A few thoughts

[noevilmusic]

I was gonna post some post-election "analysis" on here but I decided that it wasn't entirely what I wanted to do. I think a few people have hit something important on here so I figured that I would address it, especially since I saw it in the Washington Post today too. Anyway, some people have pointed out how it's evangelical Christians (the "

Comments

[noevilmusic]

I don't think "ban" is the right word but of course. Civil law isn't normally the way that I would address issues like this, talking generally is far better but yes, I would vote to support Biblical law. I didn't put what I did in there to pick on gays and lesbians, it just was a good contemporary example for what's going on in our nation right now. The danger in this is of course falling into legalism (in the theological sense). The reason I like laws like this is because they remind us of where we fail to measure up to the perfect law. Even simple ones like, "Thou shalt not murder." Of course murder is against the law in our society. But then it always makes me think of how Jesus said that if you say to someone "You fool!" with hatred then it's like you murdered them in your heart. From that perspective I'm a serial killer. And then I think about "If you should keep the whole law and yet stumble in one point you are guilty of all. For He who said 'You shall not commit adultery' also said 'You shall not murder.' Now if you do not commit adultery but you do murder you have become a transgressor of the law." (James 2) I'm honestly, as much as it kills me, thankful to be convicted of my sin cause it reminds me that I need and have a Savior. I would say it would be pretty good if I could commit just three sins a day (I'm lucky if I can do three an hour) but then over a year that's roughly 1,000 sins. Multiply that over 70 or 80 years of average life and you have a ton of sins. Any law that reminds us of who we are makes who Jesus is in living perfectly that much more amazing and His sacrifice that much more touching. So yes, I would support laws against all sins in a heartbeat.

[yoda21182]

I'm honestly, as much as it kills me, thankful to be convicted of my sin cause it reminds me that I need and have a Savior.

I totally dig this line.

/disagree

[syntaxic]

I totally and completely disagree. I think it's retarded (for lack of a better and possibly more offending word) to pass morals, especially those stemming from Biblical text, into laws. First, not everyone in the o'-so-great USA is Christian. Hell, I'm not Christian and there's a reason for that. One of the things that I've heard over and over again about this country is that it's the Great Mixing Pot, a place where people from all over the world can come and live in harmony with their neighbors. While I agree this is pretty much idealistic and ideals don't often happen in nature, it's the way this country is often presented. How would you feel if you lived somewhere in which the major religion, of which you aren't a part of, had a clause that said that you could only have sex with your wife as long as someone from the clergy is present? Would you abide by this because it's written in their Holy Book? Would you agree with it if it were passed into law, or see it as an imposition of morals into an area of life in which law should have a minor, if any, say?

Everyone in this country should be afforded the same rights as the next guy, and the ban essentially says that this isn't the case. Homosexuals now officially have less rights than heterosexuals. They don't have the right to marry their loved one and benefit from that union the way a male/female couple would, and that is WRONG. Was it right for black people to be prevented from enjoying certain rights? Of course it was, and after a tedious battle, that has changed. Hopefully the fight for gay rights won't be as difficult, but it seems to heading in that direction.

Sadly, if abortion was on the ticket, it would probably be outlawed, because people would rather impose their idea of morality on everyone else than take into consideration the women whom such an act would be hurting. Victims of rape, incest, sexual abuse, etc, would all be hurt by such a law; not to mention the women who would end up in back-alley clinics having the procedure done w/ unsafe tools and risky procedures. Even if one would view abortion as morally wrong, if having it remain legal allows a woman to safely have the procedure done, then isn't that worth it? Are anyone's morals worth the life of one single person?

Okay, this rambling has gone on long enough. I do want you to know that I wasn't trying to offend, and that if I did, I appologize. However, I completely and totally disagree with you. While yes, common law and the Biblical sins to share some common entities, there is no way that even half of the things in the Bible should even be considered being put into law. If more and more "moral" laws keep being turned into law, I can see many more people having the same opinion of this country as one of my friends:
"Also, I have moved from un-proud of America's actions to no longer patriotic. America, you are comprised of a bunch of assholes who seek to impose your moral will on everyone here and on everyone in the entire world. In addition, free trade sucks and abortion rocks. Go to hell, America, because that's where you belong."

Re: /disagree

[noevilmusic]

I want to be careful here... not because I'm worried about offending you. You and I are both mature enough to know that we're going to disagree and not take it personally.. but because I don't want to draw myself fully into a debate that wasn't the purpose behind what I put up.

First, as Leslie just wrote, the beatiful thing about this country is that we can disagree. I can vote for all the laws and politicians that I want and unless there's a majority that agrees with me it ain't gonna happen. Our Constitution guarantees us the right to say what we want and have this discussion. It gives us the right to worship as we see fit and to believe whatever religion we want, whether Christianity, Atheism, Buddhism, or Mormonism. That's a beautiful and wonderful thing that we take for granted. Have you ever thought about the fact that if we lived in China or North Korea and someone read some of the comments that are seen on here we could disappear one night, never to be seen or heard from again. Thank God that He has blessed us to grow in the country that we do.

Again, I don't want to get caught in a debate on gay marriage or on abortion. I didn't write about either of those, they were just examples that I used. But I will try to address what you said. First, homosexuals still have the same marriage rights that everyone else does in the states that passed bans. If 75% of the country thought that the best thing to do was protect human life and then 25% was indifferent or disagreed and then there was a small group that thought murder was the best thrill ever would we argue that laws against murder are wrong? Now I know that's an extreme example and completely out in left field. But in a democracy the principle is the same, that the majority can decide what laws need to be in place for the protection of the whole. Again, I don't want to debate abortion either but on the same lines what gives one person the right to decide that another life should end? I don't believe the abortion debate is about the mother's choice, I believe it's about the life of a human being. We're saying that someone can just end that life? I don't know how I feel when the life of the mother is at stake but in every other case that equates to murder in my mind. I know you probably don't agree but for me abortion is murder and so I could never support it.

I really don't want to be argumentative and I know that it's far too easy for me to do so. Often I get into debates just because I enjoy them. Although, there's an underlying issue that I just saw in your last paragrah and realized would have to be addressed to ever come to conclusion on other topics. You said, "there is no way that even half of the things in the Bible should even be considered being put into law." So it seems to me that the chief question we have to address is, "Is the Bible God's word?" Now obviously we disagree on this and that's probably the fundamental disagreement between us. So then if you want to talk about why I believe that the Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God I'm more than happy to discuss it. :)

Anyway, it is good to hear from you man. Hope that everything's going well and I want you to know that I do pray for you nearly every night. Take care.