First of all, I am terribly sorry that my response to your previous article humiliated you, ashamed you, and made you to think that you weren’t a believer for a second. I never meant to cause such bad feelings in you but when i read it again as you, i admit that i too felt that way. Please forgive me.

Although you have elaborated your position on homosexuals more in detail this time, and i do share some concerns and sentiments with you, it seems to me that you are begging more questions than answering them. For example, you want to bring the message of God while remaining culturally sensitive and relevant in this post-modern world. However, when this post-modern world vehemently refuses to acknowledge God and His precepts, in other words, when the message of God and the world are at opposite ends, how can we accomplish your wish? Without first calling a sin a sin, how can we lead the sinner to the God's throne of grace? How can we understand Jesus' saying of Matthew 10:34 "Do not think that i came to bring peace on earth; i did not come to bring peace, but a sword"? Or this saying, "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. . ."? (Jn 8:44) Or this, "You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart"? (Matt 12:34)

In Jesus' time, people of influence who were leading the culture of the time were at odds with Jesus and they hated him so much as to have him crucified just because Jesus calling them as what they were: hypocrites, thieves and robbers, brood of vipers, sons of devil. He wasn't diplomatic, sensitive, kind at all to people who were denying they were sinners; to them, Jesus was brutally straightforward. He didn't bother to soften his tone lest they might get offended. But to those who acknowledged they were sinners and asked for forgiveness, he was ever so kind and loving, and the forgiveness was given at once.

I too opine that taking an accusatory attitude toward gays and lesbians is not likely to help them to repent and to receive God's love. We should be careful not to take such attitude. And for that matter, yes, you are right: why do we single them out when in fact we all are sinners? We shouldn't. As you said, we all are equally responsible for the wrath of God. So, as Jesus said, we should take the log out of our own eye first before we take the speck out of our brother's eye.

Then, what do we do to help them to repent and to receive God's love? You say to provide ears to their stories and build relationship with them. Fine. But what stories you think they will tell us and what kind of relationship they want to build with us? Probably their being gays and lesbians are not of their choice but given, they will tell. They will want you to accept them as who they are and want you not to tell them what they are doing is wrong or sinful. They will want a supportive relationship. Then, what shall we do? For the sake of being sensitive and building up relationship, shall we ban the subject between them and us? How do you think we could come to that point in our relationship when we can suggest them to read Bible or to go to church? Those questions baffle me.

You were asking, "Why are we so hateful toward homosexuals? Because they are different from us?" I don't think we are hateful toward homosexuals, if we are at all, because they are different from us. For me, i hate all evil people. I hate them because they are evil not because they are in any way different from me.

On your thought about cultural relevancy: i could understand your concerns and worries. However, we must not compromise nor reduce the truth in the good effort of being sensitive and responsive. No matter how much we want to deny it, sin is sin, and homosexual practice too is a sin. Even if the practice is fast gaining acceptance in our society, let's not be hesitant to call it sin for the sake of cultural sensitivity. That's from out of love, not of hatred, for "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners." (Mk 2:17)

Let's strive to speak the truth in love, and let's pray for His love.


11.14.2005