Where's the love... Don't be offended

245

Replies

  • novelty79
    novelty79 Posts: 11 Member
    Yes to this X infinity!
  • ckes84
    ckes84 Posts: 52
    All you need is love! :smile:
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    I'm going to be honest, I didn't read all of it... I kind of get a little ADD like when there is a bunch of text and I honestly can't focus... but I think I get the gist of what you were saying and I believe that I agree with you...

    My personal belief is this... that yes, homosexuality is a sin... simply because God stated it as such in the old laws.... HOWEVER, that does not mean that I get to hate, judge, shun, otherwise not show love to a person who says they are gay... Why? Because I too am a sinner... I too have sin in my life... I am a glutton... I wouldn't be here if I weren't... I am slothful more often than not... again, I wouldn't be here if I weren't... The example that Christ showed was to NOT cast stones at those that sin, even if we are without sin... Just like I don't accept my own sins (again, if I did I wouldn't be here) I don't accept the sins of others as well... HOWEVER, I do tolerate them just like others tolerate mine... None of us is perfect, none of us is righteous... so what gives us the right to act in such a way. It is between God and the individual on the repentance of sin and since I am no where in that equation, I have no idea how far away or close to God someone is to make any sort of judgement on their life... and even if I were, I would have to be totally cleansed of my own sin before I could make any judgement on anyone else's.. for any reason.... and to be honest, that's probably not going to happen until after I have died and been judged by God.


    BTW: I loathe and dispise Westboro Baptist Church.... and am extremely glad that the SBC has choosen to not recognize them in the Convention.
  • ChristineMarie89
    ChristineMarie89 Posts: 1,079 Member
    well said
  • IARXPHD
    IARXPHD Posts: 14
    Being a person who has left "faith", I'm very much in agreement with the statement.
    Once I quit worrying about the rules men wrote in a book 2000 years ago, I started living.
    I'm kinder, calmer, more charitable in my finances and in my time. For I now look upon life as something wonderful and precious but that is so rare in the Universe that I want to leave the earth as a better place than when I was born. Period.
  • kayl3igh88
    kayl3igh88 Posts: 428 Member
    This whole piece brought me to tears
    it makes sense to me....I hope it makes just as much sense to others :flowerforyou:

    ^^^ exactly the same for me :flowerforyou:
  • penrbrown
    penrbrown Posts: 2,685 Member
    TL;DR...

    but in all seriousness tolerance is thinking someone has the wrong idea but choosing to let them be wrong. :)

    We could all use more tolerance, even for the ideas we hate.

    Ironically, hating the haters makes us haters... so instead maybe we could try loving our enemy and leading by example instead of returning kind with kind, you know what I mean?

    Anyway, I gather that was the point of your post. :)
  • misalillstead
    misalillstead Posts: 407 Member
    Well said!
  • sdereski
    sdereski Posts: 3,406 Member
    bump. Need to read when am not at work.
  • k0nfyo0zed
    k0nfyo0zed Posts: 313 Member
    I am Christian, without caveats. Our household is big on the "judge not" side of things. "Love thy neighbor" says nothing about "unless your neighbor is X" so that's what we do.
  • mrmanmeat
    mrmanmeat Posts: 1,968 Member
    images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRJr62wTMVy4-nM0qSWg2_Q2c7LequtYCMJquAsNm8LwsBcQ1HNAEB9dDdENQ
  • tabbydog
    tabbydog Posts: 4,925 Member
    Wow. Awesome post. :heart:
  • hdroddy
    hdroddy Posts: 122
    Man, this is freaking awesome. Best post of all time, seriously.
  • _Bob_
    _Bob_ Posts: 1,487 Member
    That's from the Single Dad Laughing blog, at http://www.danoah.com/

    Just for the sake of giving appropriate credit where due.

    Specifically, here: http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html

    I love it a lot.

    thanks guys,

    I'm glad I read it, I found it on that evil place called facebook
  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
    I read this about a week ago, I love it.

    "Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
    -Rick Warren
  • vara123
    vara123 Posts: 60 Member
    Very well put!

    In my opinion though love isn't enough, people need educating. And educating liberally, with tolerance and as global citizens. It sounds trite but most of the evils you mention in your post arise purely from ignorance. Regardless of what kind of toxic environment children are raised in at home (which is where most of the bigotry people take into their adult lives is bred), progressive liberal education is the most valuable thing that a nation can offer it's children.

