Mr. Swank says it well:

…The divine revelation is eternal ethic and thereby will not condone homosexual practice. Those running counter to this revelation will answer to God’s wrath in this life and at death at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

TAKE ACTION — You may send a note of support to Ron Warren, who rightfully recommends removing Bradley Schmeling from his position of authority.

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Excerpted from Homosexual Lutheran Pastor Charged, by Grant Swank, published Jan 20, 2007, by The Conservative Voice:

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America concluded at its 2005 conclave that sex was to be practiced within marriage. Also, such sex was not open to homosexual lifestyles. All this is because the Bible ethic is against sex outside of marriage and prohibits homosexual activities.

Bradley Schmeling, pastor, St. John’s ECLA, Atlanta, makes known that he is homosexual and now has a partner. The congregation agrees that he should continue as minister. In fact, the parishioners had a party celebrating his formal announcement of partnership with a “lifelong companion.”

Bishop Ronald Warren, Southeastern Synod, told Schmeling to resign. Schmeling said he would not resign. “Disciplinary proceedings against him for violating church rules barring sex outside of marriage” have begun. That means Schmeling confronts a hearing composed of a dozen ELCA members deciding his fate…

If the committee concludes him to be defrocked, he would no longer be “recognized as an ordained minister in the ELCA,” per AP. If the congregation still calls him their spiritual leader, the church then could be disciplined…

Throughout the divine revelation right and wrong are set forth by God Himself. Consequently, for those espousing homosexual lifestyles as divinely blessed is to expose their biblical ignorance and theological liberalism, the latter basically given to writing one’s own religion.

Other denominations dealing with this matter include the Presbyterian Church, United Methodist Church, American Baptist Convention and segments within the Mennonite framework. Denominations which accept homosexuality as ethically legitimate include the Unitarian Society, United Church of Christ (Congregational), and the Episcopal Church of America.

Continue reading at The Conservative Voice…

Whatever man may say, these are the words of God for the gender-confused:

Genuine transformation is possible in Jesus Christ. Come and see!

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From The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry:

A summit of religious leaders will be held 19-21 January 2007 at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, to focus on public and denominational policy issues that affect transgender communities.

The conference is co-sponsored by The Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry (www.clgs.org) and the National Center for Transgender Equality (www.nctequality.org).

A press release from Biblical Family Advocates, published Jan 7, 2007:

The Christian fish symbol is an ancient and sacred symbol for the persecuted Christians in the 1st century, as well as contemporary believers in Christ. But that symbol which showed that Christians identified with each other in their obedience to follow Christ is taking on a whole new meaning. The Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as one of their ministries, ‘Ministry with Lesbians and Gay Catholics’ decided to make the sacred fish symbol into a rainbow fish symbol pin.

“The Ministry With Lesbian and Gay Catholics (MLGC) recognizes that
all persons with a homosexual orientation are capable
of living a full Catholic life in union with all the members of the Church.”

“See in the fish pin a sign of recognition of
our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers.”

As most people know, the homosexual community has long used the rainbow as a symbol of their solidarity with the movement to legitimize homosexuality in their communities. From the Diocese’ own website, it states “See in the fish pin a sign of recognition of our lesbian and gay sisters and brothers. The pin signals solidarity with all people of faith who promote justice and inclusivity for every person in their faith communities.”

Phil Magnan, the Director of Biblical Family Advocates, a Christian ministry to promote biblical morality had this to say in response, “I was somewhat stunned that such a large Catholic Diocese which represents millions of Catholics would ignore the mandates of their own faith, which says “The Catholic Church thus teaches: ‘Basing itself on sacred Scripture, homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.’”

“To actually put the rainbow colors on such a sacred symbol for the Christian is an affront to the faith of not only the early church believers, but those of us who know that homosexuality and its colors have no place representing historical Christianity that upholds holiness and morality, very highly.”

“What if I was to start a group to accept adulterers, would I have them put some kind of symbol to show our acceptance of adultery? All sexual relationships outside of a heterosexual marriage are acting outside of God’s natural order for the family. There are so many reasons why same sex relationships hurt both the participant as well as society. And even worse, it is a grave sin before God.”

Magnan continued, “The Holy Scriptures clearly teach against homosexual relationships and that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of heaven. When you look at this Catholic ministry to gays it seems more of a call for people to accept their immoral orientation rather than a ministry to rescue them out of their depravity. Christ’ love for our neighbor is calling them out of the darkness of sin, calling them to repentance. Acceptance or tolerance of homosexuality or any other sin puts us at enmity with God Himself. The Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles should be clearly reaching out in compassion to the homosexual community, but it should also clearly denounce that such lifestyles are sinful and destructive. The gospel of Jesus Christ was not only meant to offer forgiveness of sin, but freedom from it.”

