Post by Twobagger on Oct 19, 2007 20:24:50 GMT -5
according said:
It is demeaning to say that homosexuality can be 'cured'. It is tantamount to saying that homosexuality is a disease. You may look up the definition of what makes a disease, and homosexuality will not fit.I think I'll do just that.
2: a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms [see: sickness, malady]
3: a harmful development (as in a social institution)
3: a harmful development (as in a social institution)
www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/disease
Ok. Definition number two states that a disease is something that "impairs normal functioning." By that definition, homosexuality isn't a 'disease.' Definition number three states that a disease is a "harmful development (as in a social institution)." As a Christian, I believe that homosexuality (like any other sin) is harmful to those who practice it and do not seek forgiveness, as it essentially condemns them to an eternal death. So, yes, I guess you could call it a "disease" if you wanted to.
I will remind you, of course, that the word "disease" is yours, not mine.
You can't explain snow to someone that has lived in the jungle his whole life? That is incredibly pretentious. Why not? Only Christians are capable of being spiritual?
Only people who have experienced Christianity can fully understand what it means to be a Christian. Just like how only people who have been enslaved can fully understand why slavery is wrong.
The real answer is you have no explanation for your beliefs, except that you dislike gays.
Thank you for constructing an arrogant, misinformed, and ignorant straw man. If you had bothered to read the first or the third segment of my first post, or any of my second post, you would have read that I do not advocate people treating most gays differently than the way they treat most straights. I even put it in bold so people wouldn't have any reason to twist my words around and interpret it as an anti-gay lecture.
Perhaps you should try me. Maybe, despite my utter ignorance of your most profound wisdom, I may understand small bits. I don't say that I will, after all, I'm only a poor savage incapable of understanding your mighty religion.
Who's being pretentious? Your tone shows that you are not going to attempt to understand why I follow the Bible. Why should I waste my time explaining myself to someone who isn't going to listen?
Why should you come out from behind your bible? Because you can claim that you must be against homosexuality because it says so in the bible. How many people have you stoned to death? Do you approve of slavery?
I haven't stoned anyone to death and I don't approve of slavery. Both of those things happen to be illegal nowadays. Regarding stoning, I prefer to "let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Also, regarding slavery, I still don't advocate legislating that one group of people should not have the same rights as another group of people.
On a conceptual level, the New Testament repeatedly features Jesus, Paul, and others who dismissed some of the older laws of Moses in favor of such things as kindness and compassion. Unfortunately for us, not everything is written in black and white, and much of what is, is open to interpretation. This is one reason why there are so many different denominations of Christianity. Sometimes, in an attempt to live like Jesus, Christians must ask themselves the age old question: "what would Jesus do?" I believe that, under most circumstances, Jesus would not advocate slavery or stoning other people.
Do you conform to everything written word in the bible?
Everything? No, it's not possible to conform to everything in the Bible, as the Bible instructs us to avoid sin, but also tells us that we will sin as we are not perfect.
Are you a biblical scholar, capable of understanding the text completely, or has it been explained to you? That is why you should come out from behind your bible.
I can't claim to understand everything in the Bible completely, as I don't have answers to everything. However, I have been blessed with the ability to make decisions, to read what has been written, and to comprehend and interpret that in the manner I believe to be most accurate.
Because of this, I have chosen Christianity, read the Bible, and tried to live in accordance with its teachings. One of its teachings is that homosexuality is wrong. As a result, I do not practice homosexuality, and I do not associate with those who claim to be Christians and practice homosexuality while asserting that there's nothing wrong with it.