    I totally get your point about freedom of speech gone too far as well, in some camps at least. I was truly horrified by some of the (presumably privately/church sponsored) billboards I saw driving through the bible belt in the USA a few years back - things that would simply be seen as offensive, inflammatory, or even downright illegal (due to inciting hatred) in the UK.
  • diadori
    diadori Posts: 26 Member
    So eloquently put. Bravo.
  • nray3119
    nray3119 Posts: 100 Member
    This was put in a great way. You are so awesome. If you lose any friends over this they were never friends in the first place and I would love for you to add me.
  • 7funnygirl7
    7funnygirl7 Posts: 1,176
    I'm still in AWE!...should read this on a daily basis ~thanks for the post friend! ~ :smile:
  • tgmshierry
    tgmshierry Posts: 83 Member
    Bump
  • JoshuaL86
    JoshuaL86 Posts: 403 Member
    I know not everyone is Christian, but I am going to quote this anyway. " For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life. " - John 3:16. " The world " includes everyone, whether your gay, bi, straight, whatever. God loves everyone. We, as Christians, are suppose to mimic that love. The problem is, we don't. You don't have to agree with their lifestyle to love them, you just have to love them despite their lifestyle.
  • UsedToBeHusky
    UsedToBeHusky Posts: 15,228 Member
    Honestly, I wanted to read the whole thing, but I don't have a lot of time. I'll come back to it later. Anyway, just wanted to say that for the most part I got the general concept, and I wanted to say that I do strive to be this type of person. But I'm only human, so if there is anybody who would say that I haven't been Christian to them, let me publicly apologize.
  • k8blujay2
    k8blujay2 Posts: 4,941 Member
    I read this about a week ago, I love it.

    "Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
    -Rick Warren

    I like this quote.
  • mamnboston
    mamnboston Posts: 81
    AMEN! I agree 100%

    My son recently came out of the closet and my ex-husband and I hugged him, kissed him, told him how proud we were that he was honest with us and brave enough to embrace his sexuality openly and freely
  • CuteAndCurvy83
    CuteAndCurvy83 Posts: 570 Member
    This is one of the reasons I am a church drop out and have turned my back on traditional Christianity. I read Francis Chans "Crazy Love" and it totally ruined me for traditional Christianity and the institutional church. I love Jesus with all my heart, but I also am a GLBT Ally, Understand some of the reasons people get abortions (even though I may not agree), don't believe in submitting to a pastor (I Submit myself to God and God alone!), And don't submit to or support some of what mainstream Christians condemn or support. I don't see an issue with drinking once in a while, I don't believe you have to be married before you have sex (though for your hearts sake I think a committed relationship is best), I cuss when I'm mad, but over all I LOVE people, drunks, prostitutes, black or white, gay or straight, christian or atheist, everyone deserves the best I've got to give them.
  • Audddua
    Audddua Posts: 176 Member
    Couldn't have put it better myself... well said. I've had gay friends over the years that cannot/will not/are afraid to come out completely and it's a damned shame.

    My favorite comeback to hateful comments is to just quietly say, "I though Jesus loved everyone..." that usually shuts them up :)
  • Nu__Me
    Nu__Me Posts: 13
    Well, having been on the receiving end of that hatred, I can tell you, I have not yet lost my faith in humanity because people like you exist. Thank you, for helping me keep my faith alive and reaffirming that closing my heart off to people because others close theirs off to me, is not the way to live...for me at least...
  • lisag2007
    lisag2007 Posts: 130
    Everyone deserves to be treated with kindness and compassion. Very long, but well said.

    This....and I hope I too can learn to treat everyone with kindness and compassion....as you said, no one is perfect. But we all have room to grow.
  • elysianashes
    elysianashes Posts: 100
    I like the part where his VERY FIRST SENTENCE is "I didn't write this" and everyone says, "Wow, you did a good job writing that!"

    On a more serious note, I saw the article last week and was glad someone had the heart to write it. Sadly, the ones who need to hear it the most won't listen.

    "Well, some of those folks probably aren’t really Christians. 1 John 4:20 says, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.” And 1 John 2:9 says “Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.” I am not allowed by Jesus to hate anyone. Our culture has accepted two huge lies: The first is that if you disagree with someone’s lifestyle, you must fear them or hate them. The second is that to love someone means you agree with everything they believe or do. Both are nonsense. You don’t have to compromise convictions to be compassionate."
    -Rick Warren
    ... which is hilarious, because Rick Warren is very anti-gay-marriage. Yes, Rick.... sometimes you really DO need to compromise your convictions to be compassionate.
  • NewFitKeri
    NewFitKeri Posts: 190 Member
    OMG ty...that made me tear up..you have no idea what that meant to someone like myself who has always been "different" and "fat" and not "christian" and also "gay"....ty a million times over!:flowerforyou:

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