Oh dear. I'm being dragged in again. I've been too busy to check on the forums for the last month or more, but this topic caught my attention as I'm always curious about contraversial topics.
QUOTE (Daedroth @ Apr 24 2006 @ 06:34 AM)No matter what people say, I will always think that homosexual people shouldn't exist. They serve no purpose
And what purpose do you serve? (I say this with a slight chuckle) Do you serve the purpose of perpetuating your own species? Is that your purpose? Because, if it is, one could easily argue that you, and every other heterosexual, don't serve any real purpose in the grand scheme of things.
Though, that may not be a very powerful argument as one could make the counter argument that it is better to exist than to not exist and therefore to serve the notion by perpetuating the species. And ultimately I've said nothing. Or maybe I haven't. *shrug*
QUOTE (mohammed2006 @ Apr 24 2006 @ 01:25 PM)I think when society accepted the idea and the Christianity approved it- as one of the members mention- it was a kind of encouraging point.
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((Ps. Religions are there to suit all time and place it is meant to stick to some rules that make human-life better and certainly Christianity didn’t have that approval on such a case 1000 years ago or even 500 years ago . i wonder did they talk to god when they decided to approve it? ))
Okay, first of all, which society? To be honest, when I first read your posts, I thought to myself, "Is this guy living in a hut on some mountain with a goat that's chewing on his computer cables as he writes?" This is an important question to answer (the society one not the goat question). For example, Canada is much more liberal as a political body than the United States. Also, if you are speaking about the United States, society has yet to completely accept homosexaulity. Granted, it is getting closer and closer, but we're not quite there yet.
Secondly, and let me be clear, Christianity has NOT approved homosexuality. Christianity is a timeless concept, immutable. However, that is not to say that everyone that CLAIMS to follow its teachings is truly a Christian. Those that deviate from the teachings of Christianity are simply no longer Christians. They may hold many Christian beliefs and call themselves Christians, but they are not. It would be like a bunch of people that called themselves Muslims (and I mean no cultural, religious, or personal offense with this example so if I offend, please excuse it) getting together and saying that Mohammed was a woman and that everyone should engage in large sex orgies without protection because Allah will protect them from the evils of HIV and AIDS which are punishments against the western countries for their arrogance in the world. I feel fairly confident that you would have a fit when you heard these people claimed to be Muslim and you would probably be even more upset when you heard that the movement was gaining more popularity because popular culture was fueling it. So, in conclusion, no, just because some congregations that wear the label of Christian are giving the full thumbs up on homosexual relationships does not mean that true Christianity has changed. One more thing, Christianity cannot change as the only one who has the power to change it is God and He doesn't make mistakes, so there would be nothing to change. I mean, it's not like Mormonism where there is a prophet that can decide to change whatever he wants.
QUOTE (sk7 @ Apr 24 2006 @ 05:36 PM)Lastly, I have a tendency to be extremely intolerant of religious intolerance (particularly Christian, since that's what draws the most attention). To me, it's nothing but hypocrisy. Christian theocracy is supposed to teach people not to judge. Even if you are one of the people that think it's a sin, I'd say that's God's place to decide, and He is perfectly capable of dealing with it when their day of judgement comes.
Actually, Christian theocracy teaches not to judge a person, that is to say, we are not to condemn anyone. However, it also teaches to judge actions, attitudes, and concepts. As a Christian, I have no right to judge (condemn) a homosexual, though I am expected to judge (evaluate according to the characteristics of God as I understand them at this point in my personal relationship with God) homosexual actions, lifestyles, and propaganda.
How does this play out? One example: A homosexual couple knocks on my door in need of a place to stay. Understanding that these people need to be shown the love of Christ, I allow them to stay. However, I do not allow them to stay in the same bed and I may go so far as to not allow them to stay in the same room. I explain simply that my understanding of God's desire for us is that we not part-take in same sex relations and as such, I have no problem with them as homosexuals, but I cannot support any furthering or continuing of their relationship while under my domain (not to say that they have to break up to stay or anything like that). That would conclude my need to express my beliefs on the matter and I would proceed by interacting with them the same way I would if they were heterosexual friends (that's the not judging them part in that I wouldn't treat them any different as people). I am not required to and therefore would not try to convert them or inundate them with my beliefs. Though, that's not to say that I wouldn't talk more about it should the topic be brought up.
As far as the hypocrisy of Christians is concerned, some of it is due to those false Christians that claim the name but don't properly follow the teachings. Also, many Christians nowadays have lost sight that being a Christian does not mean that we are and therefore have to be perfect, but instead that we are trying our best to be perfect though we recognize the impossibility of such a goal and graciously accept the forgiveness of our Creator. I can understand why you would think that its just hypocrisy, but your view is probably based on false Christians and "modern" Christians who are trying to "keep up appearances". If you ever meet a true believer that is living the way he or she really should be (acknowledging shortcomings and everything), you would find it hard to say "To me, it's nothing but hypocrisy."
For those of you doubting that one can judge an action but not the person, you should know that my best friend from high school is now a lesbian and she is living with her girlfriend. I disapprove of their relationship. However, there is a fine line between being against her action and being against her. It's a line I walk very carefully.
One last thing, I know the number one complaint I get against distinguishing between the person and the action is, "So what? You expect homosexuals to be lonely for the rest of their lives?" Let me address this before someone brings it up. I expect that people will do according to what they understand. An atheistic homosexual has no reason not to engage in a homosexual lifestyle. It would be foolish of me to expect otherwise. However, those that acknowledge Christianity are under the same restrictions as any other Christians and we are all called to give up things. This is harder for some than others. For homosexuals, I would say that they would need to give up any homosexual lifestyle (notice I didn't say they had to stop being gay). Some might say, "That's not fair that heterosexuals can marry and have relationships but not homosexuals." Well, the truth is that even some heterosexuals are called to give up marriage relations.