by Blair Robertson Advertiser Staff Writer Auburn - In the past five weeks, vandals have had a field day with a pair of Adopt-A-Mile signs posted by the Auburn Gay and Lesbian Association. And each time the signs were stolen or plowed over or splattered with paint, th e community reacted with silence. This weekend, the signs, which designate a mile the group pledges to keep free of litter, were again covered with spray paint. But this time the Auburn Ministerial Association has come out with a public sta tement against the vandalism. The organization said it "deplores the defacing and thefts of the signs" and re ferred to Auburn as "an inclusive community." "Regardless of where people (stand)... on the issue of homosexuality," said How ard W. Roberts, pastor at First Baptist Church, "what we need to try to do is t o respond to all people with love, and to do that does not mean you condone eve rything they do - it also doesn't have to mean you condemn them." The Rev. Dr. Roberts, who signed the ministerial association's statement, said, "There was a strong consensus that there was something we could and should say as representatives of part of the religious community." Not everyone is joining in. Neither Auburn Mayor Jan Dempsey nor Auburn Univer sity President William V. Muse have commented publicly. And among those who are talking, there is anything but a consensus. Wayne Flint, a prominent historian, applauded the Auburn Ministerial Association's st atement, but he said he does not approve of the gay lifestyle. "It's inconsistend with biblical teachings," he said. "The Bible over and over again speaks against homosexuality and says it's a sin." But Delos McKown, the chairman of Auburn's philosophy department, criticized Dr. Flynt's position. "It's absurd," he said. "It's even worse coming from a historian who ought to know better." Al Jackson, pastor at the conservative Lakeview Baptist Church, said he was not pleased to learn that the Auburn Ministerial Association mad a statement about the gay group. He added that he has not attended a meeting since 1980. The Rev. Dr. Jackson added that he is not so concerned with the sign "but with the fact that there is a group of students on campus sanctioned by the universi ty that promotes an immoral lifestyle." But gay and lesbian association members, who said Tuesday that they are disappo inted with the mayor's silence on the matter, are nonetheless encouraged by a r ecent, simple act. After the weekend spray-painting, city workers took the sig ns down, cleaned off the paint and reinstalled them.