DANGEROUS "Holy Roller" mentality

Discussion in 'Bisexual' started by GrayGuy57, Nov 10, 2022.

  1. Windman

    Windman Members

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    According to Snoops this quote can’t be proven. Although it doesn't seem to a secret that he did condemn homosexual behavior.
    Having said that he was a good man as measured by his life as a whole, which is all any of us can hope for. He wasn’t perfect nor did he claim to be. What I do take note of is the need to discredit him along with Christianity as a whole. It’s not new, it has been going on for as long as I remember.
    Our understanding of scripture and balancing the Old Testament with the new is very complex and deep. It is tough to understand sometimes what Gods purpose was and sometimes is. I don’t always get it right and find myself reversing a previous understanding or position of what things mean. There is much to debate when it comes to the nuances in scripture.

    The fundamental things seem to be the most important and easiest for us to understand, those are what I call Kingdom issues. At the top of that seems to be love. When asked what one must done to inherit the kingdom of God his answer was simple. “Love God, Love your neighbor.”(paraphrased). Who is our neighbor you might ask? Everyone! (That’s in there too.) pick all the people we disagree with, all the people that have done bad to us, republicans, democrats(thats right, them too). Pray for our enemies, thats what he said.

    Simple concept, hard to do, I get it. But from where I sit, and from my understanding if I am going to make a mistake in this it is far better to be mistaken on the side of love than condemnation.
     
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  2. GrayGuy57

    GrayGuy57 Members

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    Windman:

    Thank you for sharing your views here.

    I have heard that Billy Graham's son Franklin is EXTREMELY homophobic/anti-gay, condemning homosexual behavior even more than his late father.

    To simplify things for even better clarity, I would wager that all evangelists are anti-gay...I think it is a given; I often, think in the back of my mind, what MONUMENTAL odds a GAY evangelist would face if one were to appear on the "Bible thumpin'-circuit."

    One could only image the slew of death threats he would be receiving....NOT a pleasant scenario to contemplate, for certain.

    On a related note, the Mayor of London (son of Pakistani immigrants) received many death threats when he voted in favor of same-sex marriage.

    Sad.

    As for me, I simply judge others for the kind of people they are in character and integrity; I eliminate the negative, and, instead focus on the positive, the "good folks" vs. the "bad".........race, skin color, religion, sexual orientation.......they matter nothing to me.....I choose, instead, to focus on the person HIMSELF, and his positive characteristics.......

    "Live long and prosper"


     
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  3. Windman

    Windman Members

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    This where it is important for us to follow the source rather than the followers. Jesus’s entire life was evangelical , and yet his intentions were to bring all into His Fathers kingdom regardless of background.
    As christians we so often get this wrong, sadly too often. It seems we always want to filter scripture through our own prejudice and context rather than the context it was written in or the context the events them selves occurred in.

    They best advice I can give is to read it for yourself, and do your best to understand the why of it. It is hard to do. Our world is much different than it was. It changed drastically over the several thousand years the scriptures were written in, it’s no wonder there are dramatic differences in the Old and New Testament. How much more has changed since?

    That’s not to say that there aren’t fundamental truths, there are. Like Love your neighbor.
     
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  4. GrayGuy57

    GrayGuy57 Members

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    Windman:

    Very well said.

    In the Bible, it says very simply: "Judge not, lest ye be judged".

    As I have already said, it never ceases to amaze me as to how many "Bible Thumpers" seem to sweep this one under the carpet.

    Reading......translating......deciphering ancient scrolls, texts, and writings can be quite complicated, to say the least.

    So many writings now have totally different meanings than they did centuries ago, when they were first written.

    So much of the Bible, especially, is often taken out of context.

    "Do unto others", I feel, is the simplest and best way for a person to live his life.....

    "Live long and prosper"
     
  5. Tishomingo

    Tishomingo Members

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    You're expressing the essence of Christianity as I understand it. Unfortunately, it's acquired lots of baggage along the way. In my church, we always say the Apostles' creed, beginning with "I believe..." I whispered to my wife once, "I don't believe any of this..." She whispered back "it's just words". The creeds were a product of factional disputes that were settled by one side overcoming the other and settling the dispute by dogma: the virgin birth, the resurrection of the body, the Trinity, etc. How important are these? I think the important things are the life and teachings of Jesus, and as you say Love thy neighbor.
     
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  6. Piobaire

    Piobaire Village Idiot

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    SPOILER ALERT: That was a rhetorical question. The synoptic gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John; the account of Jesus of Nazareth's ministry. At no time is Jesus reported to have ever mentioned, much less condemned, homosexuality. One can extrapolate that he simply didn't consider it an issue worth addressing.
     
    Last edited: Feb 19, 2023
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  7. Piobaire

    Piobaire Village Idiot

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  8. GrayGuy57

    GrayGuy57 Members

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    From an old novel in my library:

    "........because tolerance, a fragile plant, has to be diligently tended, else it withers and dies. As it fades, another growth-the poisonous mushroom of intolerance-takes its place......"

    This speaks many volumes, indeed......

    "Live long and prosper"

     
  9. Icanlikeboth

    Icanlikeboth Members

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    Religion looms so large in my wife's upbringing, and she still watches "devotionals" on an app, and it's a dick killer, because it's just another thing that keeps her so close minded, not wanting to try things or make sex interesting, and just another thing that drives me towards wanting a boyfriend/fuckbuddy on the side.
     
  10. GrayGuy57

    GrayGuy57 Members

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    I hear you.

    Religion/religious devotion can often be a HUGE roadblock for men (bi or gay) wanting a sexual/emotional relationship with another man.

    As I have mentioned awhile back, sadly, religion can be (and, sadly, often is) used as a weapon of intolerance and bigotry, instead of a way of expressing love, brotherhood, tolerance.

    I know from reading opinions and experiences from bi married men here, that, as the years go by, the wife often is not much interested in sex; a man (REGARDLESS of sexuality) has URGES and DESIRES.

    And, I've read here on this board many times over, the EMOTIONAL bonding (as well as the sexual) bonding with another male can induce STRONG feelings and serve to forge a powerful and meaningful friendship......

    "Live long and prosper"


     
  11. thepapasmurph

    thepapasmurph Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    That is and was exactly what I went through with my wife, @Icanlikeboth
    It's something I tried to honor for her sake, for many years, but it was too narrow and debilitating for me.

    It was difficult to walk away from the religious track that played in my head for many years. It was a killer, literally. I didn't see it the same way as she did. It was also not her fault. She was raised that way. I was the one who bought that track later in life, although admittedly at a vulnerable age and time in my life, and it was me who thought it was wrong to be gay, and I'd better stick with these narrow Christian beliefs, and she did not force me to marry her... yet, as things went, it was her that was unable to bend.
     
    Last edited: Mar 8, 2023
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  12. GrayGuy57

    GrayGuy57 Members

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    Your life experiences, I am sure, indeed ring VERY true with many married bisexual men here; the lucky ones have spouses that have little or no issues with their husbands having sexual/emotional relations with other men.

    Others, sadly, risk losing any semblence of family harmony and stability if the truth is discovered.....from what I have read on this board, THAT is indeed a living nightmare, BEYOND chaotic and heart-wrenching.

    It HAS to take a LOT of courage, to say the least, to be a bi married male with a less-than-tolerant spouse.

    Then, too, look at how many GAY men marry a woman, and raise a family, only so they can CONFORM to the ideals of straight society.

    NO WINNERS here at all.......

    "Live long and prosper"
     

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