It is obvious that he has no respect for you whatsoever. You never have to stay in a situation where you are being physically or verbally abused.

I would separate from this man immediately and hopefully that will wake him up. If he changes his attitude and agrees to marriage counseling that could be a possibility for you.

And has this man ever cheated on you? That would change my advice.

Michael

Love is not a “feeling” – it is a decision.

It really doesn’t matter if you have certain feelings for this man or not. You made the decision to marry him, and God expects you to work on that marriage.

If both of you will seek after God with all of your hearts, God can make your marriage into a beautiful thing. I have seen it happen so many times.

Michael

Of course you are forgiven. God always forgives our sins when we ask Him to.

In 1 John 1:9 it tells us the following…..

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

You are definitely forgiven by God.

Should you ever let that other man see the child?

Well, he is the father, so that would be one factor in favor.

But I don’t know anything about the man, so I would advise you to get some wise counsel before letting him into the life of your child.

Michael

We realize that this subject can be a very difficult one to address. Furthermore, as hate crimes specifically committed against homosexuals occur, many feel that this issue shouldn’t be addressed at all for fear of only adding to the hostile environment that many homosexuals face. Despite the cultural climate in which we live, this issue must be addressed according to the Word of God. God’s laws are always for our good, although man may see them as restricting. In the end, only obedience to the Word of God can bring true freedom. We address this issue out of God’s love for the homosexual to bless and help him.
Much of our society has embraced many perverted sexual practices that are considered in the Bible as abominations to God. Homosexuality is among the list of deviate or abnormal sexual practices however, there are many other practices that can be included as well. Pornography, pedophilia, prostitution, bestiality, oral sex, phone sex and computer virtual reality sex, just to name a few of them.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 (NIV): “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters, nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
Although the Bible doesn’t detail each and every one of these sinful acts, it does clearly speak out about many of them. Any deviation from God’s original plan for sex between a married man and woman is still a sin in God’s eyes. The main reason we call these things perverted is because they are unnatural and scripture clearly tells us those who do such things are committing abominations. Leviticus 18:22 (KJV): “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind it is abomination.”
Homosexuality is also referred to as the sin of sodomy. This reference comes from an account in the Bible of two exceedingly wicked cities, Sodom and Gomorrah, which the Lord destroyed. Sodom was known for its rampant homosexuality and unrestrained sexual lust, as well as other sins such as arrogance, haughtiness, and disregard for the poor. When the Lord sent angels to warn Lot who lived in the city that it was about to be destroyed, the men of the city actually wanted to rape the angels! Genesis 13:13: “But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.”
In the Old Testament the penalty for this sin was severe. Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.” Today the penalty of death comes in the form of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. It also brings death to the soul and spirit of man because the life of God is pushed out by indulging in something that is an abomination to God. God wants to deliver all who are trapped in this unholy practice and He will if anyone calls out to Him with a sincere heart.
We certainly acknowledge that AIDS has broken out of the homosexual community, and now, many innocent people are suffering with this disease through no fault of their own. However, the intent of the above statement is not directed to those who have innocently contracted this disease, but rather to the sinners who are spreading it. A comparison could be made to those who smoke. Smokers are opening themselves up for lung cancer; however, the people who are subjected to breathing the smoke second-hand are also subject to this disease. The person who willfully smokes is guilty of destroying their own bodies, but should those who are forced to live in the environment of the smoke, get lung cancer, they are not guilty of this sin. When we teach that smoking causes lung cancer, we are not judging or condemning those who innocently get lung cancer from breathing second-hand smoke. It is simply a true fact that smoking can cause lung cancer.
The same is true of AIDS. A homosexual life style increases the risk of that person contracting AIDS. There is no condemnation or judgment against those who innocently contract this disease through no fault of their own (for instance, through blood transfusions.) However, since AIDS is most prevalent in the homosexual community, we need to warn people of the dangers of homosexuality, so that AIDS and sexually transmitted diseases are not spread to the rest of society, as now, many heterosexuals have contracted these diseases too, through unfaithful partners.
Romans 1:24-32: 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
These scriptures clearly state that these vile affections of men lusting for other men (gay men) or women lusting for other women (lesbians) are not the natural affections God created men and women to have for one another. Let me say here that God loves all homosexuals! However, He hates the deeds of homosexuality because they are sinful. God did not create any human being as a homosexual. They are not born that way, just as murderers are not born that way. However, these spirits can be transmitted to children, especially if someone who had this demonic spirit seduced or raped a child–or even if they were close to gay people. These demons can also be imparted to others through unholy sexual acts.
People become homosexuals because they yield to abnormal acts or lust. It is through some source that they have received a demonic spirit that drives them to their lust. Viewing evil videos or pornographic books is a way of opening the door for Satan to give one an evil, perverse spirit. Though people are not born as homosexuals, the Bible does say all human beings are born with a sin nature. If we yield to the evils of our flesh it will lead to our destruction not only in this life, but in the life to come. However, through faith in Jesus Christ and His death on the cross we can break the hold that sin has upon us. We do not have to yield to the old fleshy nature but we can now overcome evil temptations and live our lives controlled by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