By Sonja Dalton

I ran across this MySpace blog (below) a few days ago. It merits note. I have sat in a number of school meetings where board members, administrators, and teachers insist that 15-16 -17 year old high school students are “mature” and “wise.” This teenager’s post will henceforth suffice as my response to that claim. It is full of typos, misspellings, incorrect punctuation, and (most importantly) misplaced emotion, arrogance, ignorance, poor logic, misinformation, and lies. To set the record straight:

• Americans For Truth (AFTAH) has never used the term “The Solution to the Gay Problem” and never would, except in response to this lie. There is a “solution” to homosexuality, but it’s certainly not akin to the one mentioned below. The solution to homosexuality — and to all sin — is redemption in Jesus Christ (Colossians 1:13-14, 21-23, 3:1-7).

• Why does this young man suggest that Americans For Truth advocates a homosexual holocaust? The claim is absurd; AFTAH and its president, Peter LaBarbera, have condemned all abuse and violence against homosexuals, and have also condemned unbiblical messages such as Fred Phelps’ “God Hates Fags” protests (which are now targeting the funerals of American soldiers). More than likely, this youthful MySpace writer is repeating nonsense that he heard from pro-homosexual teachers or adult “gay” activists. He didn’t read such a thing on this website.

• This teenager claims that AFTAH has taken a position against the violence in Iraq, yet AFTAH has not addressed Iraq.

• Contrary to our young friend’s assertion, homosexual activists are indeed asking for society’s blessing — something most would admit. Not only do they want to redefine marriage and family to accommodate their aberrant lifestyles; they advocate teaching homosexuality and transgenderism as positive lifestyles to very young children. Moreover, homosexual activists routinely smear those who disagree with them as “haters” and ultimately will push for “hate speech” laws against those who affirm the truth that God condemns homosexual practice. (Already, Christians in foreign countries like Canada, Great Britain and Sweden are being persecuted under such pro-homosexual “hate speech” laws — yet American homosexual activists for the most part are not renouncing the growing pro-“gay” totalitarianism abroad.)

• Affirming God’s Word by teaching that homosexuality is physically, emotionally, and spiritually destructive is not hate but Truth. There is abundant secular research to confirm these aspects of the homosexual lifestye (see the website of NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality). And people can overcome homosexuality, as proven by countless ex-“gays” living contented lives across the world.

If teenagers are so “mature” and “wise,” then why do we send them to school to learn? Maybe these “educators” should spend less time adoring youthful impudence and more time with adults to regain proper perspective. The fact is that teenagers are not yet mature or wise, but they can attain both qualities in due time, through prayer, studying God’s word, and experience, including actually researching what groups like Americans For Truth believe rather than making up lies about us.

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MySpace posting bashing Americans For Truth:

Doc Holid?y

Male
16 years old
Naperville, ILLINOIS
United States

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Rodney Dangerfiled was right
Current mood: disappointed
Category: Life

There simply is no respect anymore. No respect for beliefs, no respects for individualism, no respect for humanity. I just read my friend Emily’s note about a group called ‘Americans For Truth’ and I visited their website. It made me want to vomit and cry. This group is dedicated to ‘educating’ America and the world about what they call “The Solution to the Gay Problem”. This made me remember something else along those lines, it was called “The Final Solution to the Jewish Problem”. The ‘Final Solution’ to this imaginary malady was thought up by none other than Adolf Hitler. The solution as he saw it was mass extermonation and genocide. I want to know, where does all this hate come from. The same people who run this orginization also claim to be devout christians adn against the violence in Iraq and many other places in the world. Yet they fail to realise that just because it isn’t neccesarily physical, that doesn’t mean it is any less disgusting or violent. One thing every parent tries to preach, or at lest should try to, is understanding and compassion. Where is the understanding and compassion anymore? When did it become acceptable to shout hate and ignorance becasue you don’t understand teh way someone live’s their life. They are not asking you to take part in anything you don’t want to, they aren’t even asking for your blessing. all tehy are asking is that you let then life their life, and live it in peace. You may not agre with it, in fact i guarantee there are things in this world that make you want to spriral into blind rage at the near mention of, but I ask you, I beg you, do not hate something because you cannot understand it. Do not hate because the masses dictate that you should, groupthink is genocide of the mind. Finally, I ask you, love your neighbor like your brother and love the world like you love your friend. I have always made sure above all else that my friends know one thing about me if nothing else, that is that I would readily take a bullet for them, that no sacrifice is too great, and that nothing comes before them.

