Osteen Tries to Clarify Antigay Remarks

Pastor Joel Osteen appeared on The View and attempted, with limited success, to explain his remark to the program last year that "homosexuality is not God's best."

Cohost Barbara Walters asked Osteen about his comments and his thoughts on megachurch pastor Jim Swilley of Georgia, who just came out.

Regarding his earlier remark, Osteen said, "I should finish that sentence. I should make it clear. I don't think it's God's best for your life. I don't think it's not God's best making us."

Osteen hesitated to draw a conclusion about Swilley, but he suggested that scripture would dictate that an openly gay person should not remain in a leadership role in a Christian church. At the same time, he tried to defend his Lakewood Church as welcoming.

"We don't have the sign at the door: no gays, no drunkards, no people on drugs," he said. "We're for everybody."

Cohost Joy Behar took a strong position against Osteen. Watch the clip.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/v/8AsbkYuNDwI?fs=1&hl=en_US expand=1 site_id=25879312]