Sex is God’s idea and its purpose is not only for procreation, but also for recreation and the development of a deep relationship between man and woman. Nothing is wrong or dirty about sex when it is engaged in the bonds of marriage as the Lord commanded in the Bible. However, when perversions are committed inside the marriage relationship, this can be sinful also. God made man and woman and brought them together “face to face.” Oral sex is of homosexual origin that replaces the normal “face to face” relationship God intended in a marriage. The Bible describes the sex act in Song of Solomon Chapter 4. In this chapter it speaks of this “face to face” relationship by describing looking into his lover’s eyes and kissing his lover’s lips and fondling his lover’s breasts. Oral sex is not normal or natural as it is an unclean act.
No one has to live in bondage with an abnormal life of homosexuality nor any other abnormal behavior. No one has to be controlled by pornography. No one has to have evil thoughts plague their minds. There is a way out through what Jesus has done for us. He loves sinners and wants to free us from any evil practices. He will empower those who cry out for deliverance to get free and stay free. Here are the steps you must take to get free:
(1.) Make a total commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. Be willing to turn your life completely over to the will of God and yield to His plan for your life. This means you must be willing to do anything, go anywhere and give up any thing as He leads. Remember, God will never lead you to do anything that is not in agreement with the Bible. You can trust God. He created you and has a better plan for your life.
(2.) Your must pray and read your Bible daily. You must study and apply the Word of God to overcome Satan’s attacks. The way that you resist the attacks of the devil is by quoting the Word of God to him. When the devil came to tempt Jesus, He simply quoted the Word to him. Good praise tapes will also be of a great help when you are tempted. Put one on and start singing along with it.
(3.) You must pray for and seek out a strong Bible believing group of Holy Spirit filled people. You will need their help and fellowship. As you humble yourself and seek help, the Lord will deliver you. Ask God to lead you to someone that can pray the prayer of deliverance for you, as you probably will need to be set free from a demon. You should also seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit as you will need His power to get free and to remain free.
(4.) You must cut off all sources and relationships that would lead you back into sin. The Bible tells us to flee fornication (sexual sins). You must get out of any corrupt entanglements, or areas that you know will be a temptation to you. If you have been hooked on internet pornography subscribe to an Internet Service Provider that will filter out the pornography for you. Destroy all evil books and videos.
(5.) Should you slip or fall back occasionally, repent and get right back up and go on with God. Do not allow the devil to condemn you once you have repented. Put your sin under the blood of Jesus. He will strengthen you and you will win this battle because of the Lord’s promise to you. Remember, He loves you and is there to help you. Run to Him when you get in trouble, never run from Him. He will not ever give up on you! We too, will be standing with you for your total healing and deliverance. Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
(6.) You must forgive everyone that has ever hurt you. You can only do this through the power of God. You must by a simple act of your will voice the forgiveness and then the Lord will give you the feeling of forgiveness. This may be a while in coming but just keep forgiving when you think of any wrong that has been done to you. The Lord will give you His love for those people who have wronged you.
PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE
Finally we want to pray for you right now if you need it:
Dear Heavenly Father,
We come to you in the mighty name of Jesus and we ask that you touch this one right now, first of all with your love and forgiveness. Lord, wash their sins away. Wash away all the uncleanness and guilt. Lord we ask you to free them right now from the powers of darkness.
Now, we speak to Satan and his demons and we command them to leave in the name of Jesus! Satan, this one is no longer under your power. The blood of Jesus has set them free! We resist you and you must flee! This one belongs to God and you have no more authority over them! Be gone!
Dear Lord, thank you that you have set this one free and we are believing that you will lead them to the right people that will help them to walk out this deliverance. We break every chain of iniquity over their life and cancel every evil word that has been spoken against them. We declare they will walk in your victory and that you will enable them to do it. Lord, fill them with your Holy Sprit and guide them in the ways of God! We speak blessing and success to them. Most of all, we pray that they will feel your love for them right now. We ask this all in the precious name of Jesus. Amen.
If you need further help, email us or you can get help from the ministries listed below: (Please go to these links so you do not have to struggle with this issue alone.)
Exodus International: http://www.exodus-international.org/
This is an international organization with ministries around the world to help the homosexual.
Desert Streams: http://www.desertstream.org
This is a California-based Christian organization which offers programs for people seeking sexual and relational wholeness and healing.
An Affair of the Mind by Laurie Hall
If you are struggling with this problem there is an excellent book that could be of help to you. Published by Focus On The Family and written from the first-hand perspective of a wife whose husband was addicted to pornography for over 20 years, this powerful book delves deep into many facets of sexual addiction. The principles in this book, if applied, can save any marriage and restore even those who are most bound to sexual addiction. The author shares candidly of her struggles as she sought the Lord for the salvation of her marriage and restoration of her husband. The things she learned from the Holy Spirit along the way will minister to every person who reads the book. It will help both husbands and wives.

