sultan88: Yes, I am a devout Christian. Are you Christian too?
p8riot: I don't know if you were referring to me, but I never said that Christianity was intolerant. A lot of other liberals have that impression, mainly because the Religious Right has such a strong-arm approach to American politics. But I think most would agree that protestant Christianity, as a belief, is much more tolerant than, say, Islam. You just have to separate the belief system itself from its social activism.
However, even in protestant Christianity, there are social taboos, such as being openly homosexual. The door is always open in my church too, but anyone coming in with their gay lover would certainly be greeted with less than open arms. When it comes to homosexuality, there is definitely a tendency to hate the sinner just as much as the sin, if not more so.
Take the test and see how conservative (or liberal) you really are! Post your scores here when you're done.
Sultan saw where you claimed "Christianity is a sin" and apparently missed where you clarified and explained that "Homosexuality is a sin in Christianity" or somesuch.
Look forward to yer response to #332...MUD
BTW...Dallas Plowboyz SUCK!! Testeverde?! BWAHAHAHA!!
I was not referring to you specifically. I was in fact pointing to my perception of mainstream liberalism. I would agree that "liberals have that impression, mainly because the Religious Right has such a strong-arm approach to American politics", because we as a society tend to judge groups based on the performance of their more radical members. It works both ways, no matter which side of the fence you are on. You and I agree on that.
I would also agree that there are social taboos in Christianity, but they are based less on scripture than on tradition and personal prejudices. My church is similar to yours, but we have a defacto "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Sexual orientation would not be the among the first things discussed with someone visiting the church. If someone came in flaunting it, it would be perceived as being an attempt at activism, or "shock and awe" to use recent terminology. What happens in the privacy of our bedrooms is between us and God, not something that needs to be put on public display.
The tendency to categorize people based on their sexual orientation undermines the equity with which we all want to be treated. The same holds true for biases based on color or nationality.