(I just sent this in to a church-sponsored website proclaiming their hatred of gays, and figured I'd save the words to potentially share them with others, as this is something I've wanted to ask many people. I'm not certain of any sort of faith at this point in my life, though I find a lot of value in the messages of the Bible, as I do in many other holy texts.)
First off, I'm sorry. I wish I could actually communicate this in something more expressive than text, as I'm worried that my honest curiosity and confusion will be conveyed as bitterness toward your community.
My interpretation of the Bible has led me to believe that, regardless of what behaviors He deems holy or sinful, God does not condone showing hatred to others in any form. It is His duty to pass judgment, while his followers are tasked with merely doing the best work they can in loving one another and living a good life. Humans should not take it upon themselves to do His work of deciding who is fit or unfit for heaven, and assuming this duty is in fact harmful to other good Christians.
For instance, one of my favorite parables, that of the Tares among Wheat (Matthew 13:24-30), discourages trying to persecute sinners before God Himself can pass judgment. When the landowner's servants ask whether they should remove the weeds (tares) planted through the healthy field by an enemy, the landowner informs them that doing so will also uproot some of the good plants, and therefore they should tend to the whole field and wait until the landowner himself can separate the wheat from the weeds at harvest.
I can't help but feel that the actions of this organization, picketing to spread the word that God hates gay people, is in direct contradiction to this parable. But I don't believe that you would take these actions without some reason in mind that God condones.
So, I ask with the utmost candor: where in the Bible does it encourage expressing hatred for sinners (and not just their sins), and why do those words take precedence over Jesus' message of love and toleration?
If possible, I would love a response to this that does not quote Leviticus, and even more so one that focuses on the New Testament. I accept that Leviticus is part of the Bible and do not ignore the Old Testament, but I find most of the contents reference obsolete practices and rituals and therefore prefer to draw from the messages of Jesus, which I feel take precedence over any contradictions to it in the less recent communication of the Word of God.
