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When the pastor calls for the offering, he never asks "Please give a CONSERVATIVE offering." He always asks for a LIBERAL offering! So being liberal is good, in some circumstances. In fact, in this day and age, being liberal is best, IMHO. We must be inclusive of all races, all genders, all interpretations of Scripture, if we are to live as Jesus lived when He was here on earth.

As I reflect on my life I look back over and reflect that a number of my decisions were the wrong decision. It seems that young people are required to make some of the hardest decisions at a very early age when perhaps they do not have the experience of life to guide them in their decision making processes. I am fortunate though in that in amongst the bad decisions that I made were some good decisions also. I married the right person, and found a career that was the right one. Naturally I became a born again Christian and I began to make decisions based on what I felt Christ was calling me to do rather than what simply seemed to be the best option at the time. What I would like to say to people is that poor decisions do not have to become your life story. We all make mistakes in some cases very big ones, yet there is no life that God cannot take hold of and make new, no matter what you have done. Don't live your life continuing to make poor decisions one after another because you think that is the kind of person you are. - It's okay to embrace change and to find a new way to live your life.

The conservative and liberal issue is very complicated as there are different points and shades. Our most conservative members are liberal compared to some fundamentalist Christian groups. This was the problem that D. Canwright had with the church and joined the most conservative of his day, the Northern Baptists. Yet our most liberal churches are very conservative in that we are Bible believers, believe in a personal God and that Jesus is the Godman. We believe in the historicity of the Bible, and look forward to the Second Coming. There are churches out there who sees the Bible as offering good moral lessons but that's it. Frequently in theological circles a conservative is one who believes the Bible to be historical (even if they are not Fundamentalists) and in a personal God, while a liberal only sees it as having some good moral guidelines. Our arguments over whether we are liberal or conservative in the church are only over the shades of conservatisms.

There's a good movie on this topic called Fish Out of Water. I watched it on Netflix. It explains the common 7 "proof texts" and puts them into context. Personally, I am an ally but regardless of whether you are prejudiced against the GLBTI community or are an ally, it is worth a watch. If nothing else, you'll know how the "other side" looks at these verses.

I"m definitely in favor of this. A person can only deal with so much. God never intended for a person to end up in so much pain that taking his own life is the only way to end the pain.

I LOVE Psalm 119!

You like proof texts, here's one - "Above all love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins." (1 Peter 4:8) Could the love God has for LGBT's and the love (don't twist the meaning of this word to suit a rebuke) these souls have for each other and God override the consequences of their sin?