Christian Family face possible legal action

Petra - you mean like the Paris Hilton toy dog in a handbag? Have you any idea how insulting your comment is?

Totally agree with Jings Re 'A gay friend is almost a fashion accessory'

I don't know why I am bothering with this. Gay people in this country, just like the rest of us, have so much more than people in other parts of the world. I just can't care about this any more.

Perhaps read my thread about the child in Iraq? They are the ones I care about.

Well, I'm cetainly not against gay people being included in everything in the community, in exactly the same way everyone else would be.

Grannytwice Have You read my post a bit earlier on? You have to learn to accept other people's way of thinking, as well as your own. We can't all think the same. There should be no aggression, and no nasty comments.

Good morning GrannyTwice - oddly enough, that's my experience too. You commented earlier on this thread that your friendship group has always included gay or lesbian people. That's true for me and as for my children and their friends it seems colour, creed, sexual orientation just isn't an issue for them. Progress at last

Iam - IME there are a lot of small minded, ill informed prejudiced people too - I tend to notice them , regardless of their sexual orientation.

An aside - on the point made above about there being a lot of gay people at the BBC, my life experience is that there are a lot of gay and lesbian people in the world

I looked it up.

Greenfich. I think that you are right. It doesnt say that he was definitely married.

Could we have references soontobe? The Church was not formed until after the death of Christ as far as I know

If Paul had a wife ,he must have dumped her to go on his missionary journeys as she does not appear to be there.

Some,at least, of the disciples must have been married (Peter had a mother-in-law ) but this did not stop them from starting out on an itinerant lifestyle following Jesus.

There were different life-style even then.

Obviously many homosexuals believe in marriage too or there wouldn't be the movement to make gay marriage legal.

"But I cannot believe something is 'right' just because the government, or even the majority of the rest of the population, say I should."

Perhaps not. But that's how democracy works and I think democratic mistakes, if such they be, are better than an authoritarian figure making the rules. If we discover that our current 'lenience' about homosexuality is wrong and cause harm to people, then we can change things in future. Democracies are, in general, improving things for people and they are generally much more tolerant of 'divergence' than religious leaders have traditionally been. It's about the best way forward for a civilised society and what suits most people.

feetlebaum. God and Jesus so in favour of marriage that Jesus refers to the church as his bride. Something like that. It is wound throughout the bible, about marriage. I am wondering if what you read, relies on picking up certain words, like if you google something, and it picks on things on the computer with just those words?

Paul got married as far as I can remember.

jingl well said

If that was aimed at me Eloethan, let me make my views quite clear.

Firstly my feelings about homosexuality have nothing at all to do with religion. I simply cannot get away from the fact that sex is primarily, probably from a 'nature' point of view, only for, the continuation of species. Therefore homosexuality is a deviation from that.

It is not a 'sin' in my book because it harms no one. Gay civil marriage is good. It must give the same security and happiness to gay people that hetero marriages do.

I have already said I hate gay bashing. And I do not think gay people should have to hide their lifestyles away. I believe people should live happily side by side.

But I cannot believe something is 'right' just because the government, or even the majority of the rest of the population, say I should.

I agree with thatbags - religion is a human construct, and it has been very successful in taking over such matters as marriage, whether it was desirable that it do so or not. In Chaucer's day, the newly married couple would go to the church for a blessing (after the marriage, note) and so they found it convenient to marry in the church doorway before moving inside for said blessing. Thus, she says "Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve".

'Biblical marriage' is touted by the Bible Belters in the US as ideal - yet Jesus had little to say in its favour, and Paul merely said it was better to marry than to burn (with passion). But then he hated women anyway.

You might want to start a new thread with however you want to start it?

This is a thread about a christian bakery and homosexuality.

I have got told off before, for not keeping to the op.
On this thread, I am very much keeping to the thread.

Sorry, anya, I'm not following you around.

soon, please shut up about the bible. Most of us do not follow bible strictures. I thought you said you'd leave us to it

One person's prejudice is another's firmly held belief. I think we could be guilty of double standards if we are not careful. Not talking about GN in particular here, but as jingl said people should have freedom to believe what they think is right, providing there is no malice or stone throwing.

It isnt new about society accepting it either. That sort of thing waxes and wanes, or ebbs and flows, not sure which is the best expression.
It was very in vogue in the first book of the Bible, half way through. I am pretty sure historians can say more about the history of it all.

You are right. There is nothing new about homosexuality. But there is something new about society accepting homosexuality as harmless and just part of the normal curve of sexuality.

Regarding whether your god "gets into line" with my way of thinking, I don't give a damn. I don't give a damn what any god is purported to 'think'. I am interested in what people think.

If not, then I will leave you to it.

thatbags. You do realise that God is not going to get into line with your thinking on this matter, dont you?