Rev. Erudite Redneck, B.S., B.S., M.A., M.Div.

If you wish to pray for my damnation simply because I cling to the fundamentals of the faith, that is certainly your prerogative. I will, however, pray for you.

Oh, btw, there won't be any gays in heaven, ER... Reformed gays who have been REDEEMED, yes. Just as there'll be redeemed murderers, liars, thieves, prostitutes, drug addicts, etc. But no gays. No murderers. No liars. No Adulterers. No prostitutes. No drug addicts. None who are boastful, proud, envious... Or self-righteous.
 

Oh... And I consider it a good thing that there will be no Gay Pride march through the streets of Jerusalem.
 

Ha! What a unique way to reach out to those who disagree with you, ER. It's almost like you took a page from the fundy's book and just put in "fundamentalists" where they would have had "homosexuals". Actually, it's exactly like that. I know I'm convinced that I should be in church now.

--Chandler Bing
 

EL, I, myself am a fundamentalist if all that is meant by it is one who "clings to the fundmentals of a faith." But that's not what "fundamentalist" means anymore. It means rabid, pushy, intolerant, arrogant, narrow-minded, mean-spritied, selfish error.

You have to admit it's creepy for fundy Mulsims, Jews and Cjrstians to agree on ANYTHING. To me, that's testimony that all three are totally OFF on this.

That second thing; I think I agree with what you're trying to say, although I think you said it a little clunkily.

That third thing: I thought you were a lover of freedom.


Bing: Who said I was trying to "reach out"? This was an exasperated complaint.

As for whether you go to church: That's entirely up to you; if you are an American, you know the story, you know what's supposed to be at stake and you can read. You're responsible for deciding what, if anything, to do about church and faith.
 

Re: "On the other hand, Israel's gay community has just barely begun to fight for same-sex marriage, a key issue in the U.S. and Europe. They face a major obstacle in Israel. Rabbinical authorities hold a monopoly over Jewish marriage and divorce."

What is not mentioned is that any "Civil" legal activity in Isreal by Jews falls under Rabinical Law. So if a woman who is Jewish wants to marry a non-Jewish man she can not unless the Rabbis suspend the law against it. Or if a widow wants to remarry, but her dead husband's brother won't release her from his hold over her by Jewish Law then she can never marry in Israel. etc. etc.
Likewise all Christian are subject to Civil Law as interpreted by the Christian Clergy, and all Muslems are held to the Civil actions under Sheria Law.
A wild and wonderful place Israel is, a beacon of democracy so to speak.

and

What, pray tell me, is a "redeemed gay"?
 

Oh yes, speaking of praying for damnation, has anybody else heard Sean Hannity declare that so and so because they did such and such will "lose their soul!"?

Are we to believe that Sean has "insight" as to who has committed the unforgivable mortal sin? Can you imagine the cry of indignation if anybody on CNN or NBC or CBS or etc. said that outloud on the air?

and

EL said to ER, "If you wish to pray for my damnation simply because I cling to the fundamentals of the faith, that is certainly your prerogative. I will, however, pray for you."

I just love the idea of dueling prayers. It is kinda like last week when Hektor our young cat brought an offering to our front door of a dead baby mouse and left it there. Not to be out done, Veto the old cat, brought a dead grown mouse to the door and left it. But my small female feline was so put out by the praise lauded upon these two might hunter males for their offerings that she brought a very large mouse into the house and dumped it at my feet while we were having company. Trouble was, it was still alive.
Pray on breathern, pray on!
 

I don't consider the use of "damn" in that context as a prayer.
 

Mathew 18:18 "I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be[d]bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.

19"Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven...."

How do you "bind" by asking for it. How do you ask for it if not in prayer.
 

"What, pray tell me, is a "redeemed gay""

Same as a "redeemed straight," one who's accepted Jesus' gift of heaven.

EL, I suspect, would define it differently.
 

ER, I didn't really think you were trying to reach out to me, anymore than the people throwing rocks at homosexuals were trying to reach out to them. They were probably just exasparated, too.

It just struck me as a little too ironic to be damning a group of people for damning another group of people, that's all. Pretty soon all the rhetoric sounds the same and you can't tell the difference between the radicals anymore.

--Chandler Bing
 

Yer right. It's hard to be critical of people for being critical of people - but somebody has to do it. Others are better at it than I am, I know.