God’s condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear—He opposes it in every age:

• In the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28)
• In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13)
• In the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50)
• In the New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)

Why does God condemn homosexuality? Because it overturns God’s fundamental design for human relationships—a design that pictures the complementary relationship between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:22-33).

— John MacArthur

An open letter to Peter LaBarbera and posted Dec 30, 2006, on lesbian Pam Spaulding’s blog, Pam’s House Blend, reads:

An Open Letter to Peter LaBarbera
by Rick
Sat Dec 30, 2006 at 17:16:20 PM EST

(I never did receive a response from LaBarbera [he wrote me first, see my open response]. Blender Rick decided to tackle a letter to the Americans for Truth honcho. Will he get a reply — promoted by pam)

Note: After reading a post about Autumn Sandeen, I got the general impression that Peter LaBarbera spends at least some time reading the goings on here at the Blend. Since this is the case, I wanted to write an open letter to him, just to give him some insight as to how some of us see him.

I wanted to start by pointing out an ideology that’s seemed to creep into Evangelical Christianity in recent years. When I came to Christ 9 years ago, I saw small bursts of it, but it appears that things have reached a fever pitch in recent years. Peter, there’s a big difference between not condoning homosexuality, and condemning it, and that’s where the Golden Rule applies in spades. I can understand how you feel the Bible condemns homosexuality, but I have a hard time understanding why you need to actively condemn it on at least a weekly basis in a very public arena. Didn’t Christ start a second epoch where the justice and wrath of God has already been fulfilled due to His sacrifice? Why the active campaigning against a people group you disagree with? These aren’t the money changers in the temple, these are the sinners Christ ate with.

Peter, how do your actions convey the Golden Rule? Do you love Pam, Autumn, and the rest of the gay community as you love yourself? Truly, do you? In what ways are you reaching out to the gay community to convey the love of Christ to them? How are you helping to defend the poor, sick, and weak? And let’s be perfectly frank here, telling people that they’re sick and perverted only makes them feel attacked, since in all reality, it really is a character attack. Are you showing the love of Christ to these people, or committing character assassination? Perhaps it’s time to turn away from press releases for a while, and actually follow the Golden Rule. You could volunteer with your local LGBT community center doing HIV prevention, and show them the love of Christ more than you ever will with hollow words. Perhaps at next year’s pride parade or leather ball, it would be more fitting to show your love in meaningful ways (such as passing out water bottles) rather than standing in judgement with picket signs. Or, perhaps we could see you actively campaign against other sins, such as gluttony (obesity in the Church, anyone?) divorce, greed, or any other myriad of sins. Constantly harping on the issue of gay sin while you ignore others only makes you look like a hypocrite, and turns away members of the gay community. Remember, you will have to answer to Christ when he asks if your actions deterred gay people from coming to Him, rather than leading them to Him. What will you be able to say?

And why don’t you feel the need to turn the other cheek? If you feel attacked by what’s written about you here, shouldn’t you just confess your pain to God and get on with life? Why the need to post retaliation-based press releases at AFT and Agape Press? Here’s a little constructive criticism too; lose the vitriolic intonations, and maybe the gay community wouldn’t take such offense to your writings. Oh, and stop making up the “Gay Agenda.” We both know there’s no such thing. People saying they want equality or recognition doesn’t deserve the borderline-slanderous militant bent you’re labeling it with. Bearing false witness is bearing false witness, and that’s a sin.

Seriously, I’d suggest a good ol’ “quiet time” for you reading the book of John and making sure there’s no sin in your life. If you’d like, I can loan your my John MacArthur study Bible, as there are some excellent resources in there. I’m not saying these things to be mean. I’m not referring to you as “Porno Pete” or any other epithets used against you. I’m saying these things to you because I’m genuinely concerned about you. I worry that your heart is following a dark path of hatred against your fellow man, guised in the cloak of righteous indignation. Remember, brother, vengence belongs to the LORD.

Sincerely,
Rick

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Now, you might be thinking that our friend Rick must be a sincere and godly man — but we are thinking that he might need to read his John MacArthur study Bible a little more carefully or perhaps visit Grace to You for additional resources. You see, Rick is also known as Blandella and, as you evaluate his criticism of Peter LaBarbera, you might consider his choice of casual wear (read carefully):

How I wish he were enjoying Coca-Cola instead.

