Love the Homosexual

and All Sinners

I can see how David Reed could misunderstand my letter about homosexuality as reflected in his July 23 (1992) letter. Let me clarify those misconceptions.

First, neither I nor any other Christian singles out homosexuality as the only sin that is to be denounced. Rather, the one who is loyal to the truth of the Scripture will be "intolerant" (to use Reed’s term) of every sin of society, including sodomy, abortion, child abuse, premarital sexuality, wrongful divorce and remarriage, racial prejudice, drug abuse, drunkenness, pornography and a dozen other prominent sins. While God looks upon sodomy as a degrading form of sin (Romans 1:26-27), it certainly is not the only one.

Second, Reed emphasized the scriptures I cited from the Old Testament that speak of execution for homosexuality. Actually, as a Christian, I follow the New Testament, which emphasizes not physical execution but rather the spiritual and eternal consequences of this sin. It simply says that those guilty of homosexuality (as well as other sins) "shall not inherit the Kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10) but will be consigned to "the lake of fire" (Revelation 21:8 and Ephesians 5:3-6).

Reed and others need not fear Christians. Both I and others who know Jesus love homosexuals and every other sinner. We want above all else to see them repent and be delivered from their perversion by a merciful God.

Richard Hollerman
(Fort Worth Star-Telegram)