The Houston Area Pastor Council is defending Pastor Joel Osteen’s comments that homosexuality is a sin to be aired on national television tonight and affirmed that he was not giving his “opinion”, but rather expressing his beliefs. “Joel Osteen not only has the right to answer a question by an interviewer about the homosexual lifestyle, he has a duty as a pastor to express the truth found in the Bible he teaches from,” stated the inter-racial, inter-denominational coalition of pastors.
“No reasonable person can accuse Joel of being bigoted or hateful, but was very gracious in how he answered the question. No pastor should take a poll about the popularity of his convictions if he is faithful to preaching from the Holy Scriptures, nor can Joel or any pastor be criticized or condemned for simply repeating what God Himself has said,” asserted Pastor Willie Davis on behalf of HAPC. “In fact, Joel nailed the essence of God’s love by also clarifying that the homosexual lifestyle is harmful to those who practice it or other extra-marital sexual behavior. If we care about people we must teach the truth that points us toward God’s best,” Pastor Davis concluded.
HAPC Executive Director Dave Welch added that the immediate backlash by activist gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered groups is an attempt to silence the church in much the same way the Hitler regime oppressed the Confessing Church in Nazi Germany. “This type of intimidation toward a pastor speaking what he believes in public is unacceptable and illustrates the true definition of intolerance,” Welch said in concluding the pastors’ statement. “The demand that a pastor or any other Christian deny our God, His word and ultimately our faith because a tiny fragment of our population is offended is the beginning of tyranny. For the love of God, the love of people and the love of our country, we will not be silenced.”
Osteen had declared homosexuality as a sin during a discussion with Piers Morgan in his new CNN show.
“The scriptures shows that it’s a sin,” said Osteen in the interview. “But you know, I’m not one of those that are out there to bash homosexuals and tell them that they’re terrible people and all of that. I mean, there are other sins in the Bible too…I don’t believe homosexuality is God’s best for a person’s life.”
Many Irving residents listen regularly to Osteen's TV evangelism. We would like to hear your opinion on this subject. Critics have described Osteen's theology as "cotton candy" theology, "tastes good, but no substance".