What should be your response to the homosexual? Make it a gospel response — confront him with the truth of Scripture that condemns him as a sinner, and point him to the hope of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ.

— John MacArthur

Rick, please study what John MacArthur has to say about the Bible and homosexuality, as well as Hebrews 10:26-31 and I John 3:6. No one can practice or approve of homosexuality and please God. — Sonja Dalton

Merry Christmas to all of our readers! Please consider making a year-end, tax-deductible gift to Americans For Truth. There’s a reason liberal-left groups like People for the American Way are monitoring AFTAH’s every move: they don’t want the radical “gay” agenda that endangers and corrupts children exposed. We need your help to keep standing for truth, as exemplified by the heartwarming story below…

The stakes of the cultural battle over homosexuality are never made clearer than when God reaches down from heaven to bring radical change in a person’s life — in the case below, a gender-confused suburban Chicago high school student who has recovered his masculine identity through Christian rebirth (2 Corinthians 5:17).

Only a sophomore in high school, “John” last year went by the name “Joanna” and was known in school for his feminine behaviors, like putting on women’s make-up. (We will not use his real name or identify his school to protect his identity as a minor.) He was headed towards living a life as a female-imitating, “transgendered” she — when God intervened and John was “born again” through faith in Jesus Christ, he told his student newspaper.

Now “transgender” Joanna is no more and John is reestablishing his true, God-given male nature at his high school. His newfound reality is precisely the sort of story that homosexual/transsexual activist groups like GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network) do not want other teenagers to hear. Because GLSEN knows that such stories undermine the “gay” myth that people are born GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered), and that such aberrant identities are mere natural and innocuous “orientations.”

In GLSEN’s “gay” activist world, “Joanna” deserved to be recognized and celebrated based on his/her “transgendered” lifestyle. GLSEN encourages teachers and school counselors to confirm highly impressionable youth in gender-confused identities: in fact, it’s quite common now to hear teachers of young students identify gender non-conforming children as future “transgendered” adults.

GLSEN’s warped ideology has become official policy at many schools across the country.

But, of course, change is possible, because God is in the business of changing repentant sinners. If the Christ of Christmas can turn around the lives of drug addicts, murderers, and drunks, He certainly can save men and women — and adolescent children — trapped in gender confusion and homosexuality.

As you read this story, say a prayer of praise and thanks to God for working in the life of this young man. Merry CHRIST-mas, John! — Peter LaBarbera

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The following is excerpted from an article that appeared in “John’s” high school newspaper in the fall of 2006; we have changed his name and omitted source identification to protect his identity as a minor for now:

Comments left on the Myspace website of [John] displayed messages such as “Why are you moving?” and “Please don’t move away!”

Despite concerns that [John] might not begin his sophomore year at [unnamed Illinois high school], he is back, armed with a new wardrobe.

“All my friends were afraid that I was moving away. I’m not moving. Joanna [his female persona’s name] is moving,” said [John].

At the end of last year, [John] was concerned with properly applying eyeliner and picking a lip gloss that matched his belt.

[John] sold his old clothes and is now clad in [male] outfits from his new favorite stores…

The decision to change his appearance wasn’t a quick transition. Losing his feminine appearance took [John] the entire summer.

He became inspired after becoming more involved with religion and his church. [John] calls himself a “born-again Christian.”

“I started reading passages from the Bible this summer and I finally understood messages that didn’t make sense to me when I was younger,” [John] said. “Now I realize I can be who I want to be. Everybody can be who they want to be.”

…He also will remain active in his church because he feels that religion helped him decide what kind of changes to make in his life.

According to [John], although the start of the school year was “exciting” for him, he is disappointed that he received negative feedback about his changes from some of his friends.

“Mostly they say things like ‘Whoa, what happened?’ I understand that they might be shocked by my new look or that they don’t necessarily like it, but it doesn’t matter what they think,” [John] said.

According to [John], he spent “too much time” allowing his [Joanna — female] persona to be teased and mistreated last year.

“People couldn’t decide if they were going to accept me then, so I’m cautious of people who are eager to meet the new me,” [John] said.

Despite mixed reactions during the first days of school, [John] feels that his family and “true friends” have been accepting and encouraging of the changes he decided to make.

“I feel that the blessings have been pouring down on me recently,” [John] said. “Now I can finally be who I’m meant to be.”

