My Stance on Sexuality

So I feel the need to clarify my views since everyone is talking about issues of sexuality. There are two main camps and I honestly don't agree with either of them.

• Fundamentally, I believe homosexuality is a sin. I have personally and with an open mind studied the Bible and the analyses of many scholars (from both sides) and I cannot escape the fact that the scriptures are clear about the issue and the fact that homosexuality is a sexual sin.
• If you do not believe in the Bible or the concept of sin, you do not have to agree with that doctrine. This only applies to people who believe in and worship the God we know from the Bible.
• Because my stance on the issue is difficult to articulate without being misunderstood or taken out of context, I often refrain from disclosing my convictions on the issue unless I know that it is a situation in which I can explain it concisely. 
• I would RATHER believe that homosexuality is NOT a sin because the issue makes me uncomfortable. Having been in love, I would hate to tell someone that it is wrong for them to be attracted to a certain sex. If someone told me I could only love men and should never know the glories of a female body, I'd flip my lid and throats would be slashed, my friend. My heart aches for someone who feels the intensity of emotion for someone of the same sex that I feel for the opposite sex but receives constant disapproval and condemnation from the Christian community for it.
• I will not push the issue, but I will not hide my convictions on the issue solely for the sake of avoiding conflict. 

BUT HERE'S THE OTHER SIDE.

• I will NOT expect or coerce non-Christians to conform to Biblical morals. The (Biblical) Law is only created for those who worship the creator.
• Homosexuality is no worse than other sexual sins. I struggle with different sexual sins. For me to condemn someone when my sins are equal if not greater is hypocritical. We should be honest with each other about the nature of sin, but we must not withhold love and acceptance because another has not met a certain standard. 
• I will only encourage someone to abstain from homosexuality if they are trying to rid themselves of it in response to their own convictions based on scriptures. My highest calling, however, is that people would know Christ. Because I believe that constant insistence over the minute issues is counterproductive to the spread of the Gospel, I choose to remain focused on the fact that we have been offered an escape from sin and death. That is the good news, Christians are not talking about it enough, and that's why so many people don't get what our faith is really about.
• Christ did not come down to earth to prevent us from sinning. He descended to our level to offer an escape from our bondage to sin. We have a way out, but it's up to us whether we take it. So if Jesus didn't come to prevent people from sinning, why do so many Christians think that they should? God didn't make any decisions for us, so why would we try to make decisions for others? That is why I do not believe it is proper to ban gay marriage. I still think gay marriage is a bad idea, but I think it's a worse idea to ban it. It's not my place to make decisions for other people.

FINALLY...

• "Sin" is not an arbitrary list of positives and negatives. The Jews were instructed to abstain from eating pigs because pigs were unsafe to eat. Marital unfaithfulness was discouraged because bad things happen when you're unfaithful. God gave a detailed list of "good ideas" and "bad ideas." What made these ideas good or bad was the kinds of consequences that came from the execution of such ideas. Since we often fail to foresee the negative consequences of certain decisions, God laid them out for us and labeled them as "sin." So when God said, "Don't sleep with a woman during her flow," it's because He knew that you're gonna have a bad time if you do. Everything that we were instructed not to do in the Bible is because there is a logical explanation for why we'd be better off not doing it.'
• God gave us guidelines for behavior because He loves us. We hurt God when we sin. Don't understand how that's love? Well, what if someone broke something you love? Like, I love my guitars! If someone broke one of them, I'd be really upset because they mean a lot to me. What if someone hurt someone you love? I love my family. If someone did something harmful to one of my parents or brothers, I'd blow a fuse! God loves us so much that anyone to harm us was guilty of death. But sin was introduced into our society and we have become guilty of harming ourselves and each other, thus making us guilty of breaking that law. Because God is a just and perfect God, He will not break His own law. We are charged with the crime of destruction toward ourselves and each other, but God does not want us destroyed for our crimes because, as I mentioned before, He still loves us. But, we have earned His wrath. The only way that we can be set free from this death sentence is if someone takes our place. That's what the animal sacrifices were for in the Old Testament and that's what Jesus came to do in the New Testament. He did not abolish the law, he completed the sentence that was meant for us and made it possible for us to escape the damnation that we deserved for our crimes. THAT is love and that's the Gospel that's worth sharing.

I do not want my name to be associated with my stance on sexuality. In the big picture, it's not really that important. When people mention my name, I want it to be associated with the story I lived to tell. I want to be known as the one who helped people wade through all the lies in this world and introduced them to the real Jesus.