“I suppose that’s a good strategy for trying to win an up or down vote, but it’s a dangerous way to think about living in a pluralist society – a society which includes significant numbers of people on either side of the issue. Win or lose, you have to go to work with people who believe (perhaps passionately) differently than you.” (>>)

“I ‘used’ the bible a lot…reading it topically on subjects like baptism, predestination, homosexuality, women in ministry…mostly to prove the things I was being taught at the time (Which is strange if you think about it). Back then, we called it ‘defending our faith.’ I’m not sure what I call it now.” (>>)

• This has become a dividing line among Christians, a defining issue. It should not be. It is a secondary issue.
• Jesus does not address this issue. He does condemn religious leaders. He does condemn divorce and remarriage.
• If you can show grace to the divorced (which Jesus condemns), why can you not show grace to the homosexuals (which Jesus does not mention).
• He most likely held to a conservative position (followed the old law). Hebrew Scriptures state homosexuality is an abomination (but also along with other weird kosher laws). The purity code has been eliminated (do not call unclean what I have made clean). The moral code has not.
• If you’re going to be consistent, then we have to throw all of the divorced/remarriage people out of the church.
• We have made it into some kind of super sin.
• We have to acknowledge homosexual Christians as our brothers and sisters, because that is what they are.
• “Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
• Yes, I love them, but… THERE ARE NOT BUTS!!!
• The State should only grant civil unions for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Church will grant marriage — marriage is sacred and has nothing to do with the State.

Video Clip 1: “Those who are out to condemn me, and some people do on this, say, ‘You’re far too soft on the gay community.’ I don’t like it when Christians are hard on the gay community, so I don’t mind being soft.” (5.8MB MPEG, 4:29)

Video Clip 2: “There is no explanation of a homosexuality orientation that has sufficient empirical validity.” (12.8MB MPEG, 9:50)

Video Clip 3: “I’m waiting for the day when a homosexual can stand up in church and say, ‘I am a homosexual. Every day I struggle with this. Every day the war goes on. And I’ve only been able to survive because I have this network of Christian friends who know me and love me and pray for me and support me and encourage me and [are] family to me.’ … I’m waiting for the church of Jesus Christ to begin to do something like that in the local congregation.” (11.1MB MPEG, 8:33)

“Here’s a crazy idea: let culture emerge from free choices of individuals. If it changes, then it changes. If individuals don’t like the way it changes, they can keep living the same way they were before, and they can let other people live how they want too. If Bush wants to refuse to recognize the private arrangements homosexuals make as marriage, let him do it – as a private, personal choice.” (>>)

“Although I do not doubt the possibility of God choosing to show a person ‘the light’ so they can see the error of their ways, I think we should consider how many people make these sorts of claims, and how different their views are on what God revealed to them. While [one] person’s apparent God-given revelation might let them in on the fact that homosexual action is sinful, another person might be equally convicted that God revealed to them that there is absolutely nothing wrong with homosexual activity.” (>>)

Alex has written a good entry on legalizing gay marriage. He concentrates mostly on the legal aspect of denying a certain group of people rights based on their sexuality.