An African archbishop finds common ground in Virginia

Discussion in 'Serious' started by Cthippo, 8 Jan 2007.

  1. Tyinsar

    Tyinsar 6 screens 1 card since Nov 17 2007

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    Actually my question was about ElThomsono's second line. (my post attempting to be a mirror of his)

    And yes I do believe it is unhealthy and yes I have examined that belief.
     
  2. .308AR

    .308AR What's a Dremel?

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    The Inquisition was not in accordance with Christianity. Comparing this to that is a bit short sighted. Church is supposed to help people turn away from sin...gays should be welcome in church like any other sinner. I personally don't go to church as faith is between you and God (and I'm an asshole that likes whiskey)..nobody else on earth matters.
     
  3. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Is sex normal and good for people? Is love? It certainly isn't bad for people. However let's examine the evidence:

    Homosexuality occurs in about 450 vertebrate species of animal. In many, it has an important bonding fuction amongst members of a tribe or flock. It allows the pooling of resources; there are species of bird in which you have threesomes mating and raising offspring together. With a Japanese species of monkey female homosexual acts serve to provide strong tribal bonds. Without such practices, the tribe would fall apart.

    You have to think about sex beyond its procreational function. In humans and Bonobo chimps, for instance, sex is about relationships much more than just about generating offspring. But issues of offspring and bloodline (as a way of pooling and preserving ownership of family wealth) have always been important in many cultures, hence there has always been a tight control on particularly female promiscuity (can't have her giving birth to a kid that ain't possibly yours, right? In Judaism they solved a lot of these issues by simply decreeing that the blood line always goes through the mother --because you could never be sure who the father was). This is also why in many cultures women are treated as possessions or resources, rather than as persons in their own right. Marriage, like sex, was also about pooling wealth and guaranteeing heirs to continue control of that wealth, not about love.

    Many religions, being a cultural product, have preserved such practices. Sex is bad, and only to be used for procreation within the sanctity (sic) of marriage. It is not about bonding --that is as crazy as saying that marriage is about love. Marriage is a financial contract between families. Sex is a part of that contract. So homosexuality doesn't fit in that picture.

    But to deny homosexuality, is to deny any sexuality. You might as well deny being human.

    having said that, I do get your point:
    The point that others are making however, is that it doesn't stay with just "agreeing to disagree". Churches tend to (as overdosedelusion puts it so aptly) act out its disapproval in rather more explicit and sometimes unpleasant ways. Such as persecuting them at worst, or trying to cast them out of society at best. As you say in your post, they see homosexuality as something that needs to be set right.

    But given that several African church members have been complicit in genocide, I guess this is only to be expected. Then again, what was good for the Pope...
     
    Last edited: 9 Jan 2007
  4. MystChic

    MystChic Geology Rocks!

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    Religion is SUCH a blood-thirsty industry these days.. isn't it?
     
  5. ElThomsono

    ElThomsono Multimodder

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    It's not perfectly normal, but nothing is. I certainly don't consider it to be wrong, or a sin. And yes, I believe it to be good for people; specifically, homosexual people. If they can find someone else that loves them and they can have a relationship with, I say hooray for homosexuality.

    The second was a valid question, I'm interested how you developed these views.
     
  6. whisperwolf

    whisperwolf What's a Dremel?

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    I’m going to stick to my own philosophy; faith is god made and religion is man made.
    All religion tends to be human interpretation of gods words and as such is subject to all the usual misinterpretations, mistranslations and all the imperfections and flaws being human creates.
     
  7. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Nice definition. I like it. :)

    Faith is indeed divine. I certainly don't knock faith --it can move mountains, inspire people to wonderous acts, enable people to endure the unendurable. Faith is meaning, religion is just form. It tends to distract from faith: too much obsessing over rituals, words, and labels so that people forget what it was all about in the first place.
     

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