On Mar 27, 2008, Shirley Walck said:

Did you know that Vice President Cheney's daughter is a lesbian. I have never seen that in the Baptist Messenger, it couldn't be because he is Republican, no, that would make it political. You guys should pray more and condemn less. I believe that is what Jesus would do. Let he who is without sin toss the first stone. You all sure do a lot of stone tossing.

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On Mar 28, 2008, Oline Krommenhoek said:

I am afraid but the presidential candidate Obama is trying to tell the Bible according to what he thinks but my Bible tells me that same sex marriages are still an abomination to the LORD God of Israel.To love the sinner yet hate the sin or am I so old fashioned in my beliefs

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On Mar 28, 2008, DinaB said:

I'm a conservative democrat and a christian and believe the truth of the bible, but I also have a dear relative who claims to be gay. This relative had to drop out of jr high because he was called f----- every day in addition to other really hateful comments. I agree no one has to condone homosexuality but does disagreeing with it mean someone who says they are gay has to be ridiculed and hated? Does a person have to hate someone to prove they disagree with their lifestyle? Couldn't a christian just say I don't agree with your lifestyle and it isn't compatible with my beliefs and what I believe to be true in the bible? The emotional trauma that calling someone f----- can't be undone and could affect someone for the rest of their life. Who knows that by showing someone love they might come to Christ on their own and decide to leave the gay lifestyle.

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On Mar 28, 2008, Peter said:

This Oklahoma Baptist disagrees with The Messenger. The BGCO is wrong to encourage businesses, organizations and governments to discriminate against people based on their sexual orientation. I'm surprised the Messenger hasn't advocated for stripping away the benefits the GLBT community requests from every other non-Christian. They're all sinners too. Sometimes I wonder who writes these editorials... Fred Phelps?

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On Mar 29, 2008, Gary Capshaw said:

Can we please get off the gay-bashing and partisan politics in this organization and this paper? Yes, homosexuality is a sin. But so is lying and cheating and backbiting and coveting and stealing etc, etc, etc. Those things are ALL present among Bible-believing Southern Baptists right here in our Oklahoma Churches, yet we don't spend an inordinate amount of time condemning them. Why not? If one sin can be separated out as worse than another, why not one of those? Because it might hit too close to home? Those people, like ALL sinners, need to see the love of Christ displayed by us, not our wagging fingers. Jesus said loving your brother is what the whole of the Law hangs on and Paul said it fulfills the Law. How about we fufill the Law by loving them and accepting them just where they are? Are we more interested in condemning them, or showing them the way to Salvation? And, I notice that the paper has two or three articles condemning Obama. What is this? A group of Southern Baptist's committed to fufilling the Great Commission, or a Republican front organization? This great convention of like-minded believers has no business linking ourselves to the Evangelical right-wing of ANY party and certainly should have no truck with the Theonomists. OUR mission has been, and should remain, evangelizing the world, not playing partisan politics.

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On Mar 31, 2008, Brian Warfield said:

This editorial was very disappointing. It is one more reason to believe that your newspaper has a pro-republican bias at best, and it exhibits republican propaganda at worst. Of course, we both know the problem is bigger than this state paper: for the last few decades a group of individuals known as the Religious Right has told evangelicals that the great moral issues of our day are homosexuality and abortion. For some reason, I believe that the prophets of the Old Testament might roll over in the graves, because income distribution, government corruption, and health care are not even highlighted as serious ‘moral issues’. This article suggests that because Obama has vowed to champion the civil rights of the homosexual community, he is really appealing to our sin nature to say this lifestyle is good. We should realize that these are separate actions; doing one does not commit you to the other. Withholding adoption, family, and other legal rights to same-sex couples essentially imposes a moral checklist to the system. And if we’re doing that, it seems wrong not to include a check for marital unfaithfulness, greed, abortion, and other moral concerns. So, the connection between legal rights and supporting a lifestyle choice is not so simply drawn as you suggest. By the end of the article, the author had only mentioned Obama’s ONE policy toward achieving equality for the homosexual community, but the conclusion was “Unfortunately, the policies of Senator Obama fall short of the biblical ideal.” Here is the one-and-done argument. If Obama fails this one test, Bible-believing Christians shouldn’t vote for him. That’s horrible. Of the three remaining candidates, Obama is the most outspoken about his faith, even clarifying his differences between his long-time pastor at times. It conclusion, it would be in the best interest of this newspaper to promote discussion and diversity, because Baptists have always been a diverse group that encourages the autonomy of every church and the autonomy of every individual to vote their conscience in the democratic process. Thank you.

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On Apr 12, 2008, Rusty Allen said:

I think there is a rift that is tearing this nation apart. How pastors and politicians mix I don't understand. It seems so many religious organizations are now becoming politically charged and motivated. They fall away from the traditional and godly ways of shepherding. I may not agree with Obama but for churches to systematically bring organized prejudice before our legislature is mind boggling. As a Christian Believer I think we ought to pray and fast instead of discriminate and further the pain of these homosexuals.

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On Apr 13, 2008, Rebecca said:

Try to remember that God created the family, not the US Government. By insisting that they (homosexual 'couples') have the "same rights" as heterosexual couples, they will be able to not only recieve the same benefits and rights as other married couples. If these types of legislation pass, then soon YOUR PASTOR will not be able to call homosexuality a sin, because that will be 'hate speech'. Around Europe pastors have been arrested and jailed for preaching against homosexuality in the pulpit. Our neighbors to the north, Canada, are currently having this problem. Please, people do not stick your heads in the sand again. All this "love" and "peace" got us is abortion, then abortion on demand, then partial birth abortion and now they want to allow the school to take our underage daughters across state lines to get an abortion without parental notification. We have to take a stand. Those of you who think that we should not take a stand, think about this, what if pedifiles unite together, and claim they were "born that way" and that their relationships with children are "natural" would you allow your son or daughter to be in a relationship with them? What if our government passed laws to say you couldn't stop them from doing so? Sure it is an extreme example, but it seems many here are afraid to call sin sin. Homosexuals are sinners, who need a savior like other sinners, but so are rapeists, tax evaders, and folks that run stop signs, but you don't hesitate to allow the government to punish these wrongs. So why would you be opposed to leaving Homosexual Rights, where they are, the same rights every other single person has? Homosexuality is a sin that I for one do not want the school system to tell my children is a valid lifestyle. I also don't want my pastor to have to remain silent. Thank you.

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