Doma

[Jake Brake]

A majority in the legislature voted in favor of the bill. Thus far they lack the 2/3s majority to override the veto.

yes of course a majority passed a bill, I agree. But a 2/3 majority I believe is needed to put bill into law. We see this all the time in our Senate. Never have I seen a Senate bill pass with 51% of vote, for Harry Reid always goes with the 2/3 ruling to avoid a filibuster that can tie up the floor for a very long time..

I'm not "blaming" anyone. I'm simply pointing out that the OP seems to care about the will of the majority only when it favors his position.

right, I see that.

I'm confused. A majority of the NJ legislature voted in favor of the bill--how does that indicate that the majority of NJ voters do not support SSM?

I don't know the districts there. Some may have 100,000 citizens some may have a million. If 51% voted for the bill leaving 49% not, we need to know the population of the districts that their representative voted no or yes. Better yet, did NJ have a populace vote like the Prop 8 deal in CA? That should give us a better idea of how participating registered voters responded.

BTW, polls have shown otherwise, and if it goes to a referendum it is considered likely that it will pass.

ok, thanks for the link

 

[Jake Brake]

I fully realize that a law can't be put in place on the basis of a poll. I simply said that if it goes to a referendum it is considered likely that it will pass. The polls in New Jersey now indicate that about 2/3s of the voters favor allowing gay marriage.

Your statement regarding polls in states where gay marriage was voted down would have been correct prior to November 2012 when the voters of Washington, Maine and Maryland all approved same-sex marriage.

Does it matter now what the people want? I thought the Supreme Court made it possible that all 38 States will reverse their stand on SSM's, making it legal. Most likely lawsuits will have to play out, but it appears to me it doesn't matter what the citizens want anymore.

 

[McMatt]

see, that proves it. You and I are separate beings but have a similar conscience that is growing, evolving, into a more Christ-like mind. (a prefect loving mind is a goal)

I'm not to much concerned with the fundamentalist, for I've been around them for a long time. Most important to me is what we put into our minds. A healthy diet is best for the body as we all know, so the same must be true for the mind. Keep positive and in love with the Lord.

In other threads I read of 'fasting' and 'prayer healing'. I'm looking up some more information on safely doing it. I believe this will also purge the mind of toxic thoughts. Hateful thoughts are taxing on the body.

I don't and never will deny the existence of prayer healings, although I have seen so much misrepresentation of it from people like Benny hinn who is a total con-artist. I'm not too concerned about fundies for myself either, my only concern is for newcomers to the body of Christ. Either A) They get scared away from faith, or B) They get sucked into the mentality of "this is the way to follow Christ". I wouldn't be too surprised if the church turned out to be the false prophet mentioned in revelations

That's why my ministry is simply about loving everyone and showing them how Christ called us to be, instead of telling them how they should be

 

[Jake Brake]

I don't and never will deny the existence of prayer healings, although I have seen so much misrepresentation of it from people like Benny hinn who is a total con-artist.

true, I have seen that too and have always been skeptical about it. But reading some testimonies here and reviewing scripture I'm sure it works as the Lord implied. That topic is for the other thread though.

I'm not too concerned about fundies for myself either, my only concern is for newcomers to the body of Christ. Either A) They get scared away from faith, or B) They get sucked into the mentality of "this is the way to follow Christ". I wouldn't be too surprised if the church turned out to be the false prophet mentioned in revelations

I see your point. I got scared many years ago in my buddies church when they smacked the demon out of some kid on stage. Also, I can see how easy some can be turned to follower false teachings through sort of a spiritual nocebo effect.
For example; repeatedly preaching and teaching that homosexuals are evil, instead of teaching about the evils of sodomy. Congregants come away with a hate ( at least a disgust) for homosexuals instead of having knowledge of the medical and spiritual concerns of sodomy. This religious nocebo effect is used time and time again on all kinds of topics and social issues. I gave a link to a neat article about nocebo effect, I liked it.

That's why my ministry is simply about loving everyone and showing them how Christ called us to be, instead of telling them how they should be

I think you have a great ministry, lead by example. I understand that we are to be like Jesus, what better example could we possibly have...none that I know of. That's where we get our name Christian, I think. And I do not understand why there are so many different denominations, that ought to go towards what you mentioned; church full of false prophets.


Corinthian Food Fight
They actually willed themselves ill. Christian Corinthians became ill for what they thought was a sin in eating meat from the market until Paul spoke, then all was well.

If you go to a Corinthian McDonalds, your Big Mac might include leftovers from a sacrifice to Zeus, Diana, or Hermes. This is common practice, and no one has a problem with it—no one except some of the early converts to Christianity. These followers of Jesus have turned their backs on the Greek gods, and they feel guilty about eating meat that has been sacrificed to those gods. They want to be faithful followers of Jesus Christ, and they sense that eating this tainted meat will make them spiritually unclean. These fears about impurity are enough to make them miserable. It is an ancient example of "think sick, be sick." The Apostle Paul, however, has the cure. nocebo

Issues
There are numerous nocebo effects crippling our Christian health today. We make ourselves sick when we disagree over issues that may someday seem as antiquated as the Corinthian disagreement over meat sacrificed to idols.
Evangelical Christian scholars battle over whether or not God's knowledge of the future is limited. Roman Catholics, in the wake of numerous scandals, debate whether their priests are trustworthy, and whether priests should be allowed to marry, and whether women should be ordained. Gender-inclusive language in Today's New International Version Bible creates a tug of war between camps in the evangelical world, just as similar changes in the New Revised Standard Version created conflicts a decade ago. Believers of all denominations wrestle every day with the issue of gays and lesbians in the life of the church. Religious school vouchers, doorbell evangelism, and capital punishment reform have all made their way to the Supreme Court this past year, and all have been topics of religious controversy in recent years.
It is enough to make you ill. Not that these issues are unimportant, each in its own way, but the cumulative effect of all this dueling and debating is downright sickening. What we have now is a church that has been fighting for so long that it is "worried sick" and "scared to death." And these are not simply figures of speech. They are becoming observable scientific phenomena--the nocebo effect.
So, what is the cure? Paul's advice is to avoid rating knowledge or certainty or "being right" too highly. The operative principle for the church is love, shown through an attitude of respect for Christians of diverse beliefs. Not everyone has the same knowledge, Paul says, and this is as true for the issue of idol meat as it is for the issues that vex us today. Christians do not all have the same position on issues. Get used to it. Get over it.
nocebo