I went to a moderate Christian college and did an exegetical study on several chapters of the Bible. Even the original Hebrew is quite interesting to dissect. My views did not change just because I felt like it. Just wanted to make that clear.
I worked behind the Bible counter of a Christian bookstore for 3+ years. It was my job to at least have an idea.
There needs to a full blown study on christianity and other religions compared to homosexual. We open minded bible scholars to study religions and different biblical versions to get a full accurate view of what we are dealing with. The point I am trying to make is the bible is too complex to come to a firm conclusion and you have to be very cautious about what you are dealing with. I do feel when it comes down to being a christian I try to spread his word and influence people to believe in what God really is about. Not that I try to convince non believers but I try to inspire those who are believers and in conflict with their faith that they can be christian and a active member of the gay community. I think the approach that is needed is not to talk about sin and hell but talk about heaven and god's everlasting love. When you focus on the laws and the prospect of going to hell it is gonna push more people away from religion that it's worth. Yeah you want to talk about what not to do but I think it is far more important to talk about what you should do as a christian.
I agree to a point, Dano. Harping too much on judgment and hell will push some people away, but Jesus Himself didn't shy away from talking about them. In order to fully appreciate the depth of God's love and grace that was displayed on the cross, one must first understand the concepts of sin, hell, and judgment. Chiroptera, forgive me if I misinterpreted your initial meaning. I respect everybody's rights to have their own beliefs. Does that mean I respect the content of those beliefs fully? Not necessarily. But I try my sincere best not to judge.
I agree. I remember in Catholic confirmation I choose the most loving forgiving saint of most of them Samuel who preferred to guide christians with love and forgiveness rather than condemnation. Not saying your doing the opposite just saying i try to live by the Saint I chose with all my heart. He was Saint so he must have been honored by religions and by God.
I totally believe in demonstrating as much love and forgiveness as possible too, in emulation of Christ. I just think that in order to really understand Christian love and grace and forgiveness, you have to touch also upon sin and judgment. I think all those terms continually mingle together.
That's alright. I think we agree here, i respect your right to have your beliefs, and you respect mine to have my nonbelief. But that doesn't mean we need to respect the ideas of each other, in the meaning that we can discuss this in a constructive way, as long as we keep in mind that it is nothing personal, as long as we attack the ideas, not the other person. :icon_bigg Now, lets have some cookies. I will keep on reading the thread.
Yes I agree to a certain extent. What i mean is you don't introduce a lost christian to christ by saying if you do this or don't do this your going to hell. It can automatically turn some people away. Like many disciples, bible scholars, bible writers, and christians alike all chose their own path and perspective on religion and I try to chose a path I believe God find acceptable and if I chose the wrong one out of many paths God have mercy me. Christianity is i think we can agree is very complex and i personally believe we have to cautious about what is truth and what seems inaccurate.
Since I started it, I guess I'll provide the cookies. BTW, all of you are awesome, and I'm glad we could keep this thread calm and respectful.
Dang ! Christian stores ? Regardless of my opinion on religions, I'm amazed at how much place religions take in the US :O
<grabs cookies> ALL AWESOME! <grabs more cookies> Im learning in this thread. I have struggled in my faith just because of homosexuality but I know understand why. And you guys made me understand it. Thank you! <grabs lots of cookies then leave> Lol :lol:
You know what would be to any gay christians's benefit. A bible study from the first chapter to the last chapter of the bible. I know it sounds crazy but if you break it down to the most important stories and details it could be really a lot of fun or does it sound too far fetched.
Many of them were in fact Deist. To respond to the original person's question, while America is a secular nation, religion is heavily intertwined. The original abolitionists and suffragettes were liberal Christians and deist, as we're many Civil Rights Leaders such as King and John Lewis. Religious people have brought on a lot of change in this country, and many people who are born into a religion will stay in that religion, except for Millennials (those aged 35 and under). Millennials as a group are much less religious as other generations, and the amount of religiosity in America is expected to decrease once the Silent Generation and Baby Boomers pass on. There is a lot of religiosity in America still, though.
There is a book that does just that. I took part in a Bible study that touched on the major points over the course of 8 months. It was great. I forget the name of the book though. This is the one I used in college: How to Read the Bible Book by Book. Very middle of the road. ---------- Post added 25th Mar 2015 at 03:53 PM ---------- Not true. The Founding Fathers Were Not Deists
That's sounds interesting. I do have a bible though that is very easy to ready and has a lot of resources on where to find certain passages in the bible. It is very straight forward.
In the book I linked, it gives historical context to each book as well as discussing the audience etc. Fee&Stuart do a great job. Most of my professors were moderate except one that was liberal.
Our Founding Fathers Were NOT Christians I'm not here to start an argument, though, so that's the last I'll talk about that. When it comes to the Bible and homosexuality, I have heard many different reasons as to why language apparently condemning it would be inaccurate. The main one I see a lot is that when the Bible refers to homosexuality, it is referring to homosexual cult rape.
Christianity will never die out though. Especially in the deep south. Perhaps the anti gay movement among christians will die out which it is i think for the most and honestly that is direction it is leading too. Anti gay views will be a thing of the past for most and like racists they will be a sad minority. But no i have to disagree christianity remains strong and will for centuries.