Nowadays homosexuality seems to be everywhere. It seems almost fashionable to be homosexual or at least bisexual. If you say anything is wrong with homosexual behavior, people will label you homophobic or say that you are judgmental. There are so-called gay pride parades, gay pride rainbow stickers and license plate frames, TV shows with homosexual characters. The world has even come up with some wonderful sounding terms for the people who participate in this activity. “Alternate lifestyle,” “Life partners.” Yes, the world will tell you that homosexuality is totally normal and something to be proud of.
But God’s Word tells us something totally different about homosexual behavior. And no matter what the world says about homosexuality or how “open minded” people of this earth become, God has not changed in how He feels about men lying with men, and women lying with women. So if you have traded in God’s standards of living and begun to believe what this world tells you, look out!
And by writing this paper, I do not mean to single out or condemn homosexuals just because of their lifestyle. All of God’s laws that have been broken, whatever the sin — be it the sin of lust or the sin of idolatry — will be judged and answered for when a person faces God on Judgment Day. I do not believe that I am more righteous just because my sins might be different.
With that said, in this paper, I will use Bible verses to answer frequently asked questions about homosexuality. Here are the topics that will be covered:
(1) Is homosexuality a sin?
(2) How does the Bible define homosexuality?
(3)Why is homosexuality a sin?
(4) Do genetics cause homosexuality?
(5) Can someone practice homosexuality and still love Christ?
Just as your body gets old and begins to deteriorate, the standards of this world are deteriorating every day. But God’s Word has not and will not change! Let’s see what the Bible says on this issue.
(1) IS HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN?
Yes, homosexuality is a sin. Leviticus 18:22 reads, “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” That is stated as plainly and clearly as you can get. The Bible commands us that we are not to have intercourse with people of our same sex. It is not only a sexual sin, but it is an abomination (something that is impure and illicit in God’s eyes).
The verse does not say that homosexuality is okay if you are in a loving, committed relationship. It states that you shall not do it, period! We find a similar verse in Leviticus 20:13. It reads, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”
The earliest account of homosexuals can be found in the book of Genesis, Chapter 19. The place was the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah. Similar to our time today, Sodom and Gomorrah were places where all kinds of sexual habits were practiced. The people of that place had turned their backs on God’s laws and did whatever their wicked minds told them to do. God eventually destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah for their wicked ways.
The verses above from Leviticus are in a section of the Bible that lists immoral acts and the penalties for them. Homosexual activities are listed right alongside other immoral acts such as having sex with animals, incestuous relationships, adultery, etc. God does not say that this behavior is something that you should have “gay pride” about. God calls it a sexual sin and says that because of such practices, the nations in the land were being cast out. Leviticus 18:24, 30 reads, “Defile not ye yourselves in any of these things: for in all these the nations are defiled which I cast out before you. Therefore shall ye keep mine ordinance, that ye commit not any one of these abominable customs which were committed before you, and that ye defile not yourselves therein: I am the Lord your God.”
Are you going to believe the world and continue thinking that homosexuality is perfectly okay, or are you going to believe the One who created you?
(2) HOW DOES THE BIBLE DEFINE HOMOSEXUAL BEHAVIOR?
People in our generation are as bad as if not worse than the people from Sodom and Gomorrah. People are trading in God’s laws and making up their own rules and worshipping the god of self by doing whatever they want to do instead of doing the things that God says are right. But God will not force His righteous truths on you. If you want to practice immorality by taking part in homosexuality, God will not stop you from sinking lower and lower in your perversion. But ultimately there will be a price to pay if you do not turn from your sin and seek God.
Let’s read what the Bible says about homosexual behavior and see how God feels when we turn our backs on His laws and embrace an “anything goes” attitude:
Romans 1:24-28, “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves, who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the women, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly (shameful), and receiving in themselves the recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient.”
