So-Called "Persecution Against Christians":

If only Lincoln had known this.

How is reading the bible line by line confusing? Is it that I'm examining the bible with critical inquiry or should I be twisting and contorting it to make it fit my modern sensibilities of morality? Or should I just cherry pick the bits that validate my biases?I trust that you will be the one to do these things in order to shore up and preserve your hatred for anyone who does not conform to the lie.
Onward! South of heaven!

EvC takes the cake when it comes to treating other opinions as evil trash, never extending a moment's benefit of the doubt, a moment's grace. You'd think, if you were a sane reasonable person (which is asking too much of you all on this thread) that the religion that built and civilized and in fact liberalized western civilization and drew it out of the Dark Ages of barbarism and superstition, would have earned a teeny bit of respect. Ya know, just enough to stop and wonder if your first evil trash thoughts just might possibly be in error, like seriously out of context, and that the people who have followed its teachings for two thousand years just might not share your kneejerk culture-bound take on it.Naa, too much to ask, too civilized for the crowd here.Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

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EvC takes the cake when it comes to treating other opinions as evil trash, never extending a moment's benefit of the doubt, a moment's grace.

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Presumably you mean your habit of calling people Nazis ? Really, Faith, your hypocrisy has been more than adequately proven, we need no further examples.

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You'd think, if you were a sane reasonable person (which is asking too much of you all on this thread) that the religion that built and civilized and in fact liberalized western civilization and drew it out of the Dark Ages of barbarism and superstition, would have earned a teeny bit of respect.

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If Christianity deserves respect maybe you should show it some, instead of using it as a pretext for your bigotry. And let us note that you are certainly being far less than reasonable, even if I make no judgement on your sanity.

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Ya know, just enough to stop and wonder if your first evil trash thoughts just might possibly be in error, like seriously out of context, and that the people who have followed its teachings for two thousand years just might not share your kneejerk culture-bound take on it.

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Given the fact that you have failed to make a Biblical case for your claim and been caught misrepresenting the Bible more than once in this thread alone maybe you should consider the possibility that prejudice is an unreliable guide. And as somebody who claims to be a Protestant who follows Sola Scriptura surely you should believe that the Bible outweighs tradition - so why are you now appealing to tradition to override the Bible ? Think about that.

I agree yet I don't see you or many so called Evangelicals showing the respect that should be due to Islam and in particular the Caliphate that maintained knowledge, education, civilization and the acceptance of other religions that was the norm under the Caliphate.Why do you show such hostility to Islam?

Are you talking about Catholicism? Because most of the early contributors of the Renaissance (which was the movement that drew Europe out of the Dark Ages) were Catholic. Also, Protestants did not follow any "teachings" for two thousand years, since they did not even exist until the 16th century (2017 will mark the 500th anniversary of Luther's 95 Theses!).So, you must be referring to Catholicism; or are you referring to Christianity as a whole and including Catholicism as Christian? Either way, I find it surprising that you think of Catholics so fondly now. Have you had a recent change of heart?HBD

You just spent a long time saying things like

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I found out recently that homosexual acts are the only sin described in the Old Testament books of the Law that are called "abominations." Not heterosexual adultery, not murder, none of the others, even sins punishable by death.

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It makes me wonder if there is a demonic element in homosexuality.

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Some elements in the LGBT arena involve feelings that amount to obsessions, like that feeling of HAVING to cross-dress to get relief from some kind of psychgological pressure.

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Romans 1 identifies homosexual acts as the consequence of idolatrous practices with false gods.

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I know you want to deny that there is anything especially sinful about homosexuality, and I always thought that myself, but I believe overall the Bible does single it out for special condemnation.

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homosexuality... is the only sin directly associated with demonic idolatries in Romans 1.

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ONLY homosexuality is specifically called an abomination.

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I consider the felt need to dress like the opposite sex a "strange" sin, or any compulsive behavior the person "needs" to do

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Which is saying that I AM EVIL TRASH. You didn't even bother to tie it into the topic of Christian persecution, while reinforcing and justifying all the persecution queer-folk have suffered. You are an awful person who is contributing to the harmful bullying, pain and suffering we have on this earth.For all your talk of Romans 1, you neglected Paul's admonishment in Romans 2 regarding judging others. You will be judged as harshly as those that you judge, remember that.

Well, you're still wrong. For example, Deuteronomy 17:1 says "Thou shalt not sacrifice unto the Lord thy God any bullock, or sheep, wherein is blemish, or any evilfavouredness: for that is an abomination unto the Lord thy God." Apparently homosexuality is on a par with sacrificing a defective sheep. But I'm sure all the sheep you sacrifice are excellent. Perhaps one day we could discuss what God wants dead sheep for.Again, Deuteronomy 22:5 has similarly harsh words for women who wear pants. Ours not to question the wisdom of God.You specifically said "not adultery", and there again you're flat wrong. Lying carnally with thy neighbor's wife is one of the things listed in Leviticus 18 that are collectively called abominations in Leviticus 18:26-30.If you think the Bible is the word of God you should pay more attention to it. You wouldn't want to be damned for sacrificing the wrong kind of sheep, would you?

Excerpt from the verse in question:

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But if he was married before he became a slave, then his wife will be freed with him. If his master gave him a wife while he was a slave, and they had sons or daughters, then the man will be free in the seventh year, but his wife and children will still belong to his master

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Your claim: Let's examine your defense of the Bible. Your claim here is that keeping the woman in slavery is for the woman's protection. Yet there are circumstances here where we keep a freed man's wife and children away from her husband. Exactly whose benefit is that for? How is it protecting the woman to keep her away from her husband? And if that is a benefit, how come we don't do it on some occasions? Clearly your answer does not fit the facts. Actually I do. Which means that when I read practices based on those mentalities, I cannot assume that I am being directed to treat 21st century folk in accordance with that same mentality. In fact, of the folks in this discussion, only you advocate hateful treatment of your fellow man based on your own prejudice backed by demonstrably bad Bible interpretation."Inactive Member"Typical.

After reading the conversation, I think I'm going to shut this topic down---at least temporarily. As A Christian, I must say that many of you have given thoughtful and honest responses which should serve well to offer a balanced perspective.Thanks for your collective participation. Thread Reopen Requests