Religiously conservative groups, like the Southern Baptists, the Assemblies of God, and other Fundamentalist and Evangelical Christian denominations, have also resolved the issue. They work towards maintaining special rights for heterosexuals, defeating hate-crimes legislation that would protect gays and lesbians, and promoting legislation to prevent homosexual marriages or civil unions. Many denominations consider homosexuality to be a special type of sin. Some teach, on the basis of 1 Corinthians 6:9, that gays are prohibited from inheriting the Kingdom of God (heaven). They refuse membership and ordination to sexually active gays and lesbians. They have no expectation of changing their policy in the future.
In theory, "there should be at least one place where people who experience same gender attraction can expect justice & respect and that’s in a conservative Christian church." They teach that all people are sinners. Thus, gays and lesbians should be accepted with open arms as fellow sinners. However, in practice, it does not necessarily happen.
Justice and Respect, a conservative Christian group addressing the homosexual issue comments: "Tragically, the knee jerk reaction of 'shooting our wounded' is never more apparent than it is with SGA [same-gender attraction] and these people who most need a sense of Christian love and community often receive the least. We ...made our offer of love very conditional. It's time we stop tolerating our own unChristlike behavior...It is time to become Jesus to the hurting ..." 1
Many gays and lesbians remain partially or completely in the "closet". They often view the church as the last place that they would want to "come out", because of quite valid expectations of rejection and homophobia. This is a Catch 22 situation, because the most effective way of changing a heterosexual's beliefs about homosexuality is for them to befriend a homosexual.
Future trends in Christianity We predict that over the next few decades, most Christian denominations will gradually accept the following beliefs:
A continuum of sexual orientation exists, from heterosexual to bisexual to homosexual.
Adult sexual orientation is essentially unchangeable.
The potential for Homosexuality is determined genetically in most or all people at the time of conception.
Sexual orientation appears after puberty. However it is established, and can be detected by skilled child psychologists, during early childhood.
Since sexual orientation is not a matter of choice, homosexual and bisexual feelings are not sinful.
Actions are a different matter. History has shown that whenever a minority group becomes organized and demands equal rights, that they eventually attain equality. This was true of:
--- African-Americans during the days of slavery.
--- Women achieving the right to vote and to enter into any profession.
--- Interracial couples seeking the right to marry.
If past precedents hold, then gays and lesbians will eventually attain equal rights, including the right to marry.
By the year 2010, mainline Protestant denominations will probably catch up with liberal faith groups and will accept sexually active persons of all sexual orientations as members and clergy. They will eventually approve of same-sex commitment or union services and adoption by homosexuals.
Fundamentalist and other Evangelical churches will probably make little or no movement towards acceptance of homosexuality until 2010 -- probably much later.
Eventually, all churches are expected to follow the lead of the American and Canadian United Churches, the Unitarian Universalist Association, Reform Judaism, Neopaganism, some traditions of Native spirituality, etc. They will accept gays, lesbians and bisexuals as full members and as eligible for ordination (or equivalent). The negative references to homosexual rape in the book of Genesis, and to temple homosexual prostitution in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) will eventually be interpreted as being unrelated to committed homosexual relationships. St. Paul's apparent condemnation of homosexuality in the Christian Scriptures (New Testament) will become regarded as a criticism of heterosexuals engaging in same-sex activity and of men sexually abusing boys -- again topics unrelated to consensual, committed homosexual relationships.
Perhaps by the middle of the 21st century, sexual orientation will follow race and gender by becoming a non-issue in essentially all but the most conservative of churches and other religious groups. Discrimination against minority sexual orientations will be perceived as institutional hatred, and totally incompatible with the Gospel message - much as racism and sexism are today. Homosexuality and bisexuality will be recognized simply as a normal and natural sexual orientation for a minority of people.
Nije problem u religiji, nego u ZLIM ljudima (što ne znači da su SVI religiozni ljudi ZLI) koji su IZVRTALI PRAVU PRIRODU SVEGA ŠTO JEST ("u ime religije"). Tome će sigurno doći kraj, jer kršćanstvo kakvo je do sada postojala je GOTOVO, ponajprije zahvaljujući onima koji su se ponašali na način da manipuliraju i ugnjetavaju mase i plaše ih nekakvim grijesima, dok su ustvari oni ispali najveći grešnici od svih!
