The dialogue began slowly. Five members of the gay activist group Soulforce held hands and stood to face about 50 Liberty University students behind the school's DeMoss Hall.

They had just returned from donating five gay-affirming Christian books to the school's library, and Caitlin MacIntyre invited onlookers to join them in singing "Amazing Grace."

"No thanks," one student said. Some of the Liberty students paged through Bibles as the hymn's familiar first verse began. Lawanda Sowell said she was searching for passages to describe her belief that homosexuality is a sin. "They believe in what they believe because they are blind," she said.

Soulforce's annual Equality Ride stopped Wednesday at Liberty, the first of 15 planned stops at faith-based institutions on a national bus tour meant to encourage an inviting environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender students.

"Nowhere in the Bible does it say, 'homosexuality is sin,'" said Soulforce member Nicholas Rocco DeFinis.

Liberty student Steven Mosley disagreed. "This is never affirmed in the Bible, ever," he said. "You should not be living like this."

Although they disagreed, dialogue was exactly what Soulforce had hoped for, said Jarrett Lucas. "Ideally, we come together and understand each other before the end of the day -- or however long it takes."

When Soulforce members came to the school in 2006, more than 20 were arrested on charges of trespassing after walking onto school property.

Liberty Chancellor Jerry Falwell Jr. said last week that the group was told not to come onto the campus. "But they didn't cause any incidents, so we didn't arrest anybody."

"Most students believe, like my father did, that you should love the sinner, hate the sin, show compassion and try to be a good witness," Falwell Jr. said. "So that's what I think our students did today." His father, the late Rev. Jerry Falwell Sr., founded Liberty University.

Liberty junior Erika Green said she was happy to have the chance to speak with the group. "We're supposed to love everyone, so it would be wrong to turn them away," she said.

Katie Higgins, co-director of the Equality Ride, said the group had been in contact with gay students at Liberty who felt that the school promoted discrimination against them.

Falwell Jr. said Liberty's code of conduct does not prohibit homosexuality, but it does forbid sexual activity outside of marriage. "And in order for there to be a marriage in Virginia, it has to be between a man and a woman," he said.

As for the donated books, he said, "We have a committee that will decide whether to make them a part of the collection or not."

After more than an hour of discussion, Soulforce members walked back to their bus and a dozen other Equality Riders who rallied from just outside of campus.

According to the Lynchburg-based organization's Web site, www.soulforce.org, the bus tour heads south this week, stopping at Morehouse College and Spelman College in Atlanta before traveling to schools in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee and Kentucky. Christa Desrets is a staff writer at The News & Advance in Lynchburg.