Local Denominations Differ Widely On Homosexuality
Pastor Tom Brown and Pastor Kati Houts both say gay people are welcome in their respective churches.
Where they differ is on accepting homosexuality as normal and whether or not to tell gays they should stop being homosexuals.
?We believe all are sinners,? said Brown, pastor of Word of Life Church. ?We all make mistakes, we all have our particular weaknesses. There might be a heterosexual whose weakness is pornography, another man might be married, but he just can?t seem to be faithful to his wife, and then there?s another group that would be tempted toward same-gender attraction. To us, we consider it all to be ungodly and not within God?s framework of what a holy and godly life should be.?
Houts heads the Metropolitan Community Church of El Paso (MCCEP), located downtown on the same street as popular gay clubs The OP and The San Antonio Mining Co. She and her church, one of 250 MCC congregations in the world, don?t consider homosexuality something that needs to be overcome.
?This church is necessary because it offers people a safe sanctuary to come and worship and know that they can be themselves,? Houts said. ?We preach that the love of God is for all. There are no ifs, ands or buts.?
Houts and Brown represent polar opposites on the spectrum of religious attitudes toward homosexuality. It?s an issue that Christian denominations have been addressing more in recent years as states have been faced with whether or not to recognize homosexual unions and marriage.
Read the full What’s Up article, which includes the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on homosexuality, here
