Can you be too religious?

[Sundae]

Glad to see you here Shel.
I know you've dealt with plenty in your life, and this is only the internet. But I hated the idea of you coming back to your favourite coffee-shop only to find someone had pissed all over your usual table.

Your wit and unasked for kindness has enriched the Cellar.
Every now and then I notice the Make A Wish keyring and think of you; it's on the key that we use to lock the front door from the inside, so it's used every night.

[DanaC]

See. I look at Shel and I see a good person. Someone willing to put his time and effort into helping others, who approaches the world with warmth and wit.

If there is a God and that God condemns someone like Shel, whilst welcoming the Duck Hunt tit, then that is a God I want no part of.

Probably a lesson some evangelists would do well to heed. Because they're doing a bang up job of pushing people further away from their sacred message.

[Clodfobble]

Dana, if you're ever looking for a rational response to that type of evangelical, you might send them this video. (Way long, but way worth it, if you're interested in this kind of topic.)

[BigV]

Wow, Clodcobble, that was the best 1:07 of my whole year, thank you.

I watched it start to finish in one big bite. I have some thoughts on his presentation. Firstly, I agree with his conclusion; I felt that a response of loving support for others in my community who seek to build up themselves and strengthen my community has always been the right response. I am no Bible scholar, but I do know enough to follow his scholarly arguments. Which brings me to my first challenge / question for you. I can't think of anyone of my acquaintance whose opposition to homosexuality is based in scripture, who would also be patient enough to listen to such a detailed and well thought out argument, much less be swayed by it. The ones I know tend to put a full stop to their attention and to the end of the phrase "God said it, I believe it, that settles it." ending the discussion.

They are short thinkers, and I cannot abide them. Do you know such people? Have they been amenable to such discussions that so directly challenge their core beliefs?

[Clodfobble]

Sure, I know such people. Mostly I just send them that video, if I think they might be receptive towards it. It has swayed some of them, though not all. *shrug* It's a question of earning people's trust first, and then sharing viewpoints with them. I know plenty of people who are very willing to discuss the finer nuances of what certain scripture may or may not mean, and they will acknowledge that plenty of it is clear as mud, but they'll only do it among other believers, for example, in the context of a Bible study. They won't give an inch if they think that your secret motive is to weaken their faith.

[Sheldonrs]

Thanks Sundae and Dana! But I'm not that good. ;-)