Should bad religion be tolerated?

[night912]

dianaiad,

This is my point that apparently you haven't gotten a grasp on, resulting in you repeatedly making more excuses. I'll give a simple and clear example.


You and your husband went to a wedding photographer wanting his service. Upon realizing that you are an interracial couple planning for your wedding, he refuse to provide his service to you two then kills your husband right after informing you that he refuse to provide his service to you. He kills your husband because his religious beliefs forbids the marriage between interracial couples that you two so happened to belong to and commands him to kill the husband of your every interracial couple planning to get marry that is the same race as your husband. Sure, you and your husband could have left right after being refused his service and somewhere else. But still doesn't change the fact that the photographer committed an act of discrimination and murder by refusing his service and killing your husband based on his religious beliefs. Although he has every right to practice his religion, his actions also violate your rights. That's when the government have to step in and enforce its laws. Which the government laws overrules his religious laws. He is no longer protected under the 1st amendment, "freedom of religion" because of his actions.

You can come up with whatever excuse you want, but his actions are what determines whether or not it's still considered as freedom of religion. The government intervene based on his actions and not his beliefs. Key words here, "actions" vs "beliefs" and the difference between the two. This is require in order to maintain freedom of religion while still keeping all religions equal and the government remaining unbiased towards any one particular religion. This also ensure that no religious laws, no matter how outrageous it may be, is not above the laws of the government. If not for that, then anybody can use whatever reason they can come up with and say that it's their religious beliefs.

I purposely used murder to make it obvious. Even without murder, the photographer already committed the crime of discrimination against individuals of a particular group. This is the particular thing in which apparently, you cannot come to grips with.

 

[Shadow Link]

 

[JesusKnowsYou]

Should bad religion, religion that promotes bigotry and prejudice, be tolerated?

Concepts like bigotry and prejudice can be very subjective.

At what point does neutral/good religion tip the scale into bad, and who should decide such a thing?

To the first question - No idea.

To the second - No one.

 

[Muffled]

Neither would I.

Now how are we going to tell who is, and who is not, so led?

I believe that usually only happens with the gift of discernment.

 

[PoetPhilosopher]

I believe that usually only happens with the gift of discernment.

I'd like to talk more about the "gift of discernment" some time. What is it, and how does one know it's valid?

 

[JesusKnowsYou]

I'd like to talk more about the "gift of discernment" some time. What is it, and how does one know it's valid?

The gift of discernment is one of the many gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Much like the confirmation of the Holy Spirit, only the person experiencing the gift can ascertain if it is valid.

 

[Shad]

What is Christian Identity ? I have a Christian identity, yet itś been weeks since I shot an atheist. A joke, for those of the American Offended Society, who have no sense of humor and are offended by everything.

Help

And here I thought a balloon had popped. You need to work on your aim

 

[Brickjectivity]

I'd like to talk more about the "gift of discernment" some time. What is it, and how does one know it's valid?

The term 'Gift' actually is interpolated by people. 'Discernment' in the text is a mystical power in a certain area which comes over people sometimes when the spirit influences them. The passage may or may not imply that it is a gift which remains, because the word 'Gift' isn't really in it. Much like famous Sampson's strength which comes and goes, the power discernment is likely something which only appears as needed. Discernment is somewhat better than common sense and is ideally something like the mystical powers of the seventy elders of Israel. If you do a search in an online bible and look up "Seventy elders" you will see various miracles stories about them and also that some of the spirit that 'Rests upon' Moses is put upon them to enable them to help him with performing judiciary functions. Its a supernatural thing, whatever it is; and its related to the stories about the seventy elders. The idea is that whatever these seventy elders were given can also happen to gentile Christians. Its possible that Discernment rests upon Christian elders as it does in ancient Israel, however there are no verses specifying this. You're depending upon tradition and wisdom to make a determination about that. My thinking is that you should be prepared to not know who has discernment. As long as somebody has it then that's good enough. They can speak when they feel moved. This is reflected in Quaker practice by the way. They don't call it this, but they sit quietly and wait for the spirit to move someone (anyone present) to speak.