250)Standing in front of the mirror and knowing exactly what’s going to happen, then doing it anyway, even though you’re not sure why.
Submitted by:duvetjunkie
I had wanted to keep this blog lite, I simply have to comment on something real quick.
If you’ve seen the blog in the past couple of days, there’s been a back and forth going on.
I voted for NC Amendment One, defining marriage as one man and one woman.
Although I explained that I respect and do enjoy the company of several gay people and that my view to keep marriage between a man and a woman are pro sacred institution and not anti gay, a large portion of the comments towards me were telling me what a bigot I am, telling me I hate and don’t respect gay people and telling me how much I am hated.
And it’s true. I don’t hate anyone. I don’t(I couldn’t even if I wanted to)condemn anyone.
The abbreviated portion of the conversation went as follows:
PERSON: Why do you hate gay people? You’re such a bigot. I hate you.
ME: I don’t hate anyone. I respect gay people as people, I just want to keep the institute of marriage as is.
PERSON: You hate gay people, bigot. You are scum.
I can’t fully blame these people for their views, but the overall conversation is a great example of some of the major problems today.
Taught What To Think, Not How
There are children’s video games that show two rows of 4 animals or so and they ask the child which animals belong on a farm for example. And then the program will highlight say a cow, a pig and a chicken to show the kid the right answers. When the kid answers correctly, it’ll say ‘GOOD JOB, YOU SURE ARE SMART!’
The same think is happening on a larger scale in the university system. Students are not being taught how to think, but rather, they are given the ‘answer’ and told that if they repeat it, they will be smart.
Such applies to the type of conversation I mentioned above. Some of these people are so dependent on the narrative they’ve been given, that any deviation from that narrative simply doesn’t compute. Although they can’t adapt, they don’t want to appear stupid, so they just cling to the memorized narrative.
In this case, it’s simply impossible to like and respect gay people and view marriage as between a man and a woman. You must be a hating bigot. They have to keep the conversation framed within the marching orders. You’ll notice it has be very black and white, no gray area, no deeper thought than, ‘YOU BIGOT!’
The Atheist’s Scriptural Wisdom
Often times, when you’re debating an avowed atheist, especially on moral issues, they’re going to get scriptural within their ability.
To such as the conversation of homosexuality mentioned above. Firstly, it’s not our place as followers to condemn anyone, we’re all sinners, we should make sure we’re following God’s view, not our own.
Our best tool is scripture. Several areas of scripture define marriage between one man and one woman and several areas of scripture condemn homosexuality. And I’m talking New Testament, since I know the common insertion is Leviticus and then we get to play the ‘Yeah, but that’s Old Testament’ game. But look at:
So in defending God’s word, you’re going to hear that you’re not following Christ like the other pro gay marriage Christians. And then you’ll be referred to ‘Do unto others…’ and such.
In the conversation mentioned above, the poster actually tells me she despises Christianity, has never read the bible and never will…then two paragraphs later, she’s giving me bible verses.
I try to treat people with dignity and respect, so I do do unto others.
Sometimes it’s hard to remember that when you tell people God’s word, which is good, that they will try to twist it, lie about it, and hate you for it.
When we try to sugar coat it and make our own changes to it to so other people will like it and us, we’re not being truthful. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Jesus even says:
Luke 6:22 - 23
Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets.
We’re in a world that crucified Christ, that is no reason to believe that us, His followers are supposed to be cheered and greeted with open arms.On issues like this, you need to get your perspective across, and there’s a good chance people aren’t going to like it, in the ‘heat’ of discussion don’t worry about changing someone’s mind. There may be a heavy chance that the person you’re discussing with has never even heard someone with your view before, but thanks to you, they know, and down the line they can begin to understand it, even if they don’t like it.
