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Tag Archives: homosexuality
:: Gay Bars Receive Death Threats in Seattle :: Same Sex Stuff
The Homosecular Gaytheist blog reports that
Eleven gay bars in Seattle have been targeted with ricin attacks.
The post displays a picture of the actual letter of threat, and Gaytheist laments
And Christians still say that they’re unjustly persecuted and that the gays are doing the persecuting.
____–___-__-_-_-HT: Homosecular Gaytheist
Ted Haggard’s Re-emergence ::: Tony Jones
Tony Jones laments Ted Haggard’s re-emergence.
The AP’s fine religion reporter, Erik Gorski, this weekend dropped a story about the re-emergence of Ted Haggard, once-powerful president of the National Association of Evangelicals, now struggling insurance salesman. Much to the chagrin of his former church, Haggard, his wife, and five children have moved back to Colorado Springs, and Haggard has taken back to the spotlight to promote an Alexandra Pelosi documentary on him, to air next month on HBO.
…
It’s hard to know just what to make of Haggard, who also says in the piece that he’s never claimed to be heterosexual. And that he bought the meth but never used it.
Some people you just wish would step away from the public eye to heal. And never return. I wish this for Haggard, but I’m afraid it’s a vain wish.
___—-___—-_-_-_-HT: Belief.net
Tony Jones Emerges on Same Sex ::: ThingZ EmergenT
Evangelical Village recently posted this quotation from Tony Jones.
I now believe that GLBTQ [people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, queer] can live lives in accord with biblical Christianity (at least as much as any of us can!) and that their monogamy can and should be sanctioned and blessed by church and state. —Tony Jones
In the past I had always defended Tony Jones against anyone who accused him of sanctioning the homosexual lifestyle as compatible with Christianity because he never had come right out with a statement about his position. Even Mark Driscoll said he didn’t know where these men stood. When people would accuse them of things, my response was usually to challenge people to offer quotations from their writings or lectures or sermon’s in which they could demonstrate warrant for their accusations. I suppose I won’t be doing this anymore with Tony on the issue of homosexuality.
I prefer still yet, however, to see that people have attempted to understand where these guys might be retaining their integrity in their own minds. I think the key to understanding how Tony might consider his statement as compatible with the biblical teaching is his parenthetical statement. (at least as much of any of us can)
Sure homosexuality is sinful, but so is pride, and who would argue that there aren’t plenty of Christians who “live in” pride?
Sure the bible claims that those who are “homosexual” will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor 6:9), but it also says that the “slanderer” will not inherit the kingdom of God. Who is willing to defend a position that no Christians are consistently engaged in slanderous activity?
So you see … it’s not like Tony thinks there is some verse in the Bible that says, “Homosexuality is not a sin,” nor is he claiming that. He’s just trying to do a little interpretive realism. We don’t seem to be eager to conclude that slanderous behavior calls people’s Christianity into question, so why consider homosexuality that way? Tony (and others) may think such a hermeneutic is arbitrary when you consider the list in 1 Cor 6:9. Why interpret one form of sin in this list as on a different level than another?
I’m not saying Tony is right. I don’t think he is. Maybe we should just treat slanderous activity as having more ability to call someone’s Christianity into question. Before I would consistently interpret this 1 Cor 6:9 list so as to water it down, I would be more inclined to interpret them all more strictly.
But I do understand how Tony might justify his position biblically, even if I disagree with him.
___-___-__–__–_—_—HT: Evangelical Village—_—_–__–__-___-___
::: Proposition 8 = Bigotry & Hate ::: Artistic Rhetoric
If you’ve already seen this video, skip to my brief comments below. Otherwise, watch the video first, then read my comments.
Notice this: The substance of the argument featured in this genius media could also be used as a grounds to justify the kind of “love,” that expresses itself through what we normally call statutory rape and child molestation rather than “love.” The Bible condemns it, but then again, the Bible condemns a lot things. Since people pick and choose, choose “love” over hate. Plenty of 50 year old men “love” children under the age of 15, but we usually incriminate them as if it deserved to punished.
Because of my belief in the ultimate authority of scripture and my understanding of basic rules of hermeneutics, I cannot agree with condoning homosexuality (although excluding marriage rights, I would advocate for certain other gay rights).
However, the rhetoric on this video is impressive. In spite of the fact that it confuses several issues, caricatures Christians, and indicates an inexcusable unfamiliarity with biblical hermeneutics, its persuasive effect is likely powerful for those who share the common ground of ignorance about Christian beliefs, attitudes, and reasonable hermeneutics, and who wish the Bible would just mind its own business and butt out of the discussion.
… — … –… –… … … … — … –HT: Vitamin Z
::: The New Anglican Church :::
In cased you missed it, the Anglican Church has been debating the ordination of openly gay Anglican priests. After so much debate, a large group has decided to go ahead and just make their own, New Anglican Church. We’ll see how it plays out.
————————————–New York Times————————————–
Don’t Say, “That’s so Gay” ::: Hillary Duff Ad
Embedded video from CNN Video
Persecution Role Reversal ::: Gay’s Persecuting Non-Supporters of Same-Sex Marriage
Embedded video from CNN Video
Gay Marriage & Free Speech ::: An Atheist’s Perspective
I’ve begun to stop by Atheist Revolution every now and then to get an Atheist’s perspective on current events. The Atheist community has a vital blog presence. I took this excerpt from Proposition 8: Religion and Homophobia on Atheist Revolution. [i’ve edited certain words]
Anyone wanting to deny the role of religion in passing Proposition 8 only needs to look at the affiliations of those who funded the measure. The religious influence is undeniable here. As for the homophobia, well what else do we call someone wanting to deny the same rights the rest of us have to a group of people solely on the basis of their sexual orientation? Religious delusion plus fear equals…well…it means that some really nasty s#%! is about to happen.
I have one question for the fearful Christian extremists and their supporters – who’s next? I can only assume that ending atheists’ right to marry is on your list somewhere.
Gay marriage is a civil rights issue, and it is not going to go away. I was skeptical that I’d see an African American president in my lifetime, but I’m fairly confident that I will see gay marriage.
In another post entitled, Free Speech Under Assault at Texas Community College he reports that an atheist at Temple College in Texas was asked to take down a sign on his door that had the quote, “Gott ist tott” [God is dead] from Nietzsche. Here is an excerpt.
Was it appropriate for Laird to place a cartoon containing the word “f*#!” on his office door? Probably not. I wouldn’t have done it. It is harder to make an argument that a word commonly considered profane falls under academic freedom, although I suspect such an argument could be made. After all, Laird’s students and colleagues are adults.
But the Nietzsche quote, in German or English, strikes me as very different. It has literary value and overwhelming cultural familiarity in that nearly everyone will have heard it. To say that a college professor may not use a quote that can be found in any book of great quotations is absurd. … I think there just might be a new addition to my office door tomorrow.
—————————–HT: Atheist Revolution—————————–
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