And to that we at Americans for Truth say, Amen!

Why is it that people believe what the Bible teaches, right up until the time that it applies to themselves or their children?

Patti and Jeff Ellis are like thousands of other parents. They were conservative, Bible-believing parents and they understood that the Bible clearly teaches that homosexuality is sin. They believed it until their teenage son announced he was homosexual.

Now the Ellises have abandoned the Word of God in order to condone their confused boy’s destructive sexual choices and they have embarked on a quest to “reinterpret” Scripture. They cite the story of the adulterous woman as evidence of Jesus’ forgiveness toward sexual sin and Jeff Ellis asks:

“If the story were to be exchanged with a gay man, would Jesus have responded differently? Would he have said, ‘You have my blessing in stoning this man to death?’ I don’t think so.”

Now, of course, Jeff Ellis knows that no serious Christian advocates stoning homosexuals to death. And he mysteriously elects to ignore Jesus’ closing admonition to the adulterous woman:

So our response to Mr. Ellis is: Would Jesus have responded differently to your son? We don’t think so. A father who understood the earthly and eternal consequences of homosexuality would, with tears of love in his eyes, tell his precious son the Truth. —Sonja Dalton

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Apparently, Dr. Albert Mohler was contemplating the same principle, as it relates to the Cheneys, when he composed his Dec 12, 2006, blog entry:

…In order to keep family peace, show love to a loved one, or avoid awkward conversations, major moral issues are simply overlooked. Some even change their position on questions of grave moral significance, only because a relative is involved.

This happens with reference to divorce, cohabitation, homosexuality, adultery, and any number of other issues. It is a habit we must break.

Moral integrity demands clear and convictional moral thinking, based in the infallible wisdom of God’s perfect Word. Love demands that we love persons, no matter what their sin may be. Honesty demands that we admit the difficulty of knowing how to combine moral integrity and love with perfect pitch. The Gospel demands that we tell the truth with love.

No one ever said this was going to be easy. But becoming a moral relativist when a relative is involved is a path the faithful Christian cannot take. We must resist moral relativism — even with relatives.

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The following is excerpted from Evangelicals and Same-Sex Marriage, by Lis Wiehl, published by FOX News:

…Patti and Jeff Ellis, a conservative Christian couple from Atlanta, GA, experienced a similar shock when their 16-year-old son Adam announced he was gay.”Patti and I were devastated,” writes Jeff on his family’s website, Familyacceptance.com. “Our response was typical. We prayed for a miracle. We pleaded, ‘God, please remove this burden from our son and our whole family. If Adam is truly gay, then please change him.'”

Patti and Jeff now say their prayers have been answered, but not in the way you might think; in fact, not only have they come to accept Adam’s homosexuality, they both now favor laws which permit gays to marry.

“This is the same as civil rights,” says Patti. “More parents need to stand up for their children.” …

The key to the Ellis’ “conversion,” they say, was being able to put a face on the otherwise abstract issue of homosexuality. “It’s not about the gays,” says Patti, “It’s about the Ellises.” Or as Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, puts it, people like the Ellises “go from an abstract idea to a real person with a real name and a real story,” and come to understand “there’s no negative impact on their own lives to have gays and lesbians living out in the open.” …

For Jeff Ellis, the Bible was clear that being gay, much less being gay and married, was a sin in the highest order. Rev. Bob Hudak, of the Church of Nativity in Fayetteville, Georgia, puts it even more bluntly. “If I were to take the Bible literally,” says Hudak, “every homosexual should be put to death because of what Leviticus says.”

Nevertheless, with some interpretation, the Ellises have found other passages in the Bible that have given them hope, such as John 8:7, in which Jesus says to a crowd criticizing an adulterous woman, “Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”

Jeff asks: “If the story were to be exchanged with a gay man, would Jesus have responded differently? Would he have said, ‘You have my blessing in stoning this man to death?’ I don’t think so.”

Ultimately, say the Ellises, coming to terms with their son’s homosexuality deepened their beliefs. “Faithful to his word, God answered our prayer,” says Jeff. “However, the changes that took place were not in Adam but in us. God…opened our eyes to the fact that he had created Adam gay for his own reasons and we, in our arrogance, viewed God’s creation as flawed.”

The Ellises now view their son’s homosexuality as a kind of blessing. “I believe God’s purpose for making Adam gay was to show Patti and I, and the rest of the world, the true meaning of unconditional love,” says Jeff.