Culinary

Thank you for your insight Gary. I will look for the sources that you speak of.

Wow....and you continue to be rude, disrespectful and entirely impolite to me. At this time I am going to bow out of the conversation. Thank you and God's blessings to you Jeff.

Yes, I definitely have opened a bible and read it. I attend church twice a week and even attend bible study. Perhaps, I may not be as knowledgeable about the bible as you are however..... Shame on you....for feeling the need to belittle me because I have a differing outlook or interpretation of something. Or because you feel that I am less knowledgeable about the bible as you are. Clearly we don't agree but that doesn't give you the right to be rude. This is an open forum for discussion and if you can't do so in a polite manner you should have control over yourself to refrain from comment in a less than constructive way.

Thank you!! Exactly right!! It's not our place to have judgement. It's God who is the jury and the judge. Everyone has their own judgement day and only God has the ability to make that determination and knowledge as to what that judgement will be.

While I can appreciate your view point and stance I find it incredibly fascinating given that even the Pope can have love, empathy, understanding, and compassion for the LGBT community. He asks for Christians to not judge them and to love them. He says "if someone is homosexual and searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"...he goes on to say that God doesn't condem the LGBT community...further more he expresses that individuals of the LGBT community make real contributions to the community. Does he agree that homosexuality is sinful yes...but he also says that it's his belief that when a homosexual person appears before Jesus that Jesus certainly won't say go away because you are homosexual. Someone who sins...is more than just their sin. Their sin doesn't all encompass them as an individual. Loving that person inspite of their sin does not condone it. It's disgraceful for me as a Christian to marginalize someone and all that they offer and bring to the world strictly based on their sexuality. It's obvious that we won't agree on this issue. That's okay... I can appreciate your passion in your stance and belief. Personally I belong to a church that while our pastor doesn't condone homosexuality he believes as Christians we need to have open minds and open hearts. For that I'm thankful. http://www.snappytv.com/tc/667286

Who are we to say if it is biological or not? We are not God and while our moral convictions lead us to believe that it would be unfathomable that it would be biological the truth is that we really do not know. The bible is just a sampling of God's beliefs and it's interpreted by us...imperfect human beings. Aside from that what difference does it make. Homosexuality is a sin just as so many other things are. While we don't condone those behaviors as Christians we also have compassion for and empathy for those individuals who commit those sins. We as Christians are all imperfect human beings, servants of God and He created us, not to be perfect but to be human. He tells us to honor all parts of the body..even the weak...the unpresentable parts. As a human being and Christian it's hard for me to believe that someone would willingly choose to be homosexual or transgender or anything like that. The opposition that they face and live with on a daily basis is just so horrible. Look at the statistics for suicides in that demographic....its staggering. In my heart I just can't believe that someone would willingly choose that for themselves. It's not our place or job to judge these individuals. We can agree or disagree...but it's our job to love. That's the greatest task as a Christian is to love and to bestow grace to the people of the world...and that includes homosexuals. As a Christian I feel that it's our job not to judge and condemn others based upon my convictions but to try to build a bridge of understanding, of love, empathy and compassion. Maybe if we spent more time and attention on those things then we could have peace among all of God's people.

I'm going to just chime in here with my 2 cents for what it's worth. I think that as human beings, Christians, and maybe just being women makes more...errr likely to want to believe the good in people especially people with whom we worship with and whom also profess to be Christians. This is off topic but I feel relevant to making my point. I had been attending our church for about 7 years at the time. My children were in children's choir which met numerous times a week. There was a father who brought his daughter and you we were all a big church family spending a fair amount of time together over the years. At the end of each practice we'd all get together and pray... except one day he didn't join us and while we prayed my purse was next to him. He stole my credit card and proceeded to buy over 5k worth of merchandise from stores in the area in the next 12 hours. I like you thought on numerous occasions that something seemed off about this individual...yet I assumed because we were both Christians and in church regularly together that my gut was wrong...when all along it was right. He was caught on video at several stores using my card. As well as on church cameras taking the card out of my wallet. He was caught and charged by the stores and sent to prison. It's not rash in anyway to listen to your gut. That's God's voice within us that something isn't right. He wants us to listen to it. That is the spirit opening the door. Maybe He wants you to stand for your marriage. The devil comes into our lives dressed in a whole lot of different ways. Sometimes it's even in our churches, worshipping right next to us, professing the word of God. It's sad but true.

Having personally been in a situation similar to the one of this wife. I agree completely. Chances are the wife already has her suspicions and she's either not ready to face them or doesn't plan to. In either of those cases it's really none of your business. Sometimes it's better to let things lay where they may. I know that it seems like you have a responsibility or a moral obligation of sorts in this situation but really you don't. The person who does, is the husband. This situation is really between the husband and wife and God. If she's meant to find out, God will ensure that she does and in a way that doesn't include you. The best thing that you can do for yourself and for this woman is to not include yourself further in their life. Focus on praying for them and for God'srestoration of their marriage.

My personal opinion and experience on the subject is that you are exactly right. The devil will use these seemingly innocent and purely platonic relationships to destroy a marriage. All parties might have only the best of intentions and yet and still it's just completely inappropriate. You wouldn't leave your front door unlocked in hopes that no one would come in your home. Don't invite other people into your marriage. The devil comes dressed in all matters of ways...and your marriage should be between husband, wife, and God.

Ricky... I will be upfront and say that I'm probably not the most knowledgeable person to be answering your question. But I can give you my own personal experience/insight and hopefully that'll benefit you in some way. The past 4 to 5 years of my life have been especially challenging. I'll try to be brief...my dad was diagnosed with a disease similar to ALS at a young age and I was in my early 30s. He was my only parent and he passed away when I was 35. It had a domino effect on my life. I gave up on myself, my life, ...everything and I couldn't see how God could "allow" this to happen but it's in our valley's of life-our deep pits that He helps us grow the most. That's my belief. Now I'm finally coming out of my valley and I'm better for it even as painful as it's been.

Glorious Unfolding by Steven Curtis Chapman