At its Core, Christianity is a Gay Religion

[Rhondazvous]

That seems to be a pretty irrational fear.  Do they seriously believe that sexual preference is changed by someone talking to them?  Do they imagine it is a choice the way one might choose a blue tie or a red tie?  (If they think that, they must be bisexual.  Otherwise, it is more like a choice between some delicious food and some revolting, rotten food.)

The neighbor being gay might get one to come out of the closet, but it is not going to cause straight people to be gay.  Do they imagine that gayness is catching, like a cold?

Studies indicate that having gay parents is not a problem for children, so why would having gay neighbors be a problem?  See:

http://www.salon.com/2014/07/06/worlds_l...han_peers/

Basically, the idea that the neighbor being gay is a problem is ridiculous.  Of course, people believe many ridiculous things, and this is only one example.  But believing that something is a problem is not the same as it being a problem.  It is not a problem if one's neighbor is gay.  People need to relax and stop believing nonsense.

When people's beliefs are fueled by fear, sense has nothing to do with it.

Which brings us back to the church. Where would Christianity be without fear? In a society with strong religious indoctrination, people hold on to fear like a lifeline. Islam too is based on fear. If you read the Koran, the emphasis on hell is a major motivator for belief. So the fear of homosexuality comes as a natural progression.

It's good that at least on an official level, this is changing. Though I think that as far as general social acceptance, gays may still have the same struggle as African Americans. Slavery is gone, Jim Crow is over. Yet, we still have our Dylan Roof's out there. Do you have any wonder why I feel an affinity with them?

[Rhondazvous]

I think so, it's not my area of expertise but it is a recurring feature you'll encounter all around the globe. The Trimurti doesn't see so much love on a lay level anymore (Indians tend to favour powerful female figures like Kali and Lakshimi) but most of the oldest state sponsored Indian institutions are centered around it.

I'm a University Lecturer teaching Religious Studies and Liberal Christian Theology courses with a background of a B.A in Anglican Theology and Early Church History and an M.Div from a relatively conservative Greek Orthodox Seminary. I'm also studying part time for an Masters in Sunni Islamic Theology. Early Church history does tend to require an understanding of pre-christian Hellenistic/Asiatic religions but it's not my main focus.

And yeah, I'm not actually too concerned about Christianity; it's Islam I think everyone has to keep an eye on and should worry about. Christians can't drag us back to the dark ages now but those guys have the potential to if left unchecked.

Have you written any books?

Islam is physically dangerous, though I don't think their ideology will take hold in the west. But if the United States ever collapses and there's a power vacuum and people like Pat Robertson seize the reins, there will be hell to pay. It could happen. The us is in so much debt. We can't go belly-up without repercussions in Europe and the rest of the world. I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, but I'm not Polly Anna, either.

[Metis]

Have you written any books?

Islam is physically dangerous, though I don't think their ideology will take hold in the west.  But if the United States ever collapses and there's a power vacuum and people like Pat Robertson seize the reins, there will be hell to pay. It could happen. The us is in so much debt. We can't go belly-up without repercussions in Europe and the rest of the world. I don't want to sound like Chicken Little, but I'm not Polly Anna, either.

I've written a few journal articles on conflicts within the Orthodox Communion but no books yet, I've not actually been in the job that long and this is my first year teaching I am actually preparing one on an introduction to the history of Byzantine Christianity since there's not that many books from a purely secular viewpoint about this in anything but passing reference in English. Most of the evidence used in the few works we do have is patchy second or third hand since any non-Orthodox author I've encountered thus far who have written about it can't actually read Medieval Greek whereas I can and know where to look.

China may be gaining ground but the US is still the top dog, thankfully I don't see that changing soon. Debt is something to be wary of but I don't doubt the US has plenty of plans in reserve.

[Rhondazvous]

I've written a few journal articles on conflicts within the Orthodox Communion but no books yet, I've not actually been in the job that long and this is my first year teaching I am actually preparing one on an introduction to the history of Byzantine Christianity since there's not that many books from a purely secular viewpoint about this in anything but passing reference in English. Most of the evidence used in the few works we do have is patchy second or third hand since any non-Orthodox author I've encountered thus far who have written about it can't actually read Medieval Greek whereas I can and know where to look.

