Christians preach love and compassion but do not demonstrate it

I really wish that was where he had stopped with his letter. While he did, in the remainder of his letter encourage the reader to take care to show mercy and care with their words and actions, it was also peppered with sentences which betray that classic Christian attitude - loving the sinner but not the sin.

Well, I am sorry to inform him and those reading this, but being gay and having been a recipient of the “loving the sinner but not the sin” attitude in the past, I feel insulted and hurt and angry by his letter.

To use this sad, sad event as an opportunity to let the readers of this paper know that homosexuality is “wrong” (even providing a helpful reference), that same-sex relationships are OK - provided they are platonic - is appalling and disgusting opportunism.

Furthermore, I fail to see why the matter of whether or not he is “homosexual” (a clinical word invented by psychiatrists to describe the “unnatural disorder” of being gay) should matter or need mentioning.

Do we need to be Muslim to feel compassion for the victims of terrorism and war in Syria or Iraq? Do we need to be Jewish to feel a sense of grief for the victims of the holocaust? It is no laudable thing, to parade around that you feel grief at the loss of innocent human lives.

If you want to help LGBT people, don’t tell us how sinful we are, how inherently evil we are, that you “love us”. No, show us real support and real compassion. For all the compassion and love Christians claim to show and be full of, I have yet to see it.

That is not my failure - I grew up in the church. It is for the church and Christians to show the love they claim to profess, rather than paying lip service out of duty.

In my life, I’ve found more love and acceptance and tolerance for others among the LGBT community than among the church. The challenge of coming to terms with who you are, that introspection, the journey to accept yourself creates a more compassionate and open minded individual. When they show love or tolerance or forgiveness, it is because they want to, not because it’s what their god would do.

Perhaps the church and Christians could learn a thing or two from the people in their community they would call sinners.

Do not pray - go out into the world and be the change you want in it.

James R, By email