Bismarck, North Dakota - News

Did I see the stove calling the kettle black in the Nov. 30 Tribune? I refer to Paul Everson's letter , "Christianity short in letter," accusing a previous writer of giving Christianity a bad name. He proceeds to invoke the authority of Christ by saying "Christ's love is unconditional" and paraphrases Jesus, "Let he who has never sinned cast the first stone."

Jesus said, in Matthew 4:4, that men should live by every word of God. The word of God says that for man to lie with other men is an abomination (Leviticus 18:22). Jesus also said to the woman he had saved from a stoning to go and sin no more.

However, our societal obsession with tolerance of deviant behavior is developing excuses for all kinds of aberrant behavior. No one is held accountable for his actions anymore -- except those who speak out against that kind of behavior. They are immediately accused of hate.

The Bible does set certain standards to live by. And, as Christians, we aspire to meet the spirit of those standards. At times we fail to do so; but to imply that we should with open arms accept such behavior on an ongoing basis is to subscribe to a morality in which there is no right or wrong.

Jesus' admonition to go and sin no more is still valid. Paul says, in 1 Corinthians 6:18, "Flee fornication -- he that commits fornication sins against his own body." If just this one verse were adhered to in society, HIV infections would dry up like a vine without water. Illicit sex is an interruption of the spiritual development of a person (1 Corinthians 6:19). So, to encourage such a lifestyle is akin to wishing death on those engaging in it.

Jesus' love is unconditional. But to encourage the destruction of the body and spirit of an individual is not love and, therefore, not of Jesus.

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