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Shelbyville, Tennessee ~ Wednesday, December 3, 2008
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Who Gets Picked To Be Offended?
Posted Wednesday, August 20, 2008, at 2:29 PM<< Previous | Read comments | Respond | Email link | Next >>
Seems to me that there is a lot of talk and news on peoples rights being violated and being offended.
For instance the two life long female partners who decided that they wanted to have a family went to a doctor to get pregnant and he refused because of his Christian beliefs and they went ballistic and tried or even did file a lawsuit.
The druggist who refused to fill a prescription because of a religious belief.
I even said that if I owned a Christian based business that I should have the right to hire or not to hire or to fire for religious reason I wanted to.
Men that dress as women and demand the right to use the women's restroom , gimme a break!
For those that say that there is no attack on the Christians by the legal system are as blind as a bat [ oops I hope I didn't offend any bats out there]
How much longer till the attacks become the banning of bible study groups or when will being able to go out and witness to people be a federal crime?
As fat as the T.V. goes those shows and adds should be put on at a later hour if put on at all.
There is no way to not offend somebody in this world.
As a pastor would I deny ceremonies between gays, darn right I would!
If I owned a business that dealt with Christians and Christian merchandise, I would probably not hire a homosexual or a person outside of the Christian faith.
I guess you could ask yourself about the things you would do or not do if it violated your morals.
Like working in a adult movie or book store.
Working for a alcohol producing company.
Working for a doctor who performs abortions.
Catering to homosexual services.
Sure we all have morals [ I think] just how much money does it take to compromise them though?]
The last days are hanging over this world and America may fall off of its pedestal like Israel.
We sing God Bless America! America needs to Bless God!
I can hear the 4 horsemen saddling up now to start their fateful rides, but I can also hear Jesus asking his Father "can I go get my people now"?
And God replies "No not just yet , there is still one more that needs to be saved before my wrath is unleashed!"
Are you that one?
God wants to see everyone saved by his Son, the choice is yours!
If being a Christian offends , then I guess I will offend for when I accepted Christ I gave up my opinions and took him at his word.
My answers will always be found in the bible.
Clean the dust and cobwebs off of yours and read of salvation and grace, but don't forget the parts on the wrath of God either.
People need to remember what Jesus saved them from!
If you have forgotten, read the book of Revelation. Comments Showing comments in chronological order [Show most recent comments first] |
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Very well said. As Paul said, if it violates your conscience then it is a sin to you. I could not work in a place that sold alcohol. It would violate my morals to sell alcohol to anyone, because I believe that it is wrong. If someone is offended by it, then they are wrong to question what I believe.
People are terrified of offending the Muslims but don't think twice about offending Christians.
To me, if you are not a citizen and paying taxes then you don't have no say so anyway.
I heard that a book was pulled off the shelf about
Islam because it might offend them whoop -tie -do.
Sad society we live in now, but Jesus is coming soon to take his church out before all hell breaks loose.
Hmmmm Not trying to argue here but exactly what church does Jesus belong to?
Dianatn..... that's a simple answer His church.... "Upon this rock I will build my church"
So that would make Him Catholic, right? I'm just kidding. But Michael's got a point here. There are WAY too many people crying because they're offended over this or over that. They say that their Constitutional rights have been violated because they're offended by something. As for the so called separation of church and state, there is none. As far as religion and the 1st Amendment go, it couldn't possibly be stated any more clearly "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". To me that states clearly that Congress cannot make a law creating a religion or prohibiting anyone from practicing their religion as they see fit. It says nothing in there about a local government not allowing children to pray in school, or not being able to put a Christmas tree (or a menorah for Hanukkah) on their lawns. I also don't see anywhere in there where they mentioned suppressing one religion so that others won't be offended.
sameoldstory
Ohhhhhh well now that explained a lot.. except what church was it that Jesus built on a rock?