Here the Bible shows us that homosexuality is defined as something that is unclean, a dishonoring of the body, a vile passion, something that is against nature and unnatural, shameful, something that occurs when you have a mind that has sunken to a place away from God. It is an act that people engage in when they do not retain God in their knowledge and when they have changed the truth of God for a lie.
(3) WHY IS HOMOSEXUALITY A SIN?
Let’s start with the question what is sin? Sin is when we know that something is against the law and will of God and we continue to practice it anyway. We have already read that according to the law of God, homosexual behavior is a sin. It is an unnatural practice. It is an abomination in God’s eyes. It is against God’s natural order.
God created men to be husbands of wives, and women to be wives of husbands. That is God’s natural order. When God sought to make a suitable mate for man, He created woman. Genesis 2:24-25 shows us this when referring to the first husband and wife, Adam and Eve. It reads, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”
And Ephesians 5:28,33, “So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself.”
The only sexual relationships that have God’s blessing are that of a husband and wife. Any sexual relationship that is outside of this is a sin. And homosexuality is labeled a sin and an abomination.
Also, we know that homosexuality is a sin and that it is against what God wants people to do. This is evident in the fact that homosexuals cannot reproduce. The one way that we humans get to be like God is by our God-given ability to create, to reproduce. Two men alone together could never create a baby, and two women alone together could never create a baby because what they are doing is not of God.
So, again, homosexuality is a sin because the person is willingly choosing to engage in behavior that is against what God would have him or her do.
(4) DO GENETICS CAUSE HOMOSEXUALITY?
Some people will say, “But I was born this way. Since I was a child I was attracted to members of the same sex.” To that I will say no, you were born a sinner and that at a young age your sin started to manifest itself. When I was perhaps six, I can distinctly remember going to a store and stealing from the store. I shoplifted for many years after that as well. Does that mean that I was genetically just a born thief or that my behavior should be accepted because I had had those feelings since my childhood? Of course not. Stealing was a sin I committed. It was not who I was.
And even if so-called experts try to tell you that there is some kind of “homosexual gene,” remember that these are sinful men telling you sinful tales. Be careful when you start to listen to and believe the men of this world instead of believing what God’s Word tells you. This world will tell you that murdering babies is okay. It even gives the act a pleasant term, “pro choice.” This world will tell you that alcoholism and drug abuse is okay and that you just “have a disease.” This world will even tell you that there is no God and that you came from a monkey. The Bible warns us of such people. Isaiah 5:20 reads “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
God’s Word says that God created you and that homosexuality is wrong. God would not have created you as a homosexual and then called homosexuality an abomination. So who are you going to obey? “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
And for those people out there who try to say, “Well, some people are born with male and female body parts” (hermaphrodites), to that I say you cannot use that as justification for you to engage in homosexual activities. Some people were also born as Siamese twins. If a Siamese twin gets married and has sexual relations, the act would have to involve three people being present, both twins and the spouse, but does that mean that God gives His approval to group sex? Of course not! God is going to judge each of us according to who we are, not according to how He created someone else.
(5) CAN SOMEONE PRACTICE HOMOSEXUALITY AND STILL LOVE CHRIST?
Jesus said in John 14:15, 23-24, “If ye love me, keep my commandments. If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings.”
So I would say that if you truly love Christ, you would want to do what pleases him. And as we have already read, homosexuality does not please the Lord.
And 1 John 2:4 reads, “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” And 1 John 1:5-6 reads, “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.”
Christ said that you are either for Him or against Him. You cannot pick and choose the parts of the Bible that you like and then ignore the parts that don’t fit your lifestyle. God will give you the strength that you need to overcome your homosexual desires, but you have to love the Lord enough to turn from that sin. You cannot have it both ways. “If we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries” (Hebrews 10:26-27). You have read the truth. Are you going to continue wilfully sinning?
I don’t write these things to judge anyone. But as a Christian, I believe what God’s Word tells me. And I care enough about each of you to share with you God’s truth.

