It depends on who you ask - if you are a Christian, read your Bible, visit with ministers of different churches within the Christian faith and talk with them. This is such a hot debate. I don't know of any human who can speak FOR his God. Ministers try, but really they are there to interpret God's words to the people, and the interpretations can be very, very different. Talk to a lot of people and you'll eventually find an answer that you are comfortable and happy with.
I don't know if this is just from a homily or if it's actually said in the New Testament, but we're told to "love the sinner, hate the sin," and that God is a forgiving God. I think that God wants us to try to be the best that we can, and to use the free will that we have to make the "right decisions" in our lives. I don't think he "hates" homosexuals, much in the same way he doesn't "hate" any of his other children, but wants us to use wise judgment when faced with decisions.
Rush, I gave you the references. Read Leviticus. All of it. Don't get others to do the work for you. Investigate for yourself. Use your own brain. So few people do.
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I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to my fellow creatures, let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.
moimeme i plan on reading it when iget home i'm at work right now i just wanted to see how other people thoughts were on this subject thanks for the suggestions.god bless
it is hard to go by what the bible says, many try to fill in the blanks and create alternate meanings to passages... you must understand that back when it was created, in it's era, yes there was love... but marriage then was not based on it. it was a way to gain wealth, property, and ensured that a man's name would be passed on after he died. women at that time were thought of as property, and marriage was almost like an auction. it could turn a peasant into a wealthy estate owner. as we are told though, this God we've created, he is to watch over and tend to all of us and accept all of us... even the ones some view as outcasts. he is like a shepard...
You know, the Native American people of this continent have a very interesting theory when it comes to the concept of God, or the “Creator.”
They don’t believe that the “Great Spirit” is grandfatherly figure who sits in judgment over human beings. He is not a benevolent being who is either vengeful or forgiving.
Rather the “spirit” of the creator lives in all things, but especially within us. Most people refer to this as the human “soul.” Each one of us carries within ourselves the capacity to love and to hate --- The desire to create and the power to destroy. We have a conscious mind which allows us to choose for ourselves the difference between right and wrong --- to decide whether to judge our relatives or to forgive. To use our power for good or for evil.
It’s much like the Ying and Yang theory of other cultures. There is no heaven or hell. Rather Good and Evil, positive and negative, lives within each one of us. And it is up to each individual to choose which path to walk.
What’s even more interesting; they point out that this “spirit light” seems to glow more strongly in some people then in others… Those who walk the “good road.” That when we meet someone who is in touch with their positive side, who radiates with all that is good and decent within the human “soul”… we are drawn to them like moths to a flame, because it is in our inherent natures to be as close as we can to what we perceive as “God.”
They even go on to say that when many people, who share this same light, gather together in union for a single cause, then the presence of the “Great Spirit” grows stronger and we have the power to create our own miracles and accomplish impossible feats.
I suppose this is what George Bush may have been referring to when he was calling for “A Thousand Points of Light.”
The Lakota say that human beings have become so caught up in the fast-paced material world of today that they have forgotten this lesson and are becoming spiritually “bankrupt.” And those who are lost are trying to find “God” again by searching for alternative religions and even following false profits simply because their light seems to glow more brightly then their own. And all the while, we have forgotten to look within ourselves for that spiritual power, where the “Great Spirit” has been waiting for us to find him all along.
Last edited by EnigmaXOXO; 11th September 2003 at 3:55 PM..
I think God sees homosexuals the way he sees heterosexuals. As human beings we're all pretty miuch the same and if he/she put us here it was to mess about the place and yes, to procreate, but since heterosexuals across the planet have had such enormous success with the procreation part I don't think he/she really cares if some of Earth's inhabitants skip that part of the journey.
I think HE loves you regardless. Hed have to in order to have so many different races an such out there. If you think He loves you, than He does, regardless.
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"Thats just my opinion though, I could be wrong"
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As soon as anyone at the meeting starts to tear my argument apart, I'll remember to give myself a quick rub then stand up and smell my fingers whilst responding to my opponent calmly and with poise.
In the Bible, the following scripture verses show that God does not view homosexuality as acceptable in his eyes:
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Jude 1:7
What happened to Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities near them is an example for us of the punishment of eternal fire. The people of these cities suffered the same fate that God's people and the angels did, because they committed sexual sins and engaged in homosexual activities.
Leviticus 20:13
The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital offense.
Location: the easter bunny has eggs! breathe in; breathe out. there is still wonder in the world :)
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for rush...
if you do accept the bible as a resource of evidence...
please do take the advice of previous posters seriously. read the *entire* bible, or ask someone knowledgable about the entire bible, who will give a balanced view of the viewpoints about sexuality in the bible. be critical (in a good scholarly way) about any viewpoint that only shows one side of a debate. one way you can tell if someone is credible is if they give evidence from both sides of any given argument and form a reasonable opinion.
you sound like you are genuinely considering these questions and have an open, curious, and sound mind. gather together different viewpoints, and from different texts, but have the confidence to know you are definitely smart enough to make your own decisions and create you own beliefs.
i adore and respect rigour in people - good for you for questioning. weirdly, it's people like you or hokey or moimeme that make religion/spirituluality accessible to people like me, who have not had much exposure to it outside the classroom.
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