"A La Carte" Christianity... I've been calling it that for a long time. They make a big deal about homosexuality... but not about women wearing clothing intended for men (Deut. 22:5). Funny thing is, the wearing of the opposite sex's clothing is SPECIFICALLY TERMED AN ABOMINATION... whereas homosexuality, frankly, is not. At least, not that I've seen.

Let me make it clear that I am a Christian and I have read the parts of the bible that says homoeexuality is wrong? However I also know that God said it is wrong to pass judgement upon another. Jesus himself said we should love the sinner but hate the sin. So why do so many uptight morally rightious people feel they have a God given right to pass judgement on homosexuals?. Does it really affect you that much if someone romantically loves someone of the same sex? I know it sure doesn't affect me personally if my friend is sleeping with another man. That's his business not mine and I am not God to pass judgement on him for being with someone of the same sex. There is plenty that God says is an abomination in his eyes besides homosexuality so why do so many Christians focus just on that one thing? if you don't believe me take a look at this list. http://www-users.cs.york.ac.uk/~susan/joke/laura.htm

I've found myself skeptical of anyone preaching to the rafters about what God wants. The best Christians I know don't go out of their way to keep their religion a secret, but neither do they inject it into every conversation or debate. When I came out as bi to my best friend (a devout Christian), a lesbian was staying in his house at the time. He made it clear that he didn't want her bringing a girlfriend home, and why he didn't want it, but that was the precise extent of how I knew he disapproved. We're still friends, and he trusts me around his kids.

I like the 'a la carte' concept.....and I think it is not only Christians that do it. I believe that nowadays people are so confused and afraid about their spirituality that they try to fit it to what they feel ok with (I'm not against that, that's what I do), BUT because you pick and choose you cannot impose your personnal choices upon others and say that they are not Christians (or other) because they did not choose your (few) principles.......

Of course there is. There's no way anyone in today's society practices everything the Bible teaches.

That IS the stereotype, but I don't personally know anyone like that. Sin is sin, and we all have our own 'favorite' sins. That's why God had to do something about it. Fortunately, if you're willing to confess and repent, you can be forgiven for ANY sin. And no, I seriously doubt Hitler confessed OR repented.

If you listen to anyone, they have a "favorite" issue to harp about. We're no different. The gay agenda is pushing pushed on society, so Christians push back. Christians don't just scream about issues in a vacuum. You see the homosexual thing because that is the battle. Some other issues are being battled as well (the sanctity of marriage, pornography, honesty, etc.), but the issues are not on the front page of every paper. It appears to be a la carte Christianity because no one's perfect. But understand that we don't claim to be perfect, but we do our best. It doesn't make our positions wrong, but it does make us a target.

I am a Christian and accept all people for what they are,when we do good in life and lead an acceptible life then I am sure that God will also accept this life,God is love and love has no limits when it is whole

No, it is not "a la carte" as you put it. The way to go with this, as with anything, would be to do the best you personally can to show a good example and witness to everyone, no prejudices allowed, with your personal actions, faith and love for Christ. Anything less is compromise, which is not edifying.

Not unless one is a hypocrite.

This is one Christian who has strong feelings on this subject & thinks that homosexuality is NOT, I repeat, NOT an abomination in Gods eyes. I'll be going to hell alot faster than someone who God created gay

I like the scripture that goes down a "laundry list" of practices that are unacceptable to God. 9 What! Do YOU not know that unrighteous persons will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be misled. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men, 10 nor thieves, nor greedy persons, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit God’s kingdom. 11 And yet that is what some of YOU were. But YOU have been washed clean, but YOU have been sanctified, but YOU have been declared righteous in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and with the spirit of our God. 1 Corinthians 6: 9-11

I'm a Christian and I don't think homosexuality is and abomination now. I did at one point but that has changed in the past few years. God wants us to love everyone like he does and I finally figured it out. A lesbian minister came to preach at my church for a year and she was the most influential minister we ever had in teaching us to be accepting of others. How wonderful to have such a person in our midst. Kind, caring, intelligent, I could go on. I had some great discussions with her about homosexuality too. Our church decided to support and accept homosexuals into our church family that year knowing that they are people just like we are and have the same needs and feelings. You don't have to pick and choose from the Bible, just follow God's commandments and know in your heart that he loves you.

