From the "heart" of Red-Country: I asked a Bible waving, sexual fascist, hate-monger what

[patrice]

his sins are today at a fountain in a city part. We discussed a little more. He called his wife and children over.

He said the Bible says there are greater and lesser sins. There were about 5 listed on the sign he held.

I said "and your sins are less? so you know God's mind about your sin and on Homosexuality."

I told him he is a Blasphemer, loudly, several times over, more for the passers-by than for him, he probably heard me the first time I said it.

.............................................


This is so frustratingly STUPID: I fail to see the logic of ignoring "small" EASILY CORRECTED, i.e. LESSER sins, against values that were we more true to WOULD make the world better for MORE people . . .

- AND THEN DAMNING OTHERS -

for not wanting to live their ENTIRE lives without a loving spouse.

:eyes: SSSHHHHeeeeessssss! :eyes:

So Stupid and Sooooooooo! HATEFUL!

:rant:

[bluestateguy]

1. Was he damming single people as sinners?

Some people are single because they are in circumsatnces where they do not have time for a relationship, or they may live in a town that has few other singles. And some people are just shy. That does not make them sinners.

[patrice]

3. He was damning Homosexuals, but excusing his own sins. nt

[armyowalgreens]

2. There was a fire/brimstone preacher on campus every single day at ASU...

I'd just sit next to them and watch flame wars between the preacher and angsty college students.

[FreakinDJ]

4. Why do you waste you time with him

He is obviously out to start an arguement, envoke anger and hate

Kinda reminds me of Jesus........NOT!!!!

[patrice]

6. Because he came to stand near us, so we would look like we are with him.

The Scientologists do that too. It's a BIG park and we are at the same time every week for a long time now.

He ran away, because I was too loud and I used a FEW simple words passersby could understand.

His children and wife did not look happy.

[imdjh]

19. You need a fashion accessory

[patrice]

21. I'm going to get one of those, for if he comes back!!!

[imdjh]

24. Look around- I bought a bunch of them with lanyards for cheap after seeing the Castro event. nt

[JerseygirlCT]

5. He's wrong

(well we knew that already). There's sin. There's no bigger or worse sin, there's just sin. And we all sin. Sin is, quite literally, missing the mark. His unkindness is certainly a miss, to me.

But it sounds like it was far more convenient for him to believe that his sins are the inconsequential ones, and those scary others were guilty of the big ones. So comforting!:sarcasm:

[patrice]

7. YEAH! And I'm getting TIRED of it!!!! F-ing HATE-mongers!!!!!

really makes me mad.

[JerseygirlCT]

8. Makes me mad, too. But also sad

for him as well.

Imagine what it must be like, going through life filled with so much anger and hate?

[patrice]

11. how much people LOSE of Life when they are like that - yes - Very Sad. nt

[imdjh]

22. Has anyone ever seen a BLACK or EAST ASIAN anti-gay hatemonergingstreetpreacher?

Just wondering, because I was thinking about yesterday at St Pete Pride when a black gay man was having a few words with the street preachers. None of the street preachers was nonwhite, offwhite, eggshell white, or ecru.

Of course, this leads me to wonder why it is that gay people are supposed to be peaceful and not give these guys the satisfaction. If these same preachers were carrying signs that said, "Nwords will burn in hell." and if they got slapped around or pelted with rocks, I think most people would think they had it coming. I hate to carry drama from one thread to another, but that seems like a double standard to me.

These people are yelling offensive terms at passing objects of the offense. Seems like Fighting Words to me.

[Toasterlad]

30. Homophobia Is Not Restricted to White People.

Black churches are RIFE with homophobia. It goes without saying that homophobia is the norm in the Middle East. Homosexuality is still illegal in some Asian countries. And that doesn't make them any better or worse than the evangelical white hate-mongers in America.

Homophobia is not a race issue. It is a HATE issue.

[imdjh]

31. I should have made the questions more concise.

Has anyone ever seen a nonwhite street preacher yelling highly offensive things into the crowd at Pride?

Is there some reason why gay people might be expected to respond more peacefully than one might expect the crowd at an MLK parade to respond to a KKK mouthpiece yelling highly offensive things into the crowd?

[JerseygirlCT]

37. Well, the best reason not to do that to me

is that engaging people like that is what they're looking for, and only encourages them.

I don't think that engagement is likely to bring those people around to seeing things differently. They're pretty tied up in grasping their beliefs if they're out there yelling things at people.

Engaging with them only legitimizes them in their own eyes.

[JerseygirlCT]

36. Absolutely nt

[patrice]

9. What they think ALSO doesn't work.The only behavior you can really change for the better is your own

everyone needs choose love freely, for it's own sake, not for what others tell you it is, that's the only way you can know what it really is. Need is not love and neither is slavery.

[spoony]

10. Spot on. n/t

:hi:

[mitchtv]

12. thank you

for standing up and taking a stand

[patrice]

17. He was literally asking for it.

[Marr]

13. Hmm. I wasn't aware that there were midemeanor sins and felony sins.

How convenient for him.

[rucky]

15. I kinda figured there's the 10 big ones...

and everything else is on equal footing.

But apparently, Adultery got bumped from the big board. Along with coveting your neighbor's ass.

