re: United Methodist Church special session this week

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The Bible was written by man

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It was written down by man. What's your point? That it was "made up"? OK, I believe it was not created by man, but written down by men as they were led by God. I wouldn't expect God to set up a printing press.

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and led by a roman emperor.

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Huh? Do you mean Constantine? What's your point? It was flourishing before he came along. Constantine just allowed for Christians to come out of the closet, so to speak.

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It has contradictions throughout it.

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Real question for you: do you know the difference between a contradiction and a paradox?

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Man says what has changed and we don't have to follow certain rules yet the Bible never says that a law has changed.

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Are you referring to the shellfish stuff? There is plenty in the New Testament about fulfilling the types and shadows of the Old Testament. The temple veil being ripped, the sacrifices being fulfilled by Christ, the prohibition against unclean animals being lifted in Acts (the "meat on a sheet" vision), etc. Sounds like you have neither read/comprehended the Bible nor studied the doctrines derived from it.

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The Bible even contradicts who killed Goliath

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That difficulty has been discussed many times over and there are plenty of sites that explain why it seems like a contradiction. The summary is this: a copyist error left out "the brother of" before Goliath and the textual evidence supports this. 1 Samuel and 2 Samuel actually talk about two completely different events, as well. There's no contradiction.

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and speaking of King David he is involved in the greatest gay love story and it's in the Bible.

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I literally laughed out loud when I read this one. I know it's been claimed before, but it still surprises me when people use that as a serious argument.

No, David was not a homosexual. No, David did not commit homosexuality with his dear friend Jonathan. They were close as brothers, not lovers. Nothing in the Bible says anything about a homosexual relationship between David and Jonathan. What it does describe is a bond and closeness that they two had as friends. The implication that David was a homosexual (in spite of taking many wives, including having a man killed so that he could have his wife, Bathsheba) is laughable and a forcing of modern views into the text.

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Homosexuality is a biological trait and is found in hundreds of animal species. People are born that way...period!

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If you want to take the evolutionary argument then homosexuality as a "biological trait" would be a harmful mutation in a small percentage of organisms that would lead to them not procreating, which is really the goal of all life from that perspective. That's not something you want to hang your hat on as justification for it. If you remove the Christian worldview tied to the existence of God then you have no basis for judging anything as an absolute right or wrong, which means that if we wanted to condemn homosexuality as a practical hindrance to society that would be legitimate.

But that aside, Christianity teaches that all people are born with a sinful nature with sinful inclinations, and being "born that way" is no excuse for repentance. From the other side, heterosexuals would also be born to certain sexual inclinations that would express themselves over time. That doesn't mean rape, incest, pedophilia, or adultery should be condoned within the context of biology just because "love is love" and we are "born that way". Sexual expression comes in many forms and the Bible teaches that the only legitimate expression of sexuality is within the confines of heterosexual marriage. All other forms (from gay sex to straight fornication and adultery) should be abstained from.

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There have been more wars and deaths because of religion than any other reason in history.

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Communism and fascism have had their fair share of responsibility for wars and deaths, too. Human greed and lust for power have been involved in nearly every war imaginable if not all of them. To blame "religion" for war is to ignore the condition of mankind. Even religious wars were rarely carried out for strictly religious reasons. The crusades, for example, were a combination of fighting off Islamic invasion and reclaiming land and extending territorial control. There was a lot of money to be made from war, too.

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Following a " made believe " fantasy book is all people are doing.

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Sounds like you really believe that. I believe the Bible to be God's word and true for all peoples in all times. It, if true, also provides an objective moral standard for humans to live by. If you reject it, you have no basis to even judge anyone as "wrong" for condemning homosexuality. Good luck with that.

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Jesus condemned adultery but never spoke on homosexuality.

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Jesus upheld the Old Testament standard for marriage as between a man and a woman.

Also, Jesus was around before being born in a manger. He gave the law to Moses and He and the Father are one, so what God condemned, Jesus condemned, which includes homosexuality.

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Christians want to attack homosexuality but ignore everyone committing adultry.

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I actually agree that Christians should be consistent here. We shouldn't condemn one gross sin while ignoring the rest. It's a shame that Christians these days seem to have no problem fornicating and committing adultery. They get divorced like it's no big deal and then move on to the next sexual relationship outside of marriage. It's disgusting and that behavior should be condemned.

But even so, homosexuality should rightly be condemned by Christians as well. The reason that particular sexual sin has gained in prominence in the last few decades is due to the cultural push to accept that sin as "normal" and to judge those who judge it as wrong as hateful people. It's backlash, mostly.

I thoroughly enjoyed your post, and it's obvious that you're theologically educated and/or have spent a great deal of time pursuing your religion. I share your thoughts and beliefs, but I'm not as knowledgeable nor articulate as you and I feel that you've spoken for me! Thank you very much for your posts.

Bottom line is this, the church has been silenced with regards to speaking biblical Truth because their afraid of becoming targets of SJW organizations who are typically radical progressives. The church also fears what the government will construe as too political. My solution is for churches who want to be truly free to give up their tax exempt status. People who are tithing or giving to charity solely for tax write offs need to examine their hearts and decide what's truly important. Unencumbered Truth or their taxes.

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People who are tithing or giving to charity solely for tax write offs need to examine their hearts and decide what's truly important. Unencumbered Truth or their taxes.

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Have you convinced your church to give up its 501c3 status? If not, then why?

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Have you convinced your church to give up its 501c3 status? If not, then why?

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As already stated, the tax-exempt status isn't about getting congregants to tithe more generously but preventing the government from further controlling the Church (or any religious organization) through taxation. As stated, the power to tax is the power to destroy.

If I could trust the government not to try to add additional taxes onto those who preach a message contrary to "the will of the people", then I'd be fine with removing the tax status, but as we all know, we can't trust the government at all, and we certainly can't trust anti-Christian leftist politicians to not try to tax those things they don't like. Their solution to everything is to tax it and/or ban it, and they aren't too fond of orthodox Christian views.

I'm a practicing Christian... I've learned over the years (and I've attended seminary classes in my free time) that the bible is full of inconsistencies (4 versions of the first encounter with Jesus after the resurrection in each of the gospels) but also full of the truth.. It's a collection of writings over long periods of time by different people in different cultures. The best analogy I can think of now is that it's a treasure map.. those who read it can then find the truth themselves; which at the end of the day is a direct personal relationship. Once that's achieved the treasure map isn't really all that important anymore.

Probably time for the UMC to part ways.. it seems the majority, based on recent polling, hold a conservative traditional view. That being the case, probably best they opt for the modified traditional route to allow for the liberal groups to leave. This presents a financial challenge of course for them.

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Have you convinced your church to give up its 501c3 status? If not, then why?

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Currently I'm not a member of a church. The church I attend is pretty decent about speaking the Truth. I don't know the pastor well enough yet to ask him about his politics or what he thinks about this topic.

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If you do not like what the bible or a church teaches DO NOT GO! REAL SIMPLE!

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AMEN!

I was visiting a small church in my area. People and pastor were real friendly. Subscribed to their weekly email, followed them on Facebook (and even gave them a commendation).

Then I learned they were teaching what I consider heresy. Within the week I stopped following them, took down my commendation, blocked them from sending messages, and unsubscribed from their emails. Felt a little bad at the outset but my clear conscience cheered me up in a day or two.

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Some of the larger megachurches have gone to elder or trustee rule (where essentially the pastor calls all the shots).

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Which ones? I'm curious, not in any way doubting you.