Sorry all for the long post, but since I'm all alone on this side, I have a lot to respond to.
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fieldshowqueen wrote:My personal opinion is we as a culture are morally bankrupt
I couldn't agree more.
fieldshowqueen wrote:The biggest issues here are:
1) The church and state are SEPARATE;
2) The states have priority over the federal government;
3) We CAN change what is perceived as a violation of human rights.
I actually agree here too. I would love to see the institution of marriage severed from the US government and replaced by civil unions (for everyone, same and opposite-sex). For the government, it's about civil benefits, so it should be a civil union.
Chapagne wrote:Yes. Any news program that spends at least several minutes of air time on each story, making sure both sides are represented with additional commentary and interviews is definitely liberal. We definitely need to pay more attention to the blowhards who lie and twist the stories to serve their own agendas.
I was not attacking NPR. In fact, I happen to listen, and at various times (when financially feasible) have been a member. I was pointing out that
even traditionally liberal news outlets acknowledge the threat same-sex couples pose to religious institutions. If you would prefer, next time I'll post something from Bill O'Reilly.
Hostrauser wrote:Phooey. You look back thousands of years and what do you see in EVERY society across the globe? Arranged marriages, political alliances, large dowries of stock animals and land... I'd argue that marriage has always been about business not religion.
That's a pretty heavy claim (especially considering how limited our knowledge about early history is). While I agree that these exceptions exist, I think they're just that: EXCEPTIONS. I know that in at least Jewish history, there has never been these kinds of power games relating to marriage. It's always been one man, one woman, and a relationship solemnized by G-d. FYI, Jewish history goes back 5768 years.
Hostrauser wrote:Look, bottom line: when you engage in business in America (and I'm not talking just about profit: any activity or service used by the American public) you have to serve everyone.
Really? So if I ran a kindergarten alternative care program, should I be obliged to let pedophiles work on my staff? If I own a zoo, do I have to let zoophiles work as animal keepers? Rapists working at the woman's shelter, thieves working at the banks, terrorists working in Homeland Security, and murderers working in the police department... all in the name of "serving everyone".
The fact is, people can (and SHOULD) make discriminatory decisions every single day. Perverse elements have no place in certain parts of society. In the realm of religion (and by extension religious marriage), homosexuality is perverse (I'm aware that some religions don't take this stance. Most do).
I have a right to practice my religion in the US. That includes refusing to perform convenience abortions (which I religiously consider murder), refusing to promote casual sex (through the proliferation of contraception in public places like schools), refusing to perform insemination on same-sex couples, refusing to approve of same-sex relationships, and countless others. Going against
any any of these things would be a grave religious transgression, and yet you claim that it doesn't matter because of "equality".
Any kind of equality that promotes one group to the detriment of another (eg same-sex couples over religious institutions) is
NOT equality.
Nreuest wrote:Prop 4: NO (she got pregnant, she brought this onto herself, SHE should decide what's best)
She's a MINOR. She has not developed to the point where she can comprehend the long term effects of this kind of decision. She already has a culture of crazed "abort now" groups trying to convince her not to "let one mistake ruin her life"; shouldn't she have the chance to hear another opinion?
Nreuest wrote:the church is and always will be a TERRIBLE influence on politics and society
What rock do you live under? Pre-religion society involved such gems as child sacrifice, ritual cannibalism, mass murder, total contempt and disregard for human life, absolute indulgence of the senses to the point of self-destruction (eg literally eating yourself to death), and countless others. No religion, no morality. No morality, no quality of life. FYI, ideas like equality spring from morality, and therefore, from religion.
Nreuest wrote:keep living in the past you religious nuts
I'm not sure what this is supposed to mean. If you mean fight to preserve the moral fiber of society (which used to be stronger) than I fully intend to "keep living in the past".