Burnishing Bigotry - 3rd edition

Lucy #096: You then bring up a very important question when you ask, ―Who loves
homosexuals more? The one who tells them it's okay to continue in a sin the Bible warns will
condemn them to an eternity in Hell, or someone who is willing to endure anger, ridicule, and
hate to warn them and to try to get them into Heaven as a neighbor and as a friend?‖
The answer to this query, of course – at least according to Jesus Christ – is neither …
―Missing the mark‖ (a.k.a. ―sinning‖) by refusing to be the courageously Kind & Generous
people we truly are is never OK, Lucy. There are always consequences for all our selfish &/or
arrogant misdeeds, and those consequences are always both immediate and proportionate (we
all reap just as we sow – always) … This goes for gay lust, this goes for heterosexual lust, this goes
for my annoyance over your ―Bad Fruit‖ misapplication of the Scriptures, and this goes for your
arrogance & your hypocrisy that inspire the same.
At the same time, sinking into the foul
morass of pride and openly damning those who
are not like you – especially when you have an
equally valid alternative readily available in your
very own Bible – is equally sinful, my Friend.
For it is not Loving to judge another to be
damned, Lucy – nor is it Loving to worship a God
who encourages the same – period! Indeed, to do
so brings shame &/or conflict where Love could
otherwise have blossomed, and as such to do so
becomes the most harmful ―enemy‘s kiss‖ that
one could ever give.
Lucy #097: You then make the bold claim that, ―Jesus Christ said more about Hell than
he did about Heaven‖ – a statement that is completely false! There are 1944 verses in the Gospels
that contain the words of Jesus Christ, Lucy. Only 60 of them directly or indirectly refer to
―Hell‖, while 192 of them do so regarding ―the Kingdom of Heaven‖ … That‘s over three
hundred percent more Jesus-references to salvation than to damnation! … On top of that, the
―Heaven‖ Jesus was talking about was not a future-based ―elsewhere‖ at all, but rather is a
State of Being that always exists in every Here & Now (see Matthew 10:7 & Luke 17:20-21 et al) …
And on top of that – to put the icing on the entire cake, when Jesus spoke about Hell he used the
Greek word Gehenna – which was the actual name of an actual place; a real-lfe, stinking,
smoldering garbage-burning dump located outside the walls of Jerusalem in Jesus‘ day … As
such, ―Hell‖ for Jesus was also a Here & Now state of being; namely, the state of immense
suffering one experiences whenever he or she refuses to walk hand in hand with Jesus‘ all-Loving
Father; whenever he or she refuses to walk his Way … And just between you and me (and
everyone else reading along), I humbly recommend getting to a calm place and humbly thinking
about that – and I humbly recommend going forth & having the courage to act accordingly!
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