I had the privilege last year of introducing you to Dr Robert Gagnon at Lambeth Palace. His position is well known.

Also Wolfhart Pannenberg wrote, 'the biblical assessments of homosexual practice are unambiguous in their rejection'. But scholars from the other side of the debate also agree: Dan Via: "Prof Gagnon and I are in substantial agreement that the biblical texts that deal specifically with homosexuality condemn it unconditionally"

However, in recent years the accusation of 'homophobia' has been levelled not just at these unkind attitudes towards gay people, but also reasoned biblical convictions about problems associated with homosexual practice, and any expression of concern about the power and intolerance of pressure groups. We are told that no matter how compassionate a person is towards gay people, if we do not fully embrace the goodness of the gay identity and lifestyle we are homophobes.

Many of them have said that even if we don't agree, we shouldn't make it a big deal. We can "agree to disagree," they say. Typically, they offer one of three reasons.

First, this issue, they say, is like the mode of baptism, or worship styles, or wine versus grape juice in the Lord's Supper. In other words, homosexuality is a matter of preference, an area where believers can respect one another's differences.

Still, some saw it coming. I turned 17 years old in 1976, facing my last year of high school and trying to figure out the world around me. An apologetic crisis had troubled me for a couple of years by then, and I needed help. I was already facing some of the issues and questions that would explode onto the American scene in coming decades.