College Republicans at Duke U. Face Loss of Funds Over Gay Leader’s Ouster

But it’s also nice to see that bigotry and hate won’t be tolerated.

I don’t get it. What does fiscal responsibility and no taxes have to do with where you put your %$@##* for pleasure?

No 4, “Righteousness exalteth a nation; But sin is a reproach to any people.” Proverbs 14:34

Morning Goxewu, Authority, no. Wisdom and insight, often. And your last paragraph is a pretty good summary of my position, except that I never use the perfectly good English adjective “gay” to refer to homosexuality or behavior stemming therefrom.

Personally, I love the idea of quoting the Bible as “evidence” in re homosexuality. Out of a thousand-page Bible, if every last verse even tenuously mentioning the subject is collected, you end of with half a page of anti-homosexual strictures. That is, the Bible is about 0.05% homophobic and about 99.95% not. Funny how people can find what they want if they look hard enough. When people drag in the OT to support their POV, I just ask, Do you eat pork? Shellfish? Meat and dairy at the same meal? Do you wear clothing made of blended fibers? Do you move field markers? (Well, okay, never mind the field markers.) Bottom line, if you think Leviticus etc. justifies your homophobia, either you observe the other prescriptions, restrictions, and proscriptions, or you’re a hypocrite.

I think something I saw on Facebook sums it all up for me. A young lady said, “Homosexuality is a sin, Lacey, and it is in black and white in the Bible.” To which smart, critically thinking Lacey responded, “So is not treating your body like a temple. And ladies should have their head covered. And in deuteronomy, a marriage is only valid if the woman is a virgin, and she should be executed if she is not…and that anyone who commits adultery should be stoned to death. In Mark, divorce is prohibited. I assume for homosexuality, you’re referring to Leviticus 18:6: “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female. It is an abomination.” A similar verse occurs two chapters later, in Leviticus 20:13: “A man who sleeps with another man is an abomination and should be executed.” Leviticus is a holiness code written 3,000 years ago. It also includes prohibitions against round haircuts, tattoos, working on the Sabbath, wearing garments of mixed fabrics, eating pork or shellfish, getting your fortune told, and even playing with the skin of a pig. (There goes football!!). I believe in morality, which is doing right regardless of what I am told…not in religion, which is doing what I am told regardless of what is right. You’re welcome to your own interpretation of the Bible and of politics, of course, but for me, I need more than “the Bible says so” to justify certain things in this world and certainly to judge them.”Besides…all covenants flew out the window when Christ made the new covenant on the cross. The new rule is “love one another”…shame the christians can’t get it right.

One note, Jffoster:MWCD10, a work I heartily recommends, has a couple of relevant definitions.phobia: an exaggerated usu. inexplicable and illogical fear of a particular object, class of objects, or situation. -phobia 1: exaggerated fear of 2: intolerance or aversion for Both derive from the Greek, as you are doubtless aware, -phobos, fearing, fr. phobos, fear, flight, . . .Also, for God’s sake, it’s broccoli. Affectation of subliteracy doesn’t excuse this sort of crap. So long as I’m obsessing with definitions, Bierce got “eccentricity” right: “the distinction of a fool.” God knows how you spell “spaghetti.”So, your “intolerance or aversion” isn’t fear. Right. Fear and loathing are two separate emotions, but how often are they really separate? Sometimes, sure: I hate basketball, but I certainly don’t fear it. My feelings about basketball come from having it shoved down my throat through eight years of school, three times a day, five days a week, thirty-six weeks a year. Enough already. If somebody else wants to play it or watch it or talk about it, it’s fine with me. I just want no part of it.But somehow I can’t help feeling that homophobia is different. For instance tossing out the same old tired bologna (note correct English and Italian spelling) from Leviticus is not like avoiding basketball; it’s like trying to discourage the rest of the world from doing something you don’t want to do yourself.I think people who believe that their opinions about other people’s sex lives have any relevance outside their own heads should learn to mind, quite literally, their own f—ing business.

Dank48, fear and loathing do often go together so you might have a point to consider. But I will spell brockley and baloney the way I please, according to a regular English pattern. I don’t need an excuse, I don’t seek your approval, and I sure as hell don’t need your permission. Ai scritto per inglese, non per italiani.

“allegedly because”… any proof of this? And what was the “evidence” that was “heard” in the 4-hour meeting? It would be interesting to see what the proof is that is purported to show that the ouster was due to “gay” as opposed to his leadership or lack thereof. Any why is it that anytime a person who is gay is fired or demoted or “other”, there is a charge of discrimination? Are there not incompetent gays?

Re #8:Funny (as in peculiar, not ha-ha) how someone such as Prof. Foster who, often with the support of vast and deep anthropoligical and linguistic data, explains why relativism of the walk-a-mile-in-their-shoes variety is often the best policy toward what seems unconventional. And he certainly practices what he preaches in terms of orthography. Why then, one wonders, is he so rigid (no counter-pun intended) about homosexuality?It’s because, I’d guess, to him homosexuality is not merely unconventional, but a “sin”–thus the Bible quote. But Prof. Foster admits his quoting a couple of lines from Proverbs doesn’t invoke authority (i.e., expertise); he cites them only for wisdom and insight. Well, “righteousness” is a) about as elastic a term as you can get, justifying–depending on the culture–everything from the stoning-to-death of women for extra-marital intercourse to giving away all but one’s subsistence possession, and b) more and more these days a term of opprobium referring to someone who acts as though butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth.And “sin” as a “reproach” to a nation absolutely propelled by avarice (without which our entire financial system and Wall Street simply wouldn’t exist), in which lust sells everything from cars to candy, and in which a third of its citizens obviously practice gluttony?Translated into plain English, without the Billy Sunday vibe, Prof. Foster’s quote says, “Things I approve of are good for the country, and things that I don’t approve of are bad for the country.” Me, too.(I think Prof. Foster needs a few drinks and a couple of hours of conversation in a good gay bar.)

When will we learn that “you will like those who disagree with your views and practice abnormal behavior”? If not, the govt. will see to it that you do, plus teach your offspring to like them also. Doesn’t anyone remember the glorious teachings of George Orwell? He modeled US society.