Reply #47: The law of love transcends all else.

[undeterred]

I used to be where she is now and I didn't think I was a hateful bigot. What changed me was actually becoming friends with a couple of gay people (1 man, 1 woman) who were patient enough to listen to my views and then share with me their own painful experiences of trying to be straight when they weren't. In the end it wasn't the friendships that changed me, but the loss of those friendships. Love the sinner hate the sin does not work, because the person still feels hated, condemned, unloved. I hurt these people. It was more than 15 years ago and I still regret it.

The true mark of a Christian is love. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." (John 13:33-35) That is scripture, and that is the most important thing. It is not "love" to condemn or exclude homosexuals or deny their rights. I don't claim to have an explanation as to why people are gay or straight, but I know that as a Christian it is wrong for me to judge or condemn anyone else, and right for me to love and accept them. The law of love transcends all else.

I am now working to fight against the constitutional ban on gay marriage, because I think I can talk to Christians who think the way this girl does.