It's OK to feel Gay:)! by TM
The "gay thing" comes up here quite a bit...and Binxly is a friendly champ of the pro-gay cause - here's one of his recent posts:
"Again, I'm not saying certain aspects of homosexual culture aren't sinful. MANY aspects of it are. However, those aspects are sinful in acts (infidelity, promescuity, etc) are not *due* in part to homosexuality and are flaws even heterosexuals are prone to. In turn, I think it's not that we should condone such acts because a minority group may be more guilty of them than the majority (heterosexuals, and even they are catching up) but rather, we shouldn't focus on condemning the act by condemning homosexuals, but rather promoting fidelity in love and monogamy as well as strong family values, regardless whether the couple is hetero or homosexual. And yes, homosexuals are capable of being great, objective, and functional parents and can run a successful family unit, I've seen it first hand actually."
I'm a Christian fundie on the other side of Binx on this - I'm also way past a ton of other fundies because I actually "support" gay marriage - also peds, beastiality-types, etc...
I've put a ton of thought into the topic - largely because of the MSM pushing the gay agenda quite aggressively over the last couple of decades - and now culture is swinging significantly in their favor...
So now all that's "left" to conquer it seems is the fundies like me - and God:)...
If God changes His mind on it - then I'm all there with Him - so good luck on that liberals everywhere - no one can say you don't dream big! However it's been an eternity so far and the word has never changed yet - but there's always a first time for everything...
I wish you well, I'm even going to help you now - if you want this so badly then all right, let's get it over with. Just be careful what you pray for - you always get it - and pretty much never as you had imagined it would be...
Here's my meager opening salvo to try and get the ball rolling - this is some of what I have come to understand so far about the mechanics of morality disagreement - right and wrong, etc:
Emotions are automatic - they come to us in a split second as a natural reaction to stimuli - basic emotions include attraction, fear, anger, frustration, fatigue, pride, joy, etc, etc...
True "emotions" are technically not judgements yet - they are just "feelings" - feelings are neither "right" nor "wrong," "good" or "bad" - they just are...
"I FEEL scared, I FEEL happy, I FEEL angry, I FEEL surprised...
(please note: if you think you "feel" like gays are evil - that's actually a judgement - not a feeling - if you can replace "feel" with "think" and it still makes sense then you have expressed a judgement, not a feeling)
Example:
I "feel" angry - I "think" angry - doesn't work...
I "feel" hate - I "think" hate - does work...despite the bad grammer - it's the logic...
Now on to the rest of the first split first second...
Now we can start making some judgements - choices - what do we do about our feeling(s)? How do we react? Do we freeze - like a deer in the headlights? Do we move? Should we have gay sex? Some reactions are "instinctual" you may say - but I submit (it's just my opinion, yes) that that's really still just part of the emotion - instincts only last for a split second - and then it's immediately on to choices, choices, choices- and you have many millions of choices at this point...
So how do we decide? What do we draw upon? Many things there at our disposal...
How about the the rules we have accumulated? That might help. The guidelines? Suggestions? The training and experiences we've had - I have had 43 years to draw upon in my case...
First on my "should check" list: WWJD?
Second on my "should check" list: What do I WANT TO DO INSTEAD?
Usual winner: What do I WANT TO DO INSTEAD?
Now let's talk about Binxly (sorry Binx, but I will have to make a few bald-faced assumptions just for now)...
First on his "should check" list: WWJD? (he's a Christian like me)
Second on his "should check" list: What do I WANT TO DO INSTEAD?
Usual winner: What do I WANT TO DO INSTEAD?
Now that we have that straight...
Oh, boy...
Looks like me and Binx have a different interpretation of the Bible...
Hmmm....what do you know - ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY DOES!
So now what?
I know! Let's set up a democracy and discuss these differences rationally, calmly, without too much judgement yet - maybe more asking of questions - attempting to understand each other, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER, UNDERSTAND EACH OTHER...
So again it's more about QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS, QUESTIONS...
After a few months of that...let's will see what happens...
VITAL TO NOTE: "Understanding" each other does not mean we agree with each other. We will all never agree on most things - we can agree on some things, and then simply learn to co-exist with the rest of it - bummer dude but that is just the way it is...
It appears that God has created us to disagree - not sure why - but there is some purpose I'm sure - He also appears to have created us to LEARN HOW TO CO-EXIST POSITIVELY as we learn to co-exist positively...
Negative co-existence tends to manifest itself in such things as murder, beatings, lynchings, bombs droppings, planes flying into buildings - much in the way of very unpleasant stuff...
Postitive co-existence is discussion, dialogue - leads to learning, solutions, progress - good stuff - much better...
The classic liberal way is PROGRESS (please bare with me for a second, my fellow conservatives) - it's a good idea to improve our co-existence, our stewardship of the land, our relationship with God, etc...
It's a bad liberal idea to change God's rules...
The classic conservative way is to preserve great traditions that have stood the test of time - it's good to forgive, don't lie, don't steal, honor your folks, create no graven images, try not to covet your neighbors wife - there's at least 10 or so really important ones that kinda branch out from there...
It's bad conservatism to hold up good progress, or revert back to ancient evils...
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SO NOW THAT I'VE ESTABLISHED ALL OF MY GROOVY RULES AND FRAMED THE DEBATE...
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Binx - how do you FEEL ABOUT GAY LOVE?
Before I make any judgements at all, I feel CONCERNED...
If my feeling of CONCERN was a color it would be yellow - like a traffic light warning of danger - if my feeling of CONCERN were an animal it would be a protective mother bear seeing her cubs straying into dangerous areas of the forest - if my feeling of CONCERN was a shared experience for all of us it would be like the worried parents at the beginning of the drug experimentation of the 60's... generation...
How do you feel about it? Please pick just one feeling that fits best - scared, humored, angered?
Is there a color that might describe your feeling? An image? An animal? A shared Experience you and I have had? This will help me understand you.
Until I understand you I can't really start to judge how to co-exist with you and vice versa (and everybody must judge everybody to some extent eventually - yes, every body must get stoned:)...
Example for ya: I imagine you feel __________ ....?
Sad maybe? For your lonely and persecuted gay friends...?
Please let me know how you feel. No judgements yet please. Just express your feelings for now, and I will attempt to understand them. And if you like you can attempt to understand mine.
Talk to you soon...
TM
