[Mr 5 0]

Originally Posted by HoodStrype

...I believe that may happen one day, but not because it is right. Back in some Roman (and/or Egyptian) times it was quite common to be with the same sex, but they were not of the same religion or 'value set' that most people have been under for hundreds of years now. I think it will happen because of the fall of Christianity these days. The US used to be a major Christian strong hold. Even from its birth.

The majority of Americans still are Christian, a broad term that covers everything from the Roman Catholic Church to the most backwoods fundamentalist Baptist church you can find.

Religion may be less important to some people today than it once was but the evangelistic Christian churches are booming in membership and most fundamentalist Christian churches are doing very well, too. Only the old-line churches are dying out and most of that is due to their foolishly attempting to adopt liberal positions that their members see as running counter to the bible they are supposed to be based on. The Congregational Church's insistence on appointing a gay Bishop has torn that denomination apart - and they are losing members all the time. They haven't followed the bibical warning that you cannot serve two master: God and man. Their loss.

When I was a kid (I'm only 26 but I do live in the "Bible Belt") WalMart and everything except fast food closed on Sunday. No one mowed the law, or hunted or fished on Sunday either. These days people are becoming bored with the Bible and thanks to Television/Radio/Internet, we've seen a 120 year decline of Religion in general and are much more open to new possibilities and ideas- whether or not you think they are or are not correct. We see violence on a more localized scale such as schools and homes now. It used to be the divorced woman/man across town and now half of marraiges end in the same fate. I'd say to stick with the morals.

And I would agree with you.

Most of the 'new possibilities' seem to include casual, serial sexual relationships and bearing multiple illegitimate children, co-habitation, drug use and other destructive lifestyles that destroy families and harm the people engaging in them, in the long run. The growing violence and continual gutter-talk we hear now all around us as well as the rejection of authority and downgrading of our collective culture is a partial result of some of those 'new possibilities'.

Now, if you bring racism into this... that's the same. Slavery has unfortunately been common for all the Earth's history. Sad to think about, and almost down right depressing.

Cheer up. While almost all of the world practiced slavery 200 years ago, Great Britian and The United States of America were the first to renounce it and make it illegal in the 19th century. A few countries like the Sudan still have slavery and that is depressing.

As for me... I'll stick with the Bible. I like what I've read of it, though it's really hard to stick to... especially the "Turn the other cheek" part! Lol!

The bible is a wonderful guide for living as well as salvation. Anything worth having is worth the effort needed to obtain it. While salvation is free, living a life modeled on Jesus is hard, I'll admit. It's still a worthy model and like you, I'll take the bible as my guide.