tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post113580398462677676..comments2024-03-15T21:43:52.652-05:00Comments on City in the Trees: Why You Can't Own a CanadianLone Primatehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15746801663695992138noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135955293472515492005-12-30T10:08:00.000-05:002005-12-30T10:08:00.000-05:00I really don't want to get into a debate either. I...I really don't want to get into a debate either. I doubt very much anyone's mind is going to be changed. So this is my last word on the topic.<BR/><BR/>Yes we are all, as humans, broken. But to suggest that one's sexuality per se, whether it be heterosexuality or homosexuality, is necessarily part of that brokenness, strikes me as the height of arrogance.Ferdzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10842130394749345902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135906954104276572005-12-29T20:42:00.000-05:002005-12-29T20:42:00.000-05:00Hey LP,I'll be glad to take this up with you on em...Hey LP,<BR/><BR/>I'll be glad to take this up with you on email. I actually rather regret posting that comment because I really don't want a public debate on this issue. In fact, I really don't want a debate on it at all. . .but I'll email you later.<BR/><BR/>peace outSusannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254213819711388842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135904123676255862005-12-29T19:55:00.000-05:002005-12-29T19:55:00.000-05:00This is an incredibly complex issue, and there's s...<I>This is an incredibly complex issue, and there's so much more I could say, but this is not the place. ...I don't think in fairness to Lone Primate that he wants his blog comments cluttered up with an in-depth discussion of a very difficult issue.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, that's kind of what the place is for... it's no skin off my nose if people post a thousand comments. Better that than none. :) It's up to you if you want to express your views in public, but if you do, feel free.<BR/><BR/><I>I don't choose my friends based on their sexual orientation and I don't base my friendship on whether they change.</I><BR/><BR/>I think it's unreasonable even to suggest this. How would you react if someone suggested you ought to "change" your sexual orientation? Would it flabbergast you? I mean, not because you're (presumably) straight, but because it would strike you impossible? For what's it's worth, if I had to categorize myself, I'd say I'm playfully bisexual with a hetero bias... but I can't imagine just deciding to ignore a facet of my identity. I am who I am, and so long as I don't harm anyone, why on Earth (or in Heaven, for that matter) should I or anyone else be condemned?<BR/><BR/><I>This doesn't change the fact that I believe their lifestyle is wrong and harmful</I><BR/><BR/>How? Metaphysics aside, how is being homosexual anymore "wrong" or, particularly, "harmful" than being heterosexual?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135891400945759142005-12-29T16:23:00.000-05:002005-12-29T16:23:00.000-05:00. . .and I need to add, I get it wrong. I've messe.... . .and I need to add, I get it wrong. I've messed up time and time again in my interactions with my gay friends. It's one of the toughest issues I've faced. That's the truth. . .Susannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254213819711388842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135891303923010572005-12-29T16:21:00.000-05:002005-12-29T16:21:00.000-05:00Hi Ferdzy,Thank you for your thoughtful and well-w...Hi Ferdzy,<BR/><BR/>Thank you for your thoughtful and well-written response. I also realize it's an issue close to home, with your dad. So please don't take what I say as a personal attack.<BR/><BR/>I have a lot of sympathy for your feelings, and I can certainly understand them.<BR/><BR/>You are right that hateful attitudes perpetrated by some "Christians" have caused a lot of pain. For that, they will have to answer to God. And I apologize on their behalf, although I don't and can't identify with them. Gay people have taken persecution, hatred, misunderstanding, lack of sympathy, lack of help, and far more from the church. And it's time it stopped.<BR/><BR/>And I must state unequivocally that I do not believe that homosexuals are inherently "wrong", any more than I believe any other broken person (all of us) is. They're people. They're made in the image of God. God loves them, and I am called to do the same. I don't choose my friends based on their sexual orientation and I don't base my <BR/>friendship on whether they change.<BR/><BR/>I have several gay friends whom I love very dearly. One of my closest friends is gay. This doesn't change the fact that I believe their lifestyle is wrong and harmful--in fact, if I can tell you the truth, it reinforces it. There are many reasons for that, only one of which is "God says so." It may seem an impossible paradox that I could completely and genuinely love a person, while affirming that I do not support what they do. I don't think it is. I'm sure we all do it at times.<BR/><BR/>This is an incredibly complex issue, and there's so much more I could say, but this is not the place. I'd love for anybody who wants to respond to me on this, to please visit my blog and email me. I'd be very happy to have a discussion with you. But I don't think in fairness to Lone Primate that he wants his blog comments cluttered up with an in-depth discussion of a very difficult issue. Thanks.Susannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254213819711388842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135868842725679152005-12-29T10:07:00.000-05:002005-12-29T10:07:00.000-05:00Good post, lone. And I have to respond to A Thinke...Good post, lone. <BR/><BR/>And I have to respond to A Thinker: true, you didn't, in so many words, say that homosexuals are evil. What you said was that homosexuality is wrong. Unfortunately, the very clear implication of that, and of your defense of the right-wing-Christian/bible-says position in general, homosexuals are "wrong". Wrong in their very existance. You can say that's not what you mean until you are blue in the face, but I assure you that that is the conclusion any thinking person must draw from what you say. <BR/><BR/>The pain that such a position causes, when held by a sufficient number of people, is real and widespread; quite as real as if you flat-out said that homosexuals are evil. Certainly you have, by your position, allied yourself with people who have no problem saying that homosexuals are evil. Your position is more nuanced, but it is on the same continuum. <BR/><BR/>By the way, my father is bisexual, and has lived with his male partner for over 25 years now. They are very happy.Ferdzyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10842130394749345902noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135858698689469902005-12-29T07:18:00.000-05:002005-12-29T07:18:00.000-05:00James, I don't intend to draw you into a debate ov...James, I don't intend to draw you into a debate over this, but I feel compelled to address one thing you've said.<BR/><BR/>Leaving aside your assumptions about my homosexual friends, which frankly are rather funny :-D, you've stated that I "go on and on and on about how evil homosexuals are."<BR/><BR/>I'm rather astonished that you've drawn that conclusion simply from what I said in my blog comment. There is no statement to that effect, either direct or implied, in what I wrote there. You also don't know me in real life to make such an accusation. It's something I've never said, don't believe, and don't plan ever to say. But I don't expect you to believe me, because your mind is made up that I think a certain way. It's not about me, it's about Christians.<BR/><BR/>(Besides, I seriously doubt anybody, homosexual or straight, would want to "hang out" with somebody who was teling them how evil they were!) ;-)<BR/><BR/>When you are in a debate or a discussion with somebody with whom you disagree, it's not considered fair tactic to accuse them of saying or doing something they did not say or for which you have no evidence. If you disagree with me, please disagree with what I've actually said. I welcome that. But please, don't disagree with or accuse me of something I did not say. Thanks. I appreciate it. And so does anyone else you may disagree with :-)Susannahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17254213819711388842noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12941086.post-1135811925700904762005-12-28T18:18:00.000-05:002005-12-28T18:18:00.000-05:00Little wonder the commentor can profess to have ne...<I>Little wonder the commentor can profess to have never known a truly happy homosexual!</I><BR/><BR/>Myself, I've known dozens of happy homosexual men and women -- and happy bisexual men and women, too.<BR/><BR/>I would suggest that the probable reason the commentor doesn't know any is that (a) he doesn't know many homosexuals, period, (b) he does know some, he just doesn't know that those happy people are homosexual, and (c) those that he does know tend to hang around people like the commentor, who go on and on and on about how evil homosexuals are.James Redekophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05833355144832388008noreply@blogger.com