Jerry Falwell Dead At Age 73

HAHAHA .. I mean I always thgought they were .. that's normal ..

but crazy enough to picket the funeral of someone who had similar opinions on gay people?

No .. I'm actually shocked

No, because that line of thinking ignores the effects of Adam and Eve's sin. According to the Christian/Jewish belief, the act of disobedience removed humanity from God's perfection and allowed disorder and decay. God wouldn't have created cancer, viruses, parasites, etc. Those would have come about as life strove to continue itself and adapted to the harsh realities of existance without perfection.

The other problem with that line of reasoning is that it could be used to justify pedophiles and all other manner of behaviors that I'm sure most people would find disgusting no matter what. Be careful what arguments you use as rationalities and justifications, because others are waiting to pick them up for their own advantages if they can make them fit.

As for what is evil in your eyes... well, if there is a God, I highly doubt any one's opinion of Him is going to matter. It'd be like an ant yelling at elephant. *squish* Frankly, He's had far more patience with this world than I would have. The planet would be a cinder by now if I were in charge. Me: Eh, this ain't working out. Time to start over! *ZAP* I'd be the ultimate 'vengeful god'. >:}

PS: There is truth. All atoms of a single element have exactly the same number of protons, and all normal matter is made of atoms. Those statements are true! Thus, truth exists.

That's certainly one way to approach it.

For me, it comes down more to two pieces:

1. Deeper than my belief in a god is my belief that to send anyone, even a serial rapist or a mass murderer, into eternal torment is unproductive and morally wrong. Even for deities. So if i believe that god would do such a thing to people for sharing a mutually fulfilling consensual relationship, then i believe that god isn't respectable.

2. The prohibition against same sex relationships seems to be one of the only ones that a. is still practiced today and b. doesn't seem to fall under the overarching "love god and love your neighbor" umbrella that jesus of nazareth suggested. I just can't seem to think of any good reason why god would get that bent out of shape over a difference in plumbing. Even if i say it's because they can't naturally produce children...neither can infertile people or post-menopausal women, and i don't mind if they marry.

I do remember having a really interesting conversation once, though, in which we decided that it might have had more to do with ancient economics. At the time, women had very few if any options for supporting themselves economically, other than ones that the bible and/or current law prohibited. In that framework, two men together ties up a lot of resources away from the support of women and, through them, children.

Also, christianity is basically an offshoot of judaism, which is a matrilineal culture. A child needs to know its mother is jewish in order to have a surname and be considered part of the jewish community, and a child with two mothers...whose family name would would it inherit? Revolutions tend to be more successful if they don't rewrite _every_ rule right off.

I recall an article that argued for the jewish prohibition against pork as an economic one--jews are historically a desert people, and pigs don't sweat. Pig farming wastes a lot of valuable water if you try to do it in the desert. *grin*

Of course, i'm also quaker pagan (pagan being the key part there), and i haven't cracked open a bible in 10 years, at least. *shrugs* I know when i'm talking out my rump. *cheerfulgrin*