Avatar of Gwazi Magnum
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  • Old Guild Username: Gwazi Magnum
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    1. Gwazi Magnum 12 yrs ago
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9 yrs ago
Current :magnum:
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11 yrs ago
PRAISE THE SUN!!!
11 yrs ago
Note to self, enter = post.
11 yrs ago
Apparently these are a thing.

Bio

You followed me all the way to my Bio? Well... Now we must drop it.

Most Recent Posts

Shy said
Wow. You just aren't getting it. Homosexuality is NOT A SIN for most Christian denominations. The emotions and feelings and attractions are not sin. Just like If I have the urge to eat an entire cake that is not necessarily sinful whereas going and eating that whole cake is considered gluttony. Probably not the best example, but I'm writing a Philosophy essay right now so that's what it shall be for now.EDIT: Actually its a pretty bad example. Thoughts of Gluttony and the like can be bad. However a pure attraction to someone that is not adulterous is not.


You're going to need another analogy there.
You've completely lost me with the cake one. :/

Brovo said
Stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it~Just stop. You're never going to convince ActRaiser. He sincerely believes what he is saying is fact--now regardless of whether it is or isn't--that is seriously what he believes to be absolutely true beyond a shadow of a doubt. You could no more convince him not to believe that than he could convince you to believe in God. Okay? Okay.Also, cut the passive aggressive crap. It's funny when Thunderf00t does it because he targets blatant idiots who intentionally try to destroy science.Shy and ActRaiser, while I cannot comment on personally knowing their intellectual capacity, I sincerely doubt have any desire to destroy the modern concept of science and simply hold differing beliefs to yours. Whether you consider those right or wrong is irrelevant. This is an argument about philosophy and theology and in these fields it's very, VERY DAMN HARD to declare one thing right and another wrong.So seriously. Cut the crap. I know you can be better than this. Be an intellectual not a... Podium of tired arguments that nobody gives a shit about anymore.


(Covering this discussion elsewhere)
ActRaiserTheReturned said
The Bible doesn't say Jesus wants to change your skin color. He wants to change YOU. He's not changing you, really, if he changes your skin color. But he's changing who you are if he's changing part of your sin nature.


It was an example meant to be highlighting that it's discriminating against something you are and can't control.
Now it seems to be getting circular there though, since you think homosexuality can be cured while I think it's something genetic and sticks around.

So let me approach it from this way instead, outside of God saying that it's wrong what is actually bad about Homosexuality?

Shy said
I already stated which Version of the Bible I used. I use the NRSV although the NIV is typically the most common translation. Why do I use this version? Well quite frankly, as wonder a piece of literature as it might be, the KJV is known to not be the greatest translation (no offence to KJV users) and is rarely used by biblical scholars worldwide. The NRSV contains the Septuagint for the Old Testament meaning no books have been removed and it is the most accepted "Catholic" bible. Now you see, as a member of the Roman Catholic Church, we do not see homosexuals as hated by God or any of the like. Also contrary to popular opinion we don't look at homosexual acts as any different that heterosexual acts. Both are considered sinful OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE. The problem arises in the fact that the RC Church does not believe in same sex marriage therefore the heterosexual couples can get married while homosexual couples cannot. But then comes the question of "Well why can't homosexuals get married? The Church just discriminates against the gays!" But that involves going to the roots of marriage and what exactly it means as well as it's purpose.But that is a totally different topic.


@Bible Preference: Fair enough.

@Homosexuality: Well if we wish to resolve this conversation and understand each other, rather than simply ending it here that seems to be the direction we need to go in.
But before I do that I also feel the need to ask, define what you mean by Heterosexual and Homosexual acts before marriage.

Do you mean sexual intercourse? Do you mean dating, kissing, simply being attracted?

Now that's been asked, I'll move on to the topic we seem to be moving in.
Why is Gay Marriage bad? What does marriage mean?

Marriage however was a practice made long before Christianity as a way economically support people and in many cases in history claim ownership of women.
It wasn't always about love, or an oath to God.

In fact many marriages today have no religious motivation. It's simply an expression of love, or in some cases a couple want's to be legally seen as married for economic purposes.
I get what you're saying.

About 4 years ago I was a Christian who said the same stuff about Homosexuality.
But look at it this way.

Homosexuality is a sin.
But Heterosexuality isn't a sin.

That ultimately means one (Hetero) is better than the other (Homo) and that Heterosexuality is therefore a true and right sexuality while the others are flawed and wrong.

