We Must Always Hate The Sin

"Hate the sin. Love the sinner." It's the most beautiful tenet of Christianity. But it's also a crucial dividing line that some are trying move:

The first openly gay Anglican bishop [Rt Rev Gene Robinson, the Bishop of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church of the United States] has sparked outrage for suggesting that Jesus might have been homosexual. ...

In answer to a question from the congregation about how the acceptance of homosexuality could be squared with the scriptural emphasis on redemption for sins, the Bishop replied: "Interestingly enough, in this day of traditional family values, this man that we follow was single, as far as we know, traveled with a bunch of men, had a disciple who was known as the one whom Jesus loved' and said my family is not my mother and father, my family is those who do the will of God. None of us likes those harsh words. That's who Jesus is, that's who he was at heart, in his earthly life.

''Those who would posit the nuclear family as the be all and end all of God's creation probably don't find that much in the gospels to support it," he said.

It goes without saying that this is blasphemy. To suggest or infer Jesus was a homosexual violates who Jesus was. It suggests Jesus sinned. Which in turn means He was not the Son of God and therefore Christianity is based on a fraud. The Bible is clear Jesus was without sin. The Bible is clear homosexual behavior is sin. Therefore this Bishop does not believe in Christianity. Period.

Before we go on, let me be clear: A sin, is a sin, is a sin. An adulterous relationship is no less a sin than a homosexual one. A lie is no less a sin than a homosexual act. I'm no less a sinner than a practicing homosexual, and am not singling out gay behavior. The Bishop is. I'm playing defense.

So, what's happening here? Why is a Bishop saying these things? The answer is simple: To destroy the church and religion.

Liberals are many things, but they are not stupid and they are doggedly persistent. They don't think short term, they think generationally. Unable to win at the ballot box with their intolerable agenda, they figured out that in order to institute that intolerable agenda they would have to look elsewhere. So, they've infested our institutions. They've infested education, the media, entertainment, the law, the State Department, and government bureaucracies.  Need proof?

On national television Terri Schiavo was murdered; starved and dehydrated to death. The nation watched The Powerful ruthlessly torture a helpless invalid for two weeks in front of her parents. The law said it was legal. Entertainment said it was death with dignity. And the media not only said it was popular -- they said it was a blissful and peaceful way to die. And they got away with it. Any questions?

So, now the left's come for the last hold-out that threatens them: Religion. But in order to remove the threat of religion, liberals cannot become a part of it. They must dismantle it until it becomes intolerable to those they disagree with. The way to do it is to take control of the church and move away from "Hate the sin, love the sinner," to the acceptance of sin. The church cannot sustain itself in that form. But that's the whole idea.

Accepting gay marriage is accepting sin. That's why many, like myself, draw a line there. It would be like saying any number of my sins are now blessed by the church. Are okay. And if that happens the very foundation of what the church stands for is dead. How many gay marriages have we seen on television blessed by so-called ministers? If your church starts blessing gay marriage will you still go? No. Of course not. We go to church for it's hard line on sin and the love found in the forgiveness of that sin. Remove either and what's the point? We'll stop going and the church will die. Mission accomplished.

The Bible's tough. We are all sinners. Our white lies make us sinners. Our grudges, our impure thoughts, our selfishness... All those things make us no less a sinner than a man or woman involved in a homosexual relationship. I'm not picking on our gay friends. But sin is sin. And yeah, that's a tough thing to deal with, but it's just the way it is. And it's a good thing. And liberals not only hate that, they're threatened by it. There's no gray in the Bible. No moral relativism. Just right and wrong. And liberals cannot succeed in that arena.

So, what to do? They do what this Bishop has done. They do what they've done before. They encroach. This wolf in sheep's clothing is called "the liberalization of the church." But it's not. It's about accepting sin. And it's the death knell.

We are about to enter into the most important election in nearly thirty years. So, watch for the white smoke. Because who becomes the next Pope  is everything. And pray. Pray that the church remains intolerant. Pray the church remains prejudiced. That it rejects, repudiates, and refuses -- not sinners -- for where would I go? But sin.

Comments

[susanna]

I agree with you in principle that a sin is a sin is a sin, in the sense that all sin is ultimately about disobedience to God's will. In that sense, a lie is the same as fornication is the same as murder - they're all disobedience, and if unrepented condemn us. However, I do think that there are sins that are worse than others not because they are more disobedient, but because it requires a greater distance from God to accomplish them. A "little white lie" is a small diversion from truth, easily and impulsively committed without digging deeply into the soul, without hardening the heart, and usually easily repented. Continued lies, and bigger lies, dig deeper and twist our souls more tightly, lessening the likelihood of meaningful repentance. There is a heavier cost to confession and change, the further the sin takes us from the path. Something like adultery requires time and intent and a more extended turning of the face from God, as you can see from reading about David and Bathsheba. But still the sexual behavior itself (in adultery) is a natural God-given function, even though the context is disobedient to His intent. Homosexuality is not just disobedient, not just turning away from God's will, but an actual turning away from God's created design for mankind, sexually speaking. It is an order of magnitude more serious than adultery for that reason - not because an adulterer isn't sinning against God, but because the type of sin homosexuality represents is further from God's natural order, and from God Himself.

I'm not Catholic, but I recognize the influence the Catholic church has worldwide. I hope the next pope is one who not only holds a conservative view of Scripture, but also will excise from the Catholic Church all those who teach and practice things that on their face are anathema to God. All of us are sinners and need God's mercy and grace. Changing His message to appear "modern" and "diverse" will surely turn His face from us, so we will receive neither mercy nor grace.

[lyndi]

Susanna,

There are two levels of sin in the Catholic church: venial and mortal sins. You are correct in that the church applies heavier weight to murder(mortal) than in lying (venial).

I enjoyed your comments.

[kitty]

Yesterday's NY Post had this to say:
'Still, the pope's most lasting mark on the process comes from the fact that he handpicked 115 of the church's 117 current cardinals under age 80. "He really put his theological mark on this college of cardinals," Moody said. "So it's unlikely that we'll get any liberal theologian" as the next pope.'

I found that comforting, but I'm waiting for the the white smoke.

[Romeocat]

Dirty Harry - you are definitely going to be an excellent writer here!

Thanks so much for this. I haven't seen much recently about sin and holding the line against it, much less paired with humility. Good job!

[Maximus]

Wow.

So Gene Robinson is a blasphemer whose goal is to destroy the church and religion! And your evidence for this is that he... quoted what the Gospels actually say?

Your argument is incredibly flimsy and simultaneously very extreme (taking Robinson's ACCURATE Gospel references as proof of an vast, insidious liberal conspiracy to destroy Christianity). And yet you have lots of fans who think you're a theological genius for making it!

Fascinating.

[Dodo David]

Gene Robinson isn't trying to destroy the Church. He is trying to justify his homosexual lifestyle.