Letter to the Editor

THE PUBLIC MIND: IT'S THE CALL OF A PREACHER TO WARN OF GOD'S JUDGMENT, PROCLAIM REPENTANCE OF SINS

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To the Editor:

This is in response to a letter written by Craig L. Nessan to The Public Mind, which appeared in the Dec. 8 edition.

Here is a good rule of thumb for a theologian - read the Bible!

You said the story of Sodom and Gomorrah was the remembrance of an ancient act of violent gang rape and had no immediate relevance for a contemporary discussion on homosexuality.

Point 1. What gang rape? No one was touched - not Lot, not his family and not God's angels. The issue in this story was the great outcry of the exceedingly great sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. The sin was sodomy and homosexuality. The result was God's wrath and judgment on those cities in the form of fire and brimstone. He condemned those cities as an example to those who would live ungodly afterwards, but you said the story has no contemporary relevance. I'll believe God on this one.

Point 2. It appears you drew from I Corinthians 6: 9-10 when you said Paul was condemning pederasty. I'm sure he was along with homosexuality and effeminacy, which he also condemns in Roman 1: 21-32 and God condemns the practice in Lev. 18:22 and Lev. 20:13, and it is also condemned other places in scripture.

You went on to state that since pederasty was involved it was not applicable to a current day discussion on homosexuality involving consenting adults. Ever hear of the North American Man Boy Love Association? They are a homosexual group whose motto is: "Sex by eight or it's too late." How about the large number of homosexual males that attribute their homosexuality to being molested as a child?

Point 3. You go on to speak of homosexuals who are sitting in churches afraid to admit who they are for fear of rejection and how they are being driven away from the love of Jesus. It's not an unloving church nor an unloving Go~d that drives one from the love of Jesus, it's an unrepentant heart. Remember the word repentance? ~To stop, to turn away, to change ones' mind about sin.

It is not prejudice, bigotry, or hatred to warn of God's coming wrath and judgment or to proclaim repentance of sins and acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord for salvation. Matter-of-fact, it's the call of a preacher to do just that! Maybe you missed that lesson at seminary.

James DeGraw

Cape Girardeau