It's the same as saying being black is a sin, but white isn't.
Even if the being black was wrapped up with everything else, you'd still look at that and go "That's pretty unfair and discriminating to Black People".
ActRaiserTheReturned said
I can see what you're saying but then the Bible comes along with the message of the Gospel about how God can change your very being and the essence of who you are via Jesus. It comes all the way from the minor little crimes like white lies and nickel stealing I mentioned, up all the way to being a genocidal bastard who murders people. Homosexuals are included.


But that is Christianity being against Homosexuality, which was my point.
And reason I posted the Bible quotes saying that it does.

That in itself is discrimination towards Homosexuals.
Regardless as to if you think Homosexuality is something that can be "cured" or not.
ActRaiserTheReturned said
I never said the Bible didn't attack homosexuality of unrepentant homosexuals. In fact, all sinners who are unrepentant face the eternal barbecue as sitters on the grill. If you ever lied, stolen so much as a nickel, etcetera, you're going. :/


"Yeah, I agree too. I don't believe that you should be cruel to anyone you disagree with. The God Hates Fags people don't know anything about the Bible they thump. God gave Sodom and Gomorrah time and time again to repent, this was back in the Old Testament when God was always on a punishing spree. Even then he didn't hate what they call fags".

That is Christianity attacking Homosexuality right there.
Even if your argument is "Only those who actually act on their sexuality are condemned".
That's basically saying "Do not be who you are, if you act as who you are you will be punished".
Brovo said
Okay. I suppose I should do a serious answer now. ... Look, I don't much like some of the stories in the Bible, I find some of them to be morally detestable, but some of them are also morally sound. I know you're an Atheist like me so take it this way: The bible is just a book. If homophobes didn't have the bible they would be using something else to scapegoat their bigotry. It's just a tool. Don't blame the tool, blame the one who wields it for malice, in the same sense that you wouldn't ban all hammers if someone just so happened to . ...


I wasn't trying to claim that Religion causes Homophobia.
I am well aware that the Religion is simply something Homophobe's use as an excuse to be Homophobic.

But when someone says "Christianity doesn't promote Homophobia" I'm going to point them to the quotes in the Bible that are Homophobic.
ActRaiserTheReturned said
This discrimination game is just sub-concious, or uninformed semantics play.


I'm merely highlighting that by claiming Homosexuality is a worse sexuality than Heterosexuality you are treating their sexuality as something less and evil, which is for all intents and purposes discrimination.

Brovo said
I don't even know what it is that is being argued. This thread has run its course, not that it really had one. :p


Basically ActRaiserTheReturned made the claim that the Bible/Christianity says nothing against Homosexual's

Although I'm a straight ally myself, I don't like seeing false claims about things like Religion made so I highlighted a few Bible quotes saying otherwise.
Since then it's been ActRaiserTheReturned basically trying to disprove it and/or that although he sees Homosexuality as something less, it's still somehow not discrimination.

As for what's going on with me and mdk?

Mdk started arguing that Christianity isn't homophobic because of how Jesus acted.
Which led to a debate over how much weight the Bible held vs Jesus.

Though for the past few posts, I haven't 100% been getting his points (hence why everyone of my responses has been a clarification rather than a flat out response) and apparently it seems to be leading to a spiritual journey. :P

HeySeuss said
It might be a more interesting argument to discuss the laws being put in place in Uganda or Russia's oppression of gays and see if anyone wants to justify those things, tough my guess is 'not likely' given that the Guild really isn't the place to find extremist psychos. I troll (off guild) for such psychos in other parts of IRC (off foonetic; I'm talking about much older networks that have populations dating back to the bad old days) to find the sort of argument I think a lot of people on here are hunting for, but that's me personally.I'd actually say that science is in the process of constantly correcting itself as more information comes in, which is precisely what science does and what it was designed to do. I find it very humbling in that respect, it gives you a lively awareness that you can easily be wrong. It'd be a very boring universe if we knew it all or even a lot.


I have fun debating psycho's time to time.
But often times this quote just end's up describing it perfectly.

"Never argue with an idiot. They'll drag you down to their level and then win with Experience".
Though I do usually entertain it (often getting dragged in till the end somehow anyways... Probably because I never like shutting up and leaving my mind unspoken :P).

Which has also been happening on the Guild a few times though lately cause we've gotten a rush of people whose arguments are literally "I don't give a shit", "Stuuuuuuuuuuuuuupid!" or "I don't like your evidence. So I will call it invalid".

