Dwyn Mounger,
You talk about pastoral response meaning accepting the gay lifestyle. Well. I have Christian gay friends and I've told them with all love that I don't think their lifestyle honors God. And they don't think I'm a gay basher. They know I say that because I love them and want what's best for them. That's what true love does: it says I care more about your well being than your self-esteem when I see you hurtling towards self-destruction. Is it hard to be pastoral and loving while being confrontational? Oh, yeah; only the Spirit makes it possible. But is it necessary to be truly pastoral? Absolutely.

On the "prohibition is always bad" argument, there is a HUGE difference between prohibiting alcohol and prohibiting same-sex relationships: the Bible is consistently in favor of moderate alcohol usage, but consistently against same-sex relationships. It's not just so-called "clobber passages," but the consistent message of the Bible on sexuality that God's best for us is either celibacy or faithfulness between a man and woman. Even the OT upholds one marriage partner as the ideal (Gen 2:24-5) and consistently brings up the bad side of polygamy, for example. The issue isn't prohibition vs. no prohibition, but which prohibition is consistently Biblical. And yes, the Bible rightly understood is consistent, it's not just a jumble of incomprehensible paradoxes.

Finally, there's nothing tragic about holding to the consistent teaching of Scripture and the Reformed tradition on sexuality; the real tragedy is rebelling against the consistent teaching of the Bible and tradition on a key moral issue. That tragedy should not lead us to hate or exasperation, but to love - yet without compromising the truth God has so clearly revealed.

B J Payne

Seattle, WA