People, please read this... (re: Same sex mariage)

I was browsing through the forum of a website called http://www.christiansunite.com, when I came across this topic:

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About the same sex marriage in Toronto... That is disgusting, discriminating, and a offense to the Word of God.

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These people don't really care if they are gay or not. They are
actually proud being that way.

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And of course, we aren't allowed to say anything to them because they are protected by the government, like certain animals. We aren't allowed to say anything to them or else
we violate their freedom of speech.

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And to top it all off, a Catholic reverend does this. But I should know that the Catholic church excepts everyone and everything from evolution to gays and lesbians.

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The world is just way too politically correct.

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What are your opinions on this?

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This kind of religious hatred scares me a lot. The rest of the thread was just as bad, if not worse.I need people's opinions on this.The Rock Hound------------------
"Science constantly poses questions, where religion can only shout about answers."

It scares me too. It is a major component in my why-I-dislike-religion formula.------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

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This kind of religious hatred scares me a lot.

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Oh please. This type of thinking is as much a legacy of our simian heritage as our tail bone. Let's not pretend that religion has any more to do with this type of hatemongering than giving the culprits an excuse to define certain behavior as 'sin' as well as a community of like 'minds' to reinforce their ignorance.

But I think the main point here is that religious fundamentalists are the only ones professing their hatred loudly and forcing their ignorant opinions onto the rest of the population.Many people are uncomfortable in the presence of homosexuals, they don't like the lifestyle, but they also don't feel the need to form an opposition group to fight gay rights either. Or to convince others to feel the same way.The fact that fundamentalist religions are the only ones orchestrating a political stance against ALL gay rights, must say something!

I agree that their opinions are ignorant. However, that's a matter of opinion, too. What a shame that everybody isn't as tolerant and cool as we are, huh?We can't change minds. Haven't we learned anything from our efforts to engage folks in reasonable conversation who start threads entitled 'Destroying Darwinism' and who argue against concepts they're both unwilling and ill-equipped to understand?This might sound strange, but opinions such as the ones we're discussing aren't useful for anything other than making people feel good. The fundies feel good because they realize someone shares their ridiculous bigotry, and we feel good because we can act superior to them.

Oy. Between the Supreme Court Texas/Sodomy decision and Strom Thurmond's death, I've actually had to spend the last couple days explaining to people that yes in fact, bigotry is bad. (Amongst other things they should have figured out on their own when they were five years old.)I'm too exhausted to keep going with it. Suffice to say, I'm with you. If someone else doesn't think bigotry is idiotic, they simply don't want to. No reasoned argument will change that.In summation: Hatred bad, me sleepy now.

Nasty stuff, I just hope I never have to meet anyone from that forum. Next they will be planning attacks!and this from another member."Homosexually...........this is why the Muslims think we are so evil!"hmmmmm. There might be other reasons too.

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About the same sex marriage in Toronto... That is disgusting, discriminating, and a offense to the Word of God.

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Discriminating?

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These people don't really care if they are gay or not. They are
actually proud being that way.

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So which one is it? Do they not care, or are they proud?

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And of course, we aren't allowed to say anything to them because they are protected by the government, like certain animals.

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I'm pretty sure the government protects people, too.

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We aren't allowed to say anything to them or else
we violate their freedom of speech.

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Huh? "We" can't say anything or we'll violate "their" "freedom of speech"?

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But I should know that the Catholic church excepts everyone and everything from evolution to gays and lesbians.

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"Excepts"? I think they mean "accepts", right?

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What are your opinions on this?

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That this person is too stupid to form a single coherent thought.

Is their crusade against political correctness or grammatical correctness?

Next? Some of the Xtian fundies already have been executing attacks against them. After all, isn't that what laws against other people are?Only with the new Supreme Court ruling fundies will have to plan attacks against gays which are not supported by the law. Of course, such things have also been happening for some time now. That's the pot calling the kettle black if I ever heard it.------------------
holmes

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Oh please. This type of thinking is as much a legacy of our simian heritage as our tail bone. Let's not pretend that religion has any more to do with this type of hatemongering than giving the culprits an excuse to define certain behavior as 'sin' as well as a community of like 'minds' to reinforce their ignorance.

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Well granted, but thats a damn serious problem IMO.

Oh? Sounds like it's just part of our "biological nature", which you just embraced in another thread...

I've started posting on that particular forum, but I'm almost scared to continue knowing what I might face.I shouldn't have mentioned 'religious hatred' here. Perhaps it's too strong a phrase... but that is what it is. People letting themselves hate because their religion agrees with it. If they were doing it because the voices in their heads said so, it would not change the fact that they are full of hatred.Anyway, the responses here (in comparison to the responses on christiansunite.com) have certainly reaffirmed some of my faith in humanity. The Rock Hound------------------
"Science constantly poses questions, where religion can only shout about answers."

Let's be careful how we blame religion for allowing people to vent their bigotry. I didn't try to excuse this behavior by noting its resemblance to simian tactics concerning ingroup/outgroup conflict, I just wanted to point out how primitive and irrational it is.We've all heard the familiar creationist tactic of blaming Darwin for the horrors of totalitarianism, eugenics, the breakdown of society in general, etc. It's an indisputable fact that many have used the theory of evolution by natural selection to excuse prejudice, the sterilization of 'inferior' people, or brutal socioeconomic theories.I'm sure you agree with me that Darwin's theory had absolutely nothing to do with any of the above, but the line cuts both ways. I'm not going to blame religion for the heinous acts committed in its name.

I don't mean to blame religion here. I've seen all the good it can do as well as stuff like this.It's more that I can't understand how anyone is capable of this level of hatred. It's truly disturbing that these people honestly believe what they are saying, and they're unlikely to change their minds at any point in their entire lives.It's sad really.The Rock Hound