Blasphomy

[Speed of Sound]

I went into a Christian merchandise store near me yesterday (I enjoy buying little trinkets from it ) and I found a few books that were supposed to look fairly at all different political issues and how Jesus felt about them (Despite most of those issues not existing during his time.) and a book denouncing blacks for registering Democrat a majority of the time!

No matter your stance on said issues, the fact that this stuff is being published in the name of my religion angers me greatly. Who is it that decides how a Christian should feel about an issue? I used to love that store, but I have stopped buying from it now.

How do you guys feel about the issue of having certainstances being printed in the name of your religion? (These stances included being anti-Death penalty, anti-War, anti-choice, anti-evolution, etc. etc.)

[Giant Saguaro]

Pro gay marriage is one, which is part of what I think of as the cosmos sized over simplication of the Bible or religion into a feel-good secularized branch-off spirituality. I agree with the Pope - the purpose of religion shouldn't be to endorse popular culture and bend to it, but rather to hold fast and set an example for what people should aspire to. God is love, Jesus was a liberal, what corresponds to a masked carpe diem theme, blah blah blah - I don't go for that for a minute.

[KillerPollo]

How do you guys feel about the issue of having certainstances being printed in the name of your religion? (These stances included being anti-Death penalty, anti-War, anti-choice, anti-evolution, etc. etc.)

LOL It's choice = DEATH!

I'm all but anti-Evolution. God created Nature, and God worked slowly to create us. Slow but sure. The only way he could do this effectively is to evolve us from a species of the Animal Kingdom, since it was the easiest. We might as well have evolved from fungi, protists, or plants.

[opebo]

Pro gay marriage is one, which is part of what I think of as the cosmos sized over simplication of the Bible or religion into a feel-good secularized branch-off spirituality. I agree with the Pope - the purpose of religion shouldn't be to endorse popular culture and bend to it, but rather to hold fast and set an example for what people should aspire to. God is love, Jesus was a liberal, what corresponds to a masked carpe diem theme, blah blah blah - I don't go for that for a minute.

You don't?  Well if that absolution-by-confession thing isn't a signal to seize the day and have gay sex or whatever you want to do, I don't know what is.

[MaC]

How do you guys feel about the issue of having certainstances being printed in the name of your religion? (These stances included being anti-Death penalty, anti-War, anti-choice, anti-evolution, etc. etc.)

LOL It's choice = DEATH!

you stupid f#%k!  Don't you know that babies who have been aborted live long, healthy lives-often even longer than those who aren't Killerprudo.

[Giant Saguaro]

Pro gay marriage is one, which is part of what I think of as the cosmos sized over simplication of the Bible or religion into a feel-good secularized branch-off spirituality. I agree with the Pope - the purpose of religion shouldn't be to endorse popular culture and bend to it, but rather to hold fast and set an example for what people should aspire to. God is love, Jesus was a liberal, what corresponds to a masked carpe diem theme, blah blah blah - I don't go for that for a minute.

You don't?  Well if that absolution-by-confession thing isn't a signal to seize the day and have gay sex or whatever you want to do, I don't know what is.

A once-over glance of the New Testament should convince anyone otherwise. "Go and sin no more," which meant change of heart / change of mind. Your position reminds me of what the reformation was over - buying forgiveness, basically, among other things, but the gist was indulgence and corruption. You can't knowingly do "what you want" and just figure that if you go through a process at some point you will be forgiven.

[The Constitarian]

      I'm an atheist, but I have read the Bible.  Whenever I see bumperstickers that say would Jesus be pro-choice, implying the answer to be no.  I have a question for these people, would god, creator of free will, be pro-choice.

[Citizen James]

Pro gay marriage is one, which is part of what I think of as the cosmos sized over simplication of the Bible or religion into a feel-good secularized branch-off spirituality. I agree with the Pope - the purpose of religion shouldn't be to endorse popular culture and bend to it, but rather to hold fast and set an example for what people should aspire to. God is love, Jesus was a liberal, what corresponds to a masked carpe diem theme, blah blah blah - I don't go for that for a minute.

Of course, it could just as easily be pointed out that Jesus was probably not partial to conservatism (in the modern usage of the term) either.  He preached frequently against hypocracy, and for forgiveness and tollerance.    I wonder what party the money changers in the temple would have been with...

Granted, much of Christianity follows Paul more closely than Jesus - especially those who seem to approach faith as though it were a pyramid scheme, valuing testamony over gospels and conversion over devotion.

I think the Bible is neither liberal nor conservative - but includes passages which could be considered relevent to either, both, or neither - depending on translation and interperetation.   In the mid-ninteenth century both slavers and abolitionists cited scriptures ferverently to support their POV.

I think hardline conservatives tend to focus mostly on the ends of the bible - the old Hebrew  laws of the Pentateuch and the apoclyptic writing of Revelations; While more mainline Christians focus more on the new testament in general, and liberals focus more of the Gospels - particularly the sermon on the mount.

FWIW the local Catholics I know seem pretty liberal as far as I can tell.   In any case, I would consider preaching racism and intollerance in the name of faith as blasphemous as far as my view of the scriptures goes.