patrick.net

It all depends whether the congregation will still give them the money.

'Church Logic' is not a subject I would hang my hat on.

MisdemeanorRebel says

... then why are Church Leaders who had a one time adulterous sex act years ago, despite many years of marriage, forced to step down, even if they are truly repentant and the deed was not repeated?

It's a question of hypocrisy.

There was a time that our society would put up with it. I still think our society won't tolerate it, but our vote no longer matters.

Two reasons. One, the Church doesn't understand what sin really is. Two, they don't understand the concept of grace, unmerited favor.

All those churches with the sodomy flag up are fishing for dollars.

Gays have no children of their own, and are generally two working adults.

Patrick says

All those churches with the sodomy flag up are fishing for dollars.

You spelled "fisting" wrong....

Lol, they would openly promote fisting too, if they thought it would be profitable.

Patrick says

All those churches with the sodomy flag up are fishing for dollars.

Gays have no children of their own, and are generally two working adults.

Most churches are into anything that gives their leaders $$$. See https://archive.is/hvXQT#selection-1103.0-1103.97

Patrick says

All those churches with the sodomy flag up are fishing for dollars.

Gays have no children of their own, and are generally two working adults.

I would never attend or join a church with openly gay clergy. Gay members are another story. It’s just another sin. But to have openly gay clergy is to basically flout God’s laws, that they don’t matter and that’s an open invitation to severe natural consequences. I wouldn’t want to be around such a place.

Rb6d says

Most churches are into anything that gives their leaders $$$.

Bingo. Bingo. Bingo. It's also a shield to cover for their sins so the members can feel good going to bed even though they're scum bags.

Yes, there are good religious people. It's mostly a game/scam if you dig a little deeper and know the right people. Any religion. Jews I guess kind of flaunt the "club" so to speak. Otherwise they're all interchangeable. Jews, Christians, Muslims, etc.

The whole idea really is idiotic if you think about it. Sorry to the religious Patnetter's, but this is 100% true if you apply logic to the discussion. We can't even get modern media to be accurate and you think tall tales from 2000+ years ago are accurate and true? Get me some of that koolaid.

It's not a church, if it has openly Gay theologians. No more so, than Joe Biden is a Catholic just because he went to mass that one time.

Shaman says

Patrick says

All those churches with the sodomy flag up are fishing for dollars.

Gays have no children of their own, and are generally two working adults.

I would never attend or join a church with openly gay clergy. Gay members are another story. It’s just another sin. But to have openly gay clergy is to basically flout God’s laws, that they don’t matter and that’s an open invitation to severe natural consequences. I wouldn’t want to be around such a place.

I'm curious as to your religious affiliation, although I know I have no right to ask.

I believe you've said you were once a liberal, I'm curious as to your transformation. For a (long) period of time, I was actively anti-religious, but seeing the other side of that, I'm extremely tolerant of religion. It isn't perfect, but it's better than a government. Atheism is a privilege, not a right. I think many people need it and it's both beneficial to the person and society in general at this point.

It's interesting, at one point I thought truth is all that mattered, and I'm starting to believe that white lies and deception, and even propaganda can be beneficial if applied properly.

How does our perception of reality through our five senses compare to the allegory of Plato’s Cave? Religion is like the five blind men describing the elephant. Each has a piece of the Truth, but none come near the reality of that pachyderm. Still, a search for the Truth is better than wallowing in lies, or worse, assuming that the truth is exactly what we see on the wall of the cave.
Some can accept the word of a holy man. Others, like myself, have to discover it for themselves. I’ve never been very good at blind faith. A sort of rational extrapolation about the giant hole in reality that people frame as God is the best I can do. You find it around the edges of things, in the inevitable cracks in explanations, the problems with philosophy, and the unknowns in science.