Further translation assistance
Submitted by Heather on August 19 1999 at 21:10:57
In reply to So, am I cursed and posssessed by demons? Submitted by Jimf3 on August 19 1999 at 07:59:47
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Well, Jim, I have to say that every time I read a flame war between you and Jesus Lover, it's like overhearing the conversation I once had with a French waitress when I was ordering milk. "Froid ou chaud?" she asked, and I promptly asked for "chaud," assuming that it was cold milk. It's like that with you and Jesus Lover. Just as in the last round through, he's using technical Christian jargon, the subtleties of which can only be grasped by someone who's thoroughly immersed in Christian theology and knows that certain schools of Christianity use the word "demon" in the same manner as the rest of us use the word "hangnail" – to denote any deviation from what they consider to be good, whether it be murder or (to use d's previous example) acquiring a parking ticket. I thoroughly approve of you denouncing such inflammatory language, but the guilty party in question is not primarily Jesus Lover – who is simply using the vocabulary he has been taught – but rather the school of Christianity that fails to make distinctions between activities that widely vary in their effects. It's rather like being part of a tradition that has a single word to describe "failing to show up for a date" and "rape." It's all very well to maintain that both activities are wrong, but something is bound to be lost in the translation if your girlfriend calls you a rapist because you've stood her up. As I've said before, Christians don't denounce this type of sentiment nearly enough, and you're right to keep us on our toes about this; I just wish that your posts were a tad bit less inflammatory. Do try to keep in mind that the Christians you are accusing of being pro-homophobia because they don't speak out quickly enough may very well consider themselves to be gay. You've asked on several occasions for proof that anti-homophobia forces exist in Christianity, and on several occasions I've referred you to pro-gay Christian links; I do so again. I still don't believe that homophobia is to be equated with opposition to homosexual behavior, any more than I believe that I'm a pedophobe because I oppose adult-child sex, but you can find abundant examples with Christianity of people who are pro-gay and fiercely so. If it's true that Christianity is thoroughly homophobic, I can't help but wonder why so many gay people have remained happily Christian. Heather |