WarmRoom

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/18/african-children-denounce_n_324943.html its really not hard to find just google African witch burning. I am not saying its happening every where in the world but it is happening. we know its wrong its sad and its heartbreaking the important thing is to keep awareness up as this can tarnish Christianity if left unchecked. This is a problem that can easily be solved by education. ministers missionaries and other people involved should be vigilant about this. Africa in general can be a pretty violent place and violent people can hi-jack religion as a means to an end. Its important to be aware of these things is all I am saying its not the fault of Christianity but people will use it as an excuse to do violent things.

Oh nooo the JESUS FREAKS ARE ON THE LOOSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! /runs away I agree not enough is said about the good things that churches do my grandfather has been a missionary all his life going to places all over the world helping to do many good things. Same with my uncle they are both doing many good things in this world. Yet no one really talks about this. I hate when other atheists bring up the argument that religions does more harm than good As an atheist I don't believe in god/gods/goddesses so if religions does any harm or evil that's just human nature its not religion we are an aggressive species on this planet when people use religion as an excuse to do harm they were going to harm in the first place if it wasn't religion as the excuse it would have been something else.

well one thing you will find in atheist communities is of the major religions left in this world Islam by in large is frowned upon the most. However, large parts of Africa are starting to radicalize Christianity and are starting to catch up so its important to stay on top of these things. They are burning "witches" out there which is something that is not really talked about these days. I think extremism is probably fine but I think there is a difference in radicalization. Like an amish person is an extreme Christian there some extreme muslims that are peaceful radicals are a different story that's when things start to get violent. In America though extreme Christians are pretty harmless imho.

I am going to have to bow out of the conversation at this point I think. As now we are arguing theological positions of which I can neither agree nor disagree with. if we are going to get into the homosexuality is a choice argument these people are making the choice not to be homosexual by the virtue of abstaining from sex they are in essence cutting out their right eye. Their lust for the same sex is that eye and they are cutting it out of their lives we cant make them sleep with women as their is no sexual desire there. I commend this group of people for making the hard decision in their lives to give up a part of human nature for their beliefs if you call yourselves Christian I think now would be the time to pray for them and encourage them in their attempt without adding undo stress. Its time to stop being stumbling blocks. On the matter of choice Revolutionist is right in the sense that the bible does not state that god made them this way. However it doesn't state that he didn't. we infer this based upon the knowledge that we have when looking at scripture. Scripture will always be open to interpretation based upon the knowledge we have it is in our psychology to infer meaning from prior knowledge. So when something is slightly vague we fill in the blanks. I suggest those that still think its a choice read the physical evidence we have on hand if you still think its a choice that's fine but at least you can say you did the research and please try to find your evidence from neutral sources I know its hard to be objective in such a polarized world but we have to try.

Thanks Gerioke for illustrating my point more clearly. We are all in agree that the bible condemns the homosexual act this is not in question shilo. Your position that being homosexual as an orientation disqualifies someone from being a Christian is what I am calling into question. You rightly point out that sexual desire is hard wired if we agree here then the logical conclusion to draw upon from your reasoning is that god created them with their homosexual desires and even if they deny that and abstain from sexual immorality that because they are created that way there is no salvation for them. God created them so they could burn in hell. Your vision of god is kinda sadistic no? Also I didn't accuse you of giving false testimony I said you should be wary of such teachings or giving them with out due diligence that do not have a biblical foundation. other people on this thread and not just me are trying to give you a higher insight. Again your view is that people can change their sexual orientation while there are some extreme outliers one begs the question what was their orientation in the first place as there are shades of gray i.e. bisexuality. "Yeah, that is so 1990's." makes you sound like a valley girl and unintelligent I urge you to explain your position on the matter instead of scoffing at the notion that some fields of scientific discovery have no implication on the validity of the bible.

well your extremism might be fine but there was an Arizona state house member who wanted to pass a law allowing parents to execute disobedient children. referring to the old testament verses regarding disobedient children to say that Christian extremism represents no danger is looking through rose colored glasses imo. Although to compare it to muslim extremism is very laughable lol. YOU DREW A PICTURE OF OUR PROPHET OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!!!!!!

Thank you for clarifying your position shilo its good to see that you stand up to your beliefs I actually commend you on it. However all of what your a saying in regards to homosexuality really has no biblical foundation. It has as much substance as heterosexuality is a spiritual stronghold for sin since if you have sexual feelings for people of the opposite sex your still living in sin. Whether its hetero or homo its still a sin there is no real difference there. Secondly I also find a problem in your review of the scientific evidence. Not all science contradicts the bible and in the case of homosexuality there is no contradiction either. there is such a thing as sexual orientation it is genetic. Our best evidence suggests that our sexual orientation is set by the age of 3. Sexual orientation is not reversible both the APA states that any attempt to reverse this orientation can cause SEVERE mental harm. Also living in sin does not make you less of a Christian than anyone else. lets examine the basic requirements to be considered a Christian accept jesus as Christ repent and be baptized. The fact is that you cannot support your claims using the bible can you? instead of spouting out your proclamations as truth you should be very careful of spreading false doctrines of the bible 2nd peter 2:3 "In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping." the bible is clear don't spread false doctrines so umm don't do it. its bad like really bad. back up your "truth" with the bible so we can be sure your not spreading information given to you by false teachers. When you claim to represent truth in the bible you need to back it up with the bible just saying

I am confused Shiloh if they are abstaining from the sinful nature how are they not Christians? If they do good works as James 2:24 states if they believe in the lord jesus as Christ as John 3:16 states and they keep the commandments how are they not Christian? seems to me like if there is a heaven they have an equal shot at getting there. If we are arguing semantics on deserved isn't that really just it? whether salvation is a gift does not change the fact that it is deserved or not one can deserve a gift deserving something is not exclusive to rewards. for example at Christmas when I was a child I got a bike for being a good boy and doing my chores.

Being viewed as a cult. Well I can see where people can get mischaracterizations Westboro Baptist Church anyone? Also during the early formation of Christianity there were many jesus cults when it was being formed and often there was worship directed at only 1 book in the bible and some that we no longer have available due to the other Christian cults trying to censor competing branches. At some point these various cults became unified for protection likely as a result of bat guano crazy man known only as nero. strength in numbers indeed this is really where Christianity left cult like status in my opinion today though there are still splinter churches that have extremely cult like behaviors like Westboro. However I think when most people look at you like your in a cult or treat you like your in one they have a stereotyped idea of what a cultists acts says and looks like you simply might be exhibiting a behavior that reminds them of that.