The Southern Baptists are nuts...

[mikeschmike]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

How ironic...Just the other day, I was urging that religious organizations lose their tax exempt status whenever they become politically involved.

I love this idea. Too bad it will never happen, but think of the possibilities if it were to be put into effect?

[chiffon head]

Originally Posted by mikeschmike

I love this idea. Too bad it will never happen, but think of the possibilities if it were to be put into effect?

Anarchy
LOL

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by mikeschmike

I love this idea. Too bad it will never happen, but think of the possibilities if it were to be put into effect?

Churchorations paying their fair share? What a thought.

[DrummerDeanna]

Ugh. People are starving..in this country. 1 in 5 children live in poverty. People die everyday from horrible illnesses because they can't afford decent health care...


Yet THIS is what our churches focus on. It's really starting to piss me off.

[JazmenFlowers]

I grew up Southern Baptist and am in the breeding ground of Southern Baptists. I swear everytime I walk by a church I'm scared it's going to go up in flames if I look at it.

[markolas]

Yes, they're nuts, but for some reason I find myself not getting worked up about this kind of thing anymore. All this really says to me is that they are not a religion in the true sense of the word, and that they don't seem to possess anything that resembles true spirituality.

[markolas]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

I grew up Southern Baptist and am in the breeding ground of Southern Baptists. I swear everytime I walk by a church I'm scared it's going to go up in flames if I look at it.

I honestly don't see how you live there. I grew up in the Shreveport area, which I can imagine is about comparable to where you live, and if I hadn't left when I did, I would've killed myself within six months. Seriously.

[sara1998]

Originally Posted by SuzeQuze

Why is your bird standing on a dildo?

LMMFAO!!! Dildo's are running rampant on the Ledge lately...

Oh, and to contribute to the thread... southern baptists scare the hell out of me. I hate going to Tennessee where some of my family lives, and when they find out you're not a church goer... whoa. They might as well stone you with Bibles.... I honestly can't see where gay marriage is threatening traditional marriage. Gay couples didn't interfere with MY marriage....

[PsychCat]

Originally Posted by DrummerDeanna

Ugh. People are starving..in this country. 1 in 5 children live in poverty. People die everyday from horrible illnesses because they can't afford decent health care...

Yet THIS is what our churches focus on. It's really starting to piss me off.

Amen!! That's what has turned me off of "organized religion". They look right over the heads of the truly hurting sitting right next to them in church. This includes the "straight" recently divorced who are now shunned as if now contagious, the depressed & mentally ill, the various addicts, the domestic abuse victims, etc.

It's all about appearances anyway....

I always say, the first thing God is gonna ask us all about on that "great day" is what was with all these denominations and "rules"???

[irishgrl]

Originally Posted by SteveMacD

How ironic...Just the other day, I was urging that religious organizations lose their tax exempt status whenever they become politically involved.

Yep, that should be a given...

[JazmenFlowers]

Originally Posted by markolas

I honestly don't see how you live there. I grew up in the Shreveport area, which I can imagine is about comparable to where you live, and if I hadn't left when I did, I would've killed myself within six months. Seriously.

yeah, been there, done that. I don't know how I pulled myself out of it. oh, wait, yes I do. Stevie. 10 years ago I think I was a different person.

it is the pits being here. it really is. everywhere you turn. there's even a devotional here at work at 8:15 every morning. especially when you ask your grandmother what she wants for Xmas and she says "the best present I could get is if you'd start going to church again" - ugh.

and I totally agree with what you said about spirituality. most Southern Baptists I know are yearning for something more fulfilling...they don't really know spirituality, they think as long as they read the Bible and can recite scripture, they're fine. anyway, I could go on and on about this. but all it will do is depress me.

[BlackWidow]

Originally Posted by markolas

I honestly don't see how you live there. I grew up in the Shreveport area, which I can imagine is about comparable to where you live, and if I hadn't left when I did, I would've killed myself within six months. Seriously.

I have to say..Jaz..I was wondering the SAME THING?????????