China may be gaining ground but the US is still the top dog, thankfully I don't see that changing soon. Debt is something to be wary of but I don't doubt the US has plenty of plans in reserve.

Can read Medieval Greek! Check you out.

A book about Byzantine Christianity sounds interesting. I don’t know much about byzantine theology, but I know it was supplanted by Constantinople. They just killed everybody who disagreed with them.

Right now, I’m reading the works of Bart Ehrman, which talks about Apocalyptic Judaism and Gnosticism in early and medieval Christianity. Is it possible that Byzantine theology was an offshoot of Apocalyptic Christianity one they realized the end was not as eminent as they’d thought it would be? In this you’re right that Christianity will not die anytime soon. They’re too much like a chameleon.

Are you in Asia?

[Metis]

Can read Medieval Greek! Check you out.

A book about Byzantine Christianity sounds interesting. I don’t know much about byzantine theology, but I know it was supplanted by Constantinople. They just killed everybody who disagreed with them.

Right now, I’m reading the works of Bart Ehrman, which talks about Apocalyptic Judaism and Gnosticism in early and medieval Christianity.  Is it possible that Byzantine theology was an offshoot of Apocalyptic Christianity one they realized the end was not as eminent as they’d thought it would be? In this you’re right that Christianity will not die anytime soon. They’re too much like a chameleon.

Are you in Asia?

Heh, well it's not as interesting as it sounds :p There's quite a lot of literature and poetry that has never found its way into English but most of what I read or have read is work related, so it's more often than not fairly dry theological works and histories like the Alexiad to give some historical background to the material.

Byzantium is just the old Greek name for the city that became the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire and Constantine renamed it to Constantinople when he shifted the united (eastern and western) government over there, and it later became an absolute theocratic monarchy (the motto of the Empire actually was "One People, One God, One Emperor") that lasted until 1453. It was renamed Istanbul in 1930 when the Ottoman Empire collapsed and was replaced by the (supposedly) secular Turkish government. Funnily enough they never actually called themselves Byzantines and only ever rarely Greeks; to the very end and even afterwards they always self-identified as Romanoi, Romans!

Pretty much all modern Christianity is a development of Apocalyptic Judaism, since the early church had a very strong idea that the end was nigh and it would occur before the last of the first generation of Christian converts died. It was never quite as powerful or frequent as the apocalyptic movements in the west, since the Byzantine Emperor really was an autocrat and had far more power than the Pope ever did but there were apocalytic flare ups that resulted in violence every now and then(there's actually a few episodes in history where Popes were openly humiliated and quashed by the Emperors when they thought they were getting too big for their boots, such as Pope Martin I who was literally dragged from Rome to Constantinople and publicly tortured and executed on the orders of Emperor Constans). It's actually why the Germanic Holy Roman Empire was formed, the Pope picked out the strongest European leader he could to defend him from the Byzantine Emperor...But ended up underneath many of the earlier Holy Roman Emperors instead.

Byzantine Theology is unusual in that it lacks a strong apocalyptic bent despite agreeing one would happen, very different from all other forms of Christianity. Catholicism might seem similar with the role of a Pope but the Church and State even at during their strongest union had some barrier between them; the Byzantines had no such distinction. The Emperor literally was Gods chosen champion on Earth, lord of the material world and you only knew he no longer spoke for God when he was deposed or died of old age (interestingly their monarchy wasn't hereditary and many did in inherit the job from their parents or spouses but most were elected former Generals). Because they saw their kingdom as actually being part of the Kingdom of God (they saw Christendom as consisting of two parts, an Earthly Kingdom as well as a Heavenly one, the former led by the emperor and the latter by Jesus) the second coming wasn't something that came up much in their thinking, they never actually went so far to say it had already happened like the Jehovas Witnesses but it wasn't something that concerned them except in times of crisis like when they lost wars.

Naturally this all took a huge U-Turn when Byzantium was destroyed by the Ottoman Turks and the last Byzantine Emperor vanishing in battle led to Greek Orthodoxy taking a very different form today.

If the avatar of God vanishing from earth couldn't kill Greek Orthodoxy I don't think a change in something so minor as a few rules regarding sexual conduct will kill Christianity as a whole.

Gosh I've written too much already! And no, I'm not in Asia. I'm in Europe