4 ms·

I had the impression that belief wasn't sufficient for a Christian and they still have to avoid sin. E.g., a gay Christian is supposed to abstain from sex.

PhasmaFelis 10y ago
I'm an Episcopalian Christian, and my church's priest recently married his long-time boyfriend, with the full support of the American Episcopal Church. I haven't asked him about his sex life, because that would be weird, but I have no reason to think it's anything but normal. You really can't stereotype the beliefs of one group of Christians (or Muslims) based on another group's. Edit: It's odd that I get upvoted for pointing out that many Christians are not bigots, and downvoted for saying the same thing about Muslims.
- MichaelGG 10y ago
  But you can. Just like you can stereotype folks from SF being against Trump or pro gay-rights. See the study linked elsewhere in the thread. The majority of Muslims believe things that aren't acceptable by current Western standards (like having Sharia be the law).
  - PhasmaFelis 10y ago
    > But you can. Just like you can stereotype folks from SF being against Trump or pro gay-rights. Yes, my mistake. You can stereotype all Muslims as terrorists, just like you can stereotype all Christians as homophobes, or all atheists as sanctimonious jerks, or all black people as watermelon-loving gangsters. It's just, y'know, stupid and bigoted.
MichaelGG 10y ago
There is a ton of leeway in the New Testament writings to let people decide what it means. I particularly love the line "everything is permissible, but not every is beneficial". Paul's letters are more like "oh come on, do you really have to be so degenerate?" with no real teeth. Unless you curse the Spirit. Jesus says he fulfills the law, and despite saying not a stroke of the old law should differ, that's a loophole to drive a truck through (on the Sabbath nonetheless). Islam doesn't have the benefit of a second prophet coming along and saying "eh, it's all good".
- incompatible 10y ago
  Islam has any number of prophets actually, including Jesus. But the view in Islam appears to be that Muhammad trumps all the others because he's the only one whose message hasn't been corrupted.

PhasmaFelis 10y ago

I'm an Episcopalian Christian, and my church's priest recently married his long-time boyfriend, with the full support of the American Episcopal Church. I haven't asked him about his sex life, because that would be weird, but I have no reason to think it's anything but normal. You really can't stereotype the beliefs of one group of Christians (or Muslims) based on another group's. Edit: It's odd that I get upvoted for pointing out that many Christians are not bigots, and downvoted for saying the same thing about Muslims.

MichaelGG 10y ago
But you can. Just like you can stereotype folks from SF being against Trump or pro gay-rights. See the study linked elsewhere in the thread. The majority of Muslims believe things that aren't acceptable by current Western standards (like having Sharia be the law).
- PhasmaFelis 10y ago
  > But you can. Just like you can stereotype folks from SF being against Trump or pro gay-rights. Yes, my mistake. You can stereotype all Muslims as terrorists, just like you can stereotype all Christians as homophobes, or all atheists as sanctimonious jerks, or all black people as watermelon-loving gangsters. It's just, y'know, stupid and bigoted.

MichaelGG 10y ago

There is a ton of leeway in the New Testament writings to let people decide what it means. I particularly love the line "everything is permissible, but not every is beneficial". Paul's letters are more like "oh come on, do you really have to be so degenerate?" with no real teeth. Unless you curse the Spirit. Jesus says he fulfills the law, and despite saying not a stroke of the old law should differ, that's a loophole to drive a truck through (on the Sabbath nonetheless). Islam doesn't have the benefit of a second prophet coming along and saying "eh, it's all good".

incompatible 10y ago
Islam has any number of prophets actually, including Jesus. But the view in Islam appears to be that Muhammad trumps all the others because he's the only one whose message hasn't been corrupted.