Are all churches, the church Jesus built? If not what makes them different? They use the same Bible but they all seem to have different answers. How do we know which church has the correct answers? When Moses gave God Commandment to the Egyptians "Let My People Go" who were his people? If my memory serves me correctly they were the Hebrews. They lived in the Land of Canaan which is now called Israel. Now if they were God's chosen people and Israel's religion is Judaism 76.1 of the population are Jewish, 16.2% Muslim and only 2.1% Christian,
would it be safe to say that God's church would be Jewish?
Again I am not arguing nor disputing one thing that Michael has said..for the most part I agreed with the biggest part of this Blog, amazingly enough.
Hey, I get offended many times when I read a post by Michael but I consider the source and laugh it off and move on. That is what everyone should do when they get offended . . . makes for better living.
Lol...You are making me think this morning.
The "people" that Moses was trying to free were the Children of Isreal or Hebrews as they were later called because they were passed over when the first born of Egypt were killed.
Christ's chruch is a church universial. All are in his kingdom. He's not Baptist, Methodist or Catholic for all denominations fall under his kingdom. (Not going to get into the "who's right" argument)
I am not sure what Church Mr Bell is referring to, but I think it's all of Christ's kingdom.
Sure is quiet and peaceful on here without parkerbrothers and myself!
Just maybe you will all find the Kingdom of God within you. That is the only church you need to know about. It resides within you! Your body IS the Temple of God. The Temple of God is his church.
God's Temple is being rebuilt everyday, person by person. You won't see a huge new building in Israel, the temple being built is within his people.
The Kingdom of God is "Here" on the earth today. You can look here and there and never see it because it is within God's choosen people.
Dianatn
You need to know that God's church and the church that Jesus spoke of building upon the rock is the church of Christianity. It is not made up of a certain denomination or race, but of all who believe upon His Son Jesus Christ. The church is commonly perceived as a building when in fact the church is the body of believers.
Imabeliever,
Great post. Very accurate and precisely true.
http://ssomail.charter.net/do/mail/messa...
Here is the link to one of the stories, people are intentionally going to the Christian businesses and doing these things so they can file a lawsuit.
Maybe a pre- requisite for going to a business or a medical professional is to ask if they are Christian or not.
Christians should not go to atheist professionals either.
There are several professionals who follow Christ who will give Christian care to those who seek it.
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default....
That was the wrong link sorry!
That story offends me, Michael and I am not even gay.
What would be the difference in a doctor refusing to do artificial insemination for a gay couple because of his religious beliefs and refusing to treat someone for a drug addition or a alcohol addition because of religious beliefs?
If he does artificial insemination for Heterosexual couples the same courtesy should be there for gay couples, plain and simple. A doctor is not in business to judge anyone's lifestyle, he is there to perform a service .
Being a Doctor has nothing to do with your religious beliefs. By allowing Doctors to pick and choose who they treat because of their religion, leaves the door open for too many things left untreated. Do you think it would be right for a doctor to refuse to treat a prostitute with a STD just because of her lifestyle?
Back to Christianity...first let me say I have always considered myself a Christian. I was brought up in the Church of Christ although it is not my preferred church now.
If being a Christian was Jesus's chosen religion then why is Christianity never mentioned once in the Bible? If Jesus had a particular religion in mind for man to follow it does seem he would have been just a little more clear on what it was called.
Questions like this bother me: Maybe I look for to many real answers. And they just don't seem to be there.
Does the bible not say to not partake of a persons sins?
In a life or death situation, by all means treat everyone, but to be forced to assist people who are blatantly living in a abominable sin in having a family I think not.
Refer them to somebody who will that was all the doctor did and they refused to go.
Treat the std patient , no problem , then witness to her or him and that is all you can do.
Do the artificial insemination, then you are condoning the sin.
Give the morning after pill then you are condoning abortion.
Jesus was not a Christian he was and always will be Jewish. Christianity is just the name of the religion that follows him, same as Judaism for Jehova and Islam for Allah and so forth.
Just as in most churches , you seem to be explaining or helping with the sin instead of trying to get it out of the persons life.
Everything you do should be based on your religious beliefs or you have no beliefs at all your just pretending.
Why would a Christian go to a non- Christian psychiatrist to be told a bunch of bull about hating your mother or a bunch of ink blots.
