by serotonin_wraith 93 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
For people who are still religious, what are your views on gays?
For me (an atheist) it goes against my own morality to think of them as sinners or somehow doing wrong, and yet in the Bible it teaches that it is wrong. It's one of the main reasons I could never go along with the JWs.
I'm curious how religious people address this issue. Is it still wrong because the Bible says so, or are your own morals changing your view in this matter?
personally, i dont see how someone who is morally upright, and is gay can be punished for doing all that is right... i know of many homosexuals who live much cleaner lives than their heterosexual counterparts... some of which decided not to have sex until they were married... if religion condemns them for acting out their preferences and yet being great people... well religion can f* itself
the infamous one
For people who are still religious, what are your views on gays?
What two people do in private is really none of my concern, nor is it any of my business. One of the first jobs I had was at a restaurant were the chef & a waitress were partners, and there were two or three gay waiters. I got to know them as people, and that exposure did more to show me that they were people just anyone else, than anything. I also worked for a gay man, and that was a disaster. He was the most annoying, inconsiderate and obnoxious person I had ever met. Which shows that people are people regardless of their sexual choices. SOme are jerks, but most are not.
I'm curious how religious people address this issue. Is it still wrong because the Bible says so, or are your own morals changing your view in this matter?
I view what gays do as sin. Simple as that. I also view cohabitating unmarried heterosexuals as sinning the same as I would view a thief, a rapist, pedophile, or any other. Homosexuality does not have a high ranking on the sin-o-meter than other sins. They are all equal.
I view what gays do as sin. Simple as that. I also view cohabitating unmarried heterosexuals as sinning the same as I would view a thief, a rapist, pedophile, or any other. Homosexuality does not have a high ranking on the sin-o-meter than other sins. They are all equal.
As you view homosexuals to be doing things comparable to rapists, pedophiles and thieves, do you feel it is the duty of the government to punish them for this, in the same way they punish people who do these other things?
As you view homosexuals to be doing things comparable to rapists, pedophiles and thieves, do you feel it is the duty of the government to punish them for this, in the same way they punish people who do these other things?
That is such a silly question that I literally spit out the water I was drinking. I guess I would also advocate the punishing of cohabitating men and women? Oh puh-lease!
For people who are still religious, what are your views on gays?
Here's the progression of thinking I've gone through in the past few years. Being involved in this board has made me much more compassionate for what gays go through, because I now understand how horrible it is to be excluded from the main community, to be shunned. I now understand the gay battles to be accepted in regular society; to be allowed to marry, separate, or lose a partner in death. To accept their joys and their griefs as significant as my own.
First of all, I admitted that being gay is an internal condition, not an act. I first tried to reconcile the scriptures by suggesting that gays may be gay-ish, but abstain from the act. But that goes against the principle of inclusiveness (Romans 10:12) that I mentioned above.
I then imagined what I would do if a gay person was beaten up on the side of the road. Of course, my love compels me to embrace him and bind up his wounds. Yes, even gays are my neighbours. (Luke 10:29-37)
I also did some reading on Roman culture, and it seems that all Roman men could indulge in sex with anyone subsurvient to him, male or female. For the Roman man, sex was more a tool for dominance, rather than an expression of preference. In that context, dominant sex with a subservient, unwilling partner is wrong.
http://www.bigeye.com/sexeducation/romanempire.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_in_ancient_Rome
Which law takes preference, observing the Sabbath, or healing, or eating, or rescuing an animal in distress? Jesus was quite clear that even the law of the Sabbath can be broken to do good. (Luke 6:1-5, Luke 4:1-6) Similarly, I've come to believe, inclusion of the gay community and offering the hand of acceptance, overrides the ancient provisions against sodomy.
I would say that gays are still bound to love and commit to their partners, as heterosexual partners are asked to do. Don't break hearts casually.
That is such a silly question that I literally spit out the water I was drinking. I guess I would also advocate the punishing of cohabitating men and women? Oh puh-lease!
Silly? Given your characterization of the "sin" of homosexuality as being equivalent to that of rape, theft, or pedophilia, the question is certainly valid.
Personally, I find the judging of others, based solely on their sexual orientation, to be quite similar to the JW practice of characterizing non-JWs as "worldly" and "bad association."
I view what gays do as sin. Simple as that. I also view cohabitating unmarried heterosexuals as sinning the same as I would view a thief, a rapist, pedophile, or any other. Homosexuality does not have a high ranking on the sin-o-meter than other sins. They are all equal.
i view your bigotry as the greatest sin of all!!! grow up and realize god doesnt care anymore... he sits there and watches children die in africa because of hunger and tells us that if we do not care for our children we are worse than satan.... your inactive god is not only a hypocrite, but a dirt bag P.O.S. and i still respect him more than i respect you and your bigot ways!!!!!
you deserve to be punished... comparing homosexuals to pedophiles and murderers... you enrage me (obviously)
the infamous one(fuming at the idiots in the world)
Maybe an understanding of the evangelical view of "sin" would help. ALL HAVE SINNED, and all sins equally separate us from God. But that's OK, all sins, big and small, are erased from God's memory by a simple prayer of dedication.
Rather than the examples given, XJW4EVR, which have their own triggers, perhaps sins like "gossip" or "lying" could have been used.
I view what gays do as sin. Simple as that. I also view cohabitating unmarried heterosexuals as sinning the same as I would view a thief, a rapist, pedophile, or any other. Homosexuality does not have a high ranking on the sin-o-meter than other sins. They are all equal.i view your bigotry as the greatest sin of all!!! grow up and realize god doesnt care anymore... he sits there and watches children die in africa because of hunger and tells us that if we do not care for our children we are worse than satan.... your inactive god is not only a hypocrite, but a dirt bag P.O.S. and i still respect him more than i respect you and your bigot ways!!!!!
you deserve to be punished... comparing homosexuals to pedophiles and murderers... you enrage me (obviously)
the infamous one (fuming at the idiots in the world)
Yeah, yeah. No the truth comes out. The purveyors of tolerance are in reality not tolerant at all.
As I mentioned before, I do not look at gays as any more or less a light as any other sinner. Sinners are all equal to me. That is why I chose the words I did. I understand why you don't get. You have bought into the idea that tolerance means I have to accept what you do, and agree with it. That the greatest crime is not having an opinion similar to your own.
You can call me a bigot all you want. Since you can't respond to the argument, but instead attack me, then there is nothing more to be said to you.
