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I created this thread because there were was such an interesting discussion in the main-forum that we had to somehow continue it in the correct one.

DISCUSSION ISSUES:
- Homosexuality VS Religion
- Siners VS Religion
- Atheists VS Religion
- Human VS Bible
Will add more if necessary.


IMPORTANT RULES:
- I want no flamming here! Doing it will get your post deleted and a warning sent
- Be polite, serious and respectfull
- Respect and be Respected
- The chances are that people do not think like you. Deal with it before you post it
- Try to use propper english
- No bumps, spam, or just a smile as a post.
This is a serious discussion thread, please be extra polite

Siners vs. Religion

Yes, it's true that sins are easily broken. But it your 'consequence' varies on the religion and your beliefs. In Christianity, (Catholic, Baptist, etc.) your sins may be forgiven through confession, atonement or baptism. In Buddhism, if you let go of all desire, all your pain and suffering will be free. But Karma will lead you on your path on where you will fall during reincarnation.

And actually, there are many people who sin vary rarely. Like people surving their religion. Monks, nuns, priests, the Pope, etc.

This is just my 2 cents.

May I ask what religion is yours?

I believe in Shintoism spike.

Then perhaps you can answer a question I've had for a while. How can a rock have a kami? And there's a kami group for all rocks? I don't really understand sweatdrop

There are only 2 passages in the entire bible addressing homosexuality.

One is in the Pentateuch (the first 5 books of the Old Testament, attributed to Moses, contains Jewish law.) That was thrown right out for Christians when Jesus gave his new laws: Love the Lord thy God and Love thy neighbors as yourself.

The other in the the book of Romans, written as a letter to the Christians in Rome by Paul. Not the direct word of God. Keep in mind that this is the same man who thought the end of the world was coming soon and advised that everyone remain celibate. Certainly he's an important figure in the early Christian movement, but no human being is perfect.

It's a common misconception that there are many clear condemnations of homosexuality in the Bible. The majority of it came into dogma later.


Also, when you say Christian, do you really mean fundamentalist? I've heard that some fundamentalist Christians think that they are the only true Christians.

Religious Tolerance.com - Homosexuality and Bisexuality I suggest browsing this website. It makes for interesting reading.

'Kay, I'd like to contribute my $0.02 to the issue.

Homosexuality vs. Religion
(For the record, I am a straight guy IRL.) I believe that homosexuality isn't a decision that a person can choose, consciously or unconsciously, to make. After all, why would people choose to be discriminated against? Or choose to be something that people around them say is so horrible? Bus then, some of you might be asking "If it isn't a choice then why is it wrong?" Well, I have a theory for this. The writers of the bible were straight guys. (Presumably, but I didn't know them personally.) And they would thus view guys...having sex with each other as being disgusting/disturbing/etc. So, in laying down their codes, they forbade such actions. That is specifically what they said, in fact :"If a man also lieth with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination..." (Lev. 20:13) Notice: no mention of "if a man shall be attracted to a man" or either of the above as "woman...woman."

Sinners vs. Religion
This and the next topic all come down to what you believe in. Yes, Christianity seems to have many many sins, but it also offers you a way to make up for them (belief, confession, etc.). Other religions say that to make up for bad things, you must do good things instead. And certainly, those who don't believe in any religion (such as myself) still have a sense of "right" and "wrong."

Atheists vs. Religion
Again, this seems to be an issue of belief or lack thereof. My personal belief is that it's actions, not belief, that makes you a "good" or "bad" person. But your actions may also tie into your beliefs. For instance, those who follow the ideals of "love thy neighbor," "don't steal," etc, as laid down in the New Testament would most likely be overall "good" people (in my view). But those who see their religion/religious ideals as being so perfect that those who don't believe are inferior people are themselves "bad" people (again, in my view). Again though, it's a matter of belief, as those people don't see themselves as "bad." No one sees themselves as being wrong or "bad" (overall, not in small matters [like saying 2+2=5]), it's just what they see in others.

Human vs. Bible
At least, I think what I'm going to say is something like that. Anyways...
Someone once said that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence (or something to that affect). What I see is that the Bible is filled with extraordinary claims. What I have yet to see is the extraordinary evidence. Now, I'm not saying that everything in the bible is false or untrue, what I'm referring to is the accounts of "miracles" and the like. All that we have to say that these are true is the Bible itself. Even that the bible itself is the word of God. What proof do we have that it is? If I claim to have heard the voice of God, and write a book containing what he supposedly said to me, how is that any more or less the word of God than the Bible. Whether or not I actually heard God, the book would say that it was His word, as the Bible also says that it is His word. Lastly, I'd just like to add that the Bible reflects knowledge from 2000 (give or take) years ago. We humans have learned a lot in the past 2 millennia, so why do some people still take this ancient document as being true on blind faith?

I'm not sure if you were referring to me or just forgot to take my bit out of the quote, but I was just pointing out that there is not much in the Bible to condemn homosexuality.