Page 816 … on Luke 17:3
You then use Luke 17:3 to further muddy the waters of this discussion … I must admit, my Friend, I was wondering when you were going to get around to citing this verse, and I am frankly very thankful you have finally done so. After all, while it does appear to be the only place where Jesus encourages us all to condemn the sins of others, it actually DOESN’T APPLY to our current discussion – or even to us as individuals – at all!
*Firstly, note that in this passage Jesus is speaking specifically to his disciples; encouraging them to help one another remain faithful to their very unusual task – namely, being open examples of righteousness; a job that simply could not afford public slip-ups into sin. Matthew’s parallel passage (see Matthew 18:15-17) has Jesus telling his disciples to make similar admonishments against any sinning “member of the church”, and yet the same reasoning applies. Indeed, this analysis makes complete sense, for if these passages are interpreted otherwise – if they are interpreted to allow all of us to rebuke all the sinners around us, then Jesus is suddenly completely contradicting the direct statements he makes in Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 23:25-26, John 8:7, as well as the indirect one he makes in Matthew 18:3-4. Essentially, to claim that Luke 17:3 authorizes us to openly judge our fellow sinners turns Jesus into a liar – or at the very least makes him highly inconsistent, & therefore fully unreliable.
*Secondly, and by far most importantly for the case at hand – these passages are completely irrelevant to our discussion for the simple reason that Oliver Clyde Allen is not sinning!!! … Let us review the actual wording of Leviticus 18:22 & Leviticus 20:13 again, shall we? The former states quite clearly, “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination”, while the latter follows by saying, “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death” … Please note that nowhere in either of those verses are homosexual relationships (or homosexual marriages, or homosexual hand-holding, or homosexual hugging, or non-sexual homosexual intimacy, or homosexuality itself) condemned. In fact, homosexuality itself is not even mentioned at all therein. Instead, only “lying with a man as with a women” is cited – namely, the act of homosexual sexual intercourse.
So, according to the Bible, is being born homosexual a sin? – NO it isn’t! … Is falling in love with a same-sex partner a sin? – NO it isn’t! … Is having a same-sex relationship a sin? – NO it isn’t! … Is falling in love with a same-sex partner a sin? – NO it isn’t! … Is holding hands or hugging or even cuddling with a same-sex partner a sin? – NO it isn’t! … And is marrying a same-sex partner a sin? – NO again, it isn’t!
As such, as we can clearly see when we look once again at this picture – the same one that started this entire conversation, neither Oliver Clyde Allen nor his husband Rashad are sinning at all … So once again, my Friend, when the question is posed as to whether we could go and hear Oliver preach the Word of God, please tell me why you wouldn’t even consider going to do so one Sunday … And please tell us all finally why it is that you are actually inventing Scripture to keep from doing so!!!
;