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In response to an e-mail from a friend about gay rights, I wrote this: Actually, I could give a rip about what the government does in the area of civil unions. Go for it. The state and its affairs are different from God's Kingdom and laws. I have several conditions, however:

1. Do not call it a "marriage."

2. Should I be a minister of the Gospel, the state shall not compel me to join two people of the same sex. (Unless the Republic is collapsing, this won't happen)

3. Find some way to insulate the healthcare system and the taxpayers from the higher cost of care.

As for what you said, God's Word speaks for itself, so I need not waste time blathering about the subject. But I think your feelings on this will lead you into more opportunities to share the Gospel, and that cannot be bad. You will have a comfort level that many Christians don't have. Too many Christians find homosexuality to be the worst sin in the world, and folks can sense this. I worked with a guy who is gay. A good guy, and hilarious. Anyway, the fact that he is gay never came up. I shared my life and my faith because he's not a Christian, not because he's gay. And whatever things in life that we need to let go of, the Holy Spirit is faithful to turn our hearts from them. So, if we ourselves cling so tightly to things of this world, we would be fools to condemn unbelievers who do the same. Funny that we should be talking about this. RUF was about how we're worse than we think, yet far more loved and accepted than we could possibly know. Oh, wait! That's the Gospel! Brent Herriman (or is it an 'a') told a story about a preacher who walked into a bar where prostitutes hang out in New Orleans. One of the ladies he met had a birthday the next night. They threw a party there, and she was floored. She leaves, the preacher prays. The bartender says, "You're a preacher? What church?" (Shocked that he'd even talk to her, or the others) He replied, "I belong to the church that throws birthday parties for whores at 3:00 AM." Me too.



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