The apostle Paul stated: "'Everything is permissible for me'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible for me'—but I will not be mastered by anything." -- I Corinthians 6:12 (NIV). What is interesting, is that a few verses prior he wrote: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." -- I Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV). These may seem to contradict. If all things are lawful (permissable), then how can these specific things cause God to reject those who do them?
First off, Paul was an educated man. He was a Pharisee, fully versed and educated in the Jewish law. He was also a very sarcastic man. Paul's writings often poke fun at traditional thought, the law, rituals and the apparent fear that people had of violating the law. Prior to Jesus, Jews lived under Jewish Law, and they believed that only by adhering to the Law could they attain salvation (not entirely accurate, but close enough).
Christianity, on the other hand, teaches salvation by Grace. Jesus said that the only requirement for salvation was faith in Him. From that Paul extrapolated that a person could do anything as long as he had faith and that person would be saved. That is the genesis of the phrase "All things are lawful unto me." Note that this phrase was a common saying in the church of Corinth (Paul wasn't the only one who could extrapolate this idiom), and Paul was agreeing with it in principle, and yet also saying that it can be taken badly.
Christianity still holds this to be true today. Some Christian religions, however, don't understand this truth. They still believe that our actions contribute to our salvation. That is one reason that you get some preachers speaking out against actions.
So what did Paul mean when he wrote about those sins? First, let's agree that in the Christian faith, they are indeed sins (you don't have to agree that they are sins, but you have to accept that they are to Christians). People make conscsious choices to do these things (and Paul's list wasn't all-inclusive), which are contrary to God's stated purposes. Note that Paul said that not all is beneficial. This suggests that although permissible, these actions are not beneficial for a Christian. What is important in verses 9 and 10 is whether or not Paul is referring to Christians who do these things or non-Christians. In the context of the letter, Paul is referring to non-Christians who practice these acts. The fact that these people are not Christians means that they are not saved (from a Christian viewpoint), and, as such, will not inherit the kingdom of God. Their actions are immaterial, but Paul's point is that people who pattern their lives around these things, instead of around God, aren't working towards their own salvation.
What then about a Christian who practices these acts? Christianity teaches that we aren't saved or condemned by our actions. As such, one can do these things and still keep their salvation. Nonetheless, these are not beneficial pursuits for a Christian. They don't build up a Chrisitan and they cast a negative light on the Christian and indeed all of Christianity.
Many ministers will speak more or less strongly about Christians performing these acts depending on many influences including the composition of their congregations. Evangelical Christians tend to have congregations that weren't raised in a church environment. In fact several people in these churches tend to come to their faith late in life after first living in exactly these types of situations. Many people in these congregations don't have the background to understand what is beneficial and what isn't (what is sin and what isn't), so sermons can sometimes discuss these issues. Note that in many of these sermons, there is no condemnation for past life or even current actions, there is simply an exposition of actions in a general case and a discussion as to why they are contrary to Christianity.
Ok, so that wasn't really your question. I suspect your question was whether or not we all think that homosexuality should be discouraged or accepted.
As a Christian, I disagree with homosexuality, and yes, I consider it a sin. As a human being, I don't care about it at all as long as it doesn't impact my own freedoms. Frankly, I don't look at people and worry about who they sleep with. I don't need to know and I don't want to know. It is their business and it should remain so, in the privacy of their own homes. That said, if they want to flaunt their sexuality, then I'll be put off. I don't expect others to follow my lifestyle and I don't unduly burden them with it. I don't want to be burdened with theirs.
Where I have a problem, and I believe this is understandable, is where efforts are made to infringe on my life. For example, I don't care to refer to my wife as my "partner" because it is less offensive to homosexuals. I don't want schools to teach homosexuality to my children as an accpetable alternative lifestyle (actually, I don't want schools to teach heterosexuality or any other sexuality to my children, that should be something I, as a parent, teach them).
-- Jeff
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"Government is not the solution to our problem, government is the problem." --Ronald Reagan
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