Joel Osteen, the pastor of America’s largest church, Lakewood Church in Houston, and his wife Victoria responded to a series of controversial topics brought to light on “Piers Morgan Tonight”.
When asked “Is homosexuality a sin?”, the megachurch pastor replied: “Yes, I’ve always believed it. The scripture shows that it’s a sin.
“I’m not one of those to bash homosexuals and tell them they’re terrible people and all that. Sometimes the church focuses on one issue or two issues and there are plenty of other ones.
"So I don’t believe homosexuality is God’s best for a person’s life. I mean sin means to miss the mark.”
He continued, “I say it’s wrong because that’s what the scripture says.”
Morgan remarked that Osteen had never spelled out “sin” before now, and wondered if he was prepared to give an answer to the question on homosexuality.
“I think I’ve grown in my knowledge. This was all new to me…People say I don’t talk about sin but I do talk about how we live our life and [about] making good choices,” said Osteen.
The “smiling preacher” has been criticised for avoiding difficult theological issues, lack of scriptural reference, and lightweight theology. He is widely known for preaching positive messages emphasising the goodness of God rather than sin.
Osteen, 47, appears to be slowly evolving in his preaching from when he took over his father’s television ministry and position of senior pastor at Lakewood Church in 1999.
“I choose to live my life by what I read in the scripture,” the New York Time’s bestselling author shared. “I can’t grab one part [of the Bible] and say God wants you to be blessed, to live an abundant life, and not grab the other part that says live that kind of life. It just comes back to scripture.”
Addressing the topic of good and evil, Morgan asked Osteen if he thought that Adolf Hitler was evil, or if there was any good in a man like that. Characteristic of the glass half-full pastor, Osteen deflected the question by pretending not to know it all.
Morgan then accused the pastor of “copping out” of difficult questions.
“You see, it may be a likable trait, but I think in your position of such responsibility and influence you need to be more determined about these things,” Morgan pressed.
The moment was passed by a light laughter from his wife, Victoria, and another indefinite response.
When asked if he could forgive the recent Arizona shooter, the Texan native first hesitated with a maybe “not right now” but then explained how people have to walk in someone else’s shoes to understand them. “It’s easier to have mercy when you think they didn’t have a good shot”- referring to people’s upbringing and environment.
