Gay Rights And The Bible

bluedog

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Jun 16, 2009
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BECAUSE, I believe this whole subject got started when I mentioned that the Bible may be good bedtime reading for kids. Cliff came back with the observation that most of it would scare the hell out of them and I pointed out that reading "Job" would teach them patience. My intent was never to get into Job chapter and verse discussing all the ramifications. Like I said before I'm not particularly religious and definitely not in the sense of how various denominations interpret the Bible. Some day when I have lots of time and nothing else to do I just might read the book Job. Not for religious reasons but just out of interest how a man overcame great tribulations.
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JLM you will like it, it is rather concise and to the point. Job suffers much like in the new testament Christ suffered- in the desert, tormented, asking God why, asking God to remove the affliction of his soul. Sweating blood if not literally then literally as if.
What matters is that through it all- no matter intensity or the length... through every unending day- is that God hears. God does make that decision, just for you, your 'personal' decision. He does reward the man willing to suffer and fight not just his conscience, but his inherent feeling of who he is, of what he has become and now, when he questions what he will be.
God answers. God rewards. God keeps his promise to be there- our promise is but to walk, to carry our own individual cross through life, no matter our emotional, physical and spiritual consequence and thus endure, over and over endure our pain. We too, now know our reward. He will be as He has been faithful to us, by the example of Job and later of Christ, that He keeps His promise.

It is a good read. :fish:
 

petros

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Nov 21, 2008
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If you need a whack of old Jews to tell you what is right and wrong or what is or isn't any of your personal business you have more issues than TV Guide.
 

petros

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Dexter Sinister

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Just questioning his/her authority on the bible can get your ass fried.
Yup, and if people like him had the secular authority to enforce their opinions, that's exactly what'd happen to people like me. That's why civilized societies keep church and state separate.
 

Cliffy

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Yup, and if people like him had the secular authority to enforce their opinions, that's exactly what'd happen to people like me. That's why civilized societies keep church and state separate.

I thank the universe that there are still sane people like you around here. My ass would be on the line too, my friend.
 

Cliffy

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If you need a whack of old Jews to tell you what is right and wrong or what is or isn't any of your personal business you have more issues than TV Guide.

Correction petros, they need "ancient dead Jews" to tell them what is right and wrong. That is the really scary part. Like these ancient sheep and goat humpers knew anything that is relevant to today! But like I said before, the greatest trick the devil accomplished is in convincing people that he was god. What? 2 billion sheeple today fell for it.
 

MHz

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That deserves a horrible death by mauling, does it? Nice. The idea of going up occurs fairly often in the Bible in the context of going anywhere, not necessarily to heaven, so you can't legitimately conclude that's what it must mean in this case. You'd also have to assume the children knew the story of Elijah's recent ascent, and there's no indication of that either. The phrase could just as reasonably be taken to mean "get going, baldy, get out of here." God's pretty inconsistent about such punishments, and it seems reasonable to me to expect an infinitely good and wise deity to cut ignorant children some slack. If your interpretation is correct, I can only conclude that god's a mean, nasty, vindictive sonofabitch.

Can I now expect a couple of bears to break through my fence tomorrow morning when I'm mowing the lawn and maul me to death for calling god names?
Don't you think leaving clueless about Scripture is enough punishment, after all you do consider yourself well above most people when it comes to that (incorrect) thought. lol

Yup, Dude! You are SOL! Mhz is all knowing since he has a direct hot line to the big cheese. Just questioning his/her authority on the bible can get your ass fried.
LOL It isn't me you have to worry about, the one who had all those words written down is the one you need to be concerned about.
 

Cliffy

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Don't you think leaving clueless about Scripture is enough punishment, after all you do consider yourself well above most people when it comes to that (incorrect) thought. lol


LOL It isn't me you have to worry about, the one who had all those words written down is the one you need to be concerned about.

I have a very personal relationship with my creator and he tells me that the bible and your god are human constructs. I have no fear of retribution.
 

Dexter Sinister

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Don't you think leaving clueless about Scripture is enough punishment, after all you do consider yourself well above most people when it comes to that (incorrect) thought.
No, not most people, just the ones who think it's literally true and correct and consistent in all particulars. That's just dumb. But if being clueless about scripture is enough punishment, how about those 42 children who got killed for far less than that?
 

MHz

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I have a very personal relationship with my creator and he tells me that the bible and your god are human constructs. I have no fear of retribution.
Of course not, you god cannot do anything at all, which means you get nothing at all from him.

No, not most people, just the ones who think it's literally true and correct and consistent in all particulars. That's just dumb. But if being clueless about scripture is enough punishment, how about those 42 children who got killed for far less than that?
Mocking a Prophet is not nothing. Attempting to kill Jeremiah is why the 12 tribes are in line for how prophecy will unfold for them, so God does pay attention to things like that. Nothing (blameless) would be the slaughter of the innocents, I don't hear you complaining about Herod so his actions must be acceptable to you. As for those children they mean more to God than you do (in your present unbelieving way).
 

gopher

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Please clarify one thing for me: is everyone on this forum now convinced that, contrary to Christian teaching, homosexuality was NOT the problem in Sodom & Gomorrah?
 

Dexter Sinister

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Mocking a Prophet is not nothing.
Straw man fallacy. l didn't suggest it was, I'm merely suggesting that ignorant children mocking a holy man's baldness should not be a capital crime. I think your god's a petty tyrant of the worst sort, I'd have no respect for him even if I thought he was real.
... I don't hear you complaining about Herod so his actions must be acceptable to you.
Another fallacy, straw man or red herring or irrelevancy or something like that, maybe all three at once. Herod hasn't come up in any of our exchanges before. I don't go out of my way to initiate conversations about all the follies in scripture, if I complained about them all I'd never have time to do anything else. I just respond to others' foolish pronouncements about them. And you should certainly know by now that silence does not imply assent. You want to talk about Herod, I'll talk about Herod, but not in this thread, that's too much of a hijack. Though I don't really see that there's much to say about him beyond the fact that he was a cruel, heartless, frightened little man.
As for those children they mean more to God than you do (in your present unbelieving way).
So why did he massacre the innocents, causing great harm and grief to their parents and families, while leaving me, a scoffer and a mocker, unscathed? Your position makes no sense. If those children deserved a horrible death for what they did, god should have killed me off long ago.
 

Cliffy

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Dex,

It is rather futile to try to make sense out of nonsense. There is no limit to the contortions believers will go through to avoid looking at the obvious. Your observations are clear, Mhz's rebuttal muddied.
 

Cliffy

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Of course not, you god cannot do anything at all, which means you get nothing at all from him.

You say that like it is a bad thing. Expectation breeds disappointment so you expect reward for your biblical studies or your religious adherence or how well you kiss the godly butt, prepare to be disappointed. My god has never let me down because I have expected nothing or asked anything of him. There really is no point.
 

MHz

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Please clarify one thing for me: is everyone on this forum now convinced that, contrary to Christian teaching, homosexuality was NOT the problem in Sodom & Gomorrah?
Are you going to deny that the term "know them",used in these two verses, is a direct reference to sexual intercourse?

Ge:19:5:
And they called unto Lot,
and said unto him,
Where are the men which came in to thee this night?
bring them out unto us,
that we may know them.

Ge:19:8:
Behold now,
I have two daughters which have not known man;
let me,
I pray you,
bring them out unto you,
and do ye to them as is good in your eyes:
only unto these men do nothing;
for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof.

Straw man fallacy. l didn't suggest it was, I'm merely suggesting that ignorant children mocking a holy man's baldness should not be a capital crime. I think your god's a petty tyrant of the worst sort, I'd have no respect for him even if I thought he was real.
This is what I mean by you are blind about what Scripture talks about. You treat Vs:23 & 24 as the only two verses in that chapter that have any meaning. Much of the previous verses has to do with Elijah and the knowledge that he would be taken away and when.
Even after it is mentioned that the 'go up' was more important to the 'story' than the baldness you cannot come to terms with that. Obviously the children knew how Elijah departed or they would not have demanded that Elisha do the same.

Another fallacy, straw man or red herring or irrelevancy or something like that, maybe all three at once. Herod hasn't come up in any of our exchanges before. I don't go out of my way to initiate conversations about all the follies in scripture, if I complained about them all I'd never have time to do anything else. I just respond to others' foolish pronouncements about them. And you should certainly know by now that silence does not imply assent. You want to talk about Herod, I'll talk about Herod, but not in this thread, that's too much of a hijack. Though I don't really see that there's much to say about him beyond the fact that he was a cruel, heartless, frightened little man.
You forgot insane.

So why did he massacre the innocents, causing great harm and grief to their parents and families, while leaving me, a scoffer and a mocker, unscathed? Your position makes no sense. If those children deserved a horrible death for what they did, god should have killed me off long ago.
First you say it isn't worth exploring, two seconds later you want the answer...to have prophecy fullfilled.

M't:2:16:
Then Herod,
when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men,
was exceeding wroth,
and sent forth,
and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem,
and in all the coasts thereof,
from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.
M't:2:17:
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,
saying,
M't:2:18:
In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation,
and weeping,
and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.

God provides the clue to discover the rest of the story but a sceptical non-believer is too lazy or whatever to follow through an finding out what that prophecy was. It was a preparation for things to be in place so they could be 'repaired', not only for those 'children' but for all children.

Jer:31:15:
Thus saith the LORD;
A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation,
and bitter weeping;
Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children,
because they were not.
Jer:31:16:
Thus saith the LORD;
Refrain thy voice from weeping,
and thine eyes from tears:
for thy work shall be rewarded,
saith the LORD;
and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
Jer:31:17:
And there is hope in thine end,
saith the LORD,
that thy children shall come again to their own border.

One of the more important points made in this story is 'the land of the enemy' is defined. It is death and not some foreign Gentile Nation on Earth.

So, truthfully did you ever go and look up what was said in the original prophecy in order to understand why God would allow such an act to be done?

Dex,
It is rather futile to try to make sense out of nonsense. There is no limit to the contortions believers will go through to avoid looking at the obvious. Your observations are clear, Mhz's rebuttal muddied.

The blind leading the blind through some very dangerous areas, LOL

You say that like it is a bad thing. Expectation breeds disappointment so you expect reward for your biblical studies or your religious adherence or how well you kiss the godly butt, prepare to be disappointed. My god has never let me down because I have expected nothing or asked anything of him. There really is no point.
Reading His book is now considered kissing ass? If you god can do nothing then there is no god in your world, what part of that do you not understand.

Yes my friend, I know that, but I keep hoping for a breakthrough... :smile:
With words like this, "your god's a petty tyrant of the worst sort," I would pretty much give up on there ever being a breakthrough in your relationship with God until He decides a change is coming your way. Scripture points to there being bad news before the good news.
 

SirJosephPorter

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I was going to ask is Oral Roberts an authority on ANYTHING?

He is an authority on financial mismanagement, his University (modestly named Oral Roberts University) has been involved in many financial scandals, with embezzlement, bribery etc.

I remember a few years ago he was raising money for some mega project, some church or a mansion for himself, I don’t’ remember. He came up 5 million dollars short. He said on his show that if he doesn’t’ get those 5 million dollars; God is going to call him back to Heaven.

And it worked, one of his fans forked over the 5 million dollars.