Which of these things is not like the others?
The construction of an East Coast ballistic missile shield Aid for Pakistani counterterrorism efforts Gay marriage Health care for military retirees The Pentagon’s budget The fate of Air National Guard planes
President Obama’s endorsement of gay marriage dominated Beltway chatter Wednesday afternoon.
The House Armed Services Committee labored throughout the day Wednesday and into the wee hours of Thursday morning, crafting a massive Pentagon funding measure. But the heat yielded by the gay marriage issue was so incandescent that it cauterized traditional military topics and spurred the feistiest debate of the marathon session.
Most of these lengthy Armed Services meetings are sprinkled with discussions about MRAPs, JDAMs, engines for the Joint Strike Fighter and troop rotations.
But the colloquy about providing for the common defense of the United States devolved into a debate about stoning, sin, parsonical rights, “gayness” and canonical interpretations of the Old Testament.
Perhaps as Sun Tzu said, “all warfare is based on deception.”
The wrangling started over two amendments designed to curb the impact of gay marriage on the periphery of the armed services.
Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) concocted a provision which would ban the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies on military installations. A “conscience clause” forged by Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) would allow military chaplains to refuse to wed gay and lesbian couples.
This comes just months after Congress formally ended the military’s 18-year policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT).” DADT barred gay and lesbian service members from identifying themselves as such and prohibited the armed forces from inquiring about the sexual orientation of those serving the nation.
“The president has repealed Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and is using the military as a prop to promote his gay agenda,” declared Akin.
Palazzo’s amendment was up first Wednesday night.
“Many in Congress heard from a great deal of soldiers that homosexuality is morally wrong,” Palazzo said.
Palazzo’s amendment didn’t sit well with Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the leading Democrat on the House Armed Services panel.
“This certainly insults gay and lesbian members serving in our military,” Smith said. “Members of this committee are looking to turn back the clock and find new ways to discriminate against gay and lesbian service members.”
But those barbs were just the warm-up for the back-and-forth over Akin’s amendment which aimed to protect military clergy.
“People are being asked to do things that they don’t agree with,” argued Akin.
Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ) asserted that Akin’s amendment “does much more mischief than it prevents.”
Rep. Susan Davis (D-CA) suggested that Akin’s idea was “inviting” a discriminatory treatment of gay and lesbian service members.
“I don’t think that’s something we want to encourage,” said Davis.
Akin countered that the conscience protections were essential “because some of the changes have put a lot of stress in the military.”
But Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) took particular issue with Akin’s amendment. In addition to giving protection to chaplains, Akin’s effort shields service members morally opposed to homosexuality.
Sanchez posed a hypothetical scenario to her colleagues about the consequences service members might face if they didn’t, as she put it, “believe in ‘gayness.’”
Her use of the word “gayness” triggered chortles from the audience and raised the eyebrows of lawmakers and Congressional aides alike, stationed on the hearing room dais.
Sanchez then dipped into an interpretation of the Scriptures.
“Let’s just say I read the Bible and it says gays should be killed. Stoned,” Sanchez began.
Lawmakers who were slumped in their chairs suddenly sat up, ram-rod straight. Those listening to the proceedings, leafing through copies of Roll Call set the publications aside. Reporters posted in the back of the hearing room began pecking feverishly on laptop keyboards. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) and other GOP members shot steely glances at Sanchez and demanded doctrinal clarification from the Bible.
Moments later, Sanchez quoted Scripture.
“If you read Leviticus 20:13, it says man must be put to death if man has sexual relations with not a woman,” Sanchez said.
“That’s the Old Testament,” protested Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA).
“It’s the Bible!” shot back Sanchez.
Scott then blasted Sanchez, declaring he was “taken aback by those comments.” She tried to get a word in edgewise, inquiring if the Georgia Republican would yield.
“I am not yielding any more time to you,” snapped Scott. “I have heard enough.”
For the record, Leviticus 20:13 in the King James version of the Bible reads “If a man lies with mankind, as he lies with a woman, but of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.”
The committee voted in favor of Palazzo’s amendment, 37-26. The panel also adopted Akin’s amendment, 36-25.
While the gay marriage debate grew testy during head-on exchanges in the Armed Services Committee, many lawmakers either ignored the president’s announcement. Or at the very least, tried to tiptoe around it.
“My personal belief is that marriage is between a man and a woman,” declared Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in a statement. “But in a civil society, I believe that people should be able to marry whomever they want, and it’s no business of mine if two men or two women want to get married. The idea that following two, loving, committed people to marry would have any impact on my life, which or on my family’s life always struck me as absurd.”
In an interview with Gerri Willis of Fox Business Network, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) echoed Reid.
“I have always believed that marriage was between a man and a woman,” Boehner said. “But Republicans here on Capitol Hill are focused on the economy.”
In short, most lawmakers would rather not weigh-in on the gay marriage debate. But perhaps it’s no surprise the isuue reared its head in the House Armed Services Committee. After all, the military’s wrestled with its policies addressing homosexuality and gender orientation for nearly 20 years now. And it may now be as old hat as conversations about Apache helicopters and Virginia Class submarines.

