Mississippi passes religious 'Freedom' bill:

Originally posted by KellyJay
Good question, why should anyone be compelled to act against their beliefs?
Schools don't let prayer happen in them because of those that want to be exposed to prayer!

So why should anyone be forced to do things against their conscience if they do not want
to be a part of someone else' private personal events that they disagree with?

The thing none of you can get your heads around is that the guiding principle is simply
that nobody gets to impose their religion on other people.

So, in school [in the USA] you are perfectly free to pray any time you like.
What you can't do is lead a public prayer that imposes your 'praying' on other people, because
they may well be of a different or no faith and can often be made [deliberately] uncomfortable or
worse by imposed group prayer.

Likewise, a business person can't refuse to serve a customer who wants a normally available service
simply because that business person's religion disapproves of that customer or their lifestyle.
So in the case of a gay customer and a 'Christian' business person, the law allows the 'Christian'
to disapprove of, and not follow, the gay persons 'lifestyle'... But what they can't do is punish that
customer for their lifestyle by refusing to serve them.

We have our own private lives which others are not allowed to impose their values on [as long as those
private lives follow secular law] and public lives where we are bound by that secular law to serve equally
all law abiding citizens in society equally no matter what we think about them in private.

Nobody is singled out, and nobody is discriminated against [or they wouldn't if this was actually done
properly] and we all get to live together in peace.

What YOU and your cohorts are asking for is special privileged status for YOUR particular brand of
religion and beliefs and for the ability to use your [presumed] majority status to impose your beliefs
and taboos on everyone else.

The danger to you is that you may very well find that even if you are a majority now, you may well not be
in the future. And the protections you take from those you want to discriminate against now will no longer
exist to protect you when you fall from power/majority.

I remind you that there is a majority in every single US state in favour of non-discrimination against homosexuals.
You have already lost the majority.

Do you really want to remove the protections that stop a majority imposing their beliefs upon you and
discriminating against you?

Originally posted by stellspalfie
ive read it and im not exactly sure where the sin lies...is it in the act of homosexual sex or in the act of having homosexual thoughts?

Both. Sin is disobeying God.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
Both. Sin is disobeying God.

If someone is gay, how are they supposed to not have 'homosexual thoughts'? Presumably you think it's natural for a heterosexual to have 'heterosexual thoughts'.

Originally posted by KellyJay
Good question, why should anyone be compelled to act against their beliefs?

For one, because there can be situations where it is impossible to avoid compelling an individual to act against their beliefs.

For two, because some people have beliefs that are patently ridiculous, and it is not reasonable to expect the rest of society to walk on eggshells to avoid rubbing their beliefs [and them] the wrong way.

Originally posted by FMF
If someone is gay, how are they supposed to not have 'homosexual thoughts'? Presumably you think it's natural for a heterosexual to have 'heterosexual thoughts'.

No. If you entertain sinful thoughts, you have already sinned.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
No. If you entertain sinful thoughts, you have already sinned.

And if homosexuals were not created, as you say you believe, how do they exist?

Originally posted by googlefudge
The thing none of you can get your heads around is that the guiding principle is simply
that nobody gets to impose their religion on other people.

So, in school [in the USA] you are perfectly free to pray any time you like.
What you can't do is lead a public prayer that imposes your 'praying' on other people, because
they may well be of a differe ...[text shortened]... otections that stop a majority imposing their beliefs upon you and
discriminating against you?

I generally agree with you. Christians are not here to "change" the world. We are here to be "witnesses" for Jesus Christ. We are to obey the law of the land.

Originally posted by checkbaiter
[b]I think you are straying dangerously close to Dasa territory here in questioning the validity of biblical verses that you don't like, unless of course you are open to the same being done to verses that you do like. In either case, the claim that the bible is the word of God and has authority is seriously compromised if corruptions have occurred.
...[text shortened]... aling, etc. Just like there are sinners who are born again, it is no different for a homosexual.[/b]

Agreed, the Dasa comparison was below the belt. Apologies for that.

My point is though, if 'scribes erroneously inserted footnotes into verses by mistake and some times with bias' how are we to trust anything that is written in the bible? How do we know for certain what is erroneous and what is divine instruction?

Originally posted by checkbaiter
I generally agree with you. Christians are not here to "change" the world. We are here to be "witnesses" for Jesus Christ. We are to obey the law of the land.

The OP is about Christians in Mississippi changing the law of the land to allow them to discriminate. Do you agree with them doing this or not?

Originally posted by KellyJay
Good question, why should anyone be compelled to act against their beliefs?
Schools don't let prayer happen in them because of those that want to be exposed to prayer!

So why should anyone be forced to do things against their conscience if they do not want
to be a part of someone else' private personal events that they disagree with?

"Why should anyone be compelled to act against their beliefs?"

I believe I have the God-given right, no, obligation, to have that person sexually, by force. What? You want to compel me to act against my beliefs? How dare you!!!

Your next sentence here makes even less sense. Snap out of it, dude!

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Agreed, the Dasa comparison was below the belt. Apologies for that.

My point is though, if 'scribes erroneously inserted footnotes into verses by mistake and some times with bias' how are we to trust anything that is written in the bible? How do we know for certain what is erroneous and what is divine instruction?

That last is easy. NONE of the bible was inspired by a deity. It was ALL inspired by what men THOUGHT a deity might think.

In short, all morality is 100% ours and we are free to modify it whenever we wish since no deity will come down and bitch about it.

Originally posted by FMF
And if homosexuals were not created, as you say you believe, how do they exist?

You know full well that homosexuals are human beings. The "act" or deviant activity is something different. You can play with words all day long, you should have been a lawyer.😉

Originally posted by Ghost of a Duke
Agreed, the Dasa comparison was below the belt. Apologies for that.

My point is though, if 'scribes erroneously inserted footnotes into verses by mistake and some times with bias' how are we to trust anything that is written in the bible? How do we know for certain what is erroneous and what is divine instruction?

This takes study. I love the word of God in it's original writings. I strive to get accuracy. This can be done if you have a desire for it.
The bible as it stands is fairly accurate. A person can be saved with the writings in there just as it stands.
I have been at this for about 40+ years and am as fascinated with God and His Word more than ever.
I study, and have help learning new things that were of old. They are just new to me and to this day and age.
If you would like to learn more about scribes footnotes, etc. I can PM you a link for further reading.

Originally posted by twhitehead
The OP is about Christians in Mississippi changing the law of the land to allow them to discriminate. Do you agree with them doing this or not?

I am with what the law says. If it goes against godly principles I will do what I can to stop it. If it comes down to serving paying customers, regardless of their beliefs, I will do what is required by law.
If it is a direct violation of God's commandments that would cause me to sin, I will side with God and go to jail if need be.

Originally posted by JS357
"Why should anyone be compelled to act against their beliefs?"

I believe I have the God-given right, no, obligation, to have that person sexually, by force. What? You want to compel me to act against my beliefs? How dare you!!!

Your next sentence here makes even less sense. Snap out of it, dude!

Please, what an asinine statement that does not address my point at all.
If anything proves my point, you can have sex, but not with those that do not wish to have
it with you. So why should anyone be forced to go to an event and use their talents that
they have to be a part of an event they disagree with? That has more to do with the one
being forced into sex than the one forcing it! Your statement is a$$ backwards.