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Bible not a book of quotations

Regarding the two Nov. 24 letters (“Think of what gays are denied” and “Gays don’t infringe on rights”): Letter writers, please stop pulling verses out of the Bible for your argument. Take the Bible as a whole, not just part of it.

First, the Bible doesn’t have any ridiculous “infractions.” Homosexuality is a sin, but it is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict. Our job is to show the love of God. God hates the sin but loves the sinner, that is why he sent his son. We are to be imitators of God and walk in love but, because of our sinful nature, we don’t always do that.

Matthew 5:41 is not talking about walking in someone’s shoes. It’s talking about going a second mile for someone willingly and with the right attitude — actions and attitudes that can only come about from a heart controlled by God’s Spirit.

There is Matthew 7:1 again. If we used it the way the author of “Think of what gays are denied” and the world do, there wouldn’t be adultery, just affairs. Jesus was not forbidding making moral judgments as the world interprets the verse. All through the Gospels he teaches we are to make moral judgments about both issues and people. Believers are not to manifest a critical, judgmental, fault-finding attitude while oblivious to our own faults. Christians are to make sound moral judgments, but we must do so with a humble, loving attitude.

And letter writers, please stop using the Bible for your pro-homosexual stand. You lose every time. The God I believe in and serve is not “the world’s biggest voyeur,” nor is “his word … dedicated to critiquing one’s sexual behavior.” To dream that up tells me you haven’t been in the Bible much and, if so, have little understanding.

Sgt. 1st Class Eric Throckmorton

Camp Dubs, Afghanistan

Averse to misusing verses

Beware the lost souls who twist Bible verses to further their agenda (“Think of what gays are denied,” letter, Nov. 24). Satan himself used this tactic when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness.

It’s being tried again today by the forced homosexual acceptance movement. They claim that the first verse in Matthew Chapter 7, “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” is supposed to keep Christians from discerning good from evil. Let’s look at the always-unmentioned verse 2 for context. “For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” Simply put, don’t rebuke others if you yourself are doing the same or similar things.

There’s no debate as to homosexuality being right or wrong. God, the author of morality, has already decided the issue. Throughout the Bible, homosexuality is uniformly and consistently condemned as evil. It is sin. Sin separates man from God. Jesus came into the world because of sin: “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32).

The question Jesus asked in Luke 12:57 is relevant to ask now; “Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?” We are expected to know the difference between right and wrong; we are called to “abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good” (Romans 12:9). Nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to be silent in the face of wickedness.

Only lost souls tell us this. They want us to surrender on “social issues” so their attacks are unopposed. “The wicked freely strut about when what is vile is honored among men” (Psalm 12:8). I’ll not honor vile behavior.

What about our Founders’ idea that “All men are created equal”? We are. From there we make choices, for good or evil.

Patrick Wyett

Camp Arifjan, Kuwait

Marines’ resolve a good thing

In response to Tammy S. Schultz’s Nov. 28 Perspectives piece titled “The few. The proud. The problem.”: Thank you, Ms. Schultz, for contributing and for speaking highly of our beloved Corps.

I agree with you: In time the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy will probably be reversed. When this happens, the Marine Corps will do its best to uphold and obey this new law — the same as every other order from our chain of command.

Please know there will be those of us in the Corps, however small in number, who will stand firm in our convictions, despite what society or what the Department of Defense states is acceptable.

I stand with Gen. Peter Pace, our past and present Marine leaders, and fellow Marines who have publicly announced that any homosexual activity or lifestyle is immoral. It is wrong.

This Marine will respectfully defend his position and fight for what is right until the day he dies. Marines have resolve, they stand for what is right even when it isn’t the popular thing to do. It is unfortunate this strong resolve we possess, having seen us through a battle-hardened past laden with victories, is now viewed as “the problem.”

Capt. John “Dana” Labit

Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan

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