Cowardly v Courageous Stances

@fmf said
I agree with you on the issue of homosexuality, as you know.

But, as a Christian, you are faced with the issue of whether homosexual acts are "sinful" according to Christian teaching.

Do you think that standing up for homosexuals and speaking out against discrimination ~ and implicitly condoning homosexual acts ~ in the context of your Christian identity, takes some courage on your part?

I think this is overridden by loving your neighbor as you love yourself. There were no caveats attached.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I think this is overridden by loving your neighbor as you love yourself. There were no caveats attached.

I am aware of the "loving your neighbour as you love yourself" thing, of course. And it may well ~ and hopefully would ~ influence one's behaviour toward homosexuals, even if one does not condone their homosexual acts. But it cannot, surely, be said to "override" whether or not they are "sinful" according to Christian teaching.

@fmf said
I am aware of the "loving your neighbour as you love yourself" thing, of course. And it may well ~ and hopefully would ~ influence one's behaviour toward homosexuals, even if one does not condone their homosexual acts. But it cannot, surely, be said to "override" whether or not they are "sinful" according to Christian teaching.

I can't speak for Christians of course but would have thought they would strive to love their neighbor as instructed by Jesus and allow God to enact any judgment when it came to sin. Tolerance should be the overriding factor in the treatment of others.

@pb1022 said
So you think men walking around in a parade with their genitals exposed and simulating anal sex is appropriate?

I’d have a problem with heterosexuals doing that but, for some reason, homosexuals seem to define their entire lives by their sexual orientation. Heterosexuals don’t.

Jesus - "Love your neighbor."
Romans1009 - "But my neighbor at 26 is a Muslim and the one at 48 is gay."
Jesus facepalms.

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I can't speak for Christians of course but would have thought they would strive to love their neighbor as instructed by Jesus and allow God to enact any judgment when it came to sin. Tolerance should be the overriding factor in the treatment of others.

I agree. One would welcome Christians striving to love their neighbour [as instructed by Jesus] and, if that is carried out successfully, regardless of the sexual orientation of the aforementioned neighbour, that would be an outcome I would welcome.

But tolerance of homosexual acts and neighbourly love for those who engage in them do not override whether ~ in terms of Christian doctrine ~ those acts are "sins" or not.

-Removed-

The hundreds of trolling posts, many of them just the same text copy-pasted over and over again, described a prepubescent child being deliberately plied with drink by "the barmaid" and other "trollops" in a pub and the child being put in sexual situations when he was intoxicated. The ones which went as far as depicting the sexual acts were deleted by the mods.

@fmf said
I agree with you on the issue of homosexuality, as you know.

But, as a Christian, you are faced with the issue of whether homosexual acts are "sinful" according to Christian teaching.

Do you think that standing up for homosexuals and speaking out against discrimination ~ and implicitly condoning homosexual acts ~ in the context of your Christian identity, takes some courage on your part?

What is the normalized outcome of people judging others?

And is this in line with the commandment to love others as we love ourselves?

Doesn't this necessarily result in more sin?

@ghost-of-a-duke said
I can't speak for Christians of course but would have thought they would strive to love their neighbor as instructed by Jesus and allow God to enact any judgment when it came to sin. Tolerance should be the overriding factor in the treatment of others.

You know, for an atheist, you're a pretty reasonable fellow. 🙂

@suzianne said
What is the normalized outcome of people judging others?

And is this in line with the commandment to love others as we love ourselves?

Doesn't this necessarily result in more sin?

I am not suggesting you judge people.

And I get the meaning of the exhortation to "love thy neighbour" thing.

However, neither of these things have a bearing on whether homosexual acts are "sins".

One does not have to judge anyone for this "sin".

One does not have to withhold one's love for a "sinner" of this kind. Indeed, perhaps one should not.

But, having said all that, according to Christian teaching, these acts are either "sinful" or they are not "sinful".

@ghost-of-a-duke said
Jesus - "Love your neighbor."
Romans1009 - "But my neighbor at 26 is a Muslim and the one at 48 is gay."
Jesus facepalms.

Exactly.

@suzianne said
And is this in line with the commandment to love others as we love ourselves?

Is there a list of "sins" that were cancelled - and made not sinful - by the commandment to love others as we love ourselves?

@fmf said
I am not suggesting you judge people.

And I get the meaning of the exhortation to "love thy neighbour" thing.

However, neither of these things have a bearing on whether homosexual acts are "sins".

One does not have to judge anyone for this "sin".

One does not have to withhold one's love for a "sinner" of this kind. Indeed, perhaps one should not.

But, having sa ...[text shortened]... all that, according to Christian teaching, these acts are either "sinful" or they are not "sinful".

If this is an issue for you, good luck with that. It would, if you were a Christian, presumably color the quantity or the quality of love you show for them. Doesn't this weaken the whole "love your neighbor" philosophy?

It certainly does affect everything regarding how these people would be treated by you. I'm of the opinion that this is not what Jesus had in mind with this commandment.

@fmf said
Is there a list of "sins" that were cancelled - and made not sinful - by the commandment to love others as we love ourselves?

A list? Not that I am aware of.

If you feel there is, perhaps you should let the other shoe drop.