Pages 15-17 … And so it begins
Bart: “Would you? Be Honest.”
Scaughdt: Of course I would! … Would you, Bart?
Bart: No.
Scaughdt: Why not?
Vanessa: I would listen to anyone and attend any service of anyone who is speaking the truth about the Way of Jesus.
Bart: What other message are they sending?
Scaughdt: Hmmm – maybe this one? “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is just like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” ~ Jesus Christ (Matthew 22:37-40)
Wayne: Actually, they would not be speaking the truth about the Way of Jesus. But that is part of the problem today; many people treat the New Testament of the Bible as though it were a bag of “Trail Mix”; taking only what they want and ignoring what doesn’t suit their taste.
Scaughdt: Wayne – just as a matter of clarification – are you one of the parties of this discussion who “picks & chooses” the Loving portions of the New Testament (i.e. someone who give the teachings of Jesus precedence over all other teachings in the Bible), or are you one of those who “picks & chooses” condemnatory verses from the Old Testament to justify his own personal, childhood-indoctrinated prejudices? If you consider yourself to be the former group, then I say Right On, Brother! (the Jesus of the Gospels would soooo be digging that vibe as well) … And yet if you consider yourself to belong to the latter, what do you make of Hebrews 8:6-13?
“But Jesus has now obtained a more excellent ministry, and to that degree he is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted through better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second one … In speaking of ‘a new covenant’, he has made the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete and growing old will soon disappear.” ~ Hebrews 8:6-13
Wayne: You did notice that I specifically mentioned the “New Testament”, did you not? I am not one of those who mentions Matthew 7:1 and then ignores the rest of that chapter.
Scaughdt: I see … Then I can fairly assume that you are one of those instead who focuses on Matthew 25 while ignoring the rest of that Gospel?
Bart: I ask again: What message are such [gay] pastors sending?
Scaughdt: Well, for starters, a gay pastor would be sending the message that God’s Love truly is perfect (Matthew 5:48) … *And a gay pastor would be sending the message that Love is indeed stronger than fear (1 John 4:18) … *And a gay pastor would be sending the message that above all else we are to have the courage to Love our enemies (Luke 6:27 et al – even if those enemies are arch-conservative members of our own church) … *And a gay pastor would be sending the message that God’s Love is extended to all His creations, not only His heterosexual ones … *And a gay pastor would be sending the message that God’s Grace is much greater than some of His more prejudiced, Old-Testament-based, “Paulinist” followers might believe …
Those are just some of the wonderful messages that a homosexual pastor could be sending by his mere presence behind the pulpit. Shall I go on and list a few more?
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