Not all Christians think that homosexuality is an abomination in God's eyes. Not all Christians recognize the Bible as the supreme or at least only authorithy, only fundamentalist "Bible Christians". In this sense, some rules of the Leviticus, for instance, will certainly not be enforced by Christians, since the beginning of Christianity. The Catholic Church, for instance, has its own well defined set of rules. À la carte Christianity is rather to be found by some individual Christians, who consider themselves as part of a particular Church, but could eventually have some conflicts with that Church. "Christian leaders have written about sex between men since the first decades of Christianity; sex between women has been discussed less prominently[1]. Historically, most Christian churches have regarded homosexual behavior as immoral. This position is today held by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, as well as by most Evangelical Protestant churches such as the Southern Baptist Convention. On May 15, 2008, for example, the Roman Catholic bishops of California issued a statement explaining their opposition to the state supreme court ruling of the same day which effectively legalized same-sex marriage.[2] Some denominations, however, have taken the position that homosexuality is not inherently sinful. These include the United Church of Canada, liberal congregations within the United Church of Christ, the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the Moravian Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Methodist Church of Great Britain, and Friends General Conference. A new denomination, the Metropolitan Community Church, has also come into existence specifically to serve the Christian LGBT community. Other Christian denominations are actively debating the issue and have not reached a consensus either way; some of the most significant of these include the Presbyterian Church USA, the United Methodist Church, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Episcopal Church of the USA became the first major Christian denomination to ordain an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, which is controversial in the world wide Anglican Communion." "Many of the debates among Christians have roots in questions about the sources of authority different Christians believe represent God's purest or most definitive message. More generally: which kinds of arguments should be persuasive to Christians, and which do not possess the weight necessary to determine opinions and policies. Such is also the case with the issues related to the morality and inclusion of LGBT persons in Christian life. Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianities regard Sacred Tradition and Ecumenical councils as co-authoritative with scripture, and the ordinary Magisterium is authoritative in Catholic theology[4]. Methodism derives doctrine from the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, which consists of an evaluation of the synthesis of Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.[5] There are also differing positions about how great a role is played by continuing revelation (see Cessationism and Secular theology). In conservative strains of Protestant Christianity, Scripture is understood to be the only truly definitive authority (a position called Sola Scriptura). Exegesis, or the reasoned study of the text to discover its own meaning, is the central concern for believers in Sola Scriptura. The classic formulation of Sola Scriptura regards "good and necessary deduction" from Scripture as authoritative; what these deductions might be is a frequent subject of controversy.[6][7][8] Liberal Christians tend to regard the Bible as the record of human doings, composed of humans encountering the Divine within their specific historical context. They often interpret passages of the Bible as being less a record of actual events, but rather stories illustrating how to live ethically and authentically in relation to God. Some such Christians might, for instance, see Christ's death and resurrection in terms not of actual physical reanimation, but in terms of the good news of Jesus' teaching: that God's children are no longer slaves to the power of death. A liberal Christian might regard the Gospel of Matthew's insistence of Jesus' virgin birth not as an actual fact, but as a jibe by the author at the Roman Emperor, who claimed to be a god and who also claimed to have been born of a virgin.[9] Alternately, they might note stories of the Virgin Birth of Jesus as a much-needed position to be taken with the Gospel's Jewish audience, lest that audience infer that Jesus' birth was illegitimate, therefore making Jesus ineligible for the title Messiah, a primary claim which Christians had to protect in order to be taken seriously by Jews. Modern gay Christian activist Justin R. Cannon promotes what he calls "Inclusive Orthodoxy." He explains on his ministry website: "Inclusive Orthodoxy is the belief that the Church can and must be inclusive of lgbt individuals without sacrificing the Gospel and the Apostolic teachings of the Christian faith."[10] Cannon's ministry takes a unique approach quite distinct from modern liberal Christians. His ministry affirms the divine inspiration of the Bible, the authority of Tradition, and claims "...that there is a place within the full life and ministry of the Christian Church for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Christians, both those who are called to lifelong celibacy and those who are partnered."[11] Some professional exegetes consider the Bible, to a greater or lesser degree, to be a document of its time (see form criticism), taking on attitudes which may not be God's. While they may hold the document as sacred, and most certainly as central to Christianity, they are also aware of the historical and cultural context in which it was originally written through archaeological and form critical study. Some scholars feel that in addition to its spiritual components, portions of the text merely reflect the human authors' beliefs and feelings about God at the time of its writing, and their cultural sensibilities. The influence of such persons may reflect a heightened spiritual consciousness, or may simply represent people attempting to explain the world as best they could given the tools of the time. Such scholars purport that passages in scripture related to slavery, war, genocide, female marginalization, and homosexuality may not necessarily be about God's wishes, but rather about the predominant culture's opinions at the time of the passage's writing." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_and_Christianity

