My mate Joel

[HairOfTheDog]

So someone who believes gay love is an abomination is a better Christian than one who is tolerant? I think not.

I agree with you.

What irritates me about Osteen isn't that he's tolerant, it's that I've yet to hear anybody who objects to gay marriage on religious grounds support that argument convincingly using the Bible or otherwise.

So, when Osteen claims it's breaking the rules of Christianity and admits that he's therefor against gay marriage -- without wanting to explain/support his position -- that's the move of a politician or a businessman, not a religious/spiritual leader. IMO.

I know the "thou shalt not lay with a man as with a woman" citing in the Bible. But, drunkenness, promiscuity, adultery and a host of other behaviors are equally cited as sins and nobody's trying to deny people who engage in those behaviors the right to buy alcohol, have premarital sex, or schmooze on religious grounds.

I think I posted upthread that I think Osteen is a good business marketing and sales professional; excellent in fact. And, if people who follow him and donate to his multi-million dollar Christian self-help empire get something positive out of it, good for them.

It's his business acumen that leads me to believe that he will follow in the footsteps of some of the lesser visible churches and organizations and change his stance on homosexuality within the next 2 years, because he'll want to remain as relevant and profitable as possible (and avoid being labeled a discriminator whilst gay marriage becomes legal in a lot more states over the next couple of years). He'll do that because he is a good business man and a political one, IMO..

Or, I could be way off base and he'll stick to his position that homosexuality is against the rules of Christianity, fail to support that position, and continue to thrive with little backlash. It's possible. In that case, I'll owe aussie $10 USD!