Comments on: Single Father Laughing removes the asterisk

By: Neil

Neil — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:08:25 +0000

Abrahamic theology is a tricky thing. In order to extricate it from clobbering non-heterosexuals you need to get rather sophisticated. I’ve read Patrick Chapman’s Thou Shalt Not Love and he makes a convincing enough case, but on the other hand I couldn’t say Pauline quoting evangelicals are incorrect with their anti-gay reading either.

We’re never going to arrive at a conclusion one way or the other in the fine grain of theology. As for the coarse grain, it does seem to favour Phelps. In all this theology with Christianity and Judaism (and Islam after its own fashion) we have an ultimately flawed ideology. The problem with these Abrahamic faiths is they’re inherently absolutist with deep strains of inhumanity lurking amongst the love advocacy.

By comparison, Brahman theology might promote its own inhumane attitudes towards sexual minorities, except that it doesn’t present a deity or prophet claiming to be the one true source of Truth or advocate the destruction of apostates and unbelievers.

I tend to think the best we can do with a religion like Christianity is to try to curtail its influence and hope it dwindles away. There’s too much bad stuff undermining the good.

By: TwirlyGirly

TwirlyGirly — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 19:40:13 +0000

Thank you so very much for linking to this blog post. It is one of the best I’ve ever read, and I immediately forwarded it on to over a dozen people.

I think the fact that I read it and forwarded it on the day that kicks off the “peace on earth and good will towards men” holiday season is meaningful – if we can’t love one another, regardless of our differences, then the holiday, and the world, has no meaning…and worse – no HOPE.

Spreading love to *ALL* BTB readers – pass it on!

By: Reed Boyer

Reed Boyer — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:23:58 +0000

Well, gosh. I have read both pieces a few times now – and I’m really struck by the tortuous, agonizing process Dan went through in writing the first one. His fear of doing the right thing seems almost palpable.

It almost eclipses the hell on earth that Jacob (the focus of the piece) is living daily.

By: Ben In Oakland

Ben In Oakland — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 16:36:24 +0000

Somneone just posted this in response to something i wrote on huffpost:

“Only if I judge and do the same thing I am wrong ….If you say judging people is wrong then you are a hypocrite for judging me cause we are not to judge others as you say…so quit judging people if you believe that is wrong”

By: Ben In Oakland

Ben In Oakland — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:52:10 +0000

I read all of this– a lot of words and a lot of repsonses, and a hell of a lot of asterisks…

all leading to the same footnote.

By: Joel

Joel — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:15:15 +0000

amazing link. TY for sharing! now i understand why in one of the responses the school changed the way it did.

By: Timothy Kincaid

Timothy Kincaid — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 06:12:27 +0000

Yeah, Scott. I did mean asterisk not apostrophe. Thanks for the catch. Amended.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 02:38:23 +0000

Um…don’t you mean, “removes the asterisk?”

Great link, btw. I hope it greets the eyes (and hearts) of those who most need to read it.