Does anyone want to take a crack at this?

[themilesfamily]

This ran in my local paper yesterday.

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/artic...xt|FRONTPAGE|s

Written by a pastor. Apparently telling someone they are "immoral and unnatural" is now a loving thing to do. Who knew?

Facebook comments on the article are open to the public, if you feel it's worth your time.

[reiella]

I dunno, when folks feel the need to say [slightly paraphased] "What I'm saying isn't Hate Speech" I feel they pretty much have admitted that it is in fact Hate Speech.

[ edit ]
And in general, it reads as a broilerplate "Love the sinner, hate the sin" type response without actually appreciating/understanding how much the 'unchangeable' institution of God's definition of marriage has actually changed.

[glenpreece]

Said it before and I'll say it again SO HAPPY I LIVE IN CANADA

[MrPurrrfect]

Me too!

[themilesfamily]

I just found this letter so hateful and over-the-top. I was worried that there wouldn't be anyone defending the other side of the issue and this pastor would go on in life thinking he'd said something even remotely wise that everyone agreed with!!

I have to say, though, I'm pleasantly surprised by the responses from the locals. Not only did people call him out, but there have been additonal letters written to the paper on the topic. I guess what could have been a bad thing has turned into a teachable moment.

What's so interesting is that the pastor who wrote this letter is now in the middle of a divorce. His wife filed for divorce about a week before the letter was published. I wonder if she got wind of the letter and said, "I'm out of here?" Or perhaps he "loved" his wife in the same way he "loves" the gays -- by name-calling, hate speech etc. Maybe this guy just needs a tutorial on the definition of love and how one shows it?

[utterrandomness]

Originally Posted by glenpreece

Said it before and I'll say it again SO HAPPY I LIVE IN CANADA

Heh. There are plenty of folks like that up here too.

[froggy5657]

Ok, so that was a not-so-nice letter by the Pastor, but after looking it over I chose to focus on the word "love." This is perhaps a very optimistic way to look it, but when I see "love," I see an openness in someone's heart. This is someone who genuinely wants gay men and women to be "saved." I believe that these are the people who may one day accept what we have to say and realize that love between consenting adults is not wrong. These are the people who we should help to understand why being gay is alright. Unfortunately, we are in a shouting match with others--those who think that if you simply "put all the gays on an island" the problem will go away. These people will be hard-pressed to change their minds or step off of their pedestals even if they know they are wrong. So, to the pastor we may be "immoral" but we are also "loved" and one day his love may seem more favorable in our fight for equality.