That was a beautiful day 
Leave it to me to post on the Friday before one of the busiest weekends of the Little League Baseball season. :smack: So many posts I want to reply to. I’ll get to them in time.
As to the above, thanks, Squink, I will look for it. I really have enjoyed the Heinlein I’ve read so far, “Assignment Eternity,” “Starship Troopers,” and “Stranger in a Strange Land.” Although the latter was quite interesting to my “virgin eyes.” 
Yeah, anyway.
Thanks for the suggestion. I don’t base my socio-political views on Heinlein, but I do find that he has a way of making a reader think about much more than the novel at hand. At least this reader.
The part of my religion I don’t get enough of, REST! 
Well, I’ll speak out against them as much as I have against Phelps. It was the reply to my not knowing who Phelps was that prompted my original post (and I call myself a fundie ). Anyway, for what it’s worth, I think Fallwell and Helms (not as familiar with him), are more destructive because they do indeed mask their judgementalism in “good sounding” words. What they say sounds good to the typical, non-thinking evangelical or fundamentalist. They are the internal cancer to society. Phelps is a skin cancer. Skin cancer is bad, and if undetected and left alone, will cause serious problems, but it is generally easy to spot before it become too desctuctive. Internal cancer is different. It can destroy you before you even know it is cancer.
I do have to honestly admit, though, that it is far easier for me to condemn the acts of Phelps because they are so obvious. The acts of the Fallwell’s and Helms’ are not so obvious and often escape notice. For that, I am sorry, as well as for the attitude they secretly sow.
However, I do have to say, that I am much more vocal in our local congregation than I am in the general public and on the national political front. As I mentioned in one of my other posts, I shocked a group of folks I was talking with by trying to explain to them that the church in general and ours in specific could learn a lot from the polyamory movement. Don’t do what they couldn’t, though. They couldn’t get past the “sex” of the polyamory to see the value of the emotional support (which is the pattern I see from the early church).
Oh well, as the subtitle says, fighting ignorance is taking longer that I think.
More later (and thanks to everyone who replied.)
Oh, and real quick before I have to go. Case Sensitive, I am sorry if you have a problem with what I believe. I’ll answer your post more directly when I have more time (late for T-Ball practice as we speak).
As if we don’t know. What I want to know is what did God do on the 8th day. Continue to rest or what?
“And on the eighth day, God created woman. And when man grew tired of woman, God created Monday Night Football…”
(from some long-lost issue of Mad Magazine)
For an interesting treatment of this subject as well as some insight into the American Revolution, read Heinlein’s * The Moon is a Harsh Mistress *. It will definitely make you think.
You’re going to fit in just fine around here.
Thnaks to the OP for proving what I’ve been trying to tell folks around here for a while.
There are plenty of fundamentalist Christians who are people of good will, and who understand (and follow) the Biblical injunction to “Judge not lest ye yourselves be judged.”
Unfortunately there are a few loudmouth fundamentalists who have trouble with that passage, and they give fundamentalists a bad name.
I am an atheist myself, but I grew up in a fundamentalist church and encounter enough fundamentalists still to know that they are mostly well-intentioned, charitable people, of the “hate the sin, not the sinner” variety. Happily, you seem to be a good example of this.
Welcome aboard, and please stick around. Your beliefs will be challenged, vociferously at times. Don’t let that discourage you. These boards need your point of view.
Isn’t this a pretty lame pit thread?
Let’s see: OP posts a reasonable, intelligent, respectul first post. Then everybody else starts using logic, facts and reason to discuss his points of view. I am sure this is a first.
Welcome SCCajun, you sure are a valuable acquisition for this board. :)*
*And he paid!
Open-minded, religious, and a Heinlein fan?! SCCajun, you’ll do just fine around here! I’m Siege, CJ to my friends. We met over in Great Debates earlier, when I told you you’d have to do more than just quote the Bible to get flamed around here. I’m also a devout, liberal, female Episcopalian. While I haven’t been “born again” the way some Christians mean it, my faith is the most important thing in my life and it saddens me to see it abused the way Phelps and even Falwell and his ilk do.
