This makes me sick that these people and this teacher use the name of Christ to hide their own bigotry and intolerance of others under... Are people who 'lie' or people who eat shrimp going to be excluded from proms because of 'their' supposed sins?? Hiding their own hatred and bigotry under the banner of Christ no longer fools anyone with a true conscience.. hopefully they'll step out of the Middle Ages and into the 21st Century and abandon 'their' evil sometime soon!
I believe that I've contributed enough statements now that you can see I do not rely on web-links to share my message.. In fact I normally disdain web-links as being too easy of a-way-out of engaging in rational discourse.... That said, music has been something that we all can share an appreciation for, and is a way to connect or communicate with another human being that might not speak the same language as yourself, whether literally or metaphorically.... Because of its unique ability, I have to share with you a link to a very short video and song that I believe a soul who has any conscience, and who wants to stand on the side of Good, could not deny and still believe in their heart of hearts that there will not be a consequence for doing so at the time of their death and transition back to their spiritual form....... I of course cannot sing to you within this venue (that might be a good thing!), and many times seeing and hearing something is more real and immediate than only reading it... so I share this link with those of you brave enough to watch... and especially, 'listen' to it:
http://vimeo.com/3089746?pg=embed&sec=
What I hope a conscientious soul that is currently incarnated on this Earth at this time will do, is to honestly ask themselves whether they are piously obeying a true 'commandment' to avoid a 'sin' proscribed by their deity, while assuming that they are innocently and with divine approval, removed from any responsibility of human sensibility and rational thought about the 'sin'.... or are they falling prey to the same evil abuses of past 'Christians' who told themselves while people burned, were tormented, tortured, or killed... that they were only obeying 'God's' command? From the responses of those who loudly self-proclaim their own righteousness, it is clear to me that they 'want' the topic-at-hand to be a 'sin'... and they 'want' those human beings to suffer and be punished for it, and/or even die for it.... no matter how many historical examples of its honored place in our species' many civilizations are shown them, and no matter how many people and religions show them it is not something that any deity that portrays itself to Humanity as 'Good', would countenance killing people over.
Now... some might assume that by bringing attention to some of the past and current shameful, deplorable, and completely evil acts of one branch of 'Christianity', I am attempting to discount or destroy their spiritual connection with what they view as 'God', and infer that they must abandon their faith.... No.. my intention is completely the opposite. I do not discount 'their' faith... it is most likely deeply-felt and true to them. What I do infer is that human fears, prejudices, desire for control, and ignorance have intertwined themselves with Christ's message to humanity over a period of the past 1,977 years. Keep in mind that this issue was not an issue for almost the first 400 years of Christianity. I feel I must point out the obvious... that time-period is almost twice as old as our nation is.
In addition.... Walter M. Montano, a former Catholic priest, asserts in his book, Behind the Purple Curtain that it has been estimated that fifty million people died for their faith during the twelve hundred years of the Dark Ages. (Citing Walter M. Montano, Behind the Purple Curtain, Cowman Publications, 1950, page 91.)
I posted this on an earlier page here, but just so it doesn't get buried in all of them I'm posting it again, and the reason for this is the supposition that has been repeatedly raised stating that the doctrines of the Catholic Church are what all American citizens should automatically subscribe to as being utterly infallible. I've included the sources as completely as possible lest anyone accuse me of plagiarism.... Alexander Campbell, well known religious leader of the nineteenth century, stated in debate with John B. Purcell, Bishop of Cincinnati, in 1837 that the records of historians and martyrologists show that it may be reasonable to estimate that from fifty to sixty-eight million human beings died, suffered torture, lost their possessions, or were otherwise devoured by the Roman Catholic Church during the awful years of the Inquisition. Bishop Purcell made little effort to refute these figures. (Citing A Debate on the Roman Catholic Religion, Christian Publishing Co., 1837, p. 327.)
Yes.... so say I. 'God' also 'allowed' the following:
Alexander Campbell, well known religions leader of the nineteenth century, stated in debate with John B. Purcell, Bishop of Cincinnati, in 1837 that the records of historians and martyrologists show that it may be reasonable to estimate that from fifty to sixty-eight million human beings died, suffered torture, lost their possessions, or were otherwise devoured by the Roman Catholic Church during the awful years of the Inquisition. Bishop Purcell made little effort to refute these figures. (Citing A Debate on the Roman Catholic Religion, Christian Publishing Co., 1837, p. 327.)
Walter M. Montano, a former Catholic priest, asserts in his book, Behind the Purple Curtain that it has been estimated that fifty million people died for their faith during the twelve hundred years of the Dark Ages. (Citing Walter M. Montano, Behind the Purple Curtain, Cowman Publications, 1950, page 91.)
WWB57... I wish there was a way for us to exchange private e-mail addresses... privately. I could tell you some humorous stories about the Fox News web-sites (you know of course their deep commitment to 'fair and balanced' news), and why suddenly they have changed their format for blogs, with it now being almost impossible for anyone to blog anymore on many of their sites, or to bring up this topic in a supportive way.... That's where I first started... after I watched Obama's acceptance speech, and became so inspired that I decided to say what I've said here directly to the heart of a focus of much of the hatred spread against us.... they didn't seem to like the words that have been spoken here, though... :-)
I have absolutely no worries about the veracity, relevance, and utter truth of my words and the words I've included from people present and past, being able to withstand the intense scrutiny of a world-wide public, and especially a nation-wide one that might wish to discount them. Conversely... .the words and statements from the opposition inevitably boil down, or return to.... quotes from a book they most definitely did not write, and from a source that I'm told we all must accept as infallible and the only truth that exists ... which consists of: 'one-out-of-many versions of a particular religious group's holy book'.... That source does not hold up to the rational, legal, and just scrutiny of our courts and Constitution as a justifiable reason for denying a group of American citizens their constitutional rights, equality, and freedom to pursue their own Happiness..
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Contraption