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Just what IS "marriage" anyway?

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  • ScoobyDoo
    replied
    Re: Just what IS "marriage" anyway?

    It's Paul vs. Jesus. And in most "conservative" Churches Paul wins.

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  • Guest's Avatar
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    Re: Just what IS "marriage" anyway?

    Originally posted by Bob Gray View Post
    Throughout church history the church has thrived when it has kept to its beliefs and not bent to societal whims of the moment. Whereas churches have declined and decayed when they conform themselves to what society wants them to say/do at the moment.
    Exactly why the church never should have accepted the theories of Copernicus. The earth revolving around the sun!? How absurd!

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  • FreshFish
    replied
    Re: Just what IS "marriage" anyway?

    Originally posted by LynahFan View Post
    Bob, you've got this exactly backwards. People aren't leaving religion because religion is getting too liberal. People are leaving religion because *they've* gotten more liberal and the church is stubbornly, petulantly, refusing to keep up. It's quite bizarre to me that as society's collective view on many social issues (homosexuality, divorce, premarital sex, marijuana use, etc) continues to trend to the more liberal side, you seem to feel that church's best hope for survival is to take an even stronger conservative stance. Rather than attracting new members (and halting the pace of people leaving), it seems to me that conservative denominations are painting themselves into a corner - and that corner of society is shrinking. Clinging to outdated social norms is interfering with the church's ability to spread its primary messages of love, grace, and forgiveness. Is the smug self righteousness really worth that cost?

    "Condemn the sin; embrace the sinner."

    People are not "leaving" religion; they are merely changing how they practice it.

    There is abundant evidence that today's pickup culture is really unhealthy for young women. There are millenias of evidence that drug use in moderation is healthier than drug abuse. Alcoholics Anonymous is a great example of how "submitting to a Higher Power as you understand it" is quite effective for many people.

    Society is more bifurcated into "haves" and "have-nots" than it has been in decades and there is a clear correlation (not necessarily causation) between this latent problem and the breakdown of the family and reliance on government welfare programs instead of expanding private charity (where there are reciprocal responsibilities).

    I agree with you about the smugness and I don't care about what kind of non-abusive sexual practices consenting adults engage in (including licensed prostitution with routine STD checkups), and evidence suggests that marijuana use is more benign (or alt least less malign) than nicotine or alcohol.

    There is a difference between allowing something and encouraging it. We forget that something really worth having has to be earned through discipline and hard work. I don't think this last virtue is at all "outdated."

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  • unofan
    replied
    I won't get into your tone that you are accepting and supposedly others who aren't as liberal as you aren't. That's nonsense of course
    Originally posted by Bob Gray View Post

    I don't appreciate the "smug self righteousness" crack. But, not surprising.
    Yeah, I have no idea where he came to that conclusion.

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  • Bob Gray
    replied
    Re: Just what IS "marriage" anyway?

    Originally posted by LynahFan View Post
    Bob, you've got this exactly backwards. People aren't leaving religion because religion is getting too liberal. People are leaving religion because *they've* gotten more liberal and the church is stubbornly, petulantly, refusing to keep up. It's quite bizarre to me that as society's collective view on many social issues (homosexuality, divorce, premarital sex, marijuana use, etc) continues to trend to the more liberal side, you seem to feel that church's best hope for survival is to take an even stronger conservative stance. Rather than attracting new members (and halting the pace of people leaving), it seems to me that conservative denominations are painting themselves into a corner - and that corner of society is shrinking. Clinging to outdated social norms is interfering with the church's ability to spread its primary messages of love, grace, and forgiveness. Is the smug self righteousness really worth that cost?
    Throughout church history the church has thrived when it has kept to its beliefs and not bent to societal whims of the moment. Whereas churches have declined and decayed when they conform themselves to what society wants them to say/do at the moment. If churches embrace all the things a society wants them to at a given moment, they offer nothing unique and compelling to interest people. In that case, I suggest everyone stay home and sleep in on Sunday morning, etc.

    I don't appreciate the "smug self righteousness" crack. But, not surprising.

    Leave a comment:

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