Carl wrote:

"And Coach, I-am-a-spiritual-person-who-beleives-in-God, but-because-of-people-like-you, I-reject-the-church-and-its-narrow, inflexible-view-of-the-world, I'm-sure-all-the-good-christians-in-the-world-don't-wish-to-thank-you-for-vandalising-their-otherwise-humane-institution."

No one said that being a Christian is an easy journey.

Luke 9:23 :-

”Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me”.

"I am a spiritual person who beleives in God”- Carl also says.

What has spirituality to do with being a follower of Jesus ?

Believing in God - you say??

Even Satan believes in God.

"KNOWING" God is another matter. He revealed Himself through the ages and finally in the flesh : Jesus.

The question Jesus is asking you is are you willing to follow him?

It has nothing to do with accepting or rejecting a church, school, or institution...!

Don't blame me for your predicament - you are not doing us a favour either by staying away from "a church" . It is your life and your eternity that is at play.

Gay and lesbians will have to face the music one day at God’s judgement throne. But if they want to be accepted in His family of believers and call Him father, they need to obey His house rules.

So don’t blame me for bringing God’s message to you (and vandalising the church). It won’t meet the criteria of a good excuse for not hearing. Open the bible and see for yourself if you have eyes.

It would be interesting perhaps to hear what is your version of “church” – the otherwise humane institution – you have so gracefully rejected. It is possible that we are comparing apples and oranges.

_______

It is not up to the church to catch up with sinners - you silly billy you - it's the other way round.

It is not the churches that make the rules but God himself.

Sin is a selfish, self-seeking lust that separates us from God's love and joyful blessings. By chosing sin one must accept the consequences.

So don't hold your breath and expect God to change his mind for you and other sinners.

I see the catholic church as the most vile and despotic organisation ever to spread it's evil and corrupt tenticles across the World. While most of the congregation are good and faithful servants of their God and I've also met many wonderful nuns and priests in my days of enforced catholic upbringing, those at the top of the Vatican heap are the perfect epitime of corruption, greed, hatred and incitment to violence the civilised World has ever encountered. The pope must writhe in agony in the thought that the church can no longer burn people at the stake, put them to the rack, smash their knees with wedges and mallets and immerse their legs in copper boots filled with burning oil. The roman catholic church has been seen throughout history as an organisation of wrath and destruction of once beautiful primative societies and they haven't stopped yet. I don't hate religion per se. Each to their own, until they threaten the very fabric of moral obligation as the catholic church has done with the gay issue. The catholic church has been manipulating ideals of right and wrong since Roman times and I think it's high time those parts of the catholic congregation who still abide by it's hateful dogma took a good hard look around and got off at the next station. Time to end the hatred people!

Homosexuals claim that is the way they are born, they did not choose to be homosexual.
Heterosexuals are born that way and we cannot help the revulsion we feel toward that we see as abnormal.
However we can all agree to disagree and accept that people are different, without being stupid.
Instead of the homosexuals trying to force their way into everything why not have your own parallel institutions?
Recognise that the gulf cannot be crossed but that does not stop you from setting up your own ways as long as they are legal.
And let us all live in peace.

On your marks... everyone assume their usual positions and antagonism when the 'gay issue' rears its head.

Although the Vatican's statement was short on tact, the sentiments were sound. The 'violence' (an unfortunate choice of words) seems to be the lack of developmental imput from a complete parental unit (ie Father/Mother, male/female). But don't let context get in the way of a good moral springboard ("As I talked to other gays and lesbians, it became clear many perceived this latest document from Rome as one more in a series of attacks upon their humanity").

I agree that the pastoral approach to gays and lesbians needs to be done with sensitivity, that is, without attacking their dignity. But this should not affect our reading of Scripture. Homosexuality is a sin, along with the adultery and fornication common in the present world. However, the message to everyone remains the same: "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom 5:8) Genuine faith produces a response to this.

Coach, your a wonderful example of a true monotheist, non-caring, lacking understanding, ignorant, paranoid and hypocritical.

“Sin is a selfish, self-seeking lust that separates us from God's love and joyful blessings. By choosing sin one must accept the consequences.”

Coach, you sin every time you post, is not judgement a sin, “let he who casts the first stone”. However, your exempt aren't you, god loves you.

Who cares if homosexuals are thrown out of the church, if their stupid enough to believe in such unmitigated rubbish, they should expect nothing else but to be treated like all other followers of god not submitting to the power are, violently. I don't class having to be accepted into worshipping a myth as important, especially with the religions history in ongoing sexual deviance and denial.

If you had a brain, wouldn't you be running away with your kids for their safety. Instead of offering them up for psychological and maybe physical abuse to a bunch of supposed men in frocks.

But the article does represent the dilemma some with partly open eyes within the church have, in determining the method and end result of their preaching. I accept there's genuine people who truly and rationally believe love and caring are the highest ideals for humans to allude to, but you won't find them in religion or pushing their barrow. You may find them in real life, but not within illusions.

Coach says-

"Gay and lesbians will have to face the music one day at God’s judgement throne. But if they want to be accepted in His family of believers and call Him father, they need to obey His house rules."

This demonstrates my point exactly coach, I believe it is you who is not obeying the house rules and the rules that Jesus himself would want you to follow, your inability to accept homosexuals as equal human beings is contrary to the overall message of the bible. Your interpretation of the bible tells you to discriminate against homosexuals, which contradicts my interpretation. The bible is of course, full of contradictions, because it was written by men, not the son of god, and man is imperfect.

I don't have a problem with anyone being religous coach, unlike you, who has a problem with Islam, but while ever it contradicts my own personal beleif, that no person should be discriminated against on the basis of their sexual preference, race etc etc. I will not subscribe to it.