Dear Dolly Parton,
Hi. You have never heard about me, I am sure, but I wanted to write to you on behalf of many Christians. First, I would like to compliment you on how you stay looking so young. I don’t know how you do that, but you look pretty good. I know you have a busy schedule and all, so I don’t want to make this too long. To get to the point and I hope you will still love me even though I say these things.
Here is what was written about you, “In a recent interview with Billboard, Parton opened up about her love for her gay fans — as well as her feelings towards Christians that feel the need to “judge” the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.”
You said, “I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don’t think we should be judgmental.”
You also said, “…as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing. I try to love everybody.”
The article goes on to say of you, “When questioned about why she thinks that she reached icon status within the queer world, Parton told Billboard:
“They know that I completely love and accept them, as I do all people. I’ve struggled enough in my life to be appreciated and understood. I’ve had to go against all kinds of people through the years just to be myself. I think everybody should be allowed to be who they are, and to love who they love. I don’t think we should be judgmental. Lord, I’ve got enough problems of my own to pass judgment on somebody else.”
Now, I understand perfectly that you want to love the LGBT group people and everyone in the world. I get that, and I can agree with that, we are commanded by Jesus to love everyone.
However, we are to love all people, but we are to hate sin. We would not be Christians if we didn’t believe that. Yes, God will judge sin, and, yes, all of us have sinned and do sin. That is why Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He died for us because He loves us, but He doesn’t love our sin. Sin is the reason He had to die; He was taking the punishment for our sins on the cross.
I am so glad He did that for me, and I know that every Christians feels that way. If He had not died for our sins, we would be forever lost! God is not only a loving God, but He is a Holy God. The Angels in Isaiah are not singing to God “love, love, love,” they are singing to God, “Holy, Holy, Holy.” You see there is no love without justice. What kind of God would He be if when someone murders, rapes, steals, lies, and so on, if He didn’t punish sin? If He is to be a God of love He has to punish sin.
That brings me to this point, if we truly love people we have to warn them. Say for example a house is on fire, and you know there are people inside. But you said, they are sleeping, I don’t want to disturb them. Would that be love? No, of course not! Because you love people and care for them you will warn them to get out because their house is on fire. Well, the same thing is true of the LGBT group, we love them and that is why we want to warn them, that if they hang on to their sin it will take them down to hell. You may say, like you have, we are judging. No, we are saying what God has proclaimed in the Bible:
“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:7-11)
Notice that is says, “such ‘were’ some of you…” “but you ‘were’ sanctified” “but you ‘were’ justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. That means there were people in the Church that had been these, including “homosexuals,” but they had been forgiven. They had repented of these sins and been saved. I am glad He has said this, so we can know how our sin we had before we were saved, has been forgiven, and now we are on our way to heaven! Not because of our goodness, but because Jesus died and rose again so we could be saved.
Here are some other verses in the New Testament about homosexuality, and there are many others in the Bible. “For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.” (Romans 1:26-27)
So do we love these people, “Yes!” However, we love them by telling them there is a pardon Jesus is offering for their sin and ours. You might say, or think, they were born that way, or God made them that way. You may even say “science” proves it. There is no such proof of this from science proving that anyone was born homosexual. There is proof from God’s Word, the Bible, that all of us are born with sin.
In Romans 3:23 it says: “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” But in Romans 6:23 it says: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
So God loves us, and we should love others. The way we can love them is by telling them the truth that God loves them, but hates their sin. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” (John 3:16,17)
In Christian love,
Gary T. Panell Write us at [email protected]
P.S. I am very impressed with the book program you have for children, where on your website it says in your biography that the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, across America and in Canada, gives every preschool child a book each month from the time he or she is born until the child reaches kindergarten.
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