The church wasn't 30 years old and the adherents weren't even yet called Christians before it had already selectively reverted back to the old ways and laws. In Acts 15 Paul had to scold the leaders of the church for demanding that the gentiles be circumcised and adhere to the old laws. It was established that day that no such restriction should be placed on them, that they should be welcomed as they are and not 'troubled' (vs 19). (That day they also ordered letters be written to that effect, letters which somehow have never made it into the final print of the Bible.) By the time the church had moved to Antioch and taken on the name of 'Christian' it had become a pseudo-political affiliation. As far back as the first and second centuries they were already exerting their influence on matters of state. The signs and wonders that were supposed to accompany the believers (Mark 16) had been relegated to memory and myth, and were replaced by rank and structure, ritual and ceremony. By the 4th century the bible was commissioned by Emperor Constantine and a committee of power hungry church leaders decided which parts were authoritative and which would be excluded from the final anthology. There was a time when people would line the sick up the streets so that when Peter's shadow would be cast over them they would be healed (Acts 5:15), a time when those who lied to the Holy Spirit would drop dead on the spot (Acts 5:1-10), a time when the miraculous was commonplace. Now Christianity has been reduced to an exclusive club with a self-debasing hazing ritual for those who would join. Anyone who differs politically, ideologically, or sexually need not apply. Jesus said, "Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." (John 20:23) And He also said, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37 - verses 36-38 are the law of karma, or cause and effect) So we see that we have the right to condemn but the responsibility to forgive. Modern Christianity is only concerned with its rights and has relinquished all responsibility. They have lost the spark, the healing touch, the love the covers the multitude of sins. Salvation is now only for the saved.

oh you bet they do!, I have seen this done so many times in my life

According to the Bible, women are supposed to shave their heads and wear a veil. Ha.... I've never seen that! Christians can be selective about the "rules".

The Bible is a well written story and some people take it more literally than others there is nothing wrong with homosexuality and there is nothing wrong with reading the bible, but it is wrong to live your life according to what it says.

No Christianity is not ala carte. I am a Christian and I personally believe that homosexuality is a sin. Having said that I believe that gossip, slander, jealousy, ect. are just as bad in the eyes of the Lord. We have all fallen short. We were not created to be perfect but to trust in the one who is. I have given my life over to the Lord. I am far from perfect. I ask the Lord to reveal His truth for my life, help me to hear Him clearly not just what I want, and change my heart to want to live my life pleasing to Him. I personally have a long, long, long, way to go.

I am a Christian and I truly believe that if being in a homosexual relationship makes you happy then God should be happy. Many parts of the Bible can be misleading like Exodus 22:18 suffer not a witch to kill. And the 6th commandment "Thou shalt not kill". Very hypocrytical, all it is, is peoples interpretation.

Good point. As a gay man myself, I throw the reverse at them and tell them that someone should burn them at the stake. I don't have a problem with anyone's believeing in what it is they believe as long as they don't push the subject with me, that when I give it back. Sometimes, I even try to convert them. ha ha ha :)

Everything in life is a la carte. It's unavoidable.

It's very true.. Homosexuality seems to be the sin that people oppose more than any other. but there really isn't any such thing as an a la cart Christianity. Every guideline in the bible should be followed. If you want to make it to heaven, you ought to rid your life of every sin. of course, no one is perfect and no one can be, but we can try our hardest to be as close to perfect as we can be. Fornication, Homosexuality, Murder, and Witchcraft are all abominations to God. Dictionary.com defines abomination as "The feeling of extreme disgust and hatred" so... Homosexuality is a feeling of extreme disgust and hatred..to God. Can a someone of homosexual orientation truly claim to be Christian? The answer is no. unless they repent, which means apologize to God and walk away from the sin they are commiting, fornicators, murderers, witches, and homosexuals will find themselves in hell one day. I didnt say that, the bible did in Romans 6:23 when you REPENT, you get the eternal life part.

yeah, but those people are not true christians. on top of that, just because God says something is wrong doesnt give us as people the right to pass judgement on them.