Mr. Chattler Distorts the Point

I think Mr. Chattler distorts the point being addressed.  Let’s start with Mr. Bradford’s initial complaint, that Neighborhood Church will not sanction same-sex weddings and is therefore “unwelcoming”.

The Bible speaks of marriage dozens of times and always in the context of male / female.  Jesus himself affirms this in Matthew 19.  So any Bible-believing church could do nothing else.  This is not “hypocrisy” (as Mr. Chattler states), it is consistency.  It is not “unwelcoming” (as Mr. Bradford describes), ALL are welcome to attend and worship.  Jesus accepted all people (as any Bible-believing church should), but He did NOT accept all behaviors.  He never stopped telling his followers of the need for transformation in their lives (Romans 12:2).  Many turned away as a result.  He put his own life at risk (John 8) to save a woman from being stoned to death for adultery (read “1st-century firing squad”) and the last thing he told her was “go and sin no more”.  Modern Translation - “I love you, I accept you, I will die for you, but your bedroom behaviors need work...” 

So what this really comes down to - and this can apply to Christians, Hindus, Muslims, anyone - is “If I claim the Bible / Qur’an / Vedas as my authority, do I change my behaviors to conform to that authority - or do I change / distort / modify the authority to conform to my behaviors?” (in which case it ceases to be authoritative).  That’s really the issue.

Nonetheless, following Mr. Chattler’s tangential reference to slavery and other issues, I am sure he can find some revealing bible-based answers (within the relevant cultural context of the times) if he joins a good bible study.

–Stacy Spink, Castro Valley