Marriage and other LGBTQ Rights

[kladner]

Depending on definitions, us palefaces aren't long for the majority status anyway. The definitions of "race" only affect how long it will be, at that.

With apologies to the Rolling Stones- "Demographics wait for no one, and they won't wait for us."

[Brian-E]

Tempers are flaring in the Church of England over the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's failure to support the British government's equal marriage bill:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/priest-brands-archbishop-of-canterbury-a-wr-in-facebook-posting-as-tempers-flare-over-gay-marriage-8647967.html

A furious row has erupted among members of the clergy after a Church of England priest branded the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, a "w****r" for resisting the government's attempts to legalise gay marriage.

[jasong]

Originally Posted by Brian-E

I suppose it shows that there are multiple stages of acceptance of groups, which were previously seen as "different" and undesirable, into society. And in the case of people of different races, while the integration is generally accepted for the status quo that it now is, people still balk at the idea that a black person can be president of the United States. There's a long period, still going on, of "acceptance but only to a certain point and no further". So people of other races are tolerated by the white majority provided that they know, and stay in, their "place" in society. (I am of course only referring to the very worst attitudes of this white majority: most white people will, I hope, not suffer from this racism anymore.)

This is one of those cases of the blind leading the blind. Being black isn't a sin and never was. The same thing goes for bi-racial marriage. This is the sort of thing that makes these debates meaningless, when people combine groups that shouldn't be combined. It's like when people try to prevent gun murders by preventing people with schizophrenia from owning guns, it's mis-guided and useless.

Homosexuality is a sin, it's another form of lust. Being of a certain race isn't a sin and never was. It's two totally different situations. The only people confused about this are people who want to be confused about it. When people commit or fantasize about committing immoral acts, they know they're wrong. That's true for every sin, it's simply a matter of how hard your heart is. Some people believe they don't have a choice with a sin, which is the reason Christians are told to spread the word in the first place. People are fully capable of seeing intentional lies about morality, but the truth is a bit harder to find. It's like when you try to find a new location by driving there, it's easy as pie to know when you're lost, but that doesn't do much to help you find the location.

[kladner]

jasong-".....it's simply a matter of how hard your heart is."

Reckon so.

[Xyzzy]

http://news.yahoo.com/u-group-conver...002721645.html

[kladner]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://news.yahoo.com/u-group-conver...002721645.html

Yay! I'm almost afraid to believe it.

[gd_barnes]

Originally Posted by jasong

Homosexuality is a sin, it's another form of lust. Being of a certain race isn't a sin and never was.

I have a question for you Jason. When did you decide to be straight and not gay (assuming that you are straight)? Just a simple answer is all that is needed. No explanation required. Just give me an approximate age on when you decided that you would be straight.

[gd_barnes]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://news.yahoo.com/u-group-conver...002721645.html

This is outstanding!

[Brian-E]

Originally Posted by kladner

Yay! I'm almost afraid to believe it.

Originally Posted by gd_barnes

This is outstanding!

(Re: Exodus International's director apologising and the organisation shutting down.)
Yes, very significant. And what precisely does it suggest about the direction which the Evangelical Right is taking now?
Here are some interesting comments:
http://www.secularism.org.uk/news/20...eligious-right

Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society, said: "This is good news, although I doubt we have seen the end of the 'ex-gay' fantasy among the wilder shores of Christianity. Mr Chambers may have had an epiphany, but many of his evangelical colleagues are already calling him a traitor and a heretic.
"The idea that a 'final solution' can be found for homosexuality by praying it out of existence will persist. It will be interesting to see what the promised 're-configuration' of Exodus amounts to. If the change is just cosmetic, the fight against it will continue – even intensify."
Mr Sanderson said that the Religious Right in theUSAwas pragmatic and had recognised that it was losing public esteem by its obsessive hatemongering against gay people and their rights.
"During the last presidential election, the evangelicals put all their eggs into the opposition-to-gay-marriage-basket, thinking they could use homosexuality to unseat Barack Obama. They got it completely wrong and now their survival instincts have kicked in. The Exodus volte face may be a sign that the Religious Right in theUSAhas recognised that trying to use prejudice against gay people as a political tool weakens rather than strengthens them. I think we are going to see more stepping back from hateful attacks as the focus changes to something else, probably abortion."

[jasong]

Originally Posted by Xyzzy

http://news.yahoo.com/u-group-conver...002721645.html

God never promised a cessation of urges. He simply says that,"All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of the God and "[He is] the Way, the Truth and the Light" and that all can find redemption through Him.

My sexual urges are just as strong as they've ever been, but the Holy Spirit gives me the power to deal with those urges. It would take a miracle for them to go away, but it's not the end of the world if that miracle doesn't come.

[jasong]

Originally Posted by gd_barnes

I have a question for you Jason. When did you decide to be straight and not gay (assuming that you are straight)? Just a simple answer is all that is needed. No explanation required. Just give me an approximate age on when you decided that you would be straight.

Even if someone is born gay, that doesn't make it okay, maybe I was destined to grow up to be attracted to underage girls. Just because something feels natural doesn't mean it's okay to fully embrace those feelings. When I was 15, I would just naturally close my eyes when someone pissed me off. Then I did it when my dad was teaching me to drive, which is obviously not ok. My sexual urges, and a lot of other things, are not ok despite the fact that they "feel natural."

It's like those women held prisoner in that basement. He probably felt that having women imprisoned in his basement was totally awesome, when it's obvious to most people that it's "not ok."