clever minx

that makes me sad and angry at the same time. the most obvious intellectual problem here is the is-ought fallacy. the spiritual problems are vast as well.

the Bible is full of stories of folks who were just as messed up as we are (and they usually get what's coming to them). those stories are there for a reason, but it's NOT for an example of what we should do (and in fact, it's usually for an example of what NOT to do). so looking up references to marriage in a concordance, and simply compiling what's there, and then saying "see, this is what the Bible says about marriage" is the most dangerous kind of half-truth.

this lack of respect for the Bible (and also lack of intellectual integrity) makes me sad for this guy, and mad that he's trying to leverage the scriptures for his own agenda. and don't get me started on the "now testament." yikes. to say the least, it's pretty clear he doesn't really care what the Bible has to say, or at least he doesn't care enough to read it carefully.

I'm not so sure that having a different opinion of the meaning of bible verses makes someone disrespectful toward the bible. I think all he was really trying to say is that we can't take everything in the bible as literally as some people do, especially for the time that we live in where things are so different from thousands of years ago. I try not to be so quick to judge people who have beliefs that do not concur with my own. It sometimes behooves you to take time out and consider someone else's opinion and put yourself in their shoes.... he does, after all come from a family who has studied the bible all their lives.
But, then again... I'm also not so sure that politicians, or anyone for that matter, has been using the bible against the same-sex marriage situation as much as they have been using the "moral value" angle. I suppose the same-sex marriage argument is as touchy a subject as the interpretation of the bible.... but should be just as open to discussion and acceptance. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and respect thereof.

all people should indeed be respected, but I dont agree that all opinions should be. to make an extreme example, if someone had the opinion that the holocost never happened, that is not an opinion worth respecting.

you're right when you say we should consider where someone else is coming from. I'm just as messed up as that guy, in my own ways. but it makes me sad to see him try to twist the very thing that will bring him (and me, and you) out of messedupness and into something better.

that guy is essentially mocking the Bible, claiming he found "principles" that he's clearly taken out of context. for example, one of his "principles" that he found is that the Bible says it's OK to have concubines. but if you read a little more carefully, it's pretty clear that God didn't like it when they took concubines, and it was in fact wrong. just because it's a story in the Bible, doesn't mean we ought to go out and do it too. context is huge.

I know I need more humilty. and yet so do those who claim that we're "modern" and "different" these days. people are still people. we really haven't changed much, and saying that we're more special than people from the year 1004 is a bit arrogant. sure we have more trinkets and technology, but that may not be a good thing. the Word of God stands forever. how do I know this? in part because it's given me life.

ok sorry I'm going on so long. I'm pretty opinionated about this stuff, probly because it's pretty important to me ;-)