A Challenge For Gazelam

[_KimberlyAnn]

I'm not at all trying to put myself above Gaz.

I know where he's coming from, religiously, because we have a similar background. I am asking him to pray just to see what happens with his own thinking. I have myself prayed for people with whom I did not get along, and found that it changed my thinking. And even if one does not believe God is involved in prayer, it's still a good way to meditate and mull over one's thoughts.

Also, since Gaz's feelings were personally directed at my sister, then I don't feel out of line asking him to pray over his conceptions of her and others like her. If he softens his stance, that would be great. If not, no harm done.

Kimberly

[_Gadianton]

Well, let me put it a different way. Placing oneself high above Gaz and his wife morally, requires little more than making a rameumptum out of a bottle cap.

[_Jersey Girl]

Well, let me put it a different way. Placing oneself high above Gaz and his wife morally, requires little more than making a rameumptum out of a bottle cap.

Let me put it this way. You have no room to talk, sir.

[_Jersey Girl]

I'm not at all trying to put myself above Gaz.

I know where he's coming from, religiously, because we have a similar background. I am asking him to pray just to see what happens with his own thinking. I have myself prayed for people with whom I did not get along, and found that it changed my thinking. And even if one does not believe God is involved in prayer, it's still a good way to meditate and mull over one's thoughts.

Also, since Gaz's feelings were personally directed at my sister, then I don't feel out of line asking him to pray over his conceptions of her and others like her. If he softens his stance, that would be great. If not, no harm done.

Kimberly

I choose to believe that what you say above is true, KA. However, your post here has opened the door to yet another mob mentality snarkfest on this board that is all too common on this board. If Gaz offended you on account of your sister and if you indeed, wanted to encourage him to pray on it, then tell me why you chose to post this publicly if it wasn't to draw public attention and ridicule to him?

[_Gadianton]

Yet another way to put it, is that an ant tightroping a piece of dental floss laying on the ground would have to strain its little ant eyes very hard in order to see Gaz far below him, that's how beneath the rest of us Gaz and his morals are.

[_solomarineris]

Gaz,

As you know, my little sister is gay. She is also deaf and the reason I know sign language. Although she has not been active in years, she is still on the rolls of the Mormon church. You once told me that she should be killed for her sin, which was acutely offensive to me.

She told me she was gay while I was still a Mormon. I could see that she was dreading my response. Her revelation was no surprise to me, though my response was to her.

"So? I love you, Cassie. You're good with me." And so she shall ever be, Gaz. She is my sister. And yes, she and her partner are welcome, with open arms, in my home. My daughters adore her. I adore her.

I was there in the hospital room when she was born. She's thirteen years my junior, so I had the opportunity to babysit her more than I really wanted to, but I'm glad of it now. I love her even more because of the time I spent with her. I find your wishes for violence toward her and others like her incredibly saddening.

Gaz, your unveiled disgust toward gays is not only saddening, it's gallingly unattractive and insulting. Worse than that, the near hatred you harbor for them harms you. It's much more harmful for your soul than it is for the targets of your vitriol, at least as long as your violence is expressed in word and not deed.

Even when I was a Mormon, like you, Gaz, I believed that God loved all His children. That He desired to draw them in to Him. Do you believe that? Don't you believe that God loves homosexuals, even if He doesn't love sin? Don't you think you ought to try to love people, too? After all, are we not all sinners?

I understand that you believe marriage should be between a man and a woman. If you have the opportunity to vote your conscience on that matter, then I think you should. I also think you should learn to love people with whom you disagree. Loving people can come so easily if you just try.

You believe in prayer, Gaz. And, you have been instructed to pray for your enemies. Because you believe homosexuals to be your enemies, it is incumbent upon you to pray for them. I challenge you to pray to love gays and lesbians. You do not need to love what you believe to be sin, but you should love the sinners themselves. Pray to love them. Do it every day, morning and evening, or whenever you take time to talk to God. Maybe you will experience a change in your heart? Perhaps you can love people you never believed you could?

