Canon said:
Amy Pagitt said:
Ahhhh, yes. My idea is different than your own so *I* must be the ignorant, clueless one.
Well it's not so much that your ideas are different than his as that every idea you have posted here has been either a blatant straw man, tantamount to a lie, a complete distortion of Christian principles, an absurd redefinition of an existing term or just an irrational, illogical train wreck.
This board that you mock as unchristian for its use of logical standards in discussion (and because of your apparent obsession with homosexuality, which you incessantly bring up) is filled with people on the left and right who have spent a great deal of time in thoughtful intellectual sparring over big ideas. They aren't always pleasant, but I'd stack 90% of the minds here against the Twitter mob in which you seem to prefer membership any day.
Hoody Hoo! The Intro to Logic 101 board police are back. That train is never late.
More seriously, to the broader commentary & challenges posed as to how the Bible doesn't at all support or reference anything related to modern "social justice" or equality, as Amy & many others here have advocated for passionately... I'd urge us to consider there are in fact undeniable calls to action for those who interpret the Bible maybe in a different way than what many of you (aka all members other than the '12 liberals' who actively post here, as referenced above on this thread) may feel called to act on personally in your own lives.
For some of us who graduated from Baylor, depending on your life experiences, upbringing, even your unique Baylor experience, for which everyone was likely quite different... we may all also interpret the Bible very differently. God designed us that way. Remember - none of us interpreting the Bible in 2021 are perfect, only those through whom he used to originally capture His infallible Word.
So we all could be wrong. We all could be right. We all could be a little of both. (Spoiler: It's the third one).
That said, if we have to take it back to a logic debate, it's pretty hard to overlook the two thousand references to justice and poverty and our calling in response in the Bible.
The social condition of people is mentioned in the Bible often. For example, the book of Leviticus is all about the law, the right, fair, just living/existence amongst all people on earth.
The Bible speaks out against 'corrupt scales' in the market/economy, exploiting the poor by charging exorbitant interest rates/usury, acquiring multiple properties at the expense of the poor/unjust housing, exploiting widows and orphans i.e. misuse of power, welcoming immigrants & treating them well, paying day laborers fairly & quickly and the list goes on, and treating others with love and grace above all else, just to name a few of our responsibilities in the short 80+ years or so we spend on this earth.
So, if the Bible is true, social justice, equality and our role in addressing it, in fact are a concern to God (Hat tip: OldBear & others questioning a Biblical reference).
And for those not yet convinced, Jesus cared as much as God instructed us to on earth in his own reality... He healed people, fed people, embraced the outcast & crossed racial / ethnic barriers, AND he defended women & children in a culture in a time when that was even less popular to do so than it is today, even on the free boards.
No small feat, yo.
Jesus spoke sternly against those who hid behind religion/religious ceremony while they also 'neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy & faith.'
So.. I think these same matters were, in practice, a concern and a reality in terms of Jesus's time, works, calling and purpose on this earth. And thus, at least I believe, they are our own.
All of the above, agree or not, are valid interpretations of the Bible and our role as Christians to love & give to others more than we hate and withhold. That is what is odd to me to be what you vehemently oppose with 'crazy liberal' views from others like Amy or myself (read: actually much less liberal / previously conservative Christians who in fact now interpret the Bible and our role as Christians on this earth differently than you might based on different life experiences & callings... and just like you do, we feel called to no longer sit silently by & ignore the tug on our own hearts He has placed on us, again, just as you are. So, we speak louder.)
What would you have instead for me or Amy or anyone else with that belief or calling?
What in love are you hopeful for my or her calling on this earth to instead be?
What would you have of others with similar callings in our own walks with Christ... ignore it and follow the common opinions found on a board, which has never felt right or never been what I felt Christ was calling me in my life to do?
Specifically when it comes to equality, injustice, oppression and most notably our calling to love all, ESPECIALLY the outcasts, the rejected, the Gay Christians or non-Christians. And yes, the former of the two, is in fact a thing.
As the Baylor minority with those beliefs, instead of railing on us for standing up for what we know and believe with all of our hearts that Christ has called of us uniquely to do... maybe we can rally around a greater purpose? What we all believe Baylor's mission in fact calls it uniquely to do in an effort to bring more people to Christ... to treat others equally, with love, to stand up for the oppressed... and to produce VERY DIFFERENT types of Christians in its alumni, all sent out in the world with the knowledge, desire and foundation to draw others to Him, into the gift we all have received and were blessed to learn more about as Baylor students ourselves.
Maybe, instead of all of that, just tip your hat, laugh at us and our ignorance in your eyes and even DM us to tell us that's TOTAL HORSE-ISH... but publicly (and yes, that includes the unofficially associated w/ our alma mater free boards) celebrate and support all ideas that could in fact make Baylor University more of an institution where increasingly more non-believers are loved & brought closer to Christ, no matter what cross they bear when they arrive or depart. We want them all able to learn about Christ, His love for us, and the love He calls for us to give freely to others while on His earth, right?
And publicly supporting inequality in official BU policies, especially those related to health and well-being, I believe, does not optimize our ability to do just that. At all.
For real... strip it all away... and what are we called to. What does our heart reveal. I imagine much more alike than different when it counts.
And personally, FWIW, I'd pay more than a Natty mid-court ticket to be a +1 with Amy at the pearly gates any day of the week. He's likely to ask her if she really is willing to vouch for me... and I'll gladly take my shack in heaven's slums over the Highland Park of Heaven if I get to be neighbors for eternity with my gay Christian cousin in heaven b/c I continued to love, support and advocate for them like Jesus did when He came to earth for our sorry selves until my last, dying breath.
All my love,
Keko Keeper of the S365 Logic Police Dog Whistle
D.C. Bear's Favorite Poster
Crazy Liberal Board Disciple #12
~Regretfully Yours, The Pronoun Lady~