Comments | wolfraven17: A few thoughts

wolfraven17

A few thoughts

Sep 20, 2006 14:36

So in the past few days, been reading a lot about personal beliefs and what not about different things, especially sexuality. I try to always respect what others believe, as long as they are respectful towards me. It occurs to me though, that I haven't made my side of the story known, and I have as much right as anyone to do so :P ( Read more... )

Comments 12

duke_otterland September 20 2006, 20:07:00 UTC

I haven't been to church in over a decade but started going again a few weeks ago, since I feel I need religion to be more mentally stable and such. And I don't believe homosexuals are damned to hell or whatever the afterlife holds, and that God loves us all unconditionally despite our flaws. I definitely believe in God, though believe He's more hands-off, and that humans are, in a way, gods, since we can procreate, build and destroy civilizations, and so forth ( ... )

wolfraven17 September 21 2006, 01:48:55 UTC

This was less about my sexuality being the forefront of who I am, and more what I believe about it, though in some ways, my sexuality is a huge part of who I am. In my life, I tend to be very relationship centered, so therefore who I am in a relationship with tends to be the focal point for a lot of my thoughts/actions/etc...and sometimes it's just nice to have that group (gay, furry, what have you) to point to and say "that's me, those people are like me." However...gay pride tend to scare me. I'm not ashamed of who I am or love, but I don't need to parade it around either >_ ( ... )

akelavincent September 20 2006, 20:23:52 UTC

Your comment was one of the most encouraging I received the other day, in spite of our disagreement on some things, because of the great respect you showed for my beliefs regardless. So I thank you for that, and I wish to show no less respect to anyone else's beliefs, which I hope I do.

That said, one quibble, and it's really about historical fact and not about beliefs anyway. "Fact is, these books have been translated different ways to fit different agendas through time, and what we read now is 4th or 5th level translations, not necessarily what was originally written" - I've heard this a lot, but it always bugs me because that's not actually true, at least regarding the Bible and depending on the version you read. While it IS true that some versions are translations of translations (like the NASB) or complete paraphrases (like the Living Bible or the Message), most modern translators go directly back to the original Greek & Hebrew and work directly from that. While some things inevitably get lost in any translation, yes, they're ( ... )

akelavincent September 20 2006, 20:31:57 UTC

...and of course I remember things I meant to say but didn't just after hitting "post." :P

1. The NIV would be one example of a modern translation from the original languages.

2. Kudos for bringing up your stance on abortion even though you know it might be unpopular. That says a lot about you, and I hope if others do disagree, that they'll show the same respect to you that you clearly show to them.

That's it. :)

wolfraven17 September 21 2006, 01:57:22 UTC

Well, that is certainly more than I knew about the Bible, thank you Akela :)

I still believe the Bible leaves room for interpretation, because even with all those resources, I know I've read somewhere that we aren't 100% sure of the translations, as languages change over the course of history.

And again, thanks for the comment. Part of this was to get my thoughts down, but I also wanted to see some commenting back, get others thinking :)

ferdiaferlin September 21 2006, 02:40:38 UTC

It is not just a translation issue but a transcription issue. Even something that is in the "original" Greek, or Hebrew, or Aramaic, was likely transcribed from an original source and at that point may have been edited or modified during transcription.

Furthermore you have to consider not just a literal translation but contextual issues as well, such as use of puns or symbology (which may not translate well), use of haggadah literary form, and use of imagery which may have had a particular unspoken meaning to the original readers but not to us.

rosiegamgee October 1 2006, 00:17:19 UTC

believing that abortion should be legal is not saying it's right. it's saying that in situations it is necessary. i send you back to my hypothetical situation, love. people who are pro-choice are NOT pro-abortion. they just believe that it's not our business to tell people what they can and cannot do. is keeping abortion legal going to stop people from doing it for the wrong reasons? no. never ( ... )

hastka October 5 2006, 01:41:39 UTC

Definitely a good & thoughtful post, and I'm not just saying that because I agree... though it helps ( ... )

wolfraven17 October 5 2006, 04:42:02 UTC

*nods* added :)

My Response (Part 1) misterc June 1 2008, 11:06:31 UTC

Well, I guess it goes without saying that I have come to your post & your thoughtful discussion of this important issue a tad late (about 20 months late), so I guess it's incumbent upon me to invoke the "better late than never" clause!! ;-)

Anyway, I wanted to tell you first of all that you have said it all so well! You are a few years younger than I, but (based on this post only), it seems you have obtained your wisdom on this subject WAY before I ever had the chance to. If you've ever read any of my posts on Rainbow Ark, you've seen how unfortunately long & painful my journey through Religion has been. (My version of the Christian) God brought me through the Valley of the Shadow of Death (a.k.a. "the closet") & has added a little life to my "life" and has shown me that, to use your words, "[t]here is nothing wrong with homosexuality...". Until relatively recently, I truly believed that just breathing the air of a free, open, proud gay man was the answer to all my prayers ( ... )