This is an argument I have never, ever understood:
“I just find it very disappointing,” said Barbara Sturman, who attends Christ Episcopal Church in Accokeek. “But I can’t say I was surprised. It’s the way the whole Episcopal Church has been moving in the last decade. It’s just moved away from the teachings of scripture and all traditions it’s had for the last 2,000 years. And it’s non-Christian behavior.”
“It’s non-Christian behavior”? It generally seems that anyone who uses that argument, in defense of discrimination or recriminations about something like the ordination of a gay bishop, has no idea who Christ was.
Two things: Christ taught that everyone was welcome in the eyes of God. Christ also taught that we all were sinners; so logically, it follows that if the argument for preventing gay clergy is that they are sinners, well… aren’t we all?
A little more background:
Sturman’s own church has been deeply split over denominational policies. She was vestry chairwoman at Christ Episcopal in 2001 when Jane Holmes Dixon, then acting bishop of Washington, was barred from entering the church to hold services. Dixon had declined to approve the church’s new pastor because he rejected female bishops and refused to accept Dixon’s authority.
I’m so tired of the Bible. It provides fodder for all sides of an argument; it’s pointless to use in arguments. People can pick one sentence out of it and make it their central tenet; but ignore the hundred of other sentences that either contradict it, or prohibit something they do themselves.
I want so badly to stop talking about religion, because it’s all based on opinion and belief, and thus is impossible to argue about. I can never win an argument about religion because it’s so irrational. So, will I stop posting? I can’t stop myself when I see something ridiculous or stupid… in, of course, my opinion.
Gene, the worst part is that “Christianity has always renounced homosexuality” is a flagrant lie. For a comprehensive scholarly treatment, I suggest John Boswell’s _Christianity, Social Tolerance, and Homosexuality: Gay People in Western Europe from the Beginning of the Christian Era to the 14th Century_.
The sad thing is, most laymen and fundalmentalists don’t know what a radical guy Christ was. Talk about your anti-establishment.
The problem isn’t Chritianity or religion in general, the problem is fundalmentalism. Open minds keep things in perspective, but fundalmentalists do things such as opress homosexuals, bomb abortion clinics and (gulp) fly planes into buildings.
After my synical-filled day is over, I’m still a big fan God and I hope he’s (it’s) a big fan of me. Don’t let these idiots sway you in any way. The way you choose (or don’t choose) to worship is one of the last things you can call completely yours.
Why do I get the feeling that didn’t make any sense, and is full of mis-spellings?