It is heartbreaking to hear of all the pain your have been through. My prayer is that you and your family will not enter a time of great blessing.

Since your husband moved out on you and moved in with another woman, you have Biblical grounds for divorce since he cheated on you.

I would pray about it and seek God with all of your heart. Also, I would get some good Christian counseling.

It sounds like divorce may be a good option for you here, but in the end it is a decision that you must make.

In the end, my hope is that the next chapters of your life will be the greatest chapters you have ever known.

Michael

Thank you for sharing that wonderful story with us. Hopefully it will get more people thinking about the world to come.

Michael

I like how you bring up John 1:1

John 1:1 clearly states directly out of the KJV but translated in plain english as:
In the beginning(Firstborn-Christ) was the Word, and the Word(Christ’s teachings) was with(from) God(in heaven), and the Word(Christ’s teachings) was [of] God (referring to the authority god).

I hope that clears things up, since this is the only scripture reference you actually used that was taken literally as Word was God, directly saying Christ was God. But you have to realize that referred to that being as it was of his command.

For centuries, a fiery hell of excruciating torments has been envisioned by religious leaders of Christendom as the certain destiny for sinners. This idea is still popular among many other religious groups. “Christianity may have made hell a household word,” says U.S.News & World Report, “but it doesn’t hold a monopoly on the doctrine. The threat of painful retribution in the afterlife has counterparts in nearly every major world religion and in some minor ones as well.” Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, Jains, and Taoists believe in a hell of one sort or another.

Hell, though, has acquired another image in modern thinking. “While the traditional infernal imagery still attracts a following,” states the aforementioned magazine, “modern visions of eternal perdition as a particularly unpleasant solitary confinement are beginning to emerge, suggesting that hell may not be so hot after all.”

The Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica observed: “It is misleading . . . to think that God, by means of demons, inflicts fearful torments on the damned like that of fire.” It added: “Hell exists, not as a place but as a state, a way of being of the person who suffers the pain of the deprivation of God.” Pope John Paul II said in 1999: “Rather than a place, hell indicates the state of those who freely and definitively separate themselves from God, the source of all life and joy.” As to the images of hell as a fiery place, he said: “They show the complete frustration and emptiness of life without God.” Had the pope described hell in terms of “flames and a red-suited devil with a pitchfork,” church historian Martin Marty said, “people wouldn’t take it seriously.”

Similar changes are taking place in other denominations. A report by the doctrine commission of the Church of England said: “Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being.”

The catechism of the United States Episcopal Church defines hell as “eternal death in our rejection of God.” A growing number of people, says U.S.News & World Report, are promoting the idea that “the end of the wicked is destruction, not eternal suffering. . . . [They] contend that those who ultimately reject God will simply be put out of existence in the ‘consuming fire’ of hell.”

Although the modern-day trend is to get away from the fire and brimstone mentality, many continue to adhere to the belief that hell is a literal place of torment. “Scripture clearly speaks of hell as a physical place of fiery torment,” says Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A. And the report The Nature of Hell, prepared by the Evangelical Alliance Commission, states: “Hell is a conscious experience of rejection and torment.” It adds: “There are degrees of punishment and suffering in hell related to the severity of sins committed on earth.”

Again, is hell a fiery place of eternal torment or of annihilation? Or is it simply a state of separation from God? What really is hell?