Such hatred is un-Christian

I read with dismay the Saturday article on the front page concerning the hate group Watchmen on the Walls that is meeting at the Lynnwood Convention Center this coming weekend.

That this group claims to be Christian shames all Christians. We follow Jesus Christ, who said nothing at all about homosexuality but who spoke volumes about God's love, compassion and grace for all people, especially those whom his society despised and excluded. The very, very few references to homosexual acts in the Bible reflect ancient cultural understandings and prejudices that have been displaced by our modern understanding of homosexuality as a naturally occurring variety of human sexuality.

I am especially disturbed by the statement by Mike Echelbarger, chairman of board of the Lynnwood Public Facilities District, which operates the Lynnwood Convention Center. You quote him as saying that "If we were talking about the (Ku Klux Klan) we'd have a totally different take on it. Of course we wouldn't rent to the KKK." I fail to see the distinction between these two hate groups. Racism, too, was once justified with references to the Bible, which condones slavery much more clearly than it condemns homosexuality. Yet we all acknowledge that the Bible's acceptance of slavery does not make slavery or racism acceptable. They are profound evils, and we all know it.

Bigotry against God's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered children is just as evil, and the Bible's few negative references to same-gender sexual acts does not change that fact. The hatred espoused by Watchmen on the Walls and those in our local communities who ally themselves with them is un-Christian and should be roundly condemned by all who call Jesus Christ Lord and Savior.

The Rev. Dr. Thomas C. Sorenson
Pastor
Monroe Congregational United Church of Christ
Monroe