Calling all Evangelicals...how would you respond to this?

[erowe1]

Ask him which of the issues he mentioned can't be settled by a contract.

If he agrees that they can be settled by a contract, ask him whether or not the federal government should be in the business of deciding who can and can't enter such a contract.

 

[jmdrake]

I got irked by the Brimstone comment.

Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed not for their general immorality which any city has, but for their inability to show 10 godly men between them.

Ten righteous individuals would have been all that was required for God to put up with everything else the population was up too.

The message of the Bible is not to go around telling others to stop being bad, but to start being truly good yourself.

When you get married in the church, after the pastor announces you are married you still go and sign the marriage license. Apparently God, the pastor and the community witnessing your vows and contract is not enough. You are only married after the government says you are. This is really absurd. Who gives the government the authority?

+rep! Just this weekend I was reading through Romans and noticed that chapter 2, which condemns homosexuality along with other sins, is followed by chapter 3, which says don't judge other people because you yourself have committed sins. The New Testament message is clear. "Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more". The Christian church exists to preach offer deliverance to those who want it, not to condemn those who don't.

 

[mosquitobite]

As an evangelical myself, I can accept Ron Paul's stance on the basis that the only reason government has any role in marriage at all is for tax purposes, and that they provide a nice and tidy contract which two people agree to. The problem is not marriage, it is government's role. If we eliminate the income tax, much of that goes away, and it boils down to just a contract between two people. Why shouldn't any number of people be allowed to enter a contract? They do it all the time. But marriage itself is religious and takes place in a church, ordained by God. We shouldn't confuse marriage with what government has turned it into, which subsidizes and rewards marriage. People of the same sex are looking to benefit from these same subsidies. Eliminate the subsidy, and suddenly there's nothing left to argue about. Everyone is free, and Christian marriage is still Christian marriage.

+1

 

[Philosophy_of_Politics]

The one point that many evangelicals have stopped practicing . . .

Is that humanity is not to inflict the judgement of God himself. To quit being the hand of god himself. That judgement is reserved, and to be carried out by God.

 

[Captain Shays]

Render unto Ceasar what is Ceasars' and unto God what is God's. Our 1st Amendment says tha Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free excercise thereof. In the Christian religion only a man can marry a woman and only a woman can marry a man but in some other religion (I don't know which one that is) they may allow a man to marry a man. Either way it's not a matter of the government marriage is a matter for religion.

 

[Fetou]

The movement should be one thing to all people. Freedom to people who worship and have traditional marriages, freedom for people who peacefully participate in orgies. Separation of church and state is good for both. People who want the government to enforce morality are not on the side of freedom and cannot be incorporated into the movement unless they put this desire aside and prioritize other more pressing issues like the economy. You can't pander to everybody, especially those who disagree with the core principles of the movement.

In terms of the argument, the government would not be giving an amen to any of the social contracts, the individuals involved would. What make's the pastor think the government is any form of religious authority anyhow? Their approval is not relevant to the believer. The liberty position is to have equal rights for people of all religions and beliefs (again, separation of church and state), and the best way to do this is not to pick sides on moral issues. Refusing to deny freedom to some does not imply agreement or support, but rather consistent protection of individuals' right to choose how to conduct themselves.
The law at many times has been inconsistent with the Christian faith in many places in the world. This does not prevent the Christians from leading by example and spreading their message of love, for they do not answer to secular authority but to a spiritual authority. The law is no excuse for the faithful. "Who prevented you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from the one who calls you!" Galatians 5:7-8. << There were many Christian martyrs who refused to obey the law of their land

" For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not be subject again to the yoke of slavery. Listen! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you at all! And I testify again to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be declared righteous by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace! For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait expectantly for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision carries any weight – the only thing that matters is faith working through love." -Galatians 5:1-6

" But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, being jealous of one another. Support One Another Brothers and sisters if a person is discovered in some sin, you who are spiritual restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness. Pay close attention to yourselves, so that you are not tempted too. Carry one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 5:22 -6:3