[SuzeQuze]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

yeah, been there, done that. I don't know how I pulled myself out of it. oh, wait, yes I do. Stevie. 10 years ago I think I was a different person.

it is the pits being here. it really is. everywhere you turn. there's even a devotional here at work at 8:15 every morning. especially when you ask your grandmother what she wants for Xmas and she says "the best present I could get is if you'd start going to church again" - ugh.

and I totally agree with what you said about spirituality. most Southern Baptists I know are yearning for something more fulfilling...they don't really know spirituality, they think as long as they read the Bible and can recite scripture, they're fine. anyway, I could go on and on about this. but all it will do is depress me.

A devotional at work? Wow. I think I would suffer major culture shock if I moved down there. If it ever gets too much you can always move! Just remember that they're closed-minded due to their own fears and that paralyzes them so they're not actually living. It's no way to be IMO.

[markolas]

Originally Posted by JazmenFlowers

yeah, been there, done that. I don't know how I pulled myself out of it. oh, wait, yes I do. Stevie. 10 years ago I think I was a different person.

Well, music and a few other interests kept me something vaguely approaching sane until I was about 21, but I had to leave after that.

it is the pits being here. it really is. everywhere you turn. there's even a devotional here at work at 8:15 every morning. especially when you ask your grandmother what she wants for Xmas and she says "the best present I could get is if you'd start going to church again" - ugh.

Ick. My family was never a real church-going group of people, but they paid it lip service. However, my older brother is now a Southern Baptist minister.

and I totally agree with what you said about spirituality. most Southern Baptists I know are yearning for something more fulfilling...they don't really know spirituality, they think as long as they read the Bible and can recite scripture, they're fine. anyway, I could go on and on about this. but all it will do is depress me.

The ones I knew only cared about going to heaven when they died.

Anyway, you really should move, but you don't need me to tell you that.

[estranged4life]

Baptist support for traditional family brings heated words from gays, Unitarians and others

By Carla Hinton
Religion Editor

The Oklahoma Southern Baptists call for businesses to deny family benefits to same-sex and unmarried couples was described Wednesday as unfair and anti-family.

"It seems to me that all families should be valued, whethers it's the traditional man, woman and children or it's two women living together taking care of children or two men, or a man and a woman living together," said Pat Reaves, a member of OBU Pride, an Oklahoma Baptist University alumni organiztion for gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender individuals and their allies.

"It doesn't seem to me to pass the fairness test," Reaves said Wednesday. The 1976 OBU graduate's comments came one day after the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma approved a resolution urging businesses, organizations and government to offer family benefits only to traditional families, which leaders defined as a husband, wife and children or a single parent and children.

"Doing otherwise defies Biblical principles and moral standards for the family," the resolution stated.

It was approved Tuesday by Southern Baptist delegates at the convention's 100th annual metting in Oklahoma City.



The Rev. Mark Christian, pastor of First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, said the Baptists, as Oklahoma's dominant denomination, may chase companies away with such ideas.

"This world is becoming increasingly pluralistic. This seems to be an attempt to roll back to a theocracy where people are chased out of town or there is a witch-hunt for people who are different. This is just one attempt to strip humanity from a group of people."

He said determining the Biblical standards for family can be daunting when one takes a literal interpretation of Scriptures.

"A biblical standard included the right to sell your daughter into slavery," Christian said.

"If you're going to say that's no longer a relevant issue for today's families, where do you draw the line? How do you decide where to open the door and where to close it in the definition of families?"



Paige Schilt, media director for Soul Force, said the organization is hoping businesses do not heed the Baptists' recommendation.

"Denying benefits to same sex families ultimately hurts children as well as adults," Schilt said.

She described Soul Force as a national social justice and civil rights organization committed to freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from religious and political oppression.

"We hope businesses and organizations will recognize that all families deserve to be able to protect and provide for those they love," she said.



Meanwhile, several people chose to answer NewsOK's online question about the Baptists' resolution.

Amber Cariker of Norman supports the denomination's resolution.

"I don't believe that when you encounter a homosexual person you should be mean or disrespectful, but I think the commitment it shows to be legally married is something that should be considered for the family benefits," said Cariker, who said she attends Heartland Free Will Baptist Church in Oklahoma City.

Debbie Ward of Moore said she is against the idea because it smacks of self-righteousness.

"The Bible says 'judge not lest you be judged," Ward said.