Note: Not attacking Guild Community as a whole, just noting that with the site resurrection we seem of gotten an increase of these kind of people in OT.
We still have people like Brovo and mdk who have backed up their points very well and always had good reasoning behind it, even if I may not agree with them all of the time.

But atm I've been getting most of my debate fill from an atheist Group called The Cult of Dusty.

You'll find some people there as well who are basically, "I will spam my point until you agree or else!".
But the general purpose and intention of the community is to act as a marketplace of ideas, where the strong/best one will win in the end.
And many times everyone walks away with new insight and information in the topic discussed rather than hurt feelings.

Which overall I've been finding to be much more enjoyable and good for my mind than debating a psycho would be.

Shy said "All verses are quoted from the New International Version of the bible (I was too lazy to actually check my NRSV)If you're going to use the bible to back up your claims, try finding proper evidence next time. Every verse you referenced discuss an ACT of homosexuality, none speak in regards to the person themselves.


It's still a Bible.
Perhaps you should clarify which Bible you follow though and why?
Since if we're going that route, there's 1000's of sub-groups of Christianity (All claiming to be the only true one, go figure) and all probably have a revised bible in some way at least.

As for describing the act, that is still discrimination and homophobia.
If you claim a man laying with a woman is fine, but a man laying with a man is not then it's the same argument and issue.

mdk said I could give you a couple of sermons on this if you like. It's not an easy concept to grasp, or to explain. , nor is it invalid, nor silly, or anything like that. But , the and , one . So what's in the 'new covenant,' well, a lot, obviously. It's a big book. But it can be (and was) summed up And now I'm certain that I've well-exceeded the bible quota for a single post, so I'll.... well, shit, I still have half a quote to deal with. Let's move on.


So basically this is the "When Jesus died the Old Testament became irrelevant" argument?

If so, the Bible never seemed to outright say, 'Ignore the past Bible".
More that they gave a summary, as I quote "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?". Not how it's not only, but great.

Also, the 10 Commandments themselves basically have always amounted to "Worship Him" and "Don't be a dick".
But if you looked into the rest of the Bible there's clear support of things such as rape, slavery, sexism etc.

mdk said No 'May or May Not,' he didn't, period. Scratch that -- he about what sort of attributes a godly person ought to have, and 'hatred, bigotry, and discrimination' got left well and truly off the list. He actually comes down pretty heavily on the side of the persecuted -- not just in the sermon on the mount, but in all his ministries, that was a common theme (Tax collectors were despised, so ). He did single out a group with modern implications -- -- not the gays. There it's not a matter for persecution or your newfangled '99% Hacktivism,' far from it. It's a personal journey, meant for one man.


I wasn't trying to argue if Jesus himself spoke against Homosexuaity or not.
Rather I was getting to the point that the Bible still does, which is basically the entire religions rules and such on paper.

mdk said Now, the part nobody wants to hear.... Remember (you remember) the last time you got into an evolution debate with a staunch but maybe-not-so-well-prepared creationist? Of course you do. When the creationist said to you, "Science is conflicting with science" (let's face it -- he said it), what was your response? If you were a clever man, and you are, your response was that science contradict science. At most, one discovery might necessitate deeper investigation in order to ascertain the truth, and to reconcile (and amend) the things we know with regards to the new information -- but never , science doesn't do that.

So, what I'm bound now to say is... You need to dig deeeeeeeeeper. We're talking about theology now, which -- like etymology -- is a science of words. These words of course, the stakes are a bit higher, the scope is a bit wider, but we're dealing with a message and we can approach it scientifically. You have found a point which doesn't seem to fit! Put a dog-ear on that page and come at it with a rational, reasoning mind. Are there outside factors? Are these the words of God, or the words of god through men, or the words of men about god? You'll find those, and more. Poems. Songs. Commands, Rebukes.

The sober among you will note that I'm high on pills and bible right now. Betcha there's a verse or two about that, right? Heh. Well, my analogies sort of started taking on lives of their own. THE POINT WAS -- if you want to dig deeper, if you and to dig deeper -- I'm down to play my part, and we can do a little Zen-Master-Pupil meditation (. I'll never ask you to stop thinking for yourself, hell, I'll never STOP ASKING for you to think for yourself. But I can show you a thing or two on whatever path you want to follow, and when I stop being helpful you can kick me off the club, how's that?

Did I mention the pills. Shit's sake. Well, go on then. Wanna be a pilgrim for a bit? I'll be your spiritual mentor who's also apparently wasted.


