repubgazette3-15-07mojolistgrowshomosexualityimmoral

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff got into hot water in recent days for voicing his belief that homosexuality was an "immoral" behavior. The media was aghast, liberal groups demanded an apology, gay rights groups, as always, just enjoyed the attention.

It is a sad day in America when expressing the opinion that homosexuality is immoral is akin to, say, using a racial epitaph. Gen. Peter Pace also noted, in his original comments, that adultery was immoral, but that was not cause for outrage.

The point is, Gen. Pace apparently shares a view on gays held by millions of people around the world of a variety of faiths. For Christians who believe in the Bible, the biblical statements on homosexual behavior are clear enough -- and so are biblical teachings on adultery, stealing, coveting, lying, cheating, etc. The Bible places no sin above others, but makes none of a lesser nature, either.

To believe that homosexuality is immoral is a far cry from concluding, for example, that homosexuals are automatically doomed to hell. If that is the case, then none of us, because of sin, have a chance at salvation. For Christians, the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ is all that allows any of us to enter into Heaven, and that is no less true for homosexuals.

Of course, to enter into the grace of God requires, under most Christian interpretations, repentence for our sins. In other words, we must be sorry for our sins and make every human effort to turn away from our sinful ways.

And there we have the great disconnect on the issue of homosexuals. For today's world, tolerance of homosexuality is not enough. Today's world wants us all to accept homosexualtiy as a normal, "alternative" lifestyle, not sinful or immoral at all. It is not enough that we are tolerant of gays, that we believe God loves them in spite of their sins, as He does all of us in spite of ours.

No, the only acceptable position to hold in today's world

is complete acceptance, approval and, best of all, advocacy of the "rights" of gays to marry, adopt children, and receive every special legal protection available based on nothing more than who they have sex with. Incredibly, if someone commits murder against a man who has sex with a man, it is a worse crime, in a growing number of states, than committing murder against a man who has sex with a woman.

(As usual, I expect to be lectured again by Christians whose Bible apparently contains only a page or two -- specifically the Beatitudes of Jesus delivered during the Sermon on the Mount. For them, the other Gospels, let alone, the books of Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, etc., have little to recommend them and are a great waste of Divine inspiration.)

I do not know if Gen. Pace's belief that homosexuality is immoral has a spiritual or biblical basis, or whether it is simply his personal opinion. But the immediate uproar that greeted his comments, and his need to quickly clarify them (although stopping short of an apology) is a perfect example of why those who adhere to the liberal perspective that dominates our culture cannot, and will likely never, understand why they cannot sell their Democrat candidates to the heartland of America.

It is part of why neither Hillary Clinton nor Barack Obama nor any other Democrat likely to get that party's nomination can win West Virginia or enough other traditional values states to gain the electoral votes needed to assume the White House.

No matter how hard they try to sell homosexuality as a matter of equal rights or social equality, liberals continually miss the mark. Bible-believing Christans have no problem with homosexuals having equal rights. They just don't want those rights based on someone's homosexuality alone, any more than they expect to have equal rights granted to them based on their own particular immoral behavior, whatever it may be.

Democrats on fast track to hand Congress back to Republicans

Seriously misreading the reasons for their victories last November, the Democrats are busy writing the document that will hand control of Congress back to Republicans in 2008.

The Dems' legislation setting a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq wil ultimately be their undoing. Americans may not be happy about Iraq, but they did not intend for Congress to try to usurp the powers of the presidency. The greatest gift the Dems could hand the GOP is to pass its Iraq legislation.

A reader has pointed out to me that I was wrong in writing Wednesday that Gov. Joe Manchin's coalitions have begun falling apart with the awakening of teachers and the oil and gas industry.

"One can add to the list of the disgruntled Broadway Joe 'fan club' the state road crew and numerous other groups of state employees," the writer pointed out. I stand corrected.

The one-day teacher walkout on Wednesday eventually ended up spreading to 14 counties across the state. While teacher walkouts tend to be counterproductive -- they alienate most parents and other citizens -- it is gratifying that Mojo is the primary target of teacher dissatisfaction.