Breaking: Bishop of Mississippi Breaks Long-Time Promise, Allows Same-Sex Blessings

Lorrie, in all love and truth let me say this. Running is not the answer. I understand you question what you percieve as intepretations or opinions in scripture, but God's greatest gift other than His Son, was the truth of scripture. Granted it's sharp and convicting, but it's life giving and renewing. The plethora of lies that tickle the ears of folks just lead to spiritual death. Be brave and fight for your son's soul.

Jeff

 

There is nothing wrong with my son's soul. I am done with organized religion. I'm not running, I'm crawling, barely alive at this point. I have requested they remove my account and I will not argue or discuss anything else. I do not believe what you are saying. Period. Carry on with your conversation. I deeply apologize as I had been talking to someone about leaving the Catholic Church and they mistakenly referred me here. It wasn't right on their part and I no longer wish to be on here. I again apologize for that mistake.

 

The truth will always be there and available!

Jeff

 

Does anyone have any way that I can delete this account? I sent an email to contact us--is that what I need to do?

I don't need your version of truth. I am not making another trip to the psych ward. I want off this forum. If I wanted to continue this homophobic crap I'd have stayed Catholic. I have Jesus I don't need anything or anyone else.

 

I'm beginning to see parts of the problem, I wish you well in your efforts.

BTW, there is no way to delete your account, simply log out and don't sign in again.

Jeff

 

I'm not addressing this primarily at Lorrie, but at the spirit of our Age. It's common to hear people say no one's "version of truth" is better than any other, but then when a traditional Christian presents their "version of truth," we are derided as mean-spirited bigots.

If people are fundamentally good, then all people are fundamentally good and whatever has caused them to "misbehave," however anyone chooses to define that, is not their fault. If someone's homosexuality isn't their fault, then neither is my "homophobia" or whatever else I might be wrong about. It's just my genetics and environment have caused me to become a fundamentalist homophobic backward neanderthal bigot. I, according to this line of thought, can't do anything about it, so why be angry at me or any other orthodox Christian for just being who "God made me"?

I know I'm just throwing this out there, but it really puzzles me to see the progressive mindset with such moral indignation when their entire worldview undermines the very idea of moral responsibility.

 

What I would say to that is: please don't color us with the same brush that you color the Catholics. I have found that they parrot standard Christian prohibitions without having any good explanation for why those things are so. It comes with their Church fiat: things are right or wrong solely because of its say-so. There arent and dont need to be any good reasons. we on the other hand have to add thinking through what we believe.

If I were to apply what I say to your issue I would be loath not to remind you that Jesus prohibited all fornicators, effeminate, and sodomites from the Kingdom of Heaven. These aren't our words unfortunately, these are the words of Our Lord. Scientists have tried and failed to find a gay gene, it doesn't exist. So what we have in the case of your son is a malformed consciousness, neither evil nor good in itself. Our job is to stand by the words of our Lord and try to help your son. We can do it avoiding the fiat assertions of Catholics, and we ought to be pastoral and charitable. My saying all this was, believe it or not, charitable. Because it was God who said, what Good is it for a Man to gain worldly acceptance and lose his own soul.

 

Well there's one thing we agree on. I have requested that my account be removed but I doubt it will be on a holiday. I don't agree with the Bible other than as a basic guidebook. I am not into literal word of God stuff. If my son is going to hell then I want to go with him. I lost one son in a car accident and I am more than willing to go to hell with my son. In fact, if he's already damned then I'm going too. I don't agree with all of this stuff but I guess I don't need to say that. I didn't mean to compare you to Catholics I meant to say I will never be part of a faith that condemns homosexuality or marriage equality and that's not negotiable for me. I had to take some anxiety medication so I might sound loopier than I normally do (yes I'm normally loopy). I suffer with PTSD and panic attacks so if something gets me worked up I freak out. I do have a MDiv degree from a Methodist seminary and thought that would give me something in common with Anglicans but this is a no compromise deal-breaker for me. I appreciate everyone trying to be kind. Feel free to go on with the conversation and I will go and watch TV.

 

Actually I think that's the reverse for me. First of all your name and pic is totally cool. Second the reason I say that is because it puts nothing but personal responsibility on me. If I'm not relying on what a church says to inform or tell me what I believe, then I am forced to look at it, pray about it, and take responsibility for my beliefs. I have to take full responsibility for them. But I can see, in your eyes, that I reject moral responsibility because I don't agree with you. But just because I don't meet someone else's definition doesn't mean I don't have any sense of moral responsibility.

 

Thanks for the complement. I don't believe things because the Church tells me. In fact, I disagree on a fundamental level with many of the things my mom and the churches she took me to taught me when I was growing up. I came to the different beliefs I have through prayer and reflection, and I have even doubted the faith itself in the past only to believe in it more strongly afterwards. The Church can be wrong, but we believe the Bible is never wrong. I'm sorry to hear that you do not believe that, because it's the only thing that I have found in my relatively short time on earth to provide true meaning, purpose, and reason to a very troubled world, a world that has been troubled almost since the beginning.

 

I appreciate the Bible and, based on what you say, I can see how it's given comfort and instruction to many. I just don't believe in it as THE word of God. I think it contains many wonderful things that have helped many down through time but I don't believe in it as God's inspired word. Sounds like Anglicans put more prayer and thought into beliefs which is nice to hear after being told that someone has no idea why they believe something they just believe it. That rings of a cult and I am not interested and some of the "reasoning" was so flimsy. There were some Catholics who were quite strong in why they believed things but they had zero tolerance if you disagreed and that's when they wouldn't even say hello or smile at you in church. You were basically avoided like you had a disease. The institutional church just doesn't work for me as a whole but I pray, seek to be closer to Jesus, and will continue to do so.

 

Lorrie, pardon an honest question. Where do you plan to look to learn more of Jesus, when you reject His word, church, and believers?

Jeff

 

Prayer. I spend a lot of time talking to Jesus. I don't reject the Bible, I just don't believe in it as THE word of God. I find God's inspiration in lots of things; nature, opera (huge fan), silence and meditation, art, but mostly a conversational style of prayer that just runs throughout the day. I never knew Jesus could be an ongoing part of one's day and that has helped me tremendously. I also blog and journal, which helps me pour out things, celebrate joys, and challenge myself to continue to seek to be closer.

 

Very sad indeed. There is coming a time when those who hold to traditional and orthodox values will be looked upon as bad as mobsters and killers

 

hello and happy new year HistoryB! Glad to see you onboard again.

 

Thank you for the honest reply. So let me understand your method for determining God's instruction vs man's opinion.........you must agree with it to be truth?

Jeff

 

Hello too and Happy New Year!

 

Interesting question. I think I must agree with it or I won't follow it. I know how I am and it will just cease to have purpose. I don't always see God and man as opposed. I'd like to think it's not either/or but this and that. If I don't agree with it I probably won't stay with it very long.

 

So what God says is up for debate

 

I guess so. That's all people seem to do right?