Does God hate gays and lesbians? I found this article from USA Today quite intriguing. Hopefully everyone else finds this as interesting a topic as I have.

USA Today article

I find it interesting to see these figures for the Episcopalian Church losing members

I've been a member of my parish since February or so and I couldn't feel more at home.

We have 14 people marching in the SF Pride parade; we currently have the Pride flag flying over the church and another flag hanging in our narthex

and it seems like we're getting new members all the time

our ministerial staff couldn't be more supportive of the efforts being made to really get the word out that we are a welcoming congregation

I love it. Granted, the leg work was done before I joined but me and my fellow conspiritors aren't letting grass grow under our feet.

We're working to make it a home for everyone.

My Episcopal church in Seattle is very welcoming, with a significant proportion of the Vestry from the LGBT community. We are starting a Pride week service this year (if you're interested, let me know & I'll send detailss), and a sixth annual Matthew Sheppard sermon coming up in October, featuring internationally known speaker Louie Crew.

We're also growing...

Nat

To the question of whether God hates gays and lesbians...the answer is NO. God created us all. God never makes mistakes. Only He knows all of our faults and all of our potential. God is not about hate. God is about love.

I saw this amazing bumper sticker earlier in the week. It read:

"I'M FOR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND HATE "

Makes you think a little....

So then all you numbskulls who hate Bush are not about love, either, right? Hate and love cannot coexist.

None of us think we're God MIB. Unlike someone

My understanding is that we hate Bush's actions. We feel only sorrow, pity and disgust for his person.

A Course in Miracles talks about the havoc the ego can wreak even in the most sacred of places -a church, a mosque or a temple. My belief is that God doesn't separate or divide or judge - only man does that...

I would respectfully disagree that God doesn't judge. He does judge us by our actions. I like to think of myself as completely imperfect and capable of receiving absolution in His eyes.

However, Bryan, you are quite correct. It is the fallacy of man that we divide and separate. Perhaps one day we all will learn that we are the ones who keep ourselves apart with the names and labels and judgments that we give to others who are not like us. I live in great hope for that day!

[ June 15, 2006, 05:45 PM: Message edited by: UCLAfan ]

I believe that in God's eyes we're utterly perfect for he created us that way. Our own delusions and misconceptions create dogma and literally 'hell on earth.' The desire to try and convince others that a specific religion or set of beliefs is the 'right' one is perhaps the ego's biggest triumph...so far.

MIB, is your courtroom in Bizzaro World? You insult people that disagree with Bush? That certainly doesn't sound objective...do you hold court the same way? I said God is love and you bring up Bush? WTF? For the record, I hate no one. Hate is a horrible emotion. I may strongly dislike or disagree with someone or something, but that is hardly hate. Please, MIB, for the sake of this board, try to stick to the topics at hand.