If a person has sin in his life or demons then only Jesus can heal him.
Not anti- depressants or whatever doctors prescribe these days.
If you have Christ as your foundation and I say if, your choices should be easy , look in the bible.
They used to give rock concerts for people caught in the act of homosexuality and now they are being catered to with laws and being able to raise children, GIMME A BREAK!
Jesus is love and all forgiving , but that does not give us free liberty to do what feels good and satisfies the carnal man.
Even letting gays raise children is wrong!
If I offended then blame the bible and God not me!
michaelbell, I wonder how loud the Christians will be screaming when "other than Christian" is the majority in this country and they decide to oppress and offend the Christians as you appear to have the desire to oppress and offend the others now. I hope that never happens, but if it does, you have yourself and like minded people to thank. Please think about what you are saying. Imagine a time that may come when people are asked if they are a Christian before employment to expressly exclude them. A time when the people you ask for help, just want to rid you of the sin that is Christianity. (Your thoughts-I just transferred them) How close will the horsemen be then?
Thom, I am afraid you are on a slippery slope. I do not know that children cannot pray at school, just not be lead as a school function. If you would, imagine an Arab teaching your child and he kneels and starts leading the prayer to Allah how you would respond. Please be realistic. There is a difference between sponsoring a religion and the free exercise thereof. However, if you would like to examine the free exercise issues, look no farther than the native Americans. They do not have the freedom to practice because it goes against the puritanical philosophy of the American government. I do not know who is not allowed to decorate a Christmas tree in their yard or a menorah in their window or both for that matter. I am not saying there are not some local ordinances, but that is definitely not the law of the land. There is a substantial difference between your lawn and the courthouse lawn.
It is going to come to that , but I would rather be denied my rights for following Christ Jesus than for being a homosexual or transsexual or wiccan or witchcraft or Islam or whatever for Jesus is the only way to eternal life.
There is no other!
Jesus said that if the world hates me they hated him first I have no problem being hated in his name.
People need to search their souls and find what they stand for and where they stand, on the side of Jesus or with everyone else, the choice is yours and yours alone.
In the picture of Jesus knocking on the door I noticed the door had no knob or handle.
I done the research and the artist stated, the handle was on the inside , you have to let him in, he won't force his way in.
Christians have been silent to long, they need to rally around the cross and take this country back.
Then again all this apostasy was foretold by the word of God so it has to happen.
We as Christians just need to be the voice crying for people to repent.
We can make our society as livable as possible.
These are just birthing pains though, the real labor is yet to come.
memyselfi - There have been numerous cases where the ACLU has sued local governments for placing Christmas trees, Nativity scenes, and other "Christian" symbols on their courthouse grounds, or school grounds, or any other of a number of publicly owned properties. I've got no problem with disallowing a "led" prayer session, but there have been cases in which a school system has been sued because some students started an after school Christian club was held on school grounds. I wouldn't call it a "slippery slope" as you have. There are a great number of cases in which the Christian religion has been restricted while other religions have been allowed all sorts of concessions.
I'm not going to go the extent that Michael has as far as the "I don't like these people" or "I don't like those people", but I really don't like the people that say "This is against my Constitutional rights" when they have absolutely no idea what their Constitutional rights really are.
But unlike some people on here, I would never begin to presume what God thinks since I'm certain he's got much more to deal with than I do. Besides, I can't read Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek; and I'd be willing to bet (if it were legal, of course) that there was no part of the Bible written in English.
There is a big difference between a pastor denying gay ceremonies and a doctor refusing to do a medical procedure. I don't think it is doctor's job to decide who is fit to have a baby, and who is not. How does the doctor know that the heterosexual couples he helped have a family are not "living in a abominable sin". He doesn't, and that's not his job to determine.
"I heard that a book was pulled off the shelf about Islam because it might offend them whoop -tie -do."
-- Posted by michaelbell on Wed, Aug 20, 2008, at 7:15 PM
Yeah, and it is just as ridiculous when you get so easily offended by everything.
http://www.t-g.com/blogs/michaelbell/ent...