You want to be a pious man. There are two great commandments, Gaz. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. One can never be sure who does or doesn't love God. But it's easy to see who loves their neighbor. The second should flow from the first. Please take the challenge and pray daily to love the people you now seem to despise. I believe it will work for you, Gaz.
Kimberly Ann

I don't want to ruin your beautiful post KA, but this man, Gaz's opinions about humans make me want to puke on his shoes.
I read his post this morning.
What an Idiot, who believes a "make believe supernatural" racist, bigot being, created by the most ruthless men who have little clue about compassion.

Yea, this imaginary God created us all normal then some of us wanted to really be perverts and fornicate.
Dude, FYI, I did start jacking off when I was 12, lusted after women ever since I can remember, I still tell my wife when I see hot woman I'd like to do her, I am subscribed to Playboy (not for the lame pictures though). I am human but I am also loyal to my wife/partner,
I am loyal to my kids, not because somebody or some imaginary god forces me to.
We are humans, most of us have empathy towards people we love. We do not want to hurt them with our actions. When people are born with homosexual instincts, whose fault is that?
Your imaginary god is a clueless POS. The current Brass who insists on this image started their downfall.
Those idiots know that my marriage to my wife is legal & recognized in all 50 States. On the other hand Civil Unions between the same gender are in Limbo, everywhere they go.

It is funny, I thought you guys learned your lesson with Black discrimination, NO, you chose to stuck into women with IRA, then proceeded to continue to molest gay rights.
You know what?
You're just about done this time.

[_Jersey Girl]

solo

I don't want to ruin your beautiful post KA

What do you think was beautiful about the OP?

[_KimberlyAnn]

I choose to believe that what you say above is true, KA. However, your post here has opened the door to yet another mob mentality snarkfest on this board that is all too common on this board. If Gaz offended you on account of your sister and if you indeed, wanted to encourage him to pray on it, then tell me why you chose to post this publicly if it wasn't to draw public attention and ridicule to him?

First, I am under no obligation to explain my motives to you.

Second, because I want to clarify for everyone else, I will explain why I made my post public. Gaz makes his anti-homosexual rants public. He makes them here on this board for all to see. This board is also where he made his comments about my sister, which were much cruder than simply saying she should be killed. His comments about her were incredibly offensive to me and were made publicly. I am asking, publicly, and as kindly as I can, for him to rethink his position. And, I tried to do it in a non-inflammatory way.

Third, I did not want or expect this thread to turn into a snarkfest. That's why I wrote my initial post the way I did. I thought it was a reasonable request and framed in a way, religiously, that might work for Gaz. Gad initially responded in a way that was perhaps a little bit snarky, but YOUR post was the one that started the trouble, Jersey Girl. You turned the thread into a snarkfest. From your post on, my thread has been essentially derailed.

Fourth, I'll ask now that folks not rail on Gaz. Perhaps posters who used to feel somewhat the way Gaz feels and who have now reached new, more respectful conclusions about gays and lesbians would share their stories? And by respectful, I do not mean that to be necessarily supporting gay marriage. I believe Gaz and anyone else for that matter, can not support gay marriage and still be respectful of others who are different from them.

KA

[_Dr. Shades]

I don't wish to enter into a debate here, but I do have a few words to say.

You just contradicted yourself.

I'd like to know where any of you get off attempting to hold yourself above or look down at Gaz on account of his current postings regarding homosexuals either intellectually or morally?

In your worldview, are all opinions equal?

His journey belongs to him and has nothing whatsoever with your own.

Nobody's talking about his journey.

[_solomarineris]

However, your post here has opened the door to yet another mob mentality snarkfest on this board that is all too common on this board.

Well, well, Why don't you go ahead and share Gasbags opinion.
KA'a post was very meaningful. Hard to understand why are you trying to degrade it.
Good job though.

PS: she did not start "snarkfest", Gaz did.
FYI.