Lighthouse said:
Paraphrase: "If you don't want to be treated like a foll, don't act like one."
Accurate paraphrase: "If someone disagrees with Lighthouse, he calls them names like "idiot" and "troll."
I reserve that word for people who refuse to listen. People who are defiant, and proud of their sin.
Lighthouse, there is a certain logic in that ... and I don't argue that this logic makes sense at first glance, or to the "worldly." My whole point is that this "logic" is not consistant with Biblical principles--indeed, if I were to couch my argument in Christian terms, I would say that this logic is of the flesh, and of the world.
And? I've read a couple of his books, and I agree with things he believes. But he didn't make any of them up. In fact, one of the things I agree with him on was something I started thinking about before I even knew who Bob was.
My purpose in calling Bob Enyart your friend was to illustrate the similarity of ideas, not to state that you two are close chums or anything of the sort.
So in other words, your flesh is still capable of sin, correct?
Yeah. So?
Lighthouse, it is my assertion--quite a serious assertion, one that leaves behind the back-and-forth jabs we've been amusing ourselves with--that such behavior as calling homosexuals "faggots" is contrary to your scriptures. Such behavior is contrary to Christian principles ... even if the Bible does not explicitly cover the use of that word.
If you want to win homosexuals to Christ, I feel that you will find a much better example in Paul's decision to be "all things to all men." That certainly does not mean that you have to approve of homosexuality if you want to win homosexuals to Christ ... but you do have to speak to them as though they were people with whom you want to have an amicable relationship, not one that is defined by the names that each calls the other.
It's the same with Wicca. I am a member of the Ex-Witch.org Forums, a Christian forum dedicated to evangelizing Wiccans, Pagans, and Occultists, and providing support for new Christians coming out of these groups. They do not go around screaming that Wiccans are worthy of death--though they do note that Wicca is condemned by the Scriptures, and they clearly state that in their beliefs unrepentant Wiccans will wind up in hell. They do not go around calling Wiccans nasty names--indeed, while not compromising their witness, they have repeatedly defended me and other Wiccans from folks who wanted to do nothing but call names.
I am saying this, Lighthouse: calling homosexuals "faggots" is hiding your lamp under the bushel of animosity. It is a violation of Col 4:6, and is therefore direct disobedience to your scriptures, but it is also an act that grossly impairs your witness. A term like that is the end of any constructive conversation with a homosexual--and if you cannot converse with him, then you cannot speak of Christ to him.
Justin
