Joel olsteen gay

Conservative televangelist Joel Osteen went on national television this morning and admitted that his own sexual orientation is not a choice -- despite maintaining consistently in previous interviews that being gay is a sin, albeit olsteen that "God gives us the grace to change. Osteen has repeatedly tried to tip toe around his stance on homosexuality, telling Piers Morgan in October of that he's not "mad at anybody" and doesn't "dislike anybody," while reiterating his belief that the scripture says homosexuality is a sin ," and "two hundred gay from now, the Scripture is still going to say that.

Citing that interview, Socarides, who has often campaigned for LGBT rights, and host O'Brien pushed Osteen to clarify his stance on homosexuality, especially for those gays and lesbians who listen to his sermons that emphasize personal happiness and other uplifting themes. Socarides: Do you think you can choose to be gay or not gay?

You think you choose to be straight? Apparently realizing this answer could be interpreted as a defense of a main LGBT argument -- that people do not choose their sexual orientation -- Osteen backtracked, saying he preferred to stick to "the issues I understand," the Advocate reports. The pastor's comments were quickly picked up by joel outlets, given Osteen's track record on the "born this way" argument.

During a Piers Morgan interview in JanuaryOsteen compared the ability to break an addiction to the ability to stop being gay. But I believe olsteen God can give us grace to change. For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.

We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves. Thank you again for your joel along the way. Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during gay times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever.

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Joel Osteen Says Being Straight Is 'Not A Choice,' But Maintains Being Gay Is A Sin (VIDEO)

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