I never said I gid not like the people , I just won't cater to their sinful lifestyle.
I may get offended , but it is the persons right yo do or say as they wish.
It seems that Christians don't have as much right to get offended as everyone else though.
Thom, I am going to stand behind my original words "slippery slope". I do realize that you do not always agree with Michael, and often times disagree. I will try to explain what I meant, but I may not have the ability to be as comprehensive as I should. I have done no research into the suits you mentioned so I am not in a position to have an opinion, but I am curious to know if any went to the Supreme Court and were argued, or if either party gave concessions to achieve a settlement. Bringing suit does not change laws, and I am guessing that laws were not changed. We do still have organizations like FCA, right?
I am not a Christian, but I am not anti-Christian either. I celebrate Christmas and my children never went without an Easter basket. My children have attended church and 1 still does. I personally will get up and take them when they ask to go. I point this out so there is no misconception that I care about a tree at the courthouse one way or the other. To try and explain what I wrote, I want you try to imagine that you were living in an America where Christianity was a minority religion. We can say that Islam is the dominate faith. Every year at Ramadan there was a large celebration that celebrated its conclusion. As a Christian, I imagine it would be one thing for the majority of people to celebrate, but it would be another thing entirely for you and your fellow Christians to help pay for it. Anytime tax money is spent on a specific religion, the government is in effect propping up the establishment of a religion. There are ways to avoid people complaining that the tree at the courthouse is offensive. Our government could equally celebrate the other religious holidays. That leads to another problem though. How would you feel as a Christian having a percentage of your taxes funding their celebrations, and where would it end? Is there enough space at the courthouse to accommodate everyone beliefs or enough funds in the coffers to pay for it?
As far as the school groups go, I can understand completely why we would want to avoid proselytizing groups working out of the schools. Imagine your surprise when your child brings home a booklet explaining why Muhammad loves your child and that Jesus was a fraud. Or worse, there is no booklet found and the message is presented every day without your knowledge. I think we will do well to keep religion to a minimum at school.
I am not trying to convince you that things are not changing for Christians. They are, and will continue to. I just do not believe that Christianity is being suppressed. It is being toned down from a very dominate position, but only to a more level field. You will not find many religions that enjoy the same protections and perks as Christianity in America. If a few are taken away, sure you can complain that the glass is half empty, but before you do, I would look at the other cups around that are bone dry.
Your last paragraph has me a little confused, unless you wrote it in a sarcastic way. I agree that the Bible was not written in English, but in order to worship, you must have some presumption of what He thinks or wants. I do not think understanding the languages you mentioned would give anyone a better way to judge what is contained in the Bible.
michaelbell, I have been trying to come up with a way to explain my thoughts in an understandable way. Let me first make clear that I do appreciate your firm beliefs and your commitment to your faith. I do wish I had some of your traits.
Your original topic and your reply indicate to me that you do not see the similarities of your ideas of how to achieve "good" and your anticipation of the forthcoming "bad". If the bible teaches that the Christians will endure the exact same treatment that you apparently wish to encourage for the non Christians now in some ways, at the end times, how can you not see that the same kind of treatment to someone by Christians is not also wrong?
Or another way: It would be justifiable for me to take the position that according to the Bible, you could be following the false leader. If you are advocating the same compulsion to "salvation" that Revelation tells about that side doing. It really could be reasoned that since you have the same approach, that you are them. I do not believe that at all, but the comparison is striking.
I hope at least some of this makes sense and you can see what I am clumsily trying to get at.
"To me, if you are not a citizen and paying taxes then you don't have no say so anyway" What? What on Earth does paying taxes have to do with faith? The last time I checked, there was no Jesus tax. So, are you saying that all of the Catholic people in this county shouldn't be heard? Because a large majority of them are Mexican citizens. Or does that not count, since they're Christian?
Didn't Jesus teach tolerance? Or was that just something my childhood Sunday school teacher made up?
I consider myself a Christian, but quite honestly, I'm embarrased by your narrow-mindedness.