The Church decreed that we celebrate Christ's birth in 359AD. It doesn't have to be in the Bible for us to celebrate and that's the case with most Holy days. Try to remember the spirit of what you read in the Bible, not just the literal words and you'll be less confused about these things.

The Senators didn't vote to endorse homosexuality, so they'll be fine. They voted to remove a discriminatory statute that led to the dismissal of fine, brave Americans who volunteered to serve their country, men who were willing to die to defend the freedoms they themselves were being denied. It's called justice. Conservatives used these same stale arguments to enforce segregation in the arm...more

The Senators didn't vote to endorse homosexuality, so they'll be fine. They voted to remove a discriminatory statute that led to the dismissal of fine, brave Americans who volunteered to serve their country, men who were willing to die to defend the freedoms they themselves were being denied. It's called justice.

Conservatives used these same stale arguments to enforce segregation in the armed forces to to try to deny women the right to serve. Those arguments are just as invalid today as they were then.less

"It is time to recognize that sacrifice, valor and integrity are no more defined by sexual orientation than they are by race or gender, religion or creed." Amen.

Actually, 92% of all troops said they believed they had served with gay servicepeople with no negative effects. That's pretty telling as well.

Of course good people of all stripes will find salvation because, regardless of their exact beliefs, they are, in effect, living as Christ taught us to do. Get away from the literalism and see the message, the spirit, rather than the letter of the law.

DADT “will no doubt” cause service members to leave the military and also hamper recruitment. Is that worse than discouraging enlistment and re-enlistment of gay Americans? Should we turn the Constitution on it's head because the bigots will leave the service? If a man is brave enough, has that much character and patriotism that he is willing to fight for his country, maybe die for his...more

DADT “will no doubt” cause service members to leave the military and also hamper recruitment.

Is that worse than discouraging enlistment and re-enlistment of gay Americans? Should we turn the Constitution on it's head because the bigots will leave the service?

If a man is brave enough, has that much character and patriotism that he is willing to fight for his country, maybe die for his country, then the least we can do is treat him the same as the rest of our honorable servicemen and women. An assault like this on our servicemen and women, to deny them the rights we all share, is the real abomination here.less

No, not through faith alone, but through God alone, the same God who can choose to bestow His Grace upon us in any way He chooses, including the Holy Sacraments. To suppose we can know the mind of God is hubris. We must allow that He can choose to dispense Grace through His Church which He founded with authority to bind and loose on earth. And yes, it IS a different Gospel. You won't find Lu...more

No, not through faith alone, but through God alone, the same God who can choose to bestow His Grace upon us in any way He chooses, including the Holy Sacraments. To suppose we can know the mind of God is hubris. We must allow that He can choose to dispense Grace through His Church which He founded with authority to bind and loose on earth.

And yes, it IS a different Gospel. You won't find Luther's addition of "alone" in Scripture prior to his Reformation translation.less

Maybe it's just the overbearing fundamentalist type of Christianity in Tenn that has the ACLU all set to go to war. The fundies down there are very vocal, but not very good, practicing Christians. It's all evangelizing, but no love, compassion, tolerance, understanding, charity and those other things Christ told us to keep in our hearts. It's self-serving religion on your sleeve and it's pretty...more

Maybe it's just the overbearing fundamentalist type of Christianity in Tenn that has the ACLU all set to go to war. The fundies down there are very vocal, but not very good, practicing Christians. It's all evangelizing, but no love, compassion, tolerance, understanding, charity and those other things Christ told us to keep in our hearts. It's self-serving religion on your sleeve and it's pretty obnoxious.less

I'm sorry, but if you're a young enough parent to have young children, there is no excuse to be "analog." Catch up, already. 50, 60 and 70 year olds are computer literate and have a working knowledge of cell phones. It's the 21st century, folks.

Who cares what the autopsy said? You don't let your child suffer and die from an easily preventable sickness. You have to be a little unbalanced to reject life saving are for your child. If your faith is that insane in it's beliefs, you deserve jail. That's the consequence of believing in lunacy. Save your faith healing for when the medical options have been exhausted.

"We are attempting to show our visitors that the accounts in the Bible about creation, the flood, the Tower of Babel and Christ coming to earth are historical accounts," said Looy, co-founder of Creation Museum, which depicts a literal six-day creation model of the earth, beginning about 6,000 years ago. While the BIble does record some historical events, the 6000 year old earth is a man made c...more

"We are attempting to show our visitors that the accounts in the Bible about creation, the flood, the Tower of Babel and Christ coming to earth are historical accounts," said Looy, co-founder of Creation Museum, which depicts a literal six-day creation model of the earth, beginning about 6,000 years ago.

While the BIble does record some historical events, the 6000 year old earth is a man made creation, reading into the BIble things that weren't meant to be. You can't add up begat, begat, begat and come up with the age of the earth.

Bad interpretation always yields bad results.less

Another evangelical bites the dust. I think this goes to the "glass houses" and "throwing stones" suggestion.

Survey: Evangelicals Go Against the Tide on Don't Ask, Don't Tell Of course they do. What do you expect from people who think the world is 6000 years old? I'm sorry. Be against sin all you like, but we owe our servicemen and women respect for what they do. That respect includes not asking them to hide who they are or lie in order to serve our country. They deserve the basic civil right...more

Survey: Evangelicals Go Against the Tide on Don't Ask, Don't Tell

Of course they do. What do you expect from people who think the world is 6000 years old?

