Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences 
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I feel I must disagree with you on at least one point: that being that the ‘pursuit of happiness’ is guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. The Bill of Rights does not guarantee the pursuit of happiness. That is written in the Declaration of Independence: ‘…we hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…’ (apologies for errors in quotation). The grounds on which I disagree further, however, are not commonly accepted. I speak, of course, of the Bible. In Leviticus 18:22, it is written, ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination… (27) …(for all these abominations have the men of the land done, which were before you, and the land is defiled)…(29)…for whomsoever shall commit any of these abominations, even the souls that commit them shall be cut off from among their people…’ and again in Lev 20:13: ‘If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.’ And in the New Testament, it is written: Rom 1:22 ‘professing themselves to be wise, thy became fools…’ v.24’…Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their bodies between themselves…’ v.26’…For this cause gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:(v.27) And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.’ (King James Version throughout) The Bible, which I perceive to be the true, living, breathing word of my God, forbids these practices, and implies no tolerance of these sins. Now, in my religion, a sinner can be released from both the price and the practice of sins through the grace and love of my God, Jesus Christ. However, those who do not wish to be released I believe should be left alone once their choice has been made, because my God made their minds free to choose, and it is His design that those who choose sin be allowed freely to do so.
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Name : Lane Coley Morin Russell II, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 24, City : Prescott, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : hotel night clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,I must agree with Zawadi on this–besides a clear head, first-hand experience adds much weight to her words. The war on drugs here, however, is a hoax. It is to the advantage of the government to have us all hopped up or brought down on something, to make the public easier to control. Since not all Americans are willing to tune in, turn on, and drop out, television provides much the same effect. To keep marijuana illegal provides secrecy to our government; the ability to, and the neccessity of, projecting a front, keeps the public’s eyes elsewhere. The government makes untold profits selling the drug to high-level criminals, who sell it to low-level dealers. The necessary expense of a few drug busts completes the charade, while the lower ranks are kept in the dark, making the whole thing look good. Legalizing it, on the other hand would justify massive government expansion; taxation would add to the government’s profits in a more realistic way, and the MJ stoner population would explode, leaving the majority of the public easier to control and much more open to suggestion. The Prohibition analogy is a bad one: if you take away the supply of alcohol, then those who demand it become discontent and will try to take it by force;the stoner is not likely to fight with anyone, as long as he is kept supplied; and if his supply is taken away, he probably still won’t fight. For this reason, among others–that marijuana,legal or not, is of much help to the government–I do not countenance, condone, or support the legalization, manufacture, sale, or use of marijuana.
User Detail :
Name : Lane Coley Morin Russell II, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 24, City : Prescott, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : hotel night clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,A fascinating question. My answer is that God gave His laws to the Jews with the intent of bringing them closer to Him; more as a guideline to a relationship with the people He loved. In His wisdom, He knew that they could not keep ALL of these laws, so He instituted a system of sacrifices to make things right again between Him and the Jews. The Jews misunderstood this, and so they created by-laws and directives, and in doing so, left behind the spirit of the law in order to keep the letter. In doing so, they had forgotten their greatest commandment:’Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is One; and you will love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. Any who dispute this answer I refer to the books of the Prophets, to whom God repeatedly illustrates the importance of obedience with love.
User Detail :
Name : Lane Coley Morin Russell II, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 24, City : Prescott, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : hotel night clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,Christianity is in a unique position among world religions. Ever since Jesus Christ said, ‘I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life,'(capitals mine) Christians have had troubles of all kinds. Christianity is the only world religion to have the belief that only the practitioners of Cristianity will go to Heaven. As a Pentecostal Christian, I believe that God wants us all to go to Heaven and be with Him. The problem is that not everyone wants to go. Those who would be the servants of my God have often gotten carried away in their zeal, driving away potential converts instead of bringing them into the fold. There are those who, because of the misconduct of some (or many) Christians, simply want nothing to do with the kind of God they percieve our God to be–and I can’t really blame them. I wouldn’t, either. But sin is the reality we face, the rality that we make war against, because all sin is rooted in opposition of God, and theefore, ends in death. Homosexuality is an especially strong sin (an ‘abomination’)because it deals, I think, with a distortion of fundamental realities that our God was expressing in the natural love between a man and a woman. Because of its power, it is very addictive and breeds mental confusion among both gays and straights–the former being persuaded to defend this perversion, and the latter being moved to punish it, thereby promoting its growth. Christ has not yet come to punish sin, but to deliver us from it, and that includes homosexuals languishing in bondage to this aberration. They are not to be condemned, but rescued in the spirit of God’s love. This is not easy, and some don’t want rescue, and that is all right. They have the freedom and the responsibility to decide for themselves their own path, and though we try to persuade them, they must be allowed the free will God granted us all.
User Detail :
Name : Lane Coley Morin Russell II, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 24, City : Prescott, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : hotel night clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,The search for a ‘gay gene,’ I believe, is motivated by a movement to find personal freedom by abdicating personal responsibility. For example: the Christian and Jewish scripture forbid homosexuality by divine mandate, with specific punishment prescribed in the Torah for homosexual activities, and eternal fire promised in the New Testament for the same. But if there is a gene for homosexuality, then there is validity to the claim some have made that ‘God made me this way.’ And what true and righteous God would punish someone who was doing what He had made them to do? Becoming absolved, therefore, of responsibility for their sexual orientation, they become exempt from punishment. This is the motivation for finding ‘the gay gene.’
User Detail :
Name : Lane Coley Morin Russell II, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pentecostal, Age : 24, City : Prescott, State : AZ, Country : United States, Occupation : hotel night clerk, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class,
