Re: How the Christian Right's Homophobia Scares Away Religious Young People
Why are you ignorant of Christian doctrine?
Firstly, doctrine is bound to a specific interpretation of the Bible. It is the exercise of worldly authority in specifying what Jesus meant with his ministry. Doctrine is NOT God's word, but man's interpretation of it. Often times, man is wrong.
Secondly, what specific passages do you think talks against homosexuality and names it a sin? Quote it brother. Anyone can be lustful.
Revelation 2:6 said:
But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
This is a reference to anal sex. Heterosexual and homosexual males can both engage in this sinful and abominable practice.
I think it's reasonable to assume that you have at least been raised in an area where Christians lived and were at least aware of basic Christian stands on social issues, among them being homosexuality. If you think that Christianity permits homosexual activity, you are the one who labors under a false impression.
Basic Christian stands on social issues? Firstly, again, doctrine is from man, not Christ or the Bible. Secondly, Christ did not intend the state to limit non-harmful behavior for religious reasons. Of course Christianity permits homosexual activity. Nothing sinful about it. Christianity acknowledges that everyone sins. I have not heard of a law banning lustful intercourse, although I am sure some communities have tried. Greed, sloth, wrath, envy, gluttony, pride, lust...none of these should be ILLEGAL!
lol I think this is a tacit admission that you already knew it was sinful to Christians
No, it was not. I stood in your shoes and termed it sinful, and then destroyed the idea that it should be illegal for that reason. A more accurate argument is one of whether we should make lust illegal. Good luck with that.
I am not "in favor of it", strictly speaking. What I am in favor of is marriage being defined as between a man and a woman. Any other legal partnership with a different mix of sexes or number of partners ought not be called marriage. I am in favor of barring the use of the word "marriage" in the law entirely so that both sides get that rhetorical tactic taken away from them.
I actually totally agree with you. If we were to eliminate the term marriage from legal work and call it a civil union AND allow any combination of people to enter said union with all of the legal benefits, I am totally for it. This means, of course, that the following unions should be legal:
It should be no one's business as to arrangements, except for the people directly involved. This practice of the "Church community" deciding what is right and wrong for other people to do, when it harms no one, is a grave injustice and is not the narrow path.
Marriage is actually a spiritual endeavor, internal to your heart. It is the marriage of Christ and Mary within each of us. I have my family: Father, Mother, Christ, Mary, Baby Jesus. :mrgreen:
I exercise judgment on no one, and please do not accuse me of that again.
You absolutely do exercise judgement if you are in favor of the state limiting non-harmful behavior. Do you not see that? I am not accusing you of it, I am stating fact. You are sinning when you restrict other people's non-harmful decisions: drugs, sex, marriage. Are you also in favor of speed traps to collect state revenues? Of course speeding is sinful. It is greedy and selfish. We must make it illegal!
Maybe you would be in favor of homosexual unions, as long as their is a $10,000 sin tax attached to it, for public healthcare, of course. That AIDS epidemic, you know.
Homosexual activity is sinful and disfigures the soul, like any other sin, and I would be a poor Christian if I did not acknowledge that. The judgment of all people is God's only, and we ought to help each other avoid sin so we can gain His good graces.
Once again, quote it and demonstrate that the Bible names homosexual activity as sinful. Being homosexual is not an activity, of course. It is a state of existence. Therefore, being in the state of homosexual identity is NOT sin, since it carries no action. I, personally, am a homosexual (actually, I am biosexual), but I do not exercise any sexual interactions with anyone, to eliminate confusion and ignorance in my relations. Therefore, I do not sin.
Pontius Pilate didn't really care about Jesus, it was the Pharisees that wanted Jesus dead because of their claim of heresy against him. They pressured Pilate with a threat of a Jewish revolt against his authority, and Pilate was concerned about Rome's opinion of his governorships lack of control over the region. If you read the Gospel, you will see that Pilate tried to give Jesus every opportunity to talk his way out of the crucifixion that the Pharisees demanded.
The Pharisees absolutely wanted Christ put to death, as he was undermining their worldly religious authority. However, Pilate also wanted Christ put to death, as Christ was starting a social/religious movement in the governorship that extended past the Jews, primarily. Christ's disciples were also Jewish, for the most part, but all of the other people being drawn in were not, for the most part. Pilate had a huge political problem on his hands and he finagled his way to make it look like it was the Pharisees who demanded the crucifixion, when in reality it was Pilate and Roman power. Of course it helped all concerned, in the short run, for Pilate and the Pharisees to join forces.
You use Christianity as a sword to attack, when we are told to use the word of God as a shield. I warn you that there will be consequences to that choice when you stand in judgement before God.
Ephesians 6:10-17 said:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
