Quote:
Originally Posted by Monkei
The bible has become a Chinese menu where you can pick what fits and what doesn't. Yet, those who use the Bible to discriminate against gay people do not use the same part of the Bible to discriminate against men who shave, barbers, people with tattoos, pork eaters, football players, and people who eat shellfish. I pity a young pastor in today's church who has a tattoo proclaiming his love of God, who played football for Liberty College and enjoys taking his wife to the Red Lobster for Lobster Feast Night.
Pick and choose. Today's men and women no longer live by the strict wording in the bible. For instance our vets who come back disabled and had to have parts or all of their "man" parts removed can no longer enter the church. That would include testicular cancer and the removal of those parts.
The bible, especially te Old Testemant are full of passages of things we as humans cannot do, we certainly look the other way when it suits our wants and needs.
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Are you hinting at (gasp!) HYPOCRISY?! The Bible, in its religious context, embraced slavery as a routine, everyday occurrence. The U.S. Constitution, in its civil context, similarly embraced slavery as a routine, everyday occurrence. But then slavery was abolished! So much for "strict interpretation" of both the Bible and the U.S. Constitution....
I had occasion once to witness the Phelps family of Westboro Baptist Church "fame," who consider themselves devout Christians, picketing a church in an area where I lived at the time. I had no idea why they had selected that church; I knew many members of the congregation who were inherently good folks. I was rattled by the level of foul-mouthed abuse they shouted and displayed on picket signs, even though I understood that the goal of these Christians was to provoke onlookers to the point of physical confrontation, which would then lead to lawsuits! This link is revealing (and one can Google many other links for info about this anti-gay Christian group):
My father, the hate preacher: Nate Phelps on escaping Westboro Baptist Church - Telegraph
To quote this source: ".... Westboro first came to international attention after its members (consisting largely of members of Phelps’s extended family) picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the student who was murdered in 1998 because he was gay.
"At Shepard’s funeral, Phelps and his followers held signs that read: “God Hates Fags” and “No Tears for Queers”. By 2005, the church was picketing funerals of fallen soldiers too. During one, Phelps told the Associated Press: 'Our attitude toward what’s happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime.'
"Essentially, Phelps and his followers see all tragedies involving loss of life – war, natural disasters, mass shootings – as God’s judgment on a world that 'enables' homosexuality. Using this bizarre logic, they have protested at Lady Gaga concerts, schools, the Oscars, and the funerals of Navy SEALS, miners, hurricane victims and Elizabeth Taylor – 'fag enablers' one and all, they claim. The church has only about 40 members, yet Westboro is world famous."
They attend the funerals of our fallen military men and women shouting abuse at the mourners and bearing signs like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." Others of their picket signs read, among other things, "God Hates Jews," "America Is Doomed," "Fags Are Beasts," "Fag Troops," "God Hates You," "God Is Your Enemy," "You're Going to Hell." Apparently practically no one is exempt from the vitriol of this Christian group.
These are Christian attitudes and beliefs? I would not have thought so.... But their Christian beliefs opposing homosexuality are the same as the Christian beliefs of those who cringe at the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, are they not? Or am I missing something? Only the behaviors are different.
Very different.... Living in this community and to the extent that TOTV is a reflection of the feelings of Villagers in general, it's a relief to see that the vast majority of posters are pleased with the decision, which in turn is likely a reflection of the majority of Americans across the country....