[mitchtv]

27. you obviously weren't raised Catholic

Venial and Mortal. Time in purgatory vs eternity in Hell. Luckily they're selling indulgences again from what I hear

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

14. should have asked him why he isn't following Jesus's commandments

especially the second one, which says "Love your neighbor as yourself." This means NO JUDGING.

[patrice]

16. A girl with a tatoo came up and thanked me. She was trying to tell him the Golden Rule.

That goes with the reciprocal of the Golden Rule: How you treat others is how you want them to treat you, so Judgement implies that you're ready for Judgement and this Bible waver thinks he can excuse his own sin, while damning others - totally dysfunctional.

[Obamanaut]

26. I spoke with a fundy relative at a family gathering awhile back about

the golden rule. Asked what if the other party didn't want to be 'done unto' as in bombs raining down on kids, houses, families in Iraq. And when they return in like fashion, having been 'done unto' would we thank jesus for our blessings?

Fewer and fewer of my in-laws talk to me at these gatherings. Can't imagine why.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

32. Not quite

Jesus said in Luke "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Has nothing to do with Judgement day. Has everything to do with everyday life.

[imdjh]

18. Don't argue with these idiots. It's utterly pointless.

[patrice]

20. Actually we didn't exchange that many words. When I asked what his sins are, he pretty much

shut down. Our peace group leader complimented me on the exchange. She believes in people speaking up, but without insults of course, just stick to the issues. And since the man claimed to be speaking for God, I HAD to say something about that.

[Arugula Latte]

23. Let's face it, anyone who thinks the Bible is literally true doesn't have many brain cells.

It's hard to argue with people who are so woefully ignorant and just plain stupid.

[givemebackmycountry]

25. I hate Jesus, and I hope he hates me back -

Jesus is a RABBLE-ROUSER!
Jesus has WAY too much input on who I can call my friend, and who I can love.
Jesus has yet to STOMP SOME ASS on the people who pretend to speak for him, so I can only assume that JESUS is pretend.

I never bought that Jonah and the whale shit, and the talking snake, and Adam's rib bullshit when I was a little boy.
That's probably why the nuns and the brothers (NO, not those brothers, those brothers are cool with me) beat the shit out of me, because I asked too many questions.

If Jesus is for real he needs a comeback tour.
Until I hear that George Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and Tony Blair all burst into flames due to some type of coordinated spontaneous combustion, JESUS is a myth and as such he can BLOW ME.

If I'm not posting something tomorrow, Jesus is the real deal.
I'll talk to you all tomorrow.

[Toasterlad]

28. My Sexual Orientation Is Not a "Sin", Large or Small.

I know you didn't mean to be offensive, but I completely reject any argument with any religious wacko that supports the notion that homosexuality is "immoral", but a "lesser sin" than infidelity or lying or swearing or any other bullshit anyone wants to throw out there.

You can't argue rationally with people who believe homosexuality is wrong because some 2,000 year old children's book says so, and you DAMN sure can't do it by arguing on their level.

[readmoreoften]

29. Yeah, don't point out these people's sins because "they're pointing out mine"...

The love I have for my partner is no sin. To argue with these people, you have to derange your logic. There's no talking to them.

[patrice]

34. Sorry! about that implication. I was just following his line of reasoning.

Trying to use his own "thinking" against him.

Life is a journey. I believe everyone seeks the truth in their lives, more or less accurately, each in his/her own way and the life of our "souls" depend on that. There are some for whom Homosexuality is right/true and some for whom it is wrong/false. The same can be said of Heterosexuality. And only each person and "God" know the truth of it. If I could have talked to the guy more in depth, I would have made the point that ignoring the challenge of his own "small" errors (behaviors he might EASILY correct, which would make him and, hence, the world a better place) while damning others for how they respond to a challenge as "big" and DIFFICULT as the will to Love, is blasphemy. In my way of thinking, in most cases, that's blasphemy, no matter who it's directed at.

[Toasterlad]

38. "Trying to use his own "thinking" against him."

That's a mistake. His "thinking" is in error, so you should avoid using it. I also take issue with your statement that "there are some for whom Homosexuality is right/true and some for whom it is wrong/false." That's exactly like saying "There are some for whom blue eyes are right/true and some for whom they are wrong/false." It's inane.

People who have a problem - religious, moral or societal - with homosexuality are ignorant, plain and simple. They literally don't understand it, and therefore are open to religious nonsense and/or bogus societal myths. People who understand it know it for what it is: a biological trait, like being left-handed or red headed.

Your heart's in the right place, but you really should avoid sinking to the level of the ignorant people in order to prove them wrong about homosexuality. They will never accept your "greater/lesser sin" argument...nor should they. The beauty of religion - particularly the christian religion - is that it always lets you be right. That's why it's so popular. You can't fight ignorance and bigotry using a religious argument. That's like fighting a forest fire with a gallon jug of gasoline.

[heppcatt]

33. Sin is a myth

What mark is there to miss?
The more people who really understand this.
The less self loathing there will be.

[patrice]

35. i don't like that word either. For each person, there are things that work better than other things.

Like writing a sentence, or programming, there's all sorts of ways any given task can be done, some of which are more valid because they function within "the whole" better than others.