tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post115347605672784950..comments2024-02-04T09:15:50.839+00:00Comments on Mars Hill: Here I Stand..Paul Burginhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06718135185726733792noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153675519291895382006-07-23T18:25:00.000+01:002006-07-23T18:25:00.000+01:00But by the same token manic, Old Testament was ful...But by the same token manic, Old Testament was full of rules and regulations and was a theocratic state, as opposed to a libertarian one.Paul Burginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718135185726733792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153662783004007522006-07-23T14:53:00.000+01:002006-07-23T14:53:00.000+01:00Adele:I agree with Kerron in that most of what the...Adele:<EM>I agree with Kerron in that most of what the bible espouses is essentially very socialist.</EM><BR/><BR/>Paul:<EM>members of the Conservative Party out there who think that The Bible espouses free market economics. </EM><BR/><BR/>The Bible is certainly more libertarian than socialist. God would want voluntary charity and personal morality to come from the individual, rather than a moralising state that believes it is the final arbitrator of what is right and wrong.<BR/><BR/>When the Israelites asked Samuel to ask God to give them a king, these were Sameul's words: <EM> This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle and donkeys he will take for his own use. He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the Lord will not answer you in that day.1 Sam. 8:11–18.</EM> <BR/><BR/>It's not difficult to compare this to what our elected leaders are doing to us.Shaun (editor)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17665336537543006891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153656451756097192006-07-23T13:07:00.000+01:002006-07-23T13:07:00.000+01:00We have to be careful about proclaiming what The B...We have to be careful about proclaiming what The Bible espouses, because there are members of the Conservative Party out there who think that The Bible espouses free market economics. Personally I think that The Bible goes beyond, if it is possible to do so, left and right politics.Paul Burginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718135185726733792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153649975330984912006-07-23T11:19:00.000+01:002006-07-23T11:19:00.000+01:00Manic, I think it is more simple than that. People...<EM>Manic, I think it is more simple than that. People are more scared of upsetting muslims, given the political climate of the past twenty or so years </EM><BR/><BR/>That is what I mean by the oversensitivity that dominates the liberal-left's relativist attitutide toward Islam.Shaun (editor)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17665336537543006891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153601119102163422006-07-22T21:45:00.000+01:002006-07-22T21:45:00.000+01:00The religious element in politics over here is neg...The religious element in politics over here is negligible. I agree with Kerron in that most of what the bible espouses is essentially very socialist. <BR/><BR/>Try going to the US for a real nutty religious element.Manchester University Labour Clubhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13381773349911326993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153514826040641072006-07-21T21:47:00.000+01:002006-07-21T21:47:00.000+01:00Manic, I think it is more simple than that. People...Manic, I think it is more simple than that. People are more scared of upsetting muslims, given the political climate of the past twenty or so years (The Rushdie affair changed critical culture almost overnight).<BR/>I am certainly not inviting attacks on Islam, but I think that people should be a little more courteous of Christians.Paul Burginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718135185726733792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153511078727003482006-07-21T20:44:00.000+01:002006-07-21T20:44:00.000+01:00I agree with you Paul. People often try to excuse ...I agree with you Paul. People often try to excuse their homophobia or enacted homophobic abuse by claiming that it arises from religious motivation because they believe that in someway it may justify their actions to others. <BR/>In my opinion, homophobia transcends religious reasons and very often comes from the same chauvanistic attitude that causes sexism or racism. <BR/><BR/>That said there are really good-hearted religious people who are so literalist in their beliefs that explaining to them that the anti-homosexual passages contained in the Bible should be seen in the context of the time and culture that have been written in is an almost impossible task. <BR/><BR/>As for blaming Christianity and ignoring Islam, it is very typical of the prevelant political correctness and oversensitivity that British society is mired in.Shaun (editor)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17665336537543006891noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153505191663833262006-07-21T19:06:00.000+01:002006-07-21T19:06:00.000+01:00Thats more than likely. People are less ostracised...Thats more than likely. People are less ostracised by society for being gay so many are more confident to contact the police!Paul Burginhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06718135185726733792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13935904.post-1153491669797589172006-07-21T15:21:00.000+01:002006-07-21T15:21:00.000+01:00An observation about the increase in homophobic at...An observation about the increase in homophobic attacks.<BR/>I read suggestions that the increase could be partly due to the fact that gay people are more keen to report them to the police now than in the pastAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com