How do Christian churches justify performing same-sex marriages/blessings? (Israel, verses, creation)
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Well, that's a relief to hear, because some people do not seem to be able to distinguish between God and the Bible.
OK, interesting, but I don't believe the Bible is infallible. Do not leap to the opposite conclusion, however, that I am also saying Scripture is of no value. It is very valuable. It just leaves too many ambiguities to be conclusive in an of itself; hence, the values of scholarship, tradition, and reason.
I don't appreciate being paraphrased, thank you. The "musings of men" are not my words, nor are "completely uninspired" and "absolutely nothing comparable..." I do not see the world in absolutes of black and white. Do not reword what I said to fit that view.
Your presumption that I do not read the epistles is erroneous and would be offensive were I a person who is that easily offended. I am Episcopalian. We probably read more scripture in church on any given Sunday than any other denomination, and most, if not all, services include a reading from one of the epistles.
I have difficulty having conversations in media such as this for the reason you kindly demonstrated above. If I say "I think the sky is not just blue, but has other colors in it as well," and you respond with "So what you are REALLY saying is that the sky always has pink in it" when that's not what I said at all, we cannot converse.
And now perhaps you can see why I prefer a Christian church that values the concept of Reason.
Or maybe not.
Alright then, I suppose I am responding to what I see should be the logical outcomes of what you said, not what you necessarily believe. My apologies. But at this point, I then move on to ask what makes the Bible unique once you strip away its divine inspiration? What is it that differentiates its wisdom from other sources? Or if you do hold to a view that it's inspired, just not in the sense I do (i.e. actually God-breathed), can you explain what that inspiration entails?
You stated "Trying to justify the words one prefers by claiming them to be God's words instead is vain and borders on blasphemy" so I need to understand what makes these words of men (since they're not God's) different than any others', and also how you reconcile using them when the authors would be clearly deluded about their source and nature of revelation and their own views of the Scripture.
Oh, and also, I did not say you did not read the Epistles - I encouraged you to reread them again, because I firmly believe there is an abundance of relevance between those churches in the 1st century and the churches today.
The Intersexed by their very biological makeup would be able to marry whomever they wish whether that be male or female and still be " safe" in the eyes of God.
It is based on the fact that humans make mistakes. It is based on the fact that humans frame things within the paradigm of what they know. It is based on the fact that the men writing the scriptures were not free of the cultural beliefs and knowledge they carried with them as assumptions of truth without even realizing that those truths might be assumptions.
As a Christian, you could believe this way because you know the history of who Paul was, how he came to almost single-handedly spread Christianity beyond the place of its origin, and how went from a persecutor of Christians to one of Christ's greatest champions. You know he spent the rest of his life obsessed with spreading the news of reconcilation with God for anyone who asks. And part of that work he did included some written letters to churches established around the Mediterranean that have been preserved for all time in which we find words that we can live by to be better Christians and better people. Amongst those words, however, we also find some distinct evidence of Paul's opinions and cultural influence, which have nothing to do with God at all, and we use our reason to discern them. So that's why, even though I'm a woman and Paul didn't think I should, I've cut my hair and I get up and speak in church sometimes despite the fact that Paul's writings say I shouldn't do that. Those statements are ridiculous, but by matter of the God-given ability to reason we can distinguish them from words like "If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body [to hardship] that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."
Assuming you are correct about Paul's letters, where does that leave us with the topic at hand? What do we do with Romans 1? And Jesus words, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? Is it reasonable for Christian churches to perform SSM now in modern times?
That is liberal propaganda. It is not found in holy scripture.
Under God's Law, the sinner who is found guilty of committing blasphemy, murder, homosexual acts, etc is executed.
Why does God command the death penalty for some sins? The Bible says it is to remove the evil from society.
There is no distinction between evil and evildoer, sinner and sin.
That is liberal propaganda. It is not found in holy scripture.
Under God's Law, the sinner who is found guilty of committing blasphemy, murder, homosexual acts, etc is executed.
Why does God command the death penalty for some sins? The Bible says it is to remove the evildoer from society.
There is no distinction between evil and evildoer, sinner and sin.
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LOL! I've never been accused of being liberal.
You are of course, incorrect. God had mercy on us, despite our sin. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for me & you. It's our's to accept or reject.
Under God's Law, sinners are held accountable for their sins, some sins requiring the death penalty.
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Neigher is the word Christmas or Easter or Trinity but we still believe in them. God gave man intelligence to name things that are talked about in the bible so we can understand them better.
The Intersexed by their very biological makeup would be able to marry whomever they wish whether that be male or female and still be " safe" in the eyes of God.
I am not sure by what you mean when you say 'safe'.
They would certainly be allowed to marry in our church.
We are about as Fundamentalist and Pentecostal as you can find.
I am not aware of any doctrine that would suggest otherwise.
... Under God's Law, sinners are held accountable for their sins, some sins requiring the death penalty.
Up until the point when the sinner repents, finds forgiveness, and stops sinning.
God is love. Man is often hard hearted and refuses to love.
Don't forget sanctuary cities too
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