"Craving for Bread" Delivered Aug 12, 2012, Broadway United Church of Christ

Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got

Two Lesbians Raised A Baby And This Is What They Got

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Objections to Danny Mann on Homosexuality

Some of Danny Mann's latest comments on this blogsite have prompted a spirited response by Justin, and I've taken the liberty to start a new thread just for a continuation of this discussion.

Danny's original comment  (November 3, 2010 10:34 AM) included this:

"Christians are being persecuted and marginalized around the world, but this doesn’t become a source of shame, but of genuine pride (Matthew 5:11-12). This is because we know that we are in the light (John 3:19-20) and our conscience does not condemn us. If it was simply a matter of society not accepting the gay lifestyle, LGBT people could merely laugh away the stigma. The fact that they can’t suggests that there is a deeper issue."

Homosexuality and Society: Does History Offer a "Verdict"?

There has been quite a lot of discussion lately, on the internet and elsewhere, of the recent reports of gay teens (Tyler Clementi and at least four others) committing suicide after being bullied by their peers.  Here is what Hemant Mehta ("The Friendly Atheist") had to say on this: "Perhaps if Christians pulled their heads out of their asses and realized that some people are simply gay and there’s nothing wrong with that regardless of what their despicable holy book says, there would be more gay teenagers alive today."  In other words, Christianity causes gay suicides.

Scripture and Homosexuality

This thread is an extenuation of the discussion begun in August, concerning who can properly be called "a Christian."  Here is Danny Mann's definition of who is a Christian: "'Christians' are those who live according to His Word (1 John 2:3-6) and confess their sins (1 John 1:9), and thereby are forgiven and cleansed."

Who owns the term Christian? Part 2

Well after a longer delay than I'd hoped, here is the second posting of D.Seiple Online, responding to Danny Mann's provocative comments from August.  Our discussion at that point veered in a number of directions, and now perhaps we'd best pursue several  of them separately. (1) One thread dealt with the question of civil rights for gays, and the relation of Christianity to public policy in this regard.  I'll resume that line of discussion in a separate post, entitled "Homosexuality and Society."  (2) Another issue on our radar must be traditional Christian attitudes toward homosexuality.  Knowing Danny, I'm sure we'll start (as indeed we must) with relevant scriptural passages.  I suggest we treat this separately, under the thread "Scripture and Homosexuality." 

(3) Finally, we  began with this thread's question -- of who (if anyone) speaks for God.  Who owns the term 'Christian'? This is topic we'll pursue here.

Who owns the term Christian?

Greetings to all.  This is the first post of D. Seiple Online, which serves as the discussion annex for  Philosophy's Labyrinth (more on that later.)  And, as luck would have it, this launching coincides with the new ruling by Federal District Judge Vaughn Walker, which (for the moment at least) overturns the referendum known as Proposition 8 (the one banning same-sex marriage in California).  I expect this event to add some robust flavor to the discussions I've already been having with friends on both sides of this issue. 

I'll start out by indicating how grateful I am that those I continue to be in discussion with cherish the value of civility in debates --  debates that try our patience, imagination, and judgment.