Am I supposed to hate people who are gay?

Sorry I haven't posted in a while!  I've been pretty busy these last few weeks.  While I do enjoy writing this blog, there will be periods when I won't be able to devote a lot of time to it.  With that said, I'm steering away from the main focus of the blog in this post.

Through my use of Twitter, I have had the privilege of getting to speak with some atheist/anti-theist people.  (If I haven't said so before, they are actually part of the reason I started this blog.)  We have been able to have some good debates regarding matters of belief, God and the Bible.  We've even found some common ground outside of our religious beliefs or lack thereof.

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that the discussion sometimes turns to the matter of the Church's treatment of gay people.  This topic seems almost unavoidable when speaking about matters of faith in God.  I've asked myself the question "Am I supposed to hate people who are gay?" before, and I was forced to ask it again recently.  I'm hoping that I will be able to present this in a way that will make everyone look at this issue in a different way than you have in the past.

Let me say this, first thing.  I love gay people.  I don't subscribe to the belief that homosexuality is somehow a greater sin than any other sin, and I completely reject any mistreatment of people who are gay.  (Did I just hear some religious feathers ruffling?)  I'll even take this a step further.  God loves gay people.  Jesus loves gay people.  (Now I know I've made someone mad!)  Don't stop reading, though!!  Hear me out!