CNN’s Belief Blog posted an article about recent anti-gay pronouncements made in conservative churches, June 21, 2012. The CNN article notes the concern that gay-rights supporters voice in light of harsh words spoken against homosexuals from Christian pulpits. However, the article also highlights the concern that conservative Christians have about these kinds of statements, which includes Southern Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr.
Mohler explains that the gospel condemns homosexuality, not homosexuals. The article reads:
“The Gospel does not condemn homosexuals, it condemns homosexuality,” said R. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “The Bible makes clear that homosexuality is a sin, in the context of making clear that every person is a sinner.”
What preachers such as Worley and Knapp are doing wrong, he said, is that they are “not merely rendering a moral judgment on homosexuality but extending it to the condemnation of people. They are speaking with a certain venom and hatred.”
Mohler goes on to call the sermons of those such as North Carolina pastor Charles Worley and Kansas pastor Curtis Knapp “reprehensible,” saying they serve to harm and obscure the message and cause of conservative Christianity in America.
“What you’re seeing here is a very dangerous fringe that does not represent conservative Christianity in America,” he said.
The entire article, “Harsh anti-gay preaching alarms gay rights supporters and Christian conservatives alike,” is available at CNN’s Belief Blog.