I'm sorry. Be against sin all you like, but we owe our servicemen and women respect for what they do. That respect includes not asking them to hide who they are or lie in order to serve our country. They deserve the basic civil rights that they are out there dying for or being maimed in order to protect. Should they be allowed to fight for freedom, but not enjoy the benefits of freedom for themselves? Of course not. It's the height of arrogance to suggest otherwise.less

What a silly argument the conservatives make. The bottom line is that only 30% of enlisted personnel had a problem with gays serving our country openly. Amazing. These same people who were saying we had to wait for the military's report on DADT now try to discredit that report using the most dubious logic because it doesn't agree with their position. Sorry folks. The numbers don't lie, so...more

What a silly argument the conservatives make. The bottom line is that only 30% of enlisted personnel had a problem with gays serving our country openly.

Amazing. These same people who were saying we had to wait for the military's report on DADT now try to discredit that report using the most dubious logic because it doesn't agree with their position. Sorry folks. The numbers don't lie, so maybe now patriotic Americans who happen to be gay won't have to, either.less

Thanks God for common sense. FB is a tool like any other that can be used for good or ill. It depends on the user, not the website. The original pastor was way off base or he doesn't trust people to exercise good judgment. Or maybe he's one of those who has no use for the internet, period. In any case, bad call.

I think it's hypocritical and does a dishonor to our American servicemen and women that many don't care that gays serve, only that they don't say they're gay while they're serving. Gays are and have always been part of the armed forces and have served and continue to serve with distinction. That they be required to not let on in any way that they're gay is doing them a dishonor as American servi...more

I think it's hypocritical and does a dishonor to our American servicemen and women that many don't care that gays serve, only that they don't say they're gay while they're serving. Gays are and have always been part of the armed forces and have served and continue to serve with distinction. That they be required to not let on in any way that they're gay is doing them a dishonor as American servicemen and women and they deserve better, much better. They are fighting for the very freedoms that many want to deny to them. That's deplorable and, frankly, unpatriotic.

The men and women in the armed forces have less concern about this issue than outsiders. Leave this to the military to decide as a practical issue, a civil rights issue and not a moral issue. If gays have the spirit to volunteer to be maimed or to die for their country, the least we can do is mind our own business on this one.less

"We have to show the love of Jesus, not just tell people about him." And the author finds faulty with this ?????It's not an either/or folks. It's a both. Do you know how many people have been inspired to know Christ because they've seen Him working in other people? Their example of Christian love prompts others to want to know more, to know the reason others are so happy in the Christ, so l...more

"We have to show the love of Jesus, not just tell people about him."

And the author finds faulty with this ?????It's not an either/or folks. It's a both.
Do you know how many people have been inspired to know Christ because they've seen Him working in other people? Their example of Christian love prompts others to want to know more, to know the reason others are so happy in the Christ, so loving and giving.

I'm amazed at those who seem to think preaching is the be all and end all of Christianity, the be all and end all of our personal faith. Faith without the corresponding living out of it, is dead, worthless and hollow. You can have that inner glow, but if it isn't matched with an outer purpose, a drive to love and help others, then I think we're fooling ourselves. That's not what Christ was about, a selfish, isolated "relationship" that excludes the world and demands nothing from us but "accepting Jesus." Accepting Jesus is only the start, a first step on a long road to mastering living as Christ would have us live.less

The bottom line here is that discrimination is unacceptable in America on any basis. You can have beliefs, prejudices or plain old discomfort about whatever group fo Americans you choose, but you can't bring that into the public arena at your place of employment. Your choice will determine how your job status is affected, but it's your choice. You'll have to decide if your personal beliefs ar...more

The bottom line here is that discrimination is unacceptable in America on any basis.

You can have beliefs, prejudices or plain old discomfort about whatever group fo Americans you choose, but you can't bring that into the public arena at your place of employment. Your choice will determine how your job status is affected, but it's your choice. You'll have to decide if your personal beliefs are such that you can't abide by American law.

In the end, the bullying statute is nonsense. Kids have always teased kids who are different even if they aren't gay or black or female. It's what kids do. What worries me is that adults who claim to be Christian haven't outgrown that and are sending a message that it's OK not to love your neighbor, even treat them badly, if you think they're sinners. I suspect Christ would disagree with that, so it's not a message I'd want to send.less

The existence or non-existence of God is a straw man in the debate about creation. The crux of the matter sii that some want to deny extremely plausible scientific evidence in favor of a bad interpretation of Scripture and then, try to pass that off as science, i.e, ID. The Bible simply doesn't give us a detailed view into creation, only that it was brought about by the Creator. That's the co...more

The existence or non-existence of God is a straw man in the debate about creation. The crux of the matter sii that some want to deny extremely plausible scientific evidence in favor of a bad interpretation of Scripture and then, try to pass that off as science, i.e, ID.

The Bible simply doesn't give us a detailed view into creation, only that it was brought about by the Creator. That's the core truth we need to know and all else, like how that process came about is, largely, irrelevant to faith.

We have to consider the reality that other human forms preceded us. Some, like Neanderthal, existed alongside is, only to become extinct. That alone is enough to refute so many wrongheaded notions about creation because of the questions it raises. Were Neanderthals human? If they were, did God create two (or more) different species of man? And why did He oversee their extinction? Obviously, considering the many humanoid forms, man as we know him wasn't created in a poof instant.

It annoys me that as we accumulate more knowledge about our past, the more ridiculous the arguments of the young earth, creationist school are forced to become, giving the impression that Christians are delusional momos. We know God is real. Let's get onto reconciling that with certain realities we've come to know about biological and geological progression through the ages and stop the well deserved snickering.less

Facebook, like anything else is simply a tool, in this case, a social tool. The problem is with how people to choose to use it, not Facebook itself. Using the pastor's logic, we should also avoid high school reunions. How about putting the responsibility on the people who have sinned instead f making a web site the villan?