Some of the responses that the OP received to his intro included one in which someone pointed out that:
sometimes you can get 25 people answering a question and 30 different opinions between them …
There are relatively few absolutes in life and diversity abounds - in most every aspect of life.
This forum is populated by the same people who make up the world - in their thinking, they span a continuum that has as its extremes conservatism and radicalism. There are those here who will condemn a lifestyle that does not fully meet their personal standards and those who will applaud any lifestyle, no matter how extreme by the standards of polite society. In between, are those who will closely and charitably examine facts and circumstances, and offer reasoned, moral, and theologically sound opinions without being judgemental.
If one asks a question, he opens himself to being answered by persons coming from the full spectrum of social, political, and theological thought. If anyone doesn’t want to hear that, then he shouldn’t ask questions in the first place. Having asked, one must sort the replies - and to do that honestly, one does not sort by what you like or don’t like, but by what seems right to you, what you know to be right in light of what you have been taught and the moral values which you have learned and developed.
Responses to this thread have included some that were reasoned and charitable - others that were snide and non-contributory - a few of the latter have disappeared. The expectation on these forums is for civil and charitable discourse; that does not require anyone to forfeit or compromise their standards, assuming that their standards meet those expectations. There is a message here for both the original poster and those responding - it is not apparent that everyone understands it; I suggest self-moderation for tone, tenor, and content before hitting the
submit button.
This thread is now closed.
Joe Monahan