Science is entirely based on finding the truth, with no assumptions made.
If they find something disproving a theory they will keep researching to understand it and adapt their theories.
So they could be wrong (they've been wrong plenty of times in history) but they adapt, they don't bring a pre-existing claim like God which must always stay true despite what is shown against it.

But in terms of a Religion like Christianity, there's a different element. The Bible.
The Bible is by all intents and purposes Christianity. Everything God said, wants of people and Christians are expected to follow in in there.
If your intent is to have me think Christianity is something separate from what the Bible says, you'll first need to explain why the Bible is not relevant to the Religion.

And if you do that, you would then need to tell me what exactly it is Christianity does stand on.
Because without the Bible they have seemingly nothing to base their beliefs on in my opinion.
Note that all your points on Jesus's teaching's were also Bible quotes.

If that isn't your intent and I've misunderstood I apologize in advance for the mis-reading on my part.

Also I feel the need to note, being an atheist I am not coming at this from the point of "God is real, he actually wrote this. So let's see what he really meant".
I am coming at this from a "I believe the Bible was made by man, and was a book valued as God's word. As a result no one dared remove anything since it would be blasphemy, and therefore conflictions, prejeduice etc. runs rampant".

And I have also ran into the Christian's who would in fact argue "The Bible is irrelevant, it was made my man".
But that like said earlier leaves the hole to fill of "What is Christianity based on?".

So in other word's I'm open to learning more on the topic.
But I've highlighted the main issues I have with Christianity and the Bible beforehand that needs to be addressed before I accept any claim that the Religion is not what the Bible says it is
Ichthys said
I personally think a few distinctions need to be made.Are we talking about with those sexual orientations, of those who identify with either orientation or that are the orientations?Also, once that distinguishment is made, in what meaning of the word are we using "discrimination" (and the related words)? What do we mean when we use it? Are we comparing the items and saying one is better than the other? Are we simply saying they are different but equal? Perhaps the word is even being used in another meaning?Finally, once those two distinctions are made, what is really being debated here, using the prior distinctions to figure this out?As an outside observer, I'm confused over where some of the civil debate has headed, so I'm asking for these distinctions for my sake and the debate's sake.


Good catch.

And to answer the questions.

1. In this specific case, those with the sexual orientation themselves.

2. Discrimination meaning you view one as better than the other.
ActRaiserTheReturned may argue Heterosexual's and Homosexual's are equal sinners simply by having sin (which depending on how you interpret the Bible would be true), but in the specific case of Homosexuality he seems to be stating that there is an ultimately better sexuality.

mdk said
What I'm saying is that old-testament laws were given for reasons (good reasons, at least, when they were given). Like 'clean' or 'unclean' foods, not all of those reasons endured the several-thousands-of-years since their institution. To cling to the laws in absence of reason is -- not 'in my interpretation,' but in actual written fact -- *missing* *the* *point*. Jesus said so numerous times on numerous occasions. Homophobia is not consistent with what the Christian Bible This isn't the first time it's been read wrong and it won't be the last, but right now, it's almost certainly the ugliest.


So if I'm understanding you right, it's that the rules in the old testament were only meant for their time and by today's day and age has lost it's need?

As for Jesus and Homophobia, may he have spoken against it or not. The Bible does support Homophobia, I listed several Bible quotes earlier showing so. So that part isn't a mis-reading. Most likely it seems to be a conflict between the Bible and Jesus.
ActRaiserTheReturned said
Okay then, my response is "So what"? Should we forsake our own conscience and religious beliefs just because it hurts someone's feelings? If you think so, then you may as well support Orwellian Thought Police.


Absolutely not.
The world need's people to grow thicker skin, and be less afraid to say what they truly think.

Note: This is not me agreeing with your opinion on the issue. Just that you have a right to express it.

However, that goes two ways.
And regardless, you saying Heterosexuality > Homosexuality is still discrimination.
Just because it's founded on religious beliefs doesn't change that fact.

mdk said
Not at all. What I mean is that there isn't any justification for the hate. "All things are permissible." That doesn't make it smart or godly or whatever, but there's no sense in hating over it. Especially when hatred contradicts the two greatest commandments. Especially with Jesus' routinely-expressed opinions about people who judge other people.


So to clarify, are you saying being Homosexual isn't smart. But there's no point in hating it either?
It may not be out of spite or prejudice, and it may very well be just what you think.

But if you go around saying Homosexuality is a sin, but your's isn't it's Discrimination.
It may be with decent intentions, but you're still treating something they are born with as if it is something bad and be forgiven for.
It's like me saying "I think being black is a sin. I keep it in my head, and I still love black people. But being Black is a sin".
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