I should warn you that you and I do disagree on the issue of who gets to go to heaven. I was a perpetual outsider in my youth long ago; one of my closest friends is a Wiccan who used to be a Fundamentalist Christian; and I’ve known people who’ve been driven away from Christianity by the actions of Christians. That said, I’m glad you’ve joined us and I’m looking forward to learning from you. Something tells me you’ve got a lot to teach as well as to learn.
To you and theologue, welcome aboard!
CJ
Welcome aboard.
I have no real problem with “fundies” except for when they attempt to legislate their values. I see no reason why this country, diverse as it is, should be held to the morals of fundamentalist Christians.
I have a question:
Why can’t you walk your own walk and leave the rest of us to find our own ways?
Why the prosletizing and adhorting to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?
I am a nominal, disaffected Christian. I find preaching to the unwashed or unsaved or whatever to be one of the most arrogant and offensive things possible. I am not alone in this–so why do it?
Sorry to hijack-I find myself pleasantly surprised by the appearance of a sensible, courteous “fundie”, so I struck while the iron was hot, so to speak.
But SCCajun has done neither of those things, and in fact has been perfectly nice. He seems to be all about the “live and let live,” which makes him cool in my book.
gobear, remind me to link to this next time someone’s jumping all over you for being anti-Christian, especially if that someone is me!
CJ
But I am not saying that he (she?) is doing that…
I am saying that it is a practice common to evangelical/fundamentalist Christians.
As I said, hey, looks to me like here’s a nice, courteous one–let’s ask him!
Enquring minds and all that.
Thank, Siege. Despite saying constantly that I’m not out to get Christians and after defending Christians in several threads, I still get hysterical ninnies attacking me because I take the “con” position on debates on the the evidence for the existence of supernatural entities.
Hmm. Didn’t He eventually have to create rain? (the flood)
Well, I don’t know that I ever said anyone in particular is going to burn in Hell for all eternity. I believe that whether you do or not is between you and God. I believe that it is no less likely that a homosexual will be allowed into Heaven than that someone who gossips or tells lies. I can’t tell what is REALLY in your heart than you can tell what is in mine. Because of that, I don’t REALLY know that (should my beliefs prove right) whether you will be in Heaven or not.
I’m not sure whether that is “big of me” or simply honesty. I’m not trying to be hypocritical, but rather transparent. I don’t want to present myself as anything more than I am. But, I am intending to “play nice.”
To answer your question, yes. My beliefs are indeed based on my faith. I’m not sure that anyone can do otherwise. I know many people say that they base what they believe on facts and evidence, but they are basing their beliefs on the faith they have that what they can’t see (God, Heaven, Hell, etc) doesn’t exist. I’m not sure that is really clear (long day), but hopefully it is a bit of an explanation.
I think to answer the question that you didn’t ask, I base my beliefs on the fact that I believe in a perfect, infallible, all-knowing, eternal God. That is the core belief. Second to that is that God provided His truth in the Scriptures, and that those Scriptures (based on their Author) are perfect, infallible, and exactly what we need to know about God.
I hope that answers your question, but more importantly, I hope you don’t misunderstand my purpose. I really didn’t mention it because it didn’t apply to the initial post. My reason for being here is because, while I do have a strong faith, I am also what I consider a “free thinker.” I don’t just take the pablum(sp?) that is fed to pew-sitters in church, but study things out on my own. I’m interested in “fighting ignorance,” not of others, but of myself. I’m not opposed to others disagreeing with me. I don’t know everything, and I haven’t considered every other possible opinion, and I’d like to learn about other ideas.
No, the firmament just sprung a leak.
Thanks for the kindness. I enjoyed your posts in the other threads, and, while I can say that I see where we are different in some areas :), I was impressed to consider views that I hadn’t thought of before (especially well presented and not “shoved” at me as a “You have to accept this”).
Thanks, I appreciate it.
I’m glad for what little part I played to get you in. I think the broader the scope of experience and belief, the better a chance to solidify what you really believe. However, that requires participation. That’s one reason I joined. There are too many vocal fundamentalists that SHOUT idiot stuff that people don’t hear what we are really about. Too much noise. I don’t think conservative Christianity is too much different (at least in perception). Sure there are things we disagree on, but the loud mouth louts make both groups seem horrid, when there are some decent people in both groups.
I’m new myself, but welcome.