Christianity promotes acceptance, not reform

To The Eagle:

A letter was published last week calling on Christians to take a stand for truth. As a leader of a church in our community, I take great caution in approaching this subject, yet I feel it is necessary to communicate that Christians are not called to publicly chastise and humiliate those we are expressing truth to.

It is widely recognized among people who believe the Bible to be true in all areas that God did not intend for a homosexual relationship. They also recognize the Bible takes a stand against pride, adultery, hatred, murder, lust, drunkenness and many more inappropriate behaviors that people struggle with. So how do those who follow the Bible deal with these offenses? Do we point our finger at people's faults while pretending that we have none?

Absolutely not! We agree with God that we have done wrong, we ask God to forgive us and we thank Him that His son, Jesus, paid for our disobedience. We work hard at trying to please Him because He loved us and now, we love Him.

Christians are not called to reform society; we are called to present Jesus to all people, regardless of their lifestyle. If a person accepts the truth about Jesus, we believe that Jesus transforms that person into the follower of Christ (Christian) that He asks us to be.

I attended the Bald Eagle Day parade and I saw every float, car and banner. I saw lifestyles that honor God and those that don't. Above all, I saw people who, like me, need a savior. Thanks be to God that he provided that savior.

Ryan Frank

Cathlamet

Editor's note: Our letters to the editor policy states we don't want discussions of religious doctrine. We ran a letter last week that included religious doctrine as well as a call for a boycott of the Bald Eagle Parade. We ran the letter to acknowledge the call for the boycott, and we ran the editor's note to explain the mission of the object of the boycott. We have decided to run this letter, from the pastor of a Puget Island church, as a comment on the religious aspect of the original letter. We may allow one more letter on the religious aspect if we get one containing a different point of view.