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Originally Posted by retsoksirhc
If I don't know anything about it, how am I supposed to know if I believe in it? And contrary to what Christians might say about "my lifestyle," I'm not gay. Just because I believe that homosexuals should not be discriminated against, either in society OR in the Christian religion,
I agree that homosexuals shouldn't be discriminated against. However, what you consider discrimination is lack of approval of lifestyle. If a Moslem doesn't live in accordance with the Koran and is told he is wrong and not really a Moslem--is he being discriminated against? Or if a president behaves in the Oval Office in a way that he is not supposed to according to the rules of presidential comportment, and is told--is he being discriminated against? If a monk breaks his vow of silence and is told that he should adhere to the rules-is he being discriminated against? So you see, its not really discrimination as you are perceiving it but merely a reminder that certain rules have to be respected. Nothing more. Nothing less. You wish biblical support for the rules, OK. Here are some scriptures that you can look up and read for yourself.
Leviticus 18:22
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Leviticus 18:21-23;
Romans 1: 27
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Romans 1:26, 27;
Jude 1: 7
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Jude 1: 7;
Levitucus 20: 13
BibleGateway.com - Passage Lookup: Leviticus
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that doesn't mean I'm gay. In fact, I'm not even bisexual. I'm *gasp* straight! Just because I don't consider myself a Christian doesn't mean I shouldn't care about the bible. If you're not a Buddhist, should you not give a rats arse about inner peace? And I never said it was disorganized.
Agreed, concern about inner peace can lead one to study the principles of Buddhism. I was referring however to people who wish to live their own way, don't view the Bible as authoritative, are determined to be a law unto themselves, but who simultaneously enjoy
Casting doubt on whatever the Bible says. However, I was wrong in assuming anything at all about your lifestyle. My apologies for my hasty unwarranted conclusion.
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Though you mention that I think it's open to all and any interpretation. I guess I was wrong about that. There is only one form of Christianity. All those different denominations of Christian churches don't actually exist, I must have imagined them. I may not believe that everything stated in the bible is true, but it does teach several good lessons.
That different interpretations exist, they do. That all these interpretations are justified or equally valid--they aren't. That their existence proves that the Bible has no central theme which coherently unifies it and makes multiple interpretations Ok--it doesn't.
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My point is, just because I don't consider myself a Christian doesn't mean I can't learn about Christianity. Knowing facts about what you don't believe is what makes arguments valid. If you can't see thing from another persons point of view, then what chance do you have of showing where you disagree and why? It would be like yelling at a brick wall.
Sorry, I was under the impression that you did fully understand where we disagreed and that you would continue to disagree. But let's give it another try and see if we can clarify things a little.
I agree, discussion is good and can lead to a broader understanding. I am not at all averse to discussing the reasons for Christian beliefs. I am however against a futile exercise in futility whereby 20 disagreements with 20 explanations provided are followed with twenty disagreements more with the explanations provided ad infinitum.
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As for the mention of my interpretation of what the bible says about humans judging each other, feel free to disagree. But like I said, see it from my point of view. Explain to me why you think that interoperation is invalid. Don't just say I shouldn't be interpreting it because I don't consider myself a Christian. It's almost as if you think saying "Oh, you don't believe? Well **** you then" will help someone spiritually. That's how I perceive this post, at least. Feel free to disagree with me, but only if you plan to give an explanation of your reasoning so that I might try to understand where your opinion comes from.
No. I was simply trying to avoid the perpetual merry-go-round scenario and in that way preventing bus both from getting into an is! Is not! Contest. You see, my friend, when I said that my explanation was founded on scripture, you said that I was misinterpreting scripture. That in itself makes all further dialogue unproductive since any text proof I might present is under the threat of being immediately tagged as merely my particular interpretation. Of course you have a right to disagree with scripture. But please do so on some other ground than meaning when meaning is clear and really not an issue.
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Sorry if I sound like an arse, but you CAN'T just tell me to F off (in a matter of speaking) without giving me a reason. The Internet is about open exchange of information, and AMHD is about helping others, not telling them they shouldn't be in a specific forum.
I look forward to reading your well thought out reply.
No, you don't sound that way at all. As a matter of fact, you sound like a reasonable person in search of answers. Also, please accept my apologies of I sounded the way that you say. It was not my intention to come across that way.
BTW
I didn't say they shouldn't be here. I said they shouldn't be surprised if scriptures are quoted in this forum.
