"In affirming God’s pattern for marriage, Jesus rejected all sexual behaviors and arrangements outside of the marriage bond, including homosexual behavior." Let's be sure to take up legislation that disallows cohabitation between heterosexual, unmarried couples then. This has to be as big a sin in God's eyes as two women wanting to raise children together.

lol

How does "SSM" force beliefs upon you? You don't have to condone it. You don't have to believe it's ok. You don't even have to gay marry anybody. What happens to you if someone SSMs?

You have it backwards, 2tos. We start from the perspective that all rights are inherent. From there, government begins to take them away as society sees certain things as unfit for the greater good – rights are never *given* by the government. By controlling who someone can marry, government is taking away their right to mary who they wish. The argument is now whether the right should be ret...more

You have it backwards, 2tos. We start from the perspective that all rights are inherent. From there, government begins to take them away as society sees certain things as unfit for the greater good – rights are never *given* by the government.

By controlling who someone can marry, government is taking away their right to mary who they wish. The argument is now whether the right should be returned to the individuals involved. Or should the government retain those rights for the greater good?less

2tos: The right to marry their boyfriend.

So you speak for God? I mean, for crying out loud, you got the memo and the rest of us didn't? God said "don't speak for me" and Jesus said "love one another" and "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." When did they anoint you and your views as their spokes-prophet? If you can accept that you may be wrong and that the commandment "love one another" trumps anything else said in the Bi...more

So you speak for God? I mean, for crying out loud, you got the memo and the rest of us didn't? God said "don't speak for me" and Jesus said "love one another" and "let he who is without sin cast the first stone."

When did they anoint you and your views as their spokes-prophet? If you can accept that you may be wrong and that the commandment "love one another" trumps anything else said in the Bible, then you and I can agree on something.

For what it's worth, I only challenge you in this way because I love who you are as part of the society that I live in. I value your contribution and think the world would be a lesser place if you weren't in it. I would never support legislation that makes your way of life illegal. I support our common morality and hope to engage, civilly, on our differences. I will never claim to speak on behalf of a greater moral authority who supports my morality and tells me to hate you because of yours.less

Crispentine: Please read the Bible. There is a section where God requires that you not speak in his name to serve your own purposes. Exodus 20: 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

The point, which you missed, Crisrpentine, was that the Republicans are raking in a lot of money by using your loyalty to Christ to serve their purposes. Jesus never wanted you to hate gays. He didn't really seem to express an opinion about homosexual love and family. He did say: John 13: 34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love o...more

The point, which you missed, Crisrpentine, was that the Republicans are raking in a lot of money by using your loyalty to Christ to serve their purposes. Jesus never wanted you to hate gays. He didn't really seem to express an opinion about homosexual love and family.

He did say:
John 13:
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I am a man and I do not know you as a disciple of Christ. What does that tell you?less

DP: I'm just waiting for everyone to get their news the way I do. 100 RSS feeds, a keyboard driven news reader, and a little extra time to filter through them. AMONG OTHERS, I get my: • Right wing nuttery from the CP and Reason, generally, since I can't stand the cultish abidance of WorldNetDaily and Pajamas Media (I prefer at least some principles mixed in with my partisanship). • "Fa...more

DP: I'm just waiting for everyone to get their news the way I do. 100 RSS feeds, a keyboard driven news reader, and a little extra time to filter through them.

AMONG OTHERS, I get my:
• Right wing nuttery from the CP and Reason, generally, since I can't stand the cultish abidance of WorldNetDaily and Pajamas Media (I prefer at least some principles mixed in with my partisanship).
• "Fair and balanced" from The Christian Science Monitor, Slate, BBC, and local news outlets.
• "Progressive viewpoint" from the Huffington Post, Salon, TPM, the Politics tab on Fark.com, and The Stranger.
• Left wing nuttery from Crooks and Liars and the Daily Kos. (I can't find anything on the left that's even remotely similar to the right wing sites I won't read that I mentioned a few bullet points ago.)

Mainstream media are looking for your viewership and the more generic their news the more viewers they can attract. In a world where you get to seek out your sources, judge them on their individual quality, and ignore the ones you know don't offer quality, you build your own mainstream.less

This thread is AMAZING! Homosexuality really riles some Christians up. What does it rile them up against? Liberalism. Who is on the side of liberalism? Democrats. Who benefits from Christians hating Democrats? Republicans. So, who's driving this anger toward Democrats. Not Jesus, I'm sure. Follow the money people.

What movie does that with Jesus? I mean, I don't agree with the fearful state media outlets are put in over Muhammed, but Jesus is held in pretty sacred reverence just out of respect. Yes, some people get away with being disrespectful, but that's more a testament to the goodness of Christianity than an indictment of those who disagree with them.

Another truth: taking God's name to speak your own opinion is one of the 10 things God chose to include in the original commandments he gave to his people.

I don't think they're trying to ally themselves to any philosophical camp. I think they know there's money in reporting hyperbole and rumor that confirms a certain set of beliefs – namely that Christians are being persecuted, in this case – and they have a certain tabloid-like quality to their editorial bent. They report what you want to hear. That doesn't mean they're on your side. It means t...more

I don't think they're trying to ally themselves to any philosophical camp. I think they know there's money in reporting hyperbole and rumor that confirms a certain set of beliefs – namely that Christians are being persecuted, in this case – and they have a certain tabloid-like quality to their editorial bent. They report what you want to hear. That doesn't mean they're on your side. It means they want your money.less

Well said.

And if there isn't any, create the perception that there is by lying, twisting facts, shouting, and enjoining the aid of a powerful, agenda driven, right wing, Republican propaganda, 24 hour, cable news network. Can you not see the republicans are using this to drive you to do their work for them? If they can convince you you're being persecuted by *their* enemies, they will become *your* enem...more

And if there isn't any, create the perception that there is by lying, twisting facts, shouting, and enjoining the aid of a powerful, agenda driven, right wing, Republican propaganda, 24 hour, cable news network.

Can you not see the republicans are using this to drive you to do their work for them? If they can convince you you're being persecuted by *their* enemies, they will become *your* enemies. And they're not.less

It's about keeping the truth close, while keeping the enemies of the truth closer.

"Creationism is a weak mind's imitation of science." - ObeyTheFist

You said exactly what I wanted to say in a more concise way than I was going to say it.

I like this prayer, which I do believe works: "Dear God, please give me the strength to accept your will. Also, if it's in your will, give me the strength to understand it. If not, I pray for the grace to reject my own pride and find these strengths myself. Amen."

The Mormons believe their scriptures are "living documents" that are constantly up for reinterpretation. Frequently you find them "updating" the "translation" according to popular sentiment and coinciding with their revisionist philosophy on the significance of certain historical facts. I like the KJB as a standard because it's, at least, non-revisable since King James himself is no longer around....more

The Mormons believe their scriptures are "living documents" that are constantly up for reinterpretation. Frequently you find them "updating" the "translation" according to popular sentiment and coinciding with their revisionist philosophy on the significance of certain historical facts. I like the KJB as a standard because it's, at least, non-revisable since King James himself is no longer around. The continued efforts to revise The Bible for modern audiences is revolting, just as Mormon revisionism is.less