February 10, 1976
Continued from Page 3
hostile "reception" that most
churches give homosexuals is
wrong, and, I feel it is not
consistent with Jesus' teach
ings, yet I do not agree with
what I hear him saying; that
homosexuality is acceptable in
the Christian life style. I asked
John how he saw homosexua
lity as being acceptable in
light of Biblical statements on
the matter (for passages, see
Genesis 19, Leviticus 20,
Judges 19, John 1:9, John
8:11, Romans 1:18-32 (especi
ally 26, 27), Corinthians 6:9, 1
Timothy 1:10). John said that
we must read the Bible in light
of the times. "I am not a
literalist." said John. I cannot
say I am totally a literalist
either, but I am not a pick and
choose Bible reader. 1 think
that if the Bible is read cover
to cover (when was the last
time any of us have done
that???) one sees a consisten
cy, a constant relevation of
God's will to us, His people.
There are also certain themes
that run through the Bible.
Some of them are: There is but
one God; Follow God's
guidance and one will live a
better and more fulfilling life;
show kindness and compas
sion for the weak and
defenseless; do not sin (i.e.,
turn away from God and
ignore God's commandments)
in any way, sex related sins
not excluded.
There are other themes not
here listed but sin is one of the
obvious themes of the Bible;
definitions of sin, conse
quences of sins, ways of
atoning for sin. We are not
fond of saying someone else is
wrong, not that we ourselves
error. It's not cool, it's not
tactful. So it's not often said
anymore. Yet, you and I must
individually accept responsi
bility for all our actions (see
H. Richard Neibuhr), I am not
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going to pawn off my
responsibility to my past toilet
training or "society". God
doesn't, neither do I intend to.
When the emotional-physical
mental-spiritual organism en
titled Rob Mitchell does
something, that same organ
ism intends to accept the
consequences of such. We all
error, and we all at one turn
away from God's will.
I seek guidance in my life
through prayer and medita
tion, fellowship, and the
Bible. I cannot reject as much
as John appears to and still
hold the Bible above any
ordinary book. What the Bible
says concerning homosexual
ity I believe is clear (see above
passages). For me to condone
and promote something that is
explicitly not condoned in the
Bible as homosexuality, I
might as well promote any of
the other obviously not
condoned actions such as
lying, stealing, adultery,
murder, greed, conceit.
John and I share a personal
relationship with the living,
present, exciting spirit of
Jesus the Christ, Now, Today,
and we come to understand a
large part of what that means
through reading the Bible, as
well as prayer, meditation,
and fellowship. I cannot avoid
reading the rest of the Bible
and try to take it to heart as
well. To put down what Paul
says because he is a "radical
anti-feminist" is not only
questionable but also not
separating the man from his
works (I am referring
specifically to John's assertion
that Romans 1:26-27 means
that one should do what is
natural,; if homosexuality is
such, that should be done. I
ask you to read the above
passage and surrounding
verses 18-32 and see if you
agree.) 1 am constantly called
when I do not separate the
The Guilford ian
Strange and Sour
Sunday morning brings a stranger,
I step outside to let him in.
Black and brownouts cite the danger,
a watching world spoon-fed their sins.
An image focused on my window,
stuttered symbols barely real.
I dozed and woke up on an Island,
a grinning throng to watch the kill.
And if looking out shows signs of stress should we be out at ail
to watch the future fall to catch our dreams?
And the lions wait to take the bait we stand and cheer them on
but our own wait's not as long as it seems.
Don't you see there's a problem closin' in.
We sit and beg for more confusion
don't you see the '' on standing there?
Set off| somehow in seclusion,
we find a vacuum in our heads.
The man spits frozen tubes and wires,
no mind far that cannot hear.
He slowly leads us to the lions,
then steps back behind the fence.
And by tomorrow he'll be leading more this way;
this note you find here is all I had time to say.
Don't you see there's a problem closin' in. R.C. Ashley
man from his work (As in the
case of Herman Hesse who
wrote great books, but lived
what I consider an undesira
ble, if not pathetic, life) and I
think John should check
himself on this as well.
At another point John made
the comment referring to
straights as those who use the
"missionary position"; that
being,"...the native on the
bottom and the missionary on
top." I challenged John on
that for two reasons: 1. It is
not a very loving comment,
love being a thing he had
stressed, and 2. I spent 10
months of my life last year
working in a very remote area
of Zaire, Africa with Christian
missionaries. The number of
missionaries (both Catholic
and protestant) who do such a
thing are small-VERY
SMALL. I cannot deny it has
happened, but I would without
hesitation say it is less than
1% of the total number of
missionaries. Missionaries are
human and err as we all do,
but they hold for the most
part, very high moral
standards.
To conclude this windy
Nader to Appear
Ralph Nader will be the
featured speaker on the next
American Issues Forum pro
gram in Lexington, N.C. on
Tuesday, February 17th, at
the Lexington Senior High
School auditorium at 7:30 p.m.
Known as America's fore
most consumer advocate,
Nader's subject will be "The
Business of America - for the
Consumer."
In making the announce
ment, Georganne C. Jordan,
Director of the Davidson
County Bicentennial program,
said that the American Issues
Forum Committee felt that it
was most fortunate in being
able to secure Nader for this
program and that in order to
make it possible for anyone in
discourse, I again repeat the
wonderful feeling of Christian
brotherhood John and I shared
with each other and the
importance of that with all
whom we interact with. The
views expressed above are
mine, as all are that carry my
name and do not necessarily
reflect these held by other
Christians or Christians* or
ganizations on camps. I would
not be surprised if others have
responded with their views
and I am willing to discuss any
agreements or disagreements
any has with the things I have
said, hopefully so we both will
learn from such a discussion.
the county to attend, there
would be no admission
charge.
The American Issues Forum
is co-sponsored by the
National Endowment for the
Humanities and the American
Revolution Bicentennial Ad
ministration and has as its
purpose the examination and
consideration of a wide range
of topics relating to the
economic and political situa
tion in the United States
through a series of public
discussions.
The format for Nader's
presentation will be the same
as that employed for previous
programs with his initial
presentation being followed
by questions and comments
from the audience.
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