Homosexuality = First class ticket to hell?

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fragmentsofdreams

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First, everyone needs to be clear about what they mean by homosexual or gay. Most people who call themselves homosexual mean that they have an inclination towards emotional and sexual intimacy with someone of the same sex. Most conservative Christians seem to use it to mean someone who regularly engages in erotic acts with members of one's same sex, or at least someone who is open to engaging in such acts in the future. A discussion where the participants use the same word in different ways without clearly indicating which way they mean will be doomed to failure.

Second, to address the OP, being attracted to men is not a ticket to Hell. You did not choose these attractions, and since sin requires an act of the will, it is impossible for them to be sinful in and of themselves. How you respond to them will require discernment on your part.

The thing I must emphasize is that attempting to alter these attractions is like a blind person attempting to see. It is possible only through the action of God, and God does not change everyone. Avoid ministries that promise to make you straight. They are more likely to pressure you into the closet again rather than actually doing anything to change the attractions. It is likely that you would come to the point you are at right now again, and if this occured after you had a wife and kids, their lives would be majorly affected as well.
 
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Celticflower

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fragmentsofdreams said:
When you say gays here, do you mean those who have a homosexual orientation or those who engage in homosexual erotic acts?
Those with the orientation and who are struggling to overcome the desire to act upon it.



Does the state determine whether someone is married in the eyes of God? If the state decided to disolve the institution of legal marriage, would everyone have to cease having sex lest they be fornicating?

At this time it is up to the states to determine what constitutes a "legal marriage". It should remain up to the church to determine what constitues a "Godly marriage". Unfortunately, the states seem to be leaning toward broadening the bounds of what a legal marriage is, not doing away with the institution of marriage- either religious or civil.

If this is the reason for the condemnation, now that such practice has been mostly eliminated, would such a broad condemnation still be in force?

I did not say it was the reason--only positing a theory based on history. Maybe God still sees it as a form a degradation and thus the broad condemnation would still be valid. Since we do not know exactly what God is thinking at our moment in time, we go by what we do have--the words presented to us in Scripture. If what we have been taught is in error, due to a misunderstanding of language or interpretation, would not the error be laid on the head of the originator of the error (ie: the translators) and not upon us? Likewise-if the error is due to a modern misrepresentation of the meaning of Scripture, would not the error be laid on the head of the one who caused the error and not those who have been taught incorrectly?

Which scenario is the right one? I don't know.
 
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JunkYardDog

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fragmentsofdreams said:
First, everyone needs to be clear about what they mean by homosexual or gay. Most people who call themselves homosexual mean that they have an inclination towards emotional and sexual intimacy with someone of the same sex. Most conservative Christians seem to use it to mean someone who regularly engages in erotic acts with members of one's same sex, or at least someone who is open to engaging in such acts in the future. A discussion where the participants use the same word in different ways without clearly indicating which way they mean will be doomed to failure.

You are assuming that homosexuality is innate and unchangeable in the individual. It is first, a desire. If one desires something sinful and does not reject that desiring, it is sin. See Jesus on adultery in the heart. See the Ten Commandments on coveting. Homosexuality is a sin, like others, that requires no overt act.

Second, to address the OP, being attracted to men is not a ticket to Hell. You did not choose these attractions, and since sin requires an act of the will, it is impossible for them to be sinful in and of themselves. How you respond to them will require discernment on your part.

We DO choose our attractions. Those we entertain, grow strong, those we reject grow weak. See, again, Jesus on adultery in the heart.
 
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