Belt we have a lot of people of tremendous faith," she said in an interview.
"But a lot of them have been alienated and rejected by their faith community, which is fundamentalist, so they hanker for a place where they can encounter God," she said.
Gays and the church are no small matter in America. Many of the country's 60 million evangelicals view homosexuality as a sinful lifestyle choice - a stance that angers gay activists who say their sexual orientation is not a choice.
(Excerpt) Read more at smh.com.au ...
Yeah, that God is quite a card. Laugh during judgement. I don't think He was kidding around when He said not to be doing that Jo.
I'll be sure not to litter in Texas
Rejected for their lifestyle, many seek to remake God in their own image.
Next: PedoChurch.
I would like to hear their definition of repentance.
""I think this shows that God has a tremendously great sense of humour," says senior pastor and rector Jo Hudson."
I wonder what you'll think of his sense of humour in the after-life?
it says it is the world's biggest gay church.
And I wonder what they think of this verse in their Bible?
1Co 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals,
Don't mess with God.
God sets very high standards for behaviour. So high that no one can achieve them. Looked at that good looking married lady in the street? whoops...youre an adulterer. Stayed at home Sunday morning polishing the new car? That counts as idolatry.
Fortunately we have been provided with a savior.
I must agree, it does sound like making God in your own image. To my mind, that is a sin worse than Homosexuality. However, I'm not God. I would not dare to comment on how He "grades" sins, if indeed such a thing takes place.
Missing the pass mark by 1% is as bad as missing it by 50%, but still, I agree, we should try and get as close as we can.
God sets very high standards for behaviour. So high that no one can achieve them. Looked at that good looking married lady in the street? whoops...youre an adulterer. Stayed at home Sunday morning polishing the new car? That counts as idolatry.
Fortunately we have been provided with a savior.
I hope that you are not saying that I can freely sin.
I assume when you hear the high-pitched wailing coming from within, it will be the choir and not a "Laying of hands..."
I hope that you are not saying that I can freely sin.
Sort of. I think two biblical verses are appropriate to this situation. "Everything is permissable, but not everything is beneficial" (1 Cor 10:23) which basically means that God in His wisdom gives you the freedom to do whatever you like, even things that are not good ideas for either you or others. The second is "..a man reaps what he sows" (Galations 6:7) which is a poetic way of saying there are consequences to your actions.
So I suppose the answer is that you CAN (theoretically) freely sin, in that you will not be prevented from doing so, but there will be a reckoning for your behaviour, so therefore you CANNOT "freely" sin, because there are going to be consequences to doing so.
Cheer up though...there are also "consequences" for non sinful behaviour, and they tend to be a great deal more enjoyable than the alternative, even though it may not seem that way at the time :)
Cheer up though...there are also "consequences" for non sinful behaviour, and they tend to be a great deal more enjoyable than the alternative, even though it may not seem that way at the time :)
I think that we are on the same page.
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