LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- The issue of whether or not the church should embrace homosexuality comes down to its acceptance or denial of the authority of Scripture, R. Albert Mohler Jr. told a national television audience on CNN’s "Larry King Live" on June 15.

The church is called lovingly to confront the sin of homosexuality and all other sins with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, said Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

“The first thing [to consider is] whether or not as Christians, God has set a standard to which we are obligated,” Mohler said. “The issue is, always has been and always will be, the authority of Scripture.

“The Scripture very clearly tells us that our Creator has a purpose for our sexuality and that homosexuality among other sins is a violation of that purpose, and so love compels us to tell people the truth and also, as we understand the depth of their struggle with this, to tell them that there is a way out."

Mohler and six other panelists addressed the topic of homosexuality in the church. Panelists included Gene Robinson, the first openly homosexual Anglican bishop; Andrew Sullivan, a homosexual and a Time magazine columnist; Jo Hudson, a lesbian who pastors the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas; David Anderson, president and CEO of the Anglican American Council; Michael Manning, a Roman Catholic priest; and Frank Griswold, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA).

Homosexuality and the church have been a prominent topic in the news of late in light of the Episcopal Church's annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Three years ago the Episcopal Church ordained Gene Robinson in New Hampshire as the first openly homosexual bishop in the denomination’s long history. The denomination is deeply divided over the ordination of homosexuals and some analysts predict a split.

Hudson, a United Church of Christ minister who pastors one of the largest homosexual congregations in America, said God created her as a homosexual and thus being in a same-sex relationship is “wholly and completely” natural.

“I have a wonderful, living, dynamic relationship with God,” Hudson said. “And I know, in the core of my being, that the most natural way for me to be is exactly who I am.”

Mohler said he sympathizes with the desire of anyone who wishes to know God, but that a church that fails to follow Scripture and instead celebrates diversity is bound to celebrate sin.

“[T]he Gospel is about repenting of sin, not celebrating it,” Mohler said. “A church that buys into the logic of [celebrating a diversity of views on sexuality] is a church that's obligated to ordain homosexuals openly and unrepentant or anyone else because it has moved away from the clear authority of Scripture.

“A church that worships diversity is a church that's destined to accept a death knell, because the church itself is grounded in truth. The true church always celebrates the truth."