Sperry...
You of course have the right to your opinion, and it was not that opinion that I had an issue with. I do however have a very dfferent viewpoint about the bible than you do. I do not judge the worth of the scriptures based on what ignorant people have done with them, or by how people have "interpreted" them over the years. Nor do I see any "contradictions" in the bible that cannot be reasoned through with some in-depth study. I have had lots of discussions with other people about the whole "contradiction" issue, and there are none. That can be seen if you are wiling to thoroughly study the bible with the idea in mind that it was not originally written in english.
I also was not trying to imply that, being the moderator, that you could not express your opinion...just that it could be done in a way that is more sensitive to other people's beliefs, especially on the subject of religion. I understand that the comment was not directed at me personally, but because it was an apparently unjust criticizm of the God that I believe in, and you holding the position within the club that you do, I found it a bit rude. You apparently intended it as a joke, but to me it didn't come off that way...and being sensitive to other beliefs, you might have realized that it would appear that way.
Lastly, IMO being gay is not something that you are born with, but it is a lifestyle choice based on giving in to a specific kind of temptation. Therefore, your replacing "homosexual" with "black" analogy won't work for me. I also do not consider there to be any difference between a "black" person and a "white" person (it's just skin pigment anyway)...being dark skinned isn't a sin, but homosexuality is a sin according to the bible that I believe in. I do believe that gays can stop being gay, just like a thief can stop stealing, and an adulterer can stop being unfaithful. I believe this based on what the scriptures teach about the nature of sin. Even though I am a Christian, I have never considered myself to be "morally superior" to anyone else. My life has had more than it's share of mistakes and bad decisions, so I am no different than anyone else out there. It is very unfortunate that many so-called Christians do feel that they are somehow better than others, because that is not what is taught in the bible. "Christians" who try to twist and misinterpret scripture to justify their hatred are not true Christians, nor are they actually